I just adored these two characters! And it's so nice to see an Achillean romance set in the 14th century! My only quibble is that I wish the worldbuilI just adored these two characters! And it's so nice to see an Achillean romance set in the 14th century! My only quibble is that I wish the worldbuilding was more immersive and detailed, as sometimes it felt hard to visualise the world beyond the characters.
I absolutely adored this! It’s a wonderful complement to another Regency dragon story I just listened to, Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide to the Caring and I absolutely adored this! It’s a wonderful complement to another Regency dragon story I just listened to, Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide to the Caring and Feeding of British Dragons. Both are perfect for dragon and period piece romance lovers!
This was honestly just so wholesome and fun and sweet and I smiled the whole way through. Definitely recommend!
Simon was a sweetheart and such a good lead! I largely liked Daphne, but a lot of her choices I disagreed with and didn't like or wish had been handleSimon was a sweetheart and such a good lead! I largely liked Daphne, but a lot of her choices I disagreed with and didn't like or wish had been handled differently, so I did struggle with her at times. But overall I really enjoyed their story and I'm glad Simon was able to move past his traumatic childhood by the end. I also really liked the older Bridgerton brothers in this! Anthony has zero chill and runs at full speed towards protective brotherhood, bless him; Benedict was a hilarious backup man trying to support everyone; and Colin was a good little egg trying his best. The others were so in the background I didn't really get much off them except that their names are ABCDEFGH which is pretty cute.
Not sure if I'll read these in order, but I do want to read more of them! I definitely want to read Eloise and Benedict's books.
SPOILER FOR WHOLE SERIES
No one can convince me Penelope/Lady Whistledown isn't the villain of the series having only seen the show and now read book one. The way she gossips about her family and friends is absolutely inexcusable and I don't get why people like her. Like her publications of Daphne and Simon in this is not okay at all. What the heck.
“If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more. But you know what I am.—You hear nothing but truth from me.—I have blamed you, and lec“If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more. But you know what I am.—You hear nothing but truth from me.—I have blamed you, and lectured you, and you have borne it as no other woman in England would have borne it.—Bear with the truths I would tell you now, dearest Emma, as well as you have borne with them. The manner, perhaps, may have as little to recommend them. God knows, I have been a very indifferent lover.—But you understand me.—Yes, you see, you understand my feelings—and will return them if you can. At present, I ask only to hear, once to hear your voice.”
Emma drives me up a wall at times, but I do love her by the end and the story is such a comfort read!
My review of Pride and Prejudice is here. My review of Sense and Sensibility is here.
I absolutely devoured this wintry gem of a book. It’s a perfect romance read that takes two gifted magic users drawn into aGENERAL SPOILER WARNING
I absolutely devoured this wintry gem of a book. It’s a perfect romance read that takes two gifted magic users drawn into a competition by the Tsar to be the Imperial Enchanter for all of Russia. In this alternate history world, each country has its own source of magic to protect itself. Usually this task falls to one person, who is trained by those who can use small amounts of magic, but none so powerful as them. (I was a little confused by the magic system, but I have a feeling it’ll be made more clear in the next book so I’m being patient!) But in this book’s generation of magic users – which, we learn, has happened before on rare occasions – two are born with the powers of the Imperial Enchanter. And so the Tsar pits them against each other – to the death.
Vika and Nikolai, the two competing in this game, have been trained all their lives in secret by a pair of siblings at odds with each other. (I really liked the brother and sister dynamic of their guardians and how that developed during their chapters.) Where Vika’s guardian has treated her like his daughter and she loves him, Nikolai’s guardian has treated him like a soldier with little in the way of love ever showed to him. The contest forces the pair’s paths to cross (although they run into each other by accident beforehand), but it’s basically love at first sight for these two. And it’s so well done. Honestly. I really enjoyed the way they developed the romance. It’s both insta-love and not, but if you’re wary of insta-love, I can assure you that even if they’re drawn towards each other, the rest develops quite slowly and nothing is rushed! Despite wearing disguises that hide their identities and setting up wards to keep themselves safe and hidden, the pair are magically drawn to each other even when tasked with outperforming each other to survive. Their magicks mirror and complement each other; two halves of the same coin type of thing.
