(4 / 5)
A fun and addicting historical epic. This novel was a real roller coaster; it built me up just a little and yanked me back down 20-30 times. I loved the sense of place this book gave, I really felt like I was there. When an author successfully pulls that off there is almost nothing I enjoy more and reading transcends to a higher level.
The characters were believable and appropriately flawed. It took a while for me to really love the protagonists but by less than midway through I was sold. Fiona grew from an insecure but spirited dreamer into a mature, courageous, confident woman and while my heart always ached for Joe I was happy to see him own up to his mistakes, learn from them, and eventually be made better because of them. I was biting my nails up until the very end wondering how/if the two star crossed lovers really would ever find a way to clear the air.
I thought the secondary characters were just as good, although quite of few of them died. I hated getting so invested in some of them just to watch them either fade away or die. There were a few times I wanted more closure from some of these secondary characters which irked me a little but generally I was happy with them.
Finally, prose and content. Prose was mediocre and occasionally wordy but stick with it and the story, characters, and sense of place more than make up for it. Content-wise this novel is medium/medium-high for language and sexual material. The first 100 pgs had 3 racy scenes that left me a little nervous for what I was in for. Luckily, the author took a break from all that for 400 or so pages before throwing one or two more in before the end (it’s a long book, over 600 pages). There is swearing throughout the book although it seems to come and go with certain characters.
A solid four stars for how much enjoyment I got from this one.
Violence: Medium Language: Medium Adult Content: Medium/High