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cheye13's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Death, Torture, and Blood
Moderate: Colonisation and Sexism
Minor: Sexual content
cglharmony's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Violence and Torture
Moderate: War
Minor: Genocide
divine529's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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
pattyblom's review against another edition
- 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
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
katylou95's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Violence, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail
georgeeporge's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Torture
carmaj91's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Religious bigotry, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Antisemitism, Kidnapping, and Physical abuse