Ratings:
Star Rating: ★★★★☆
If This Book Was a Movie Rating: PG
Review:
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
In my very honest opinion, this was an enjoyable read. It wasn't mindblowingly amazing. It wasn’t mindblowingly awful, it was just enjoyable.
I will elaborate, but first: the plot.
i’m reviewing this way late and this plot is way complicated, so I’m just going to use the publisher’s summary if y’all will forgive me 😭
A tyrannical and impulsive king has caused unrest across the country. His foolish mistakes have deprived Stephen Warde, captain of the garrison, of the only family he ever had-his father. Now, a dozen years later, Stephen returns from war to the little town of Abbotsford to find that corruption has seeped far beyond the crown and into the very heart of his home. The local abbey is in ruins, town officials are stealing from the citizens, someone is circulating false gold around the town, and the country is on the brink of civil war.
Refusing to stand for any more injustice, Stephen partners with the local abbot to form a plan that will end the corruption and offer aid to the rebel forces who plan to invade the country and overthrow the king. But Stephen also fosters a third objective that transcends all the rest: winning the love and loyalty of his wife, Elena, who despises him.
But God has a way of playing cruel tricks on the hearts of men, and it just so happens that Elena's brother is the very worst of those corrupt officials whom Stephen has vowed to bring down. As theft and murder come to a head, so, too, does an imperfect love story of this guarded man with a complicated past and his headstrong wife who's already sacrificed too much. Will Stephen bring peace back to Abbotsford and earn Elena's love? Or will fate intervene, forcing them both to make a choice?
yeah. it’s a lot.
As far as the story overall, the plot is convoluted (as you can tell) to the point that if I didn't read at least 100 pages in one sitting, I would have no bloody idea what was going on or why people did certain things. By the end I just kept reading to see Elena and Stephan fall in love and disregarded the conspiracy entirely.
However, let’s have some positives. The worldbuilding was absolutely MARVELOUS. The author, both from her notes and what I looked up later online, did so much research for this novel it blew me away. She did an absolutely stunning job with making sure every event and timeline lined up and was as historically accurate as possible (the part of me that screams when regency writers screw up was very happy with this lol)
In addition, the writing was absolutely gorgeous. This author knows how to write 😌👌
Next, the characters.
The side characters were absolutely wonderful. Flawed, varied, relatable, understandable. Even the ones I hated were written beautifully.
However. The MCs. *inhales deeply and prays for patience* Those MCs had their good qualities, but they were the most stubborn characters I have ever had the misfortune of reading.
Elena kept choosing to believe the worst of Stephan to the point of complete lunacy. He’d explain exactly everything that happened to her and she was just like “no, I will now believe the exact opposite of what you said because I-can’t-trust-you.”
Stephan was just as bad. He refused to share any of the details of his master plan with ANYONE in order to “keep everyone safe,” to the point of me almost siding with Elena’s desire to distrust everything this guy does.
side note: WHYYYYYY do characters do this? what is this attitude like “oh, I need to save everyone and consequently not tell LITERALLY ANYONE, even the dang READER, what the heck is going on and what the heck I’m doing about it!”
If you’ll notice, this book is 524 pages long. If these two actually communicated, we’d knock off a good 150 pages.
and then that last 50 pages adffajdsijfaiojfaeijfiaef ok I won't spoil it, but here are my neatly categorized thoughts:
Elena has a very low IQ
Elena does not deserve Stephan
Stephan needs to learn how to walk away
*intense exasperated noise*
Now, I’m aware that my heavy critique of the MCs sounds like I’m dismissing the entire book. I am 100% not. This is a debut novel, and as such, there will always be room for improvement. While the main characters were annoying and the plot was confusing, I loved the worldbuilding, the prose was gorgeous, and the side characters were excellent. I think E.L. Daniels has a ton of potential, and I’d love to see more work from her in the future :))
Well, thank you all for reading this rather longer and more-professional-than-my-usual review, and I will now bid the lot of you adieu 🧡
Friend me on Goodreads (yes, you, I wanna be your friend): https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/136268749-isabelle
Recommendations If You Liked This Book:
The Beautiful Pretender by Melanie Dickerson
The Healer’s Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson
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