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A review by jmjohnson_author
The Shield and the Thistle by Jillian Bondarchuk
5.0
Okay, let me start by saying, historical romance is not my thing. I much prefer to read a modern day romance, as I feel I can relate to the characters on a deeper level.
However, Jillian has changed ALL of that. I devoured this book, and I will be the first to grab a copy of all future books she has planned.
One of my favourite things about this, is the change of world building - so we start off in America, and we move to Scotland. The level of detail and research that must have gone into this astounding, as not once did it appear cliché. I am also a fan of dialect being used in books. The UK has such a diverse language, and its not utilised enough in my opinion. The characters are usually from London with the occasional slang thrown in there that's been pulled from some archaic site online. This felt genuine and real, and it's something I thoroughly enjoy in a book!
I also really enjoyed the way the characters interacted with each other -they have perfect banter that doesn't feel forced and they bounce off each other quite well.
** slight spoiler ahead. This book does deal with some darker topics - dark but incredibly important. I don't know as much as I should, but I felt like this book gave me an eye opener for a serious topic that the world should know more about and should recognise signs/ red flags.
I have to say, you would never have thought this was Jillian's first novel. She absolutely knocked it out of the park. I'm somewhat obsessive over books
I've read that many, they all seem to blend into the same average story with a few differences sprinkled here and there. THAT is what made this stand out to me. It was unique. It was quirky. The characters were fantastic, the world building was just *chefs kiss* perfection. When I find a favourite like this, you've secured a fan for life!
However, Jillian has changed ALL of that. I devoured this book, and I will be the first to grab a copy of all future books she has planned.
One of my favourite things about this, is the change of world building - so we start off in America, and we move to Scotland. The level of detail and research that must have gone into this astounding, as not once did it appear cliché. I am also a fan of dialect being used in books. The UK has such a diverse language, and its not utilised enough in my opinion. The characters are usually from London with the occasional slang thrown in there that's been pulled from some archaic site online. This felt genuine and real, and it's something I thoroughly enjoy in a book!
I also really enjoyed the way the characters interacted with each other -they have perfect banter that doesn't feel forced and they bounce off each other quite well.
** slight spoiler ahead. This book does deal with some darker topics - dark but incredibly important. I don't know as much as I should, but I felt like this book gave me an eye opener for a serious topic that the world should know more about and should recognise signs/ red flags.
I have to say, you would never have thought this was Jillian's first novel. She absolutely knocked it out of the park. I'm somewhat obsessive over books
I've read that many, they all seem to blend into the same average story with a few differences sprinkled here and there. THAT is what made this stand out to me. It was unique. It was quirky. The characters were fantastic, the world building was just *chefs kiss* perfection. When I find a favourite like this, you've secured a fan for life!