Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley

1 review

cateyeschloe's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing 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? No

4.75

This is the first book in years that made me feel about reading the way it did when I was a kid. 

I absolutely loved this story and I know I’ll want to read it again eventually!

The story of The Kingdoms in a historical alternate reality. The majority of the story centers around the 1800s in England and France. 

This is a timey wimey story (apologies for the Doctor Who reference), and I really enjoyed that aspect of it! It was concise and clearly demarcated when there was a switch in time or place. Time travel is one of my favorite sub genres so I was really excited it was done well in this book!

My only real criticism of the writing style was that so many scenes in the book are very emotionally charged and had the potential to carry a lot of heavy-hitting weight with them. Occasionally, though, these scenes either ended a little quickly or fell just short of where I felt their potential lied. I wish Pulley had invested a little more in these scenes because these characters have great chemistry with each other and it would be so easy to really pack in the emotional gravity of some scenes. 

The queerness of this book also isn’t front and center, and, really, is hardly addressed at all. By the time I was about halfway through, I was still trying to decide if the MCs were actually queer or if I was just coloring it with my own perceptions. 

Maybe this is intentional or maybe this is another aspect that could have been a little more fleshed out. I really didn’t mind this part, though, because it wasn’t the main focal point of the plot but did serve as a pleasant secondary story. 

Overall, this is a really exciting, engaging, and mysterious story with some GREAT plot twists multiple times throughout. I really enjoyed this one and absolutely want to add it to my collection. 
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