suze_1624's review against another edition
2.0
First half was probably more a 2* as I didn't really get into the story.
Once Teodoro found evidence of St Denys's treachery, the second half seemed to have more purpose and that was probably closer to a 3* for me. So perhaps a 2.5*
However, the quick changes of pov, by paragraph made this hard work. I wasn't fully drawn into the story anyway and this didn't help - though it made skim reading next to impossible as you had to keep your wits to id whose pov it was.
The story is set in the times of The Inquistion and the dread and terror of that, and the general time do come across. I did think Christian was not so discreet as he should have been considering Teo had already been punished once.
I did win this as I probably wouldn't have chosen to buy this. There are two other books continuing the tale and taking in other historical venues of the time so I'm sure historical lovers will enjoy.
Once Teodoro found evidence of St Denys's treachery, the second half seemed to have more purpose and that was probably closer to a 3* for me. So perhaps a 2.5*
However, the quick changes of pov, by paragraph made this hard work. I wasn't fully drawn into the story anyway and this didn't help - though it made skim reading next to impossible as you had to keep your wits to id whose pov it was.
The story is set in the times of The Inquistion and the dread and terror of that, and the general time do come across. I did think Christian was not so discreet as he should have been considering Teo had already been punished once.
I did win this as I probably wouldn't have chosen to buy this. There are two other books continuing the tale and taking in other historical venues of the time so I'm sure historical lovers will enjoy.
lillian_francis's review
I read the second edition. It makes me wonder what changes took place apart from a new cover because my concerns seem to reflect those of readers who read the the first edition.
Disclaimer: I love historical stories and Ariel Tachna's writing. This should have been a perfect fit for me, but it wasn't
Cons:
The multiple povs gave me reader whiplash. Literally every character in a scene had their own paragraph of two. And almost every paragraph was a different pov. This made reading hard work. It also stopped you really getting to know the character. I wouldn't have objected to multiple pov if it had been restricted to a scene at a time and the five main characters.
The pining and unrequited love went on for......ever. The constant doubting and not being good enough, or being seen as hired sword/helpless child/a purse (insert where appropriate) got tiring quickly.
Even worse when they finally got together they had sex ALL THE TIME! On page, for pages and pages *yawn* I admit I skimmed all the sex scenes after the first; most were completely irrelevant.
Pros:
There is an excellent plot beneath all the rest of it.
I think the characters and their development would have been interesting had we stayed in their pov long enough to get to know them.
This book was too long. They should have cut all but maybe three sex scenes. The pages saved could have been put to better use at the beginning of the book, showing the journey back to Madrid and building up the trust and attraction between Christian and Teo. These are the things I would like to have seen addressed in the second edition rather than just whacking a new cover on it.
Disclaimer: I love historical stories and Ariel Tachna's writing. This should have been a perfect fit for me, but it wasn't
Cons:
The multiple povs gave me reader whiplash. Literally every character in a scene had their own paragraph of two. And almost every paragraph was a different pov. This made reading hard work. It also stopped you really getting to know the character. I wouldn't have objected to multiple pov if it had been restricted to a scene at a time and the five main characters.
The pining and unrequited love went on for......ever. The constant doubting and not being good enough, or being seen as hired sword/helpless child/a purse (insert where appropriate) got tiring quickly.
Even worse when they finally got together they had sex ALL THE TIME! On page, for pages and pages *yawn*
Spoiler
Days after being released from the inquisition's clutches they were at it like bunnies. Even though Teo's back had been flayed to a bloody mess!Pros:
There is an excellent plot beneath all the rest of it.
I think the characters and their development would have been interesting had we stayed in their pov long enough to get to know them.
This book was too long. They should have cut all but maybe three sex scenes. The pages saved could have been put to better use at the beginning of the book, showing the journey back to Madrid and building up the trust and attraction between Christian and Teo. These are the things I would like to have seen addressed in the second edition rather than just whacking a new cover on it.
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