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cglharmony's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Torture
Moderate: War
Minor: Genocide
3nni1's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Tarinan idea oli mielestäni aivan huikea ja toteutus mielenkiintoinen! Pidin tästä, mutta isona miinuksena pitkävetisyys... En jaksanut alku jännityksen jälkeen keskittyä lukemaan, jonka takia pidin usean kuukauden tauon ennen kuin suostuin lukemaan kirjan loppuun. Eihän sitä sitten enää oikein muistanut mitä oli tapahtunut ja missä mennään. Tarina oli raastavan traaginen, koskettava, mystinen ja erittäin mielenkiintoinen! Harmittaa vain, että tämä oli tosi pitkästyttävä ainakin keskikohdasta/ puolivälistä tarinaa, mikä vaikuttaa suuresti arvosanaani.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and War
stellarstar's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Enough loose ends for a weaver's nest. The plot in the last quarter of the book become very confusing, and leaves many unanswered questions. It seems that when the author wasn't certain in her own mind what was supposed to have happened. She simply leaves the questions unanswered. This has left me somewhat confused as to what actually happened towards the end. Nevertheless, very well written and thought-provoking.
For example, the main characters would ask a very relevant question (a question that will enlighten the plot) the other characters simply don't answer the question. The other characters either "look too sad" to answer the question, or "ignore" the character who ask the question.
Also, Alice goes from not having any understanding of what is going on, to sudden enlightenment. The natural progression is missing.
Not enough information is shared with the reader. Which leaves the reader clueless.
For example, the main characters would ask a very relevant question (a question that will enlighten the plot) the other characters simply don't answer the question. The other characters either "look too sad" to answer the question, or "ignore" the character who ask the question.
Not enough information is shared with the reader. Which leaves the reader clueless.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: War
_christinadevin's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This was such a long book omg but I’m glad it’s finally finished. I liked the story and learning about the Cathar history of France. The politics were interesting and the characters were great, but they seemed to be missing so much. I had so many questions about all of them that were never answered, like why did Pelletier go to Carcassonne, what made him dislike Oriane, why did she become a Catholic? There were so many things that left this story wanting - especially the pacing. I still enjoyed it but there was so much I felt was left out😣
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, War, Fire/Fire injury, Death, and Murder
divine529's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I really enjoyed this book.
This is a historical fiction novel about the Crusades and in particular the Pays d'Oc region in France and it incorporates The Holy Grail story in a very interesting way.
It's a dual timeline story following two main protagonists, Alice (in present day - 2005) and Alais (from 1209) and explores how stories and history, events and ancestry has in impact on the present and who we are today.
I loved the historical aspects of the book and generally I preferred being in the 1209 timeline to the 2005 timeline, but towards the end, I found myself loving both. The pacing was odd and it's hard to explain exactly what I mean by that. Part of it was the multi-timelines and what was happening in those timelines, but it was also just how each of the timelines was written. Sometimes I found that I didn't care at all about what was happening in one, but we stayed there for a chunk of time, and other times I wanted to stay in a timeline and we ended up jumping to the other. It was just a bit strange at times. The characters were very flawed and at times irritating to no end. Some were fleshed out better than others, but still held important weight to the story and yet their stories all made sense or fit what the story was telling (most of the time).
All in all, a great story and one I really enjoyed.
This is a historical fiction novel about the Crusades and in particular the Pays d'Oc region in France and it incorporates The Holy Grail story in a very interesting way.
It's a dual timeline story following two main protagonists, Alice (in present day - 2005) and Alais (from 1209) and explores how stories and history, events and ancestry has in impact on the present and who we are today.
I loved the historical aspects of the book and generally I preferred being in the 1209 timeline to the 2005 timeline, but towards the end, I found myself loving both. The pacing was odd and it's hard to explain exactly what I mean by that. Part of it was the multi-timelines and what was happening in those timelines, but it was also just how each of the timelines was written. Sometimes I found that I didn't care at all about what was happening in one, but we stayed there for a chunk of time, and other times I wanted to stay in a timeline and we ended up jumping to the other. It was just a bit strange at times. The characters were very flawed and at times irritating to no end. Some were fleshed out better than others, but still held important weight to the story and yet their stories all made sense or fit what the story was telling (most of the time).
All in all, a great story and one I really enjoyed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Animal death, Violence, Torture, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Blood, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and War
Moderate: Gun violence, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and Medical content
Minor: Pregnancy
amyford's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, War, Violence, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Kidnapping and Rape
Throughout the book there is violence and war within the context of medieval religious wars. Sometimes, the descriptions of the violence and death inflicted by soldiers is graphic and disturbing.pattyblom's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Goede afwisseling tussen het heden en het verleden. Speelt zich af in het zuiden van Frankrijk. Vond het einde wel kort vergeleken met de dikte van het boek.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide
Moderate: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, War, Violence, Kidnapping, and Hate crime
Minor: Sexual content, Animal death, Death of parent, and Torture
singalana's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Death of parent, Violence, War, and Xenophobia
Minor: Animal death, Kidnapping, and Gun violence
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