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divine529's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I really enjoyed this book.
This is a historical fiction novel about the Crusades and in particular the Pays d'Oc region in France and it incorporates The Holy Grail story in a very interesting way.
It's a dual timeline story following two main protagonists, Alice (in present day - 2005) and Alais (from 1209) and explores how stories and history, events and ancestry has in impact on the present and who we are today.
I loved the historical aspects of the book and generally I preferred being in the 1209 timeline to the 2005 timeline, but towards the end, I found myself loving both. The pacing was odd and it's hard to explain exactly what I mean by that. Part of it was the multi-timelines and what was happening in those timelines, but it was also just how each of the timelines was written. Sometimes I found that I didn't care at all about what was happening in one, but we stayed there for a chunk of time, and other times I wanted to stay in a timeline and we ended up jumping to the other. It was just a bit strange at times. The characters were very flawed and at times irritating to no end. Some were fleshed out better than others, but still held important weight to the story and yet their stories all made sense or fit what the story was telling (most of the time).
All in all, a great story and one I really enjoyed.
This is a historical fiction novel about the Crusades and in particular the Pays d'Oc region in France and it incorporates The Holy Grail story in a very interesting way.
It's a dual timeline story following two main protagonists, Alice (in present day - 2005) and Alais (from 1209) and explores how stories and history, events and ancestry has in impact on the present and who we are today.
I loved the historical aspects of the book and generally I preferred being in the 1209 timeline to the 2005 timeline, but towards the end, I found myself loving both. The pacing was odd and it's hard to explain exactly what I mean by that. Part of it was the multi-timelines and what was happening in those timelines, but it was also just how each of the timelines was written. Sometimes I found that I didn't care at all about what was happening in one, but we stayed there for a chunk of time, and other times I wanted to stay in a timeline and we ended up jumping to the other. It was just a bit strange at times. The characters were very flawed and at times irritating to no end. Some were fleshed out better than others, but still held important weight to the story and yet their stories all made sense or fit what the story was telling (most of the time).
All in all, a great story and one I really enjoyed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Physical abuse, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Medical content, and Kidnapping
Minor: Pregnancy
pattyblom's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Goede afwisseling tussen het heden en het verleden. Speelt zich af in het zuiden van Frankrijk. Vond het einde wel kort vergeleken met de dikte van het boek.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Hate crime, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Sexual content, Torture, and Death of parent
singalana's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Violence, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Animal death, Gun violence, and Kidnapping