Reviews

If you are looking for a historically accurate historical fiction romance novel, please U-turn at your earliest convenience, if not, this may be for you.

It was decently believable until the last 150 pages and then...

It's a thick book, about 500 pages, yet it never really dragged for me. Some parts were slower than others but there was never really a point in the novel where I was begging for it to get on with it.

I quite enjoyed Harry and Iain, and they both grew on me as they grew up as well. Sometimes they were both idiots with each other, but they seemed to generally figure it out. Glad Iain got his revenge.

Alys is a rockstar as well and I enjoyed her wit and keeping Harry in check. While this is a MLM novel, Alys could be ace--her distain for the process to get pregnant to the point she basically does some medieval process of IUI and that she desires a courtly love, not a physical/sexual one, speaks of that potential.

The dynamic between Harry, Iain, and Alys I would've loved to see more of, simply because the last scene was killer and the three of them seem to balance each other out well. Liked the ending where the protagonist, the lover, and the best friend all can get along and live in harmony.

Some fav quotes/scenes that may have made me giggle:

"The aide scrunches his face in discomfort. ‘Those are the private royal gardens, Sir Harry. We do not look towards them nor do we reach into them, unless we have a very great desire to lose our hand.'
Harry's face reddens in embarrassment as he is led away from the bench, probably never to be allowed near it again.
'Are you worried the King overheard your prayer?' the aide asks.
'No. I prayed in English,’ Harry says.
'Pfft,' the aide snorts. ‘Then God did not hear it either, for He does not speak the vulgar tongue.'"(474)

"Alys finds the chest containing the scarves and ribbons. Her brow furrows. ‘lain, why on earth do any of us need so much haberdashery? I, for one, have no intention of ever going to court again.’
‘Well,’ lain whispers, in his rough, ruined voice, 'you're going to go through a lot of ribbons, because every time that great Sassenach idiot rides into a tournament he's going to need a favour.'
‘Oh lord,’ Harry groans. 'You're teaming up on me?’
And two bright, mischievous brunets look at him and grin. 'Who, us?' says Alys, her face innocent.
‘We'd never,’ purrs lain." (505-506)

Content Warnings

tinisabelle's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

bholthus's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

radikaliseradgroda's review against another edition

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4.0

A technically flawed but riveting read.

hellishlyawkward's review against another edition

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5.0

🩷

ryleybanks's review against another edition

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5.0

It's not often I come across a good MM historical--I do have a few favorite authors who write it, but it's nice to stumble on another one. And this one delivered. The tension and conflict within, even just from the 1300s setting alone, combined with the growing relationship between Harry and Iain to keep me turning the page. I've read this multiple times and I keep coming back to it. It's one of those books that stick with you.

freudhateclub's review

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adventurous emotional 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? No

4.5

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