A review by raeanne
Changeling by Philippa Gregory

3.0

* The blurb stating they wind up traveling together wounded typical tension. Instead of "who did it?", I was mainly wondering how those 2 kids were going to get out of it, rather than if they were going to get out of it. Kind of like...
* Scooby-doo. Not just with knowing how it'll end but wandering around busting mysteries. I loved it for that.
* Frieze was an ass towards the end. She warned him & he deserved it. His whining was annoying then his actions after she admitted she was wrong about something else made me want to smack him. No means no. She's not some beast for you to tame, jack hole. Considering, she's a POC, that's especially odious to read.
* Investigator Luca is interesting. Makes me wonder how it's going to go for his faith.
* Historically fascinating. I'm not much of a buff and always found it hard to get into during class. It was so dull. Which is why it's so captivating to read how 0 was so revolutionary from a POV that's new to it. That's context or at least a perspective I've sorely missed. Because it's one this to say "this is how it was" and another to show it. Not that traditional history needs to be replaced but something to help those like me would've been great. I know it's fiction but it can make you care & that makes learning the cold hard facts easier. At least it was when I fell down the rabbit hole of links and Wiki after finishing.
* Loved Isolde. She has guts and dealt with some major bullshit. Not that she was perfect. If she was, she'd have run the nunnery better. Or at least tried. Understand her feelings of inadequacy towards her friend. All her skills are useless now. She should work on correcting that and make them teach her some shit.
* Loved Ishraq. She may be the most unusual but it's not like badass women like her are a historical fraud. There's some we know of but all things considered it wouldn't surprise me how many we've lost to human sexism and limited recording of time.
* The scribe is blah. Not much seen or heard except for loyalty to the Order and religious piety.


Rating: 3.5 stars
Recommended for: YA and historical fiction and mystery fans

I won this from (look up). Shit, it's been years and can't find the info. :(

I was intrigued by the blurb of course, but no lie that dragon symbol cover had a lot to do with it as well. I love dragons and was disappointed at the lack of them.

The one thing most people feel differently is that the author made me pause rather than an asset. I tried reading The Other Boylen Girl when it blew up, but I hated it, didn't give a fuck about the people and lineage, and didn't finish it with no regrets.

The Order of Darkness is a solid historical mystery story. There is the traditional sexism, classism, and racism, including rape threats and fear how it ruins women.

I love how in historical novels the time periods come to life. Of course, you have to take it with a grain of salt but it leads to research being easier. This worked very here as apposed to my other Gregory attempt.