Despite how truly grim the circumstances and the dark end result of the game – that one of them is destined to die – the competition itself isn’t dark or grim for the most part. The pair compete with each other to impress the Tsarevich, who also happens to be Nikolai’s best friend, Pasha. (FUCK YOU PASHA.) Their competition mainly centres around cleaning up and repainting the neighbourhoods; building an elaborate glass pumpkin filled with pastries and goodiess; creating an island of wonders with dream-chairs and more besides. It’s not a duel-duel (at least not until the very end). And as Nikolai and Vika are busy turning Saint Petersburg into a festive town with mood lighting and tasty treats and grand balls, they also fall in love. Alas, Pasha is also falling in love with Vika, although he knows nothing of magic or the Crown’s Game, as his father is keeping that a secret from him. He ends up researching on his own and learning the truth about Vika, but not Nikolai. I did like Pasha at first. I thought he was spoiled and naïve, but good-hearted. But oooh, by the end I just did not like his choices. I’m furious about his behaviour in the last few chapters. Just, ugh. FUCK YOU PASHA.
There’s another POV character that I thought was perhaps the most fascinating but I don’t want to spoil her role so I’ll just be vague. We don’t learn her real identity and how she plays into the plot until a bit later on, but I thought she was an interesting foil for the characters. Truly grim and sad though. That whole side plot rather broke my heart honestly and I’m very curious to see where it goes in the next book.
This book reads at times like a fairy tale; at times it’s almost dreamlike, and then other moments are just like nightmares. Like the light-dreamlike parts are very wintry-cosy, but the contrast between those and the dark bits is striking. Honestly, The Crown’s Game is wonderfully done, the characters all interesting and vivid, and I can’t wait to read book two!
I really love that the author’s note includes explanations for the differing languages and the reason for it. There’s a whole nGENERAL SPOILER WARNING
I really love that the author’s note includes explanations for the differing languages and the reason for it. There’s a whole note at the start explaining langue d’oïl and langue d’Oc. At the back the author’s even included photographs and a tour of the modern day location for anyone curious. I just think that’s so cool.
The focus on the Cathars immediately intrigued me. I’ve found the Cathars fascinating ever since the film Like Minds, which I watched a few times growing up. For those who don’t know, the Cathars were a sect of Christianity that the Catholic Church denounced and ultimately got rid of by instigating the Albigensian Crusade.
The story itself is split between two timelines: 2005, France, with (mainly) Alice; 1209, Carcassona, with (mainly) Alaïs. You get some POV chapters from others in their periphery or those whose journeys intersect with theirs. I admit, I did skim the other characters’ scenes a bit. I’m sure other people will wholly enjoy them, but I just preferred to find out what the main characters were up to and it was a bit on the long side reading all the different characters’ plots. Like there is a lot happening re: the mystery of the Grail, but I was mostly interested in the character development scenes, lmao. This happens to me a lot while reading. I love really detailed plots, but sometimes I just want to know what’s happening between the characters. That said, the Cathar history absolutely fascinates me, so I really appreciated those scenes. I suppose I mostly didn’t care for the modern day villains or setting. I wanted to read the historical fiction side of the book rather than the modern part. (This is a me problem, not the book’s problem.) So when you go into a book for the historical fiction and half of it’s set in modern times, you just want to get through those scenes and get back to the others, lmao. So, again, don’t take my skimming those bits as a sign that they aren’t important to the book. They totally are, I was just in the mood for historical stuff during my read.
What I did really find fascinating was how Mosse wrote the Cathars’ beliefs around life and reincarnation and how that could be intertwined with the Grail stories. It was really cool how she interpreted that and I found the whole thing very compelling. I liked how much emphasis there was on mutual respect and working together between the guardians of the Books: Jewish, Muslim and Christian; men and women.
I really enjoyed Alaïs’ story. I loved reading about the side characters in her time, too. Her father, her husband, her sister, her friends around the Cité. And the villain being her sister was a horrifyingly fascinating twist. And I think because of that, I was a bit frustrated that Alaïs’ later story was summarised by a certain character in the present story rather than actually told through Alaïs herself. Like we spent so much time with the start of her journey, why couldn’t we have read the middle and end of her journey? Although again this could be me craving a historical fiction novel as opposed to a mystery that starts in the past and finished in the future.
All in all, I did enjoy it and I’m compelled enough by Mosse’s writing to definitely give more books of hers a try. I did really want to know what was going to happen and I loved the religious and philosophical aspects of it. I just preferred the historical setting and characters to the modern ones.
I've seen Quenby Olson's books around for a while now (Miss Percy's Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons is a SPFBO finalist!!) and I've been wanting to check out her writing for some time, so I'm glad I'm finally diving in - I do love romance and historical fiction and fantasy! Three of my top tier genres! Mixing them together is even better!
This retelling of Jane Austen's classic starts off with Mary deciding to take matters into her own hands regarding her mother's attempts at marrying her off.
THOUGHTS AS I READ [SPOILERS]:
- So funny so far. - I'm impressed by how much detail Olson's packed into this novella.
