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dazed_and_distracted's review against another edition
2 stars out of 5 from what I have seen. I was very intrigued by the cover, the good reviews and the concept. I had some reservations about playing around in such an absurd manner with the very real tragedy of these very real people, but I was willing to let it slide if the overall reading experience made up for it. Unfortunately it did not. The plot was very slow and the tone (although the humor was spot on for me for about 90% of the time) did not allow me to get close to them, to get invested in what they were thinking and feeling about their situation. Either it should have been more absurd from the start (I hear it gets more so in the later half) or more realistic throughout. Gifford (sorry, I meant G. :) ) was uninteresting even though his horse-condition was advertised as being part of the main intrigue (it was brushed aside surprisingly quickly by Jane). Jane herself was bland and somewhat unlikable. Her love of reading was overdone. It was rarely funny and tiring after a few mentions. Sort of a "we have Belle at home" kind of character. Although I may be biased here, because one of my least favourite tropes when it comes to modern heroines is when the author tries to supplement the lack of characterization by insisting on their love of reading. It's no longer original and seems to me more like an attempt to appeal to the reading community, than actual character building. She also came off as quite shallow: early on there are often repeated jokes about other characters appearances and her being picky about her future husbands looks (the dreaded trait in question is a big nose - oh my!) when one of the few things we get to learn about Jane is that she is often bullied for her appearance (which is conventionally beautiful by the way). Edward was the most interesting and likable of the three leads and I kind of wish this story was more centered around his life (partly because I found the flashbacks to Henry VIII to be the most clever historical humor). However, he too had a recurring joke that started to make me uncomfortable: Edward has a dog called Petunia (Pet for short) who also turns out to be a shapeshifter. A girl, who is I think about the same age as Edward. And there is some odd sexual tension with this girl who is basically naked around him all of the time, whom he calls Pet and who lives as his dog... It's all taken for laughs, nothing serious, but this was a joke that just didn't land for me. Thankfully she doesn't end up being his love interest as I feared. I haven't read that much, so maybe some of the problems I listed are rectified later. I am still interested in reading other books from this series, because clearly there is talent here, but I think I will skip the other one set in the edian-verse.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Body shaming, and Death
greatexpectations77's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
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? Yes
5.0
What a TREAT of a book! I had so so so much fun with this audiobook, and I've simply fallen in love with both the authors and the incredible narration gift of Ms. Kellgren. I join the scores of people who mourn her loss. This book feels like it was written by fun history and book nerds for fun history and book nerds, and the easter egg quotes from other works totally tickled me. This def feels like a vacation read for me - light and funny and a delicious little happy ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Chronic illness, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Abandonment, Bullying, Animal cruelty, Animal death, War, Alcohol, and Violence
Minor: Confinement, Death of parent, and Misogyny
sapphic_swiftie's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-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? Yes
4.0
this was such a fun and unique read! one of my favorite things about it were the dynamic and strong-willed characters!! jane was my favorite with her bookish interests, strength, and relatibility! i also liked the ways her and gifford's relationship progressed as the novel went on and they got to know each other better! speaking of which, i just thought the romance in this novel was done well all-around in regards to both the prominent relationships!
i have to say though, this book got really really cringey at some points. i get that it was part of the whole "humor" aspect of the book but sometimes the jokes just didn't land for me. similarly some of the things that happened i found to just be outright ridicuolous and far-fetched. like i understand that it is not supposed to be a historically accurate story and that many creative liberties were taken, but there were points where things just went too far. also the insertion of the narrator's voice at random points in the middle of the story just wasn't exactly for me either.
i'm starting to sound really negative, but truly, i did enjoy it!! i felt like it had such great vibes and i really enjoyed learning the history surrounding the events. i did a ton of googling and learning about henry viii, his wives, and kids (even though no actual historical events were really potrayed in the book) that i even listed to some of the six the musical soundtrack and now want to go see it lol! i also will likely read the next book in the series so i am glad i picked this one up!
i have to say though, this book got really really cringey at some points. i get that it was part of the whole "humor" aspect of the book but sometimes the jokes just didn't land for me. similarly some of the things that happened i found to just be outright ridicuolous and far-fetched. like i understand that it is not supposed to be a historically accurate story and that many creative liberties were taken, but there were points where things just went too far. also the insertion of the narrator's voice at random points in the middle of the story just wasn't exactly for me either.
i'm starting to sound really negative, but truly, i did enjoy it!! i felt like it had such great vibes and i really enjoyed learning the history surrounding the events. i did a ton of googling and learning about henry viii, his wives, and kids (even though no actual historical events were really potrayed in the book) that i even listed to some of the six the musical soundtrack and now want to go see it lol! i also will likely read the next book in the series so i am glad i picked this one up!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Death, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Animal cruelty, Confinement, and Stalking
madamenovelist's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
slow-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? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Blood, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Sexism
charlottebreads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
4.0
CW/TW: Animal cruelty, sexism, death, sexual content (minor)
Age Rating: 13+
- It had a bit of everything in it: fantasy, romance, comedy, history, etc.
- The plot was engaging and fast-paced.
- The characters were all unique and interesting.
- There was lots of character development
- I wish they had told us more about Thomas Archer's character. They didn't tell us much about him, so his death had little impact.
- I also wish they had focused more on Gran's character, because she was great and I don't think we saw enough of her.
Age Rating: 13+
- It had a bit of everything in it: fantasy, romance, comedy, history, etc.
- The plot was engaging and fast-paced.
- The characters were all unique and interesting.
- There was lots of character development
- I wish they had told us more about Thomas Archer's character.
- I also wish they had focused more on Gran's character, because she was great and I don't think we saw enough of her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty
Moderate: Death
Minor: Sexual content
booksandprosecco's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Sexism
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