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cheye13's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I found this impressively engaging in the first quarter, maybe the first third. The premise is established quickly and the introduction of various perspectives maintains tension and pushes pacing. But everything stagnated the moment the narrative threads began to merge - that is, as soon as Alice met another figure involved. There's a shift from experiencing Alais's story firsthand into being narrated by a modern character on-page, which was simply a drudge. So much to the point that I lost the thread of the narrative by the climactic scenes, and didn't quite understand what was happening.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Death, Torture, and Blood
Moderate: Colonisation and Sexism
Minor: Sexual content
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
carmaj91's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Religious bigotry, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Antisemitism, Kidnapping, and Physical abuse
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