Rebeka Alvie
I really wanted to love this because Tudor history is absolutely my thing. The premise had so much potential — a modern woman time traveling into the Tudor court should have been right up my alley. Unfortunately, it just never felt immersive.
The biggest issue for me was the language. Lily/Catherine still sounded completely modern, and so did most of the historical characters. Instead of feeling transported to the sixteenth century, it often felt like contemporary people playing dress-up. I also found it hard to believe that no one would immediately notice something was very off about her. The romance was fine — perfectly readable, just nothing that really stood out.
I think this could work well for readers who don't mind a looser approach to historical accuracy and are looking for something light and fun. But as someone who reads Tudor fiction hoping to feel fully immersed in the time period, this one just didn't quite deliver for me.
I love Kathy Reichs and the Temperance Brennan novels. But this one just didn't hit for me. I called who the real culprit was very early which made much of the cliffhangery investigations fall flat. The thing I love so much that still works is the setting. I'm a South Carolina native and Charlotte, North Carolina (where the story is set) is just a couple hours away, so it's always nice to read about a local setting.
I almost gave up on this book. The low stakes had me feeling like nothing was actually going to happen. but I am so glad that I stuck it out. The found family dynamic of this story is worth every moment. And while yes, it is low stakes, it still delivers big emotions. it was almost a perfect read. 4.8 stars!
I wasn't sure what to expect going into this. I get the understanding people either love this one or hate it. Turns out I'm in the love category. Two tropes I wasn't sure if I'd like-fake dating and grumpy/sunshine- are actually what ended up making me fall in love with this story. I did feel like there wasn't enough tension between them at times, but overall this book was great. A new favorite for me!
I enjoyed the book okay. I'm still continuing with the series. But this one wasn't as good as the first one for me. It might just be the friends to lovers trope. I've not read friends to lover before and I feel like there's so little tension in the will they won't they get together of the story. The only real tension was the history between Dom and Gideon. I also kind of feel like this needed a specific content warning for sexual assault, rather than the vague author's note.
This is my first Ali Hazelwood. And I fully understand why she's so popular now. The story had me hooked from page 1. And I'm still thinking about that ending hours later. Misery might be my favorite recent FMC this year. Looking forward to reading book 2 and just more Ali Hazelwood in general very soon.
I'm so conflicted about my feelings on this book. Like I absolutely love the message of equality between men and women. There's a lot missing from the conversation. Discussions of equality can't just focus on one thing (gender) and ignore all the other places where equality falls flat. You also very much have to know how to view Jewish and Christian Scripture as mythology in order to really engage with this story fully. I have no problem with that. I just recognize that it's essential to actually accept this as more than just ‘heresy'. The pacing I also found far too slow.
I feel like Thomas isn't active enough. He's just reacting to everything. Like I get that his memory was wiped but he doesn't really do enough to try to figure out what's going on. I'm just kind of annoyed with Thomas. I'm not sure if I'll finish the series. Although I'm still really curious about the world and the mysteries. It's just Thomas that bothers me, though, since he's the narrator. He did finally like make an actual decision at like 90% through, but then went right back to being passive.
I have way too many feelings about this book. First off Lionel is still the fucking worst. Orion is on my shitlist. I know he did it to protect Darcy, but still. Poor Diego. As far as the techincal side of things...honestly I know this isn't the best book ever written, but the emotional throughline of this series more than makes up for any of those little things. I need book 6 right now!
3.75 Stars
As someone who enjoys Medici history, I was intrigued by the premise of this. Did it deliver on that premise? Sort of. There was definitely a lot of Medici history mentioned, and it sounded right. I didn't take the time to fact-check as I've read enough Steve Berry to know he's pretty good at getting the background information right. So, while yes, we got plenty of historical mentions of the Medici, the present-day story didn't hit fully for me. Or at least the ending didn't. I was disappointed in how things got wrapped up. So while the writing is excellent, as usual for Steve Berry, this story just didn't land for me.
4.75 Stars!
I was intrigued by the premise, but it took a bit for me to actually get into the story. Once I did though...whirlwind of enjoyment. Yes there's a lot of world building but it never felt like too much at once. This world and the characters are everything I love. Looking forward to book 2!
I came into this book with only a little knowledge of sporadically seeing clips from the show. I truly wasn't sure what to expect. And the book did not disappoint. I very much enjoyed Beth as a character. Her life and journey were inspiring. The only negative in the whole thing was that sometimes the descriptions of the chess games felt a bit too detailed (as someone who knows little about chess). Still, an excellent read.
I almost DNFed this. I'm glad I didn't. It's not a terrible book, but there were some issues that stalled me a few times. First, it was slow to really start. I hit the 20% mark before I was actually sure I wanted to keep reading. The middle section was pretty good; it kept me invested. But there is a twist around 75% that caught me off guard and did not feel earned at all. So after that reveal, I was put off again, worried that the story wouldn't get a satisfying conclusion. The ending worked, but getting there was a bit of a struggle.
It was good. Not amazing. Not perfect. But good enough. I did think things moved a little slow in this one. And I didn't reread book 1 first, so I was a bit confused by some of the characters/history but that was fully my fault. I do think The Prisoner's Throne is the weakest of the books in this universe, but still by no means a bad book. I truly wish we could get more of Wren, I adore her as a character.