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A review by milointhewoods
The Embroidered Book by Kate Heartfield
3.0
i read the audiobook of this and it was broadly quite good except the voice that the narrator did for maria antonia/marie antoinette which was grating and extremely squeaky.
i broadly agree with the consensus that this was well written but a bit rushed at the end (which is slightly astonishing considering the novel is nearly 700 pages and therefore should have no need to rush the climax and denouement). i struggled to distinguish some of the characters that had similar names and indistinct personalities, which made the events surrounding their characters (betrayal, seduction, death etc) less emotionally impactful.
i also don’t really get the point of retelling this story with magic? especially considering the ending. i also struggled with the actual practicality of the magical climax because i didn’t understand what was being done or how. i did really like the magical system though - i thought it was intriguing and worthwhile. i do however think that it would have suited any other story better than this historical reality, to which the author changed very little with this inclusion.
i broadly agree with the consensus that this was well written but a bit rushed at the end (which is slightly astonishing considering the novel is nearly 700 pages and therefore should have no need to rush the climax and denouement). i struggled to distinguish some of the characters that had similar names and indistinct personalities, which made the events surrounding their characters (betrayal, seduction, death etc) less emotionally impactful.
i also don’t really get the point of retelling this story with magic? especially considering the ending. i also struggled with the actual practicality of the magical climax because i didn’t understand what was being done or how. i did really like the magical system though - i thought it was intriguing and worthwhile. i do however think that it would have suited any other story better than this historical reality, to which the author changed very little with this inclusion.