Synopsis: Emil Larsson is a mid-level bureaucrat in 1790’s Stockholm who wants more than anything to find love. He consults his friend and proprietress of a gambling house Mrs. Sparrow what he should do. She lays a special tarot card reading which she calls the octavo that reveals the people who will lead him to true love. It isn’t long before those same people lead him to the courts of Sweden where he has the chance to affect the fate of an entire nation. 

My Thoughts: The Stockholm Octavo is an enigmatic book. Not only because of the story, which is plenty mysterious, but because of the story's progress. Upon starting to read I was instantly hooked by the story and wanted to know what would happen next. But then the author began to describe, in excruciating detail, how ladies used fans in this time. She described them as if they were magic, giving them their own language and expounding on the many uses.  Then again we were following the story. The moments of description felt more like interludes between the actual story. And before anyone comes at me over a 12 year old book let me say, I understand the significance of the fans to the story. I just didn’t enjoy how they were described in the story. 

Overall I enjoyed reading this book. I found the story fascinating and found myself rooting for several of the characters as they continued along the journey. I felt heartache with them, I felt joy with them, and the descriptions were so beautiful I could visualize every location in the story. I found myself mentally planning a vacation to Stockholm just to try and retrace the characters’ steps. If the author had toned down the fan-naticism this would have been a 4, or even 5, star book.