This was such a disappointment after the previous books in the series.
As others have said, Margaret is such an unlikeable main point of view that it's hard to root for her. That said, the book can't really be blamed for that, however I did find issue with the writing in this one.
I've read many books by Gregory (as I've read most of the books out of chronological order) so I'm used to the way she writes and tells her stories, but in this one I found the time jumps jarring and disconnected, and the general plot very cold and detached.
I really do enjoy this series but this one will not be one I return to.
It's clear this is incredibly well researched, and a lot of this was interesting, but it was SO detailed (about the fair and its construction) it became dry and tedious by the end.
There was far less about Holmes, which was the more interesting side of the book, but I imagine there is less known factually about him and his deeds.
I was a bit confused about why these 2 threads were even in the same book, there's no link between Holmes' killings and the World Fair apart from being in the same city at the same time.
From the amount of good things I've heard about this I expected more, but it was overly long and a bit dry for my liking.
I'm fairly obsessed with history so any chance I get to learn about a new person or time in history I'll take it and inhale it.
So on the one hand I enjoyed learning about Lucrezia and her short life, however I really struggled with the way this was written.
Another review summed my thoughts up perfectly - "the plot got lost in all the symbolism".
When the plot was plotting I was so into this, then it would veer off for pages and pages about paintings and animals and other things, which I sort of got the symbolism of those things but it was just SO much that it took away from the story.
It may just be the authors style (this is my first from her so I'm not sure) but there was some odd ways of describing events, saying something like "later she would recall that they did x, y and z" but it was in the middle of scene, instead of just adding a scene set later recalling the event. It was so jarring and stopped the flow of the narrative.
I ended up switching to audio part way through this and I'm glad I did, the narrator (Genevieve Gaunt) was great and I'm not sure I would have persevered if I hadn't.
I've been a long time fan of Philippa Gregory and the way she tells her stories and this one was as good as many others.
I love how connected we get to these people, even when there's actually very little known factually from history, just like Jaquetta.
As usual the monarchy are the worst ones and I really couldn't deal with Margaret (of Anjou) by the end.
I will say this was way too long, it could have been less than 400 pages and been perfect.
I also now feel I need to reread The White Queen as I've read them all out of order. π
With how much people rave about this author's books, I honestly expected more.
This felt like watching a movie where you started it half an hour in - there was so little setup I felt like I'd missed something and felt completely detached from the characters.
It was easy enough to get through but felt a bit flat and predictable. I also felt like the end was weird and like it was stuck on to try and appease people who sympathise with terrorists, it just felt odd and out of place.
Also, must there be a grown man called 'Big Daddy'? No.
It's very rare I physically read non-fiction but I couldn't find this on audio anywhere and was so interested in the case I just had to buy it.
The murder-suicide case of the two white mothers and their 6 adopted Black and bi-racial children is obviously the big pull of this book, it's unfathomable as a parent that people would actually go through the process of adopting children and then kill them and themselves.
That said, the case takes up less than half of the book with the rest being focused on the failings of the US CPS and foster system for these children and others.
This is very readable and, whilst I can't really comment on a legal system I don't have any experience of, it was still an interesting read overall.
I see there are reviews from people much more familiar with the CPS and foster system so worth checking their reviews out.
It's been 5 years since I read the first book in this series and I really couldn't recall too much, but apart from some characters and relationships this is a stand alone story.
From the opening chapter I just could not put this one down. Absolutely gripped for the whole 450 pages and I've already bought book 3....and won't be waiting 5 years to read it!
There's no denying this was ridiculously compelling, the chapters are super short and fast paced, and the mystery is so intriguing you just have to find out what happened.
The issues however are with the repetitive nature of the story- as Liv has a condition affecting her memory, each day she wakes up she goes through the same cycle of alarm, confusion, finding out the same things that she can't remember, etc. This totally makes sense in relation to her condition but reading it time after time is not so fun.
I listened to this one on audio and January LaVoy (as always) along with Imogen Church were amazing as the narrators.
I've been a long time fan of this series and have loved most books, but this one just didn't quite live up to previous instalments for me.
The story was interesting enough but it didn't feel quite as neat as others. There were a couple of plot points which seemed to sort of fizzle out and not get resolved.
Also, it's a British author writing about British characters in Britain....so why use the word MOM?! They're our Mum or Mam. It drove me insane by the end.
Not my favourite from Sarah Morgan - something about some members of the family irritated me until they had their heartwarming/redeeming moment at the end. The main characters were a delight though, I wish I had a Cecelia grandma in my life.
The whole 'mystery' with the painting was perhaps the weakest part of this, it was clear from the second it was mentioned what the 'twist' was, and because of this it felt really dragged out and underwhelming when it was revealed.
I was hesitant to pick up books by this author as the hype was SO high, however I eventually caved and I'm so glad I did.
I absolutely loved this from start to finish!
I'm a sucker for a small town romance, and this had all the things I love about them - friends, found family, cute animals, and a history to the place. And Daniel?! Is he just the most perfect man? π
I also really loved the inclusion of the heavier, more serious topics of domestic abuse, escaping abuse cycles, familial expectation and finding your own purpose in life.
Definitely one of my favourites of the year and I'd already bought the next 2 books before I'd finished this one! π
I can safely say the last ~40% was outstanding, everything from Vorgossos onwards was impossible to stop reading/listening to.
If the whole book had been that gripping this would have been an easy 5 stars, however I did struggle a bit with the first half of the book. The pace was much slower and sloggy, and I felt disconnected with the story after the large time jump after EoS.
I've read other reviews/posts saying the second half of the book is indicative of the rest of the series, so I'll definitely be continuing but I did unfortunately struggle with a lot of this one.
This was a great sequel to The Rise of the Ranger, and expanded on everything so well.
I really enjoyed the inclusion of Tauren and the Owls, as well as the other newly introduced characters.
The first half of this did feel a bit slower than the second half, but that second half was so intense and action packed it was worth it.
I listened to this one on audio, and I actually don't think that is the format for me with this series. The narrator was okay but was a little flat so I did feel a bit disconnected at times. So I think I'll just carry on with the series on Kindle.
There is no reason in any universe that this needed to be over 700 pages.
It could have been halved and still have been effective. It was just so repetitive and dragged out, I was honestly bored out of my mind for the middle 300 pages that I put it down for a few weeks.
The start was good and the end was good, and I'm glad we finally got the happy ending but I'm disappointed with not liking this as much as the first 2 MP books. π
That said, I can't wait for the next Daisy book!
Well I didn't hate it π
I love a small town romance so a lot of this worked for me - the family, the side characters in town, the kid, the animals, the suspense element, etc.
However Knox was a dick for a lot of this, not in a "grumpy alpha who softens when he falls for her" kinda way, but in the "has absolutely no idea how to speak to or think about humans way". I could list all his faults but there's so many other reviews with actual quotes which do that. Even on the very last page he pissed me off (in reference to pregnancy hormones) "I'd have handled her tears, but probably not well". Fuck off, if she's the love of your life you wipe her tears and hold her until she feels better, especially if she's growing your child or having fertility issues, dick.
It also had my most hated third act breakup reason - "I'm breaking up with her for her own good/to protect her/to keep her safe". Ugh π