Discover new books on Goodreads

Meet your next favorite book

1525 ratings (3.69 avg)
1100 reviews
Goodreads librarian

Daphne

Add friend

Daphne’s practically-perfect shelf

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

More…

Daphne’s Bookshelves

to-read‎ (940)
currently-reading‎ (5)
read‎ (1548)
did-not-finish‎ (56)
yearly-review‎ (12)
practically-perfect‎ (90)
ya‎ (382)
graphic-novel-or-manga‎ (236)
favorite-supporting-character‎ (224)
disappointing‎ (219)
funny‎ (201)
middle-grade‎ (170)

cute‎ (165)
romance‎ (143)
eventually-re-read‎ (132)
didn-t-live-up-to-the-hype‎ (123)
annoying-main-character‎ (106)
childrens-books‎ (100)
creepy-and-or-disturbing‎ (100)
annoying‎ (89)
classics‎ (87)
boys-boys-boys‎ (81)
cover-love‎ (74)
finished-2020-re-read‎ (73)

horrible‎ (72)
finished-2021-re-read‎ (64)
work-found‎ (64)
non-fiction‎ (62)
cried-my-eyes-out‎ (57)
books-i-threw-at-a-wall‎ (44)
nf-shortlist‎ (42)
good-until-the-end‎ (35)
title-love‎ (35)
fairy-tales‎ (33)
gender-bend‎ (33)
finished-2022-re-read‎ (30)

for-school‎ (29)
work‎ (29)
finished-2024-re-read‎ (27)
awful-main-character‎ (26)
wishlist‎ (23)
nz‎ (21)
i-own-to-read‎ (17)
steampunk‎ (17)
need-to-re-read‎ (16)
novela‎ (16)
physical-tbr‎ (13)
finished-2023-re-read‎ (11)

Stats | More…

Daphne is Currently Reading

Daphne is currently reading

Pnin

by Vladimir Nabokov

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Nov 09, 2026 07:59AM

Daphne is currently reading

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

by Ishmael Beah

bookshelves: nf-shortlist, currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Nov 09, 2026 07:59AM

Daphne is currently reading

A Spy in the House (The Agency, #1)

by Y.S. Lee (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: boys-boys-boys, ya, finished-2020-re-read, favorite-supporting-character, eventually-re-read, work, currently-reading

Reading for the 4th time

read in March 2020

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Daphne said: " Re-Read: August 2021
I wasn't planning on re-reading this so soon, but here I am. I was in the mood for light and fluffy YA historical fiction, and this fits the bill. Plus I love the series and wanted to read something easy before the LSAT.

I still 1 Re-Read: August 2021
I wasn't planning on re-reading this so soon, but here I am. I was in the mood for light and fluffy YA historical fiction, and this fits the bill. Plus I love the series and wanted to read something easy before the LSAT.

I still 100% love this book, but I've read it enough times to recognize the issues with the story. There are quite a few plot conveniences and at times the writing can be simplistic or slightly clunky. Honestly though, I'm not the intended audience of this book and I don't think younger readers would notice at all. If this was an adult book it might annoy me a bit more, but this book isn't trying to be a contender for the Pulitzer prize and I don't think it should be judged at the same standard. It's supposed to be a fun YA mystery with a little bit of romance, and I think it succeeds at that.

I really loved it. It's definitely too young for me (I can't believe I'm older than the main character!) but the nostalgia is strong. I can't wait to re-read the rest of the series!

Original Review
This is such a comfort series for me. I can read it whenever and always enjoy it. I first read this when I was around 12 or 13 and fell in love with the book. I think I went into this just knowing that it was historical fiction and not thinking that it was a mystery and that really helped me enjoy the story. Don't get me wrong, this is definitely a mystery, but I would say that the focus of the story is on Mary and how she navigates the gender and racial prejudices that existed at the time. I liked the mystery and I didn't guess the solution to the mystery, but I read this book for the characters and descriptions of Victorian London, not the be on the edge of my seat.

Mary is a wonderful character to read about. She feels very real. She feels stifled by Victorian gender roles and wants to prove herself worthy of The Agency. Her motivations were very clear and she was a very consistent character. Even when she made stupid decisions I understood why she was doing it.

I also really liked James. He is slightly problematic because some of his views are quite sexist, but he grows a lot throughout the series. I'm a sucker for any and all smart-ass characters so obviously I loved him, but I can also see why he might annoy some characters. I think he works really with Mary. They are always verbally sparring with each other which makes all of their interactions super fun to read.

I really love this series and I will definitely be re-reading this in the future. ...more "

progress:

(page 335 of 335)
"Sooo good!" — Jan 10, 2015 06:54PM

Aug 16, 2021 08:06AM · see review

See all 5 books that Daphne is reading…

Daphne’s Quotes

“Expect everything, I always say, and the unexpected never happens.”
― Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth

tags: philosophy

1438 likes

“I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

tags: family, friends, parties, social

12531 likes

“The story so far:
In the beginning the Universe was created.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.”
― Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

tags: fantasy, humor, scifi

23540 likes

“She generally gave herself very good advice, (though she very seldom followed it).”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass

5893 likes