A review by mary_soon_lee
The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This is a standalone historical science-fiction novel with a twisty plot. I think saying much about the storyline would risk undermining the book. But I will say that I found the central figure, Joe, to be very sympathetic and that I wished him well throughout. I wasn't uniformally gripped by the narrative, but parts of it were very moving, sometimes seemingly small parts, such as a duck sewn onto a child's clothing.

Four out of five warped stars.

About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).