Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Had a read this book first I would not have bothered with The Muse, a novel with twists, development of characters and conclusion. I got to the end of this book and wondered what it was about. It was incredibly detailed about the time it was set it, Holland in the seventeenth century, but it I felt it was trying to go too many places at once; women and their limited role, sexual freedom, merchant trading all tied up with some allusion to the supernatural. The miniaturist of the title is alluded to as having some sort of 'power' but just what that is is never really explored. And why she should be bothering is never answered either. I read to the end hoping to find out and left disappointed.