QUOTES:
She considered taking her concerns to her mother, to sit and explain that she did not love Mr. Haverstick, that she would never love Mr. Haverstick, that she could not even forage within herself for a modicum of esteem for him, and that if she did marry him she would no doubt either perish of boredom or hurl herself off the nearest cliff.
Mary had seen centaurs before. They were not uncommon in England. But they were also not often received in polite society. In her mother’s estimation, they existed in the same realm as merchants and clerks and people who did things in order to acquire their living. Necessary, but only tolerated at the most.
Perhaps the woods would never let her find her way out. She could fashion a shelter for herself, forage for mushrooms and roots and berries, maybe set a few traps for small game. Become a wizened old woman in the woods, the sort that serves as inspiration for fairy tales and children’s rhymes.
This Great Wilderness is so not what I was expecting, and I mean that as a compliment. It is an adventure story, but it’s an adventure story containedThis Great Wilderness is so not what I was expecting, and I mean that as a compliment. It is an adventure story, but it’s an adventure story contained within three different character studies, of three very different characters. The vibe of the story reminds me a bit of My Family and Other Animals, although I’m not sure why other than Raymond’s love of animals. But it has that old feel to it, like there’s history and sunshine and nature actually contained in the pages. I could perfectly imagine all the characters in my head as I read and I kept thinking of how good a period piece film it would be. It genuinely just made me feel like I was in a movie, which is a great testament to the author’s narrative skill. It also brought to mind Into the Wild. Again, not because it’s similar, but it definitely has that nature-contrasted-against-society vibe. And then I’d also say it fits in well with the likes of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, which deals with the slow blossoming romance of two people devastated by WWII who are trying to heal in the strange postwar world that comes next, and do so in the quieter places of the world.
(I’m putting in the book links above, but funnily enough, these references/comparisons are to the adaptations of the mentioned books, lmaooo. But they were all books first, so I’m linking the books. I’ve only read Into the Wild of the above, ha! So the films/show adaptations of My Family and Other Animals and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society are what I’m comparing This Great Wilderness to. And the book version of Into the Wild, but also the film version, lmao. This is such a segue ramble ...)
It must be said that the writing in this book is utterly engrossing. It’s a mix-up of a boy’s journal, and a man’s thoughts and a woman’s thoughts. But it reads a bit like everyone’s journalling or confessing - or even like they’re narrating a documentary, although that’s not actually what’s happening - so the book really reads as like a historical fiction journal of two very broken people and the sweet little boy who’s just super excited to be wandering around 1950s Argentina and not having to do homework, lmao. Anton’s joy at everything is so adorable and he’s such a sweet little character. Raymond was by far my favourite though. I found myself relating to him and the way he approached a lot of the world and I didn’t struggle to understand his decisions the way I struggled with Leni. An introspective, butterfly-loving, entirely introverted yet capable policeman is certainly a complex character and I admired his total devotion to his son, his love for his late wife and how he just takes Leni in despite not wanting to at the start.
There’s a lot of personal and physical trauma that the characters deal with in this book. The story starts after WWII, so you have a woman (Leni) who was kidnapped by a group of Nazis who depart Germany after Hitler’s death and moved to Argentina to escape prison (which was historically a notorious hide out for many prominent members of the Nazi Party). Leni, as a result of her forced marriage by her insane, abusive, rapist of a husband, is ignorant not only of the state of global affairs, but of how to function outside of her husband’s role (he basically forced her into playing a living doll version of his late wife and it was so fucking creepy). Then there’s the main male lead (Raymond) whose wife (Antonia) was killed by the Nazis, and his little boy (Anton) whose entire life was changed by the war but who was too young to really remember it. So everything is very grim and understandably depressing at the start.
Raymond was my favourite character from the outset. I liked Anton’s sweet enthusiasm and found his chapters adorable, but Raymond’s desire to be alone with nature is totally relatable and I really liked him. He was just a good dude. But I struggled to not be frustrated by Leni after she fell in with them and the duo became a trio. While I understand that she doesn’t have much of a grasp of independence because of what she’s gone through, she often didn’t seem to even want to try, either. At least not for the first hundred pages. She doesn’t have much initiative or sense of survival after she flees her captors. It struck me as odd. She had the courage and the wherewithal to run away when she sensed danger, but once she’s in the company of total strangers (and honestly, Raymond could be anyone and could be bad. She mentions herself that she was terrified of him) she just gives up and puts the responsibility of her wellbeing and health onto them. Instead of running away from this strange man who doesn’t want her around or trying to be alone, she forces them to take her. Literally. And then crumples at the smallest things required of her to survive once they settle down around the campfire.
