Helpful Score: 1
I have had this book on my to be read pile for quite a while. I really enjoyed the Warrior and Witch series by Brennan and was excited to read this one. I didn't like this as much as the Warrior and Witch series; it was just kind of slow.
The whole premise of this book is that there is a fae court ruled by a Queen named Invidiana that lies beneath the English court of Queen Elizabeth. Initially it's not all that clear what is driving the story. We basically switch between Lady Lune and Michael Deven's stories. Lady Lune is trying to regain the favor of Queen Invidiana and survive the shadow court. Meanwhile Deven is trying to gain Queen Elizabeth's favor and make a name for himself.
This story is largely layers of intrigue and conspiracy (not my favorite thing to read about). There is a lot of history in here as well, which was interesting some of the time but started to bog the story down towards the end.
Additionally I never really engaged with the characters all that well. Lady Lune and Deven both seem strangely isolated and self-serving; they just weren't all that interesting to me.
The story moves slowly, at the beginning it doesn't seem to have much of a point. As things continue you can see that Invidiana is having a negative impact on both fairy and human lands and then the story becomes more cohesive. As far as the writing style itself; the book is decently written and flows well. I
Overall this was an okay book. The book is well written and the idea behind a underground fae court that drives Queen Elizabeth's above court is interesting. However the story moved slow and was bogged down by a lot of the history. The story was also primarily intrigue based which really isn't my thing. I personally won't be reading any more books in this series; it just wasn't that interesting to me.
The whole premise of this book is that there is a fae court ruled by a Queen named Invidiana that lies beneath the English court of Queen Elizabeth. Initially it's not all that clear what is driving the story. We basically switch between Lady Lune and Michael Deven's stories. Lady Lune is trying to regain the favor of Queen Invidiana and survive the shadow court. Meanwhile Deven is trying to gain Queen Elizabeth's favor and make a name for himself.
This story is largely layers of intrigue and conspiracy (not my favorite thing to read about). There is a lot of history in here as well, which was interesting some of the time but started to bog the story down towards the end.
Additionally I never really engaged with the characters all that well. Lady Lune and Deven both seem strangely isolated and self-serving; they just weren't all that interesting to me.
The story moves slowly, at the beginning it doesn't seem to have much of a point. As things continue you can see that Invidiana is having a negative impact on both fairy and human lands and then the story becomes more cohesive. As far as the writing style itself; the book is decently written and flows well. I
Overall this was an okay book. The book is well written and the idea behind a underground fae court that drives Queen Elizabeth's above court is interesting. However the story moved slow and was bogged down by a lot of the history. The story was also primarily intrigue based which really isn't my thing. I personally won't be reading any more books in this series; it just wasn't that interesting to me.
It was OK, not great but not bad either. The writing to me is sometimes akward
I was impressed with this book. So often historical books with a fantasy twist (especially those written by Ivy League grads) get bogged down in their own intelligence, leaving the reader wading through muck so dry it has turned to clay.
This book, however, flung me into the 16th century of England by painting broad, clear strokes, yet it was clear the author knew the time period intimately because her characters leapt off the pages. The natural way I was drawn in kept me going, even when the intrigue got intensely detailed. About halfway though I realized this wasn't going to be a two or three day book - no, I was going to be staying up to finish it all in one night.
I greatly look forward to reading the rest of the Onyx Court series.
This book, however, flung me into the 16th century of England by painting broad, clear strokes, yet it was clear the author knew the time period intimately because her characters leapt off the pages. The natural way I was drawn in kept me going, even when the intrigue got intensely detailed. About halfