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being_b's review against another edition
3.0
The heroine is too reactive for how amazing the narrative want us to think she is.
venetiana's review
This is of course just an opinion, but for me personally, this wasn't cute enough to make up for the monarchy aspect?
stacylharmon's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
indyreadrosa's review against another edition
5.0
Slow start didnt quite know where it was going but I loved the slow creep of maybe magic. And how they made the stakes of the marriage matter . Makes me want to read more from the authors
rachelini's review
2.0
If you're going to go to the effort of creating an alternate timeline, then it needs to actually affect the story. There was so little here, other than the one piece of history that needed to change for the set-up. On top of that, the romance didn't feel totally earned. I did love reading the process-y bits around the marriage contract.
lapon's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
That was the perfect read for a fan of The Crown like me. I really liked that this book explores more the weirdness and constraints of the monarchy rather than going full fairy tale. The AU component is pretty fun too. I'm just bummed that apparently the sequel has never come out !
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Grief
lizinthelibrary's review
5.0
Charming. I thoroughly enjoyed this. There were a few places it could have been better fleshed out, but a really sweet contemporary romance in an alternate universe
tui_reads's review
2.0
I don't know why I even finished this but I also feel terrible about the thoroughly negative review I want to give it because I guess it's vaguely competent but it just didn't work for me.
- The worldbuilding didn't feel complete. The characters act as if the division between the North and the South of England is so severe and dramatic that you expect to see news of sectarian violence, but in fact it seems far more peaceful than, say, English-Northern Irish relations. Equally, they're pretty specific that the monarchy has about the same power as the actual modern British monarchy, but the characters act as though the protagonist can really have an impact on the lives of her fellow Northerners. How she plans to do that, other than blunt-force symbolism, could have been a useful add; the most we see her doing is resenting bee charity meetings and one school tour ... in Canada.
- Speaking of incomplete, this character theoretically planning on doing a PhD was the least interested in her area character or person I have ever met. She vaguely attends exams and lectures for a bit but is zero percent interested or passionate about them. Really she seems to have no executable interests, hobbies, anything in her life other than this relationship of inconvenience.
- It was possibly realistic that the characters committed to something massive without ever talking about ANYTHING and then the relationship fizzled in awkward fits and starts, but it wasn't narratively satisfying. The protagonist's expectations for the relationship seemed to change frequently but it was very difficult to track! THEY NEVER TALKED ABOUT ANYTHING. And not even in a pointless misunderstanding way - like there really seemed to be no expectation or intent on either of their part to GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER, even if they were planning on an amicable rather than passionate marriage, and it was quite weird. It also made the falling in love bit quite unbelievable, like oh, you hung out together for perhaps as much as 6, 7 hours but you're desperately in love with him but just KNOW he can never love you? IDK. Didn't buy it.
- George was cool.
- The worldbuilding didn't feel complete. The characters act as if the division between the North and the South of England is so severe and dramatic that you expect to see news of sectarian violence, but in fact it seems far more peaceful than, say, English-Northern Irish relations. Equally, they're pretty specific that the monarchy has about the same power as the actual modern British monarchy, but the characters act as though the protagonist can really have an impact on the lives of her fellow Northerners. How she plans to do that, other than blunt-force symbolism, could have been a useful add; the most we see her doing is resenting bee charity meetings and one school tour ... in Canada.
- Speaking of incomplete, this character theoretically planning on doing a PhD was the least interested in her area character or person I have ever met. She vaguely attends exams and lectures for a bit but is zero percent interested or passionate about them. Really she seems to have no executable interests, hobbies, anything in her life other than this relationship of inconvenience.
- It was possibly realistic that the characters committed to something massive without ever talking about ANYTHING and then the relationship fizzled in awkward fits and starts, but it wasn't narratively satisfying. The protagonist's expectations for the relationship seemed to change frequently but it was very difficult to track! THEY NEVER TALKED ABOUT ANYTHING. And not even in a pointless misunderstanding way - like there really seemed to be no expectation or intent on either of their part to GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER, even if they were planning on an amicable rather than passionate marriage, and it was quite weird. It also made the falling in love bit quite unbelievable, like oh, you hung out together for perhaps as much as 6, 7 hours but you're desperately in love with him but just KNOW he can never love you? IDK. Didn't buy it.
- George was cool.
kelsahud's review
1.0
This book will stand out as one of the most irritating things I've ever read. The two main characters were awful and stupid, and they spent 90% of this book mad at each other. So romantic. My favorite part of this book was when Arthur and Amelia were in different continents and hardly spoke to one another.
Oh and that whole pregnancy by the end of the book can just go fly a kite. I literally rolled my eyes when Amelia, who is so pregnant her wedding dress won't fit, decides that she's going trick Arthur into believing that their kid was conceived after their wedding. Girl who do you think you're kidding? Do you think he's not gonna be able to count? You stupid.
bzeller's review
1.0
Lemmed at 28%. Every time I thought about picking this up to continue reading, I'd end up finding something else to do and forgetting about it. Just didn't hold my interest. Wasn't even bad enough for me to hate read, it was just boring. Plus the age difference and power imbalance in the main couple made me uncomfortable.