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tomasthanes's review against another edition
5.0
You know how every so often you stumble on a book (or series of books) that you'd wished you'd read decades ago? This book falls in that category.
Last November I discovered the "Fayborn" trilogy by J. Aleksandr Wootton. Next, I re-read [b:Puck of Pook's Hill|571197|Puck of Pook's Hill|Rudyard Kipling|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328863881s/571197.jpg|1815837] and [b:Rewards and Fairies|1496343|Rewards and Fairies|Rudyard Kipling|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1396234284s/1496343.jpg|2762820] both by Rudyard Kipling.
I enjoyed [b:Midnight Never Come|2195178|Midnight Never Come (Onyx Court, #1)|Marie Brennan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327904743s/2195178.jpg|2200915] by [a:Marie Brennan|105839|Marie Brennan|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1277921611p2/105839.jpg] just as much. In fact, it had some resonance with [a:Neil Gaiman|1221698|Neil Gaiman|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1234150163p2/1221698.jpg]'s book [b:Neverwhere|14497|Neverwhere (London Below, #1)|Neil Gaiman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348747943s/14497.jpg|16534]. A world above and one below.
Great characters (Lady Lune and Michael Devin, the Goodmeade sisters, Sir Francis Walsingham, the early British spymaster, ...).
The story was well told and I didn't notice any pacing issues. I loved how it thoroughly dropped you into Elizabethan England.
Pleasantly, in the background, I didn't notice a single typo in the Kindle version of the book. This is quite rare.
I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
Last November I discovered the "Fayborn" trilogy by J. Aleksandr Wootton. Next, I re-read [b:Puck of Pook's Hill|571197|Puck of Pook's Hill|Rudyard Kipling|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328863881s/571197.jpg|1815837] and [b:Rewards and Fairies|1496343|Rewards and Fairies|Rudyard Kipling|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1396234284s/1496343.jpg|2762820] both by Rudyard Kipling.
I enjoyed [b:Midnight Never Come|2195178|Midnight Never Come (Onyx Court, #1)|Marie Brennan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327904743s/2195178.jpg|2200915] by [a:Marie Brennan|105839|Marie Brennan|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1277921611p2/105839.jpg] just as much. In fact, it had some resonance with [a:Neil Gaiman|1221698|Neil Gaiman|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1234150163p2/1221698.jpg]'s book [b:Neverwhere|14497|Neverwhere (London Below, #1)|Neil Gaiman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348747943s/14497.jpg|16534]. A world above and one below.
Great characters (Lady Lune and Michael Devin, the Goodmeade sisters, Sir Francis Walsingham, the early British spymaster, ...).
The story was well told and I didn't notice any pacing issues. I loved how it thoroughly dropped you into Elizabethan England.
Pleasantly, in the background, I didn't notice a single typo in the Kindle version of the book. This is quite rare.
I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
magsmaenad's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
lsparrow's review against another edition
4.0
Like all of her books I struggle through the first 1/3 of the book - but I do it because I know that I am going to love the book by the halfway point and for the last 1/3 I will not be able to put it down. This book combines historical fiction with fantasy/fae. Mostly I found the intrigue between the characters sucked me in.
booksbyfem's review against another edition
3.25
This could have been really good. The premise was great and it had all the elements of a really good story about the Fae. It's a shame that the first third of the book was needlessly bogged down with boring introductory events. The language used was at times a bit contrived.
syllareads's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
plants_and_bees's review against another edition
I don't know if it was because i was listening to it while doing other things but this book was very confusing to me and i think i would maybe need to physically read it or just really sit down with this book, so maybe I'll try again in the future but not right now
blodeuedd's review against another edition
3.0
There are two courts in London, and two queens rule England. One Mortal, one Fae. I do like the Fae, and I'd loved to read even more about the different Fae and lands.
Elizabeth and Vididiana The Fae know of each other. To the rest The Fae ares stories. The tricksters, the fair ones.
Do I like Elizabeth? No, she is always so petty. Did I like Vivi? Gods no, she was one mad cow. You can see my point, things are not better in the Court of Onyx.
I need to get to the point. Lady Lune is sent to the mortal court. There she will gather information. At the same time we have Michael, new to the court and trying to get into Walsingham's good graces. And uncover who a hidden player is at court. The will obviously meet at one point, and maybe even like each other, at the end.
We have political intrigues. A spot of romance. The dangers of the fae. The dangers of a mortal court. And it makes so much sense. Of course the Fae were in the background, this works so well.
I never expected the conclusion to actually arrive in this book, which was good! But it also makes me so curious what will happen in the rest of the series.
Elizabeth and Vididiana The Fae know of each other. To the rest The Fae ares stories. The tricksters, the fair ones.
Do I like Elizabeth? No, she is always so petty. Did I like Vivi? Gods no, she was one mad cow. You can see my point, things are not better in the Court of Onyx.
I need to get to the point. Lady Lune is sent to the mortal court. There she will gather information. At the same time we have Michael, new to the court and trying to get into Walsingham's good graces. And uncover who a hidden player is at court. The will obviously meet at one point, and maybe even like each other, at the end.
We have political intrigues. A spot of romance. The dangers of the fae. The dangers of a mortal court. And it makes so much sense. Of course the Fae were in the background, this works so well.
I never expected the conclusion to actually arrive in this book, which was good! But it also makes me so curious what will happen in the rest of the series.
jesassa's review against another edition
2.0
While I loved Natural History of Dragons, it took me a very long time to get into this novel. The last 70 pages or so were by far my favorite but that was only after many internal debates on whether or not to give up on it, all in spite of how much I enjoyed the writing style. I think what bothered me was the passage of time. I found myself confused and having a hard time following when actions occurred. The set up took a bit too long and the payoff wasn't big enough for me. I'm going to look for Warrior and Witch though, Natural History impressed me so much.
garrison1989's review against another edition
1.0
couldnt even finish it it was so bad. completely boring!