hellohanco's review against another edition
4.0
I feel like you know what you’re getting into when you pick up a book titled like this. Historical Romance will always be a guilty pleasure of mine- and Lauren Royal knows how to do it!
elenajohansen's review against another edition
1.0
Until I hit 75%, I was planning on giving this two stars. It wasn't great, but it was readable; it was a bit of unrealistic historical fluff, but it was pleasant enough not to make me DNF it.
Then the main characters got married. Which should be a good thing. But there was still 25% to go, and it took FOREVER. It was the slowest, most drawn-out, unnecessary bloated "and this is how we handled the remaining subplots" epilogue. None of this needed to take up so much space, and the heroine still doubted whether the hero loved her! Repeatedly! I really struggled to stay motivated to finish it.
It was a fitting ending, in some ways, for an underdeveloped relationship based more on lust and circumstance than genuine emotion, and a story that placed so much emphasis on physical things: jewelry, clothing, wealth, the homes/castles/estates of its characters. I get that some of that is necessary to the setting, and the jewelry especially is necessary if the heroine is a jeweler by trade. But it often ran to excess, because I would have rather spent more of this book's long run time examining the hearts and emotions of its characters rather than their finery.
Then the main characters got married. Which should be a good thing. But there was still 25% to go, and it took FOREVER. It was the slowest, most drawn-out, unnecessary bloated "and this is how we handled the remaining subplots" epilogue. None of this needed to take up so much space, and the heroine still doubted whether the hero loved her! Repeatedly! I really struggled to stay motivated to finish it.
It was a fitting ending, in some ways, for an underdeveloped relationship based more on lust and circumstance than genuine emotion, and a story that placed so much emphasis on physical things: jewelry, clothing, wealth, the homes/castles/estates of its characters. I get that some of that is necessary to the setting, and the jewelry especially is necessary if the heroine is a jeweler by trade. But it often ran to excess, because I would have rather spent more of this book's long run time examining the hearts and emotions of its characters rather than their finery.
kokod's review against another edition
4.0
This one was fun and full of interesting details about jewelry making in the 17th c. England. Very interesting.
andrea10tovar's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
govmarley's review against another edition
4.0
Amethyst is the first book in Lauren Royal's Jewel Trilogy. One of the things I enjoy about her books is the clever way she weaves the plot around historical events and people in early English history. Amethyst is set during the Great London Fire of 1666, and she does a nice job allowing that catastrophic event to drive her plot and her main characters together. Amy Goldsmith and Colin Chase first meet when he enters her family's jewelry shop to purchase a gift for his sister, and that chance meeting sets the rest of the book in motion. The details of the time are so well-written that I can forgive the cheesy dialogue and eye-rolling decisions from both Colin and Amy as they find their "happily ever after". Fans of historical romance should first read the Jewel Trilogy, then read her Flower Trilogy, set a bit in the future and cleverly ties in these characters as well.
the_duck28's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
emlickliter's review against another edition
4.0
This one was so sweet! Colin and Amethyst were the cutest! I have really enjoyed the two books I've read in this series, and I really want to read the rest of them! Happy Reading!
rachelcus's review against another edition
5.0
This is officially a favorite historical of mine. I loved the mix of history, jewels and mayhem. I laughed really hard at times; I thought the story was wonderful and well put together. Definitely going to be reread at some point...