Her behaviour frustrated and confused me at the start of the novel mostly because it wasn’t like she couldn’t have stayed behind in the town Raymond brought her safely to after he found her hiding in his truck. Raymond got her a bed and protection and everything. But she left that place, where she could have been comfortable, forced herself along on their trip, unasked (he says no; she follows him down the road until it’s too late to turn back and he can either let her die of exposure or bring her along), and then she doesn’t bother to feed herself until Raymond is forced to feed her his and his son’s food so she doesn’t starve. The way she grabbed and then shunned independence was something I really tried to understand, but was certainly confused by. Like, she was always very sweet to Anton, and I appreciated that - it’s clear how much she wants to be a mother - but she just put Raymond through the wringer and then was mad at him about being annoyed by her presence. She fights to survive and then refuses to eat or drink to live until it becomes Raymond’s problem; she drinks all the alcohol that they needed to treat infections and then storms off, forcing poor dear Raymond to go after her. At the start, while she’s thinking about how attractive he is, she’s also determined at times to make him somehow the bad guy when it comes to their disagreements. Disagreements which stem from the fact that he knew she was in deep with Nazis, and his wife was killed in the war. So he’s not exactly nice at the start and doesn’t trust her. But, like, no one would? And she doesn’t trust him, either. So it goes both ways. And despite how Raymond’s actively keeping her alive, she’s still trying to paint him as a bad guy. For example, she plots on how to use his relationship with his late wife against him and rails at him for not treating her better when he is literally the only one keeping her alive. Honestly, she was a really tough character for me to get a read on at the start, but she was compelling. Compelling is a good word.
Despite all the chaos she inflicts upon their trip and the way she stops taking care of herself around Raymond after saving herself from her Nazi captors, she’s also smart enough to use radios and speak any language she encounters, which is handy. Like the way she picked up languages is just an incredibly impressive skill. She’s a fascinating character study, honestly, because despite all the times she frustrated me with how she was going about things, I didn’t hate her and I did want her to grow, and want more for herself, and I flew through her scenes without getting bored because it’s all very well written and it’s so easy to sink into the postwar journey of these troubled characters, easily likeable or determinedly difficult.
To be clear, Leni’s crying and the fear is totally understandable and not remotely part of what frustrates me. That makes absolute sense given what she’s been through. I just wished she’d grabbed herself a bit of the independence she seized in the first place by fleeing her captors, but just seemed to abandon the instant she got with Raymond (and which Raymond is clearly also desperate for her to claim because he reads as frustrated by her as I am for a good chunk of the book, lmao). That said, Leni does eventually start to progress and develop, and I liked the way things wrapped up and the arrival of a certain character at the end. I also adored the three donkeys and their shenanigans!
The Nazi side characters were chilling and sickening and reading about what was done to Leni was heartbreaking. I felt so bad for her in those flashbacks to what happened to her. (The book makes use of several flashbacks throughout, so we see what Leni went through and we see Raymond’s past with his late wife.)
Overall, this story is an engrossing character study that fans of historical fiction, nature fiction, war fiction and/or romance should definitely check out! It’s a dark, compelling tale, with a hopeful ending that wraps everything up nicely.
I liked this more than A Column of Fire, but I don't think it's quite as epic (for me anyways) as The Pillars of the Earth and World Without End. I loI liked this more than A Column of Fire, but I don't think it's quite as epic (for me anyways) as The Pillars of the Earth and World Without End. I loved the focus on Kingsbridge and seeing how it's developing over the centuries. I enjoyed all the references to the previous books that are mentioned in throwaway lines. Some of the history was really illuminating - I had never heard of 'press gangs' before and I'm not surprised, but definitely horrified. I also really loved the relationships and characters. Roger and Kit especially made this novel for me! Sal, Amos, Spade and Arabella, too! Lots of awww ♥️ Overall, the book left me wanting more Kingsbridge, as it didn't feel quite as wrapped as I'd imagine. If it's the ending of the series, it's definitely a quieter ending than I anticipated.
My review of The Pillars of the Earth is here. My review of World Without End is here. My review of A Column of Fire is here. My tbr review of The Evening and the Morning is here.
As ever, Follett is a masterful storyteller when it comes to blending history, romance and political intrigue. I didn’t love Column as much as I did PAs ever, Follett is a masterful storyteller when it comes to blending history, romance and political intrigue. I didn’t love Column as much as I did Pillars and World Without End, but still found it a solid addition to the Kingsbridge series. I really enjoyed Ned, Sylvie and Margery’s stories in particular! Looking forward to the prequel and to book four!
My review of The Pillars of the Earth is here. My review of World Without End is here. My tbr review of The Evening and the Morning is here. My review of The Armour of Light is here.
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