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A review by balletbookworm
O Jerusalem by Laurie R. King
4.0
Before I get into plot, I have to really say that I loved, LOVED the care and research taken with respect to the setting, detail, and atmosphere of World War I-era Palestine. I appreciated it very much and loved every word. Interesting plot, too, since it basically underlines issues still present nearly a century later.
That said, I had a great deal of trouble jumping back from the Mary and Holmes of [b:A Letter of Mary|93938|A Letter of Mary (Mary Russell, #3)|Laurie R. King|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1171265429s/93938.jpg|1799638] and [b:The Moor|184059|The Moor (Mary Russell, #4)|Laurie R. King|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347432460s/184059.jpg|177886], where they are married and that part of their partnership is addressed/settled, to an eighteen-year-old Mary and not-sure-what-to-do-with-her Holmes who literally skirts the issue of her being female/his attraction to her by dressing her as a boy during their sojurn in Palestine. This might be a book better read right after book #1, [b:The Beekeeper's Apprentice|91661|The Beekeeper's Apprentice (Mary Russell, #1)|Laurie R. King|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1298438298s/91661.jpg|891863], since no forward-looking allusions to their relationship are made in O Jerusalem, and it must be read before book #6, [b:Justice Hall|274400|Justice Hall (Mary Russell, #6)|Laurie R. King|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1173327564s/274400.jpg|2998251].
And I have one series-level complaint: whoever thought up the cover designs with "Mary" on them dressed in a bathrobe and holding Holmes's pipe really needs to actually read the books - far too provocative. I like the new paperback re-issues better.
That said, I had a great deal of trouble jumping back from the Mary and Holmes of [b:A Letter of Mary|93938|A Letter of Mary (Mary Russell, #3)|Laurie R. King|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1171265429s/93938.jpg|1799638] and [b:The Moor|184059|The Moor (Mary Russell, #4)|Laurie R. King|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347432460s/184059.jpg|177886], where they are married and that part of their partnership is addressed/settled, to an eighteen-year-old Mary and not-sure-what-to-do-with-her Holmes who literally skirts the issue of her being female/his attraction to her by dressing her as a boy during their sojurn in Palestine. This might be a book better read right after book #1, [b:The Beekeeper's Apprentice|91661|The Beekeeper's Apprentice (Mary Russell, #1)|Laurie R. King|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1298438298s/91661.jpg|891863], since no forward-looking allusions to their relationship are made in O Jerusalem, and it must be read before book #6, [b:Justice Hall|274400|Justice Hall (Mary Russell, #6)|Laurie R. King|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1173327564s/274400.jpg|2998251].
And I have one series-level complaint: whoever thought up the cover designs with "Mary" on them dressed in a bathrobe and holding Holmes's pipe really needs to actually read the books - far too provocative. I like the new paperback re-issues better.