Take a photo of a barcode or cover
I got an advanced copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway, and being a Philippa Gregory fan, I was more than pleased to delve into another well-written, well-researched story about a time period I have limited knowledge of.
Gregory provides a captivating story and clearly illustrates the dramatic divide of gender inequality and social classes of the time. While I found this to be a well-written story with an interesting story line, I wasn’t impressed with a few things.
I found the main romance forced and unconvincing. Overall I found the characters one-dimensional and largely unlikable, including the main characters who seemed to change their colors in the blink of an eye.
I also struggled with the writing. The first 100-plus pages didn’t show much plot development, rather just day-in-the-life narrative that I found overdone. I’ve noticed in some of Gregory’s books, especially later ones, that they could have been much shorter, as often there’s overly descriptive scenes and repetitive inner dialogue segments.
Because of the style of writing throughout, the abrupt ending feels almost like a mistake, like the writer ran out of time or space so just ended it with an unsatisfying cliffhanger. I was so disappointed in how this played out, hoping that at least one person would have a happy ending or even just an ending!
I’m so disappointed in the ending that I don’t think I’ll be scrambling to read the next book in the series. I guess I prefer Gregory’s books about real people whose stories aren’t a complete mystery - or cliffhanger.
Gregory provides a captivating story and clearly illustrates the dramatic divide of gender inequality and social classes of the time. While I found this to be a well-written story with an interesting story line, I wasn’t impressed with a few things.
I found the main romance forced and unconvincing. Overall I found the characters one-dimensional and largely unlikable, including the main characters who seemed to change their colors in the blink of an eye.
I also struggled with the writing. The first 100-plus pages didn’t show much plot development, rather just day-in-the-life narrative that I found overdone. I’ve noticed in some of Gregory’s books, especially later ones, that they could have been much shorter, as often there’s overly descriptive scenes and repetitive inner dialogue segments.
Because of the style of writing throughout, the abrupt ending feels almost like a mistake, like the writer ran out of time or space so just ended it with an unsatisfying cliffhanger. I was so disappointed in how this played out, hoping that at least one person would have a happy ending or even just an ending!
I’m so disappointed in the ending that I don’t think I’ll be scrambling to read the next book in the series. I guess I prefer Gregory’s books about real people whose stories aren’t a complete mystery - or cliffhanger.