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awortiz 's review for:
The Kingdoms
by Natasha Pulley
What an absolute mindfuck of a book!
Winding through multiple alternate realities and tackling identity shifts with a narrative structure that jumps forwards and backwards in time and space, The Kingdoms is truly a unique read that brilliantly tells the story it sets out to.
It's one of those books where the more you think about it, the tighter it winds around you, tangling you in a knot that tightens the more you try to unravel it. It’s a book that feels like it can be read forwards and backwards, or started at any point in the middle and still make complete sense. The story loops into itself repeatedly with the end feeding back into the beginning. It’s truly mind boggling and there's just no way to summarize the plot without giving something important away. All I can say is just read this book and let it blow your mind.
The strength of this book lies in the characters. Kite and Agatha...WOW. They are multilayered - vulnerable yet ruthless. These are complicated people you want to hate, and yet, the numerous jumps in time humanize them, giving you a glimpse of who they were before they lost their soft innocence. I'm usually not a fan of amnesia stories because I find amnesiac characters empty and uncompelling (if they don't know who they are, how are we supposed to?) While Joe was hard to place at first, the nonlinear plot really fills in his character even if he hadn't yet unraveled it himself.
The settings are well-imagined and this book has all the atmospheric winter ~vibes~ (think howling arctic, not cozy Christmas). It really captures the sense of feeling untethered in the world, grasping at the life you can just barely feel behind the veil. There are moments of aching loneliness, suspenseful battles at sea, and tension-filled scenes that made me want to yell "just kiss already!" The romance simmers, bubbling just under the surface, until it boils over into an epic love story that spans time and space.
My only complaint was that the answer for the mystery was obvious from really early on in the book, which made Joe's continued ignorance frustrating. I also wish the world was explored in greater depth - I could read a whole other book about the French colony England and the resistance movement! However, the way this book all ties together in the end is masterful. The story shines in the details and I found myself flipping back to reread sections repeatedly to make astounding connections as the story unfolded. It’s slow at the start, but really takes off to the races after the first 100 pages and the last 100 pages will destroy you (in the best possible way!).
Winding through multiple alternate realities and tackling identity shifts with a narrative structure that jumps forwards and backwards in time and space, The Kingdoms is truly a unique read that brilliantly tells the story it sets out to.
It's one of those books where the more you think about it, the tighter it winds around you, tangling you in a knot that tightens the more you try to unravel it. It’s a book that feels like it can be read forwards and backwards, or started at any point in the middle and still make complete sense. The story loops into itself repeatedly with the end feeding back into the beginning. It’s truly mind boggling and there's just no way to summarize the plot without giving something important away. All I can say is just read this book and let it blow your mind.
The strength of this book lies in the characters. Kite and Agatha...WOW. They are multilayered - vulnerable yet ruthless. These are complicated people you want to hate, and yet, the numerous jumps in time humanize them, giving you a glimpse of who they were before they lost their soft innocence. I'm usually not a fan of amnesia stories because I find amnesiac characters empty and uncompelling (if they don't know who they are, how are we supposed to?) While Joe was hard to place at first, the nonlinear plot really fills in his character even if he hadn't yet unraveled it himself.
The settings are well-imagined and this book has all the atmospheric winter ~vibes~ (think howling arctic, not cozy Christmas). It really captures the sense of feeling untethered in the world, grasping at the life you can just barely feel behind the veil. There are moments of aching loneliness, suspenseful battles at sea, and tension-filled scenes that made me want to yell "just kiss already!" The romance simmers, bubbling just under the surface, until it boils over into an epic love story that spans time and space.
My only complaint was that the answer for the mystery was obvious from really early on in the book, which made Joe's continued ignorance frustrating. I also wish the world was explored in greater depth - I could read a whole other book about the French colony England and the resistance movement! However, the way this book all ties together in the end is masterful. The story shines in the details and I found myself flipping back to reread sections repeatedly to make astounding connections as the story unfolded. It’s slow at the start, but really takes off to the races after the first 100 pages and the last 100 pages will destroy you (in the best possible way!).