Joanna
An ok read worthy of any Tudor/medieval/early modern fiction enthusiast. Emerson has a writing style that is easy to read, and it was an ok book. The subject is interesting and a great point of view of a momentous time in Britain’s history.
I did start to get a little bored halfway through though. A lot of things happen but nothing much actually happens. It was a wandering story whose threads only tighten somewhat at around the 80% mark.
The male MC just seems to stumble from one scene to the next, and though expressing emotions often, felt distant and not fully fleshed out. I felt similarly for the cadence and details of the story - all the elements were there, but didn’t much draw me in.
The female MC pops up for a chapter now and then to express anguish at her situation, then do something that doesn’t progress the plot, or just provides a view of men’s actions. Otherwise, women don’t appear to exist. The 16th century great reformation in England is a part of history that has been covered many times in fiction through men’s experiences, so I was disappointed to see a very limited coverage of women’s perspectives. It could have been incredibly interesting to experience this, given how women have been erased from history.
Those unfamiliar with this part of British history may be a bit lost when reading this book: few cohesive details are given, only a smattering of info here and there to push along the plot, so the motives of characters in the book feel distant.
As Emerson’s debut book I think she’s created something good here for those with a special interest in 16th century historical fiction. I do think there’s a lot of potential in her writing for future stories and characters and I’d be interested to see what she produces next.
Thank you P M Emerson, The Book Guild publishers, and NetGalley for the digital advance reader copy.
An ok read worthy of any Tudor/medieval/early modern fiction enthusiast. Emerson has a writing style that is easy to read, and it was an ok book. The subject is interesting and a great point of view of a momentous time in Britain’s history.
I did start to get a little bored halfway through though. A lot of things happen but nothing much actually happens. It was a wandering story whose threads only tighten somewhat at around the 80% mark.
The male MC just seems to stumble from one scene to the next, and though expressing emotions often, felt distant and not fully fleshed out. I felt similarly for the cadence and details of the story - all the elements were there, but didn’t much draw me in.
The female MC pops up for a chapter now and then to express anguish at her situation, then do something that doesn’t progress the plot, or just provides a view of men’s actions. Otherwise, women don’t appear to exist. The 16th century great reformation in England is a part of history that has been covered many times in fiction through men’s experiences, so I was disappointed to see a very limited coverage of women’s perspectives. It could have been incredibly interesting to experience this, given how women have been erased from history.
Those unfamiliar with this part of British history may be a bit lost when reading this book: few cohesive details are given, only a smattering of info here and there to push along the plot, so the motives of characters in the book feel distant.
As Emerson’s debut book I think she’s created something good here for those with a special interest in 16th century historical fiction. I do think there’s a lot of potential in her writing for future stories and characters and I’d be interested to see what she produces next.
Thank you P M Emerson, The Book Guild publishers, and NetGalley for the digital advance reader copy.