alixgmartin's review against another edition
3.0
I started reading this book during my 3 days on the beach. I liked that Richelieu and Christopher Wren were in it. Ah, the 18th century. For sure, a great beach book: sex, romance, duels, and deaths. Not a great book overall though.
katykaty's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
velocitygirl14's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
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
3.25
Finally read this one (Has been on my TBR for ages) and it both taught me something and entertained me with the telenovela aspect of some of the intrigues. The South Sea Bubble is mentioned as it is a heavy plot device and it made me look it up to understand exactly how catastrophic it was in the 1720's.
It was certainly a product of its time, but felt much more authentic because of that.
It was certainly a product of its time, but felt much more authentic because of that.
rachelgertrude's review against another edition
2.0
When a book written about the year 1715 has a character blurting, "I shall be right back," you know you are about to get a mixed bag of history and modern culture. "Being right back" was not a phrase that the 18th century was in any way familiar with. The book was peppered with these little modern colloquialisms - not enough to cause me to stop reading, exactly, but enough to pull me out of the illusion of the past. It makes me think of the 2005 Pride and Prejudice, the scene in which Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy meet walking outside in their nightgowns, and express no surprise or shock at seeing each other this way. Had something like this happened in Jane Austen's day, it would have been a cause for scandal, and the fact that the occurence was not treated as it would have been made the film a lot less believable. Ironically, Koen was particularly careful with every other historical detail- I was often amazed at the kernels of information I learned about everyday things in the time. So how did the language itself escape this careful scrutiny?
tyardley's review against another edition
2.0
I dislike historical fiction and I dislike romance, so how I ended up with this book in my possession is as much of a mystery as my ability to read through almost all of it before calling it quits. It still sits on my iPad, so I may trudge through it soon enough, but my goodness... Barbara is just spoiled and obnoxious. Some of the writing redeems the overall story, but as a complete package I must definitely say this is NOT a great read for me.
ataterhead2's review against another edition
3.0
I was disappointed in the ending after 700 pages - then I realized there was a sequel, which explains it I suppose.
sarjsch's review against another edition
4.0
Cant put it down.. Gotta love anything with dukes and dutchesses, romance and english politics
bookqueen_61_'s review against another edition
4.0
I read this book in the mid 80's as a young mother. I really loved it then and I hope to reread it to see if it's as good as I remember it to be.