Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Solomon's Crown

Listened to the audiobook which had two voices play the two main characters. Overall, I enjoyed the book. The characters had strong emotions and the book is well written. I felt the romance but wished it was a bit more fleshed out and explored. One character seemed to like the other a lot more that the other did which I thought was interesting. There are some implied spicy scenes! The following of the lands and sides of the war were confusing but could have been fixed if I read the physical book.
Overall, good book that was enjoyable with strong characters.

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marghepardo's review

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emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0

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diana_raquel's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

“My liege," I said, bowing low.
"My Lord Aquitaine," he replied, as he stood from the bench. "Is the gate broken, or do you make a habit of vaulting over walls?"
"Only when you are on the other side of them.”

I was perusing the shelves at my favorite bookstore - you know, as one does - when I came face-to-face with this book and fell in love with the cover (you know the old saying "never judge a book by its cover"? Well, when it comes to books, I don't think that saying is accurate). At that point, I never heard of Natasha Siegel and when reading the synopsis of the book I got intrigued. It seemed like a thing that I would like. A queer medievalist alt-history romance between two widely know history figures? Shut up and take my money!!

But, alas, I was skeptical. How many times do I think that I will like a book, because it has all the elements that I like and comes up short or I hate it? Case in point: ACOTAR! Nevertheless, and because I'm a masochist and like to make mistakes, I brought the book. And love it!!!

I have to say that, at first, given the sorta melancholic and nostalgic tone of the first pages, I was like "oh, s***, this is gonna end in tragedy! It will be this epic love story and then one of them is gonna die". I was so sure it was gonna end in tears! Imagine my surprise when it was a epic love story with a happy ending!

If you like alt-history, enemies to lovers, and political intrigue I truly recommend this book! As the author herself put it, this book is "joyously queer"! Its a delightful return to the past (albeit a fictionalized one) full of intrigue, love and drama!

One of the best reads of 2023!!

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quinnyquinnquinn's review

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emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-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

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katiemack's review

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emotional 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? Yes

3.0

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

At the beginning and end of the book, Natasha Siegel is upfront about how little historical influence is involved in this book. Unfortunately, I found the reimagined history (aside from the long battle scenes, which I don't like to read in most books) to be the most interesting part of the story, which is probably because of Siegel's beautiful, descriptive writing. The actual romance between Richard the Lionheart and Philip II of France is...fine. There are a few moments of vulnerability between them, but they go from strangers to lovers quickly without much in the way of banter or emotional intimacy, so it was tough for me to be invested in their relationship. There's also a lack of tension that makes the narrative drive stall.

Again, the prose itself is lovely, but for a romance this isn't very...romantic.

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booksandbreadcrumbs's review against another edition

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3.0

I still don't know quite how to review this book or what I think about it.
In the author's note, Natasha Siegel writes, "The story I initially envisaged was one much truer to history—darker, grittier, and ending in tragedy. But eventually as I grew older, I realized that I wanted something more joyful. So, accuracy fell by the wayside, and I wrote a romance instead."

Unfortunately, as I read this book, I found it balancing the line between those two options too much, and I think I would have preferred this book more if one side had been leant towards more. Because while this definitely wasn't a tragic book, it was altogether too anxiety inducing for me to fully enjoy. The weird in-between space this book occupies might work for some people, but it ultimately just left me anxious and wanting.

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caseythereader's review

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Thanks to Random House for the free advance copy of this book.

- OH MY HEART, THIS BOOK! I never thought I would care about European kings from a thousand years ago but now I will go into battle for Philip and Richard.
- SOLOMON'S CROWN envisions the rival kings as secret lovers, opposites inexorably drawn to each other. They both know the relationship can never be, and both fall into it willingly anyway.
- Be forewarned that there is a lot of political gamesmanship here, as they are warring over a few duchys throughout the book. But Siegel makes it all fairly easy to follow, and of course, the relationship between the two kings is really the driving force of the book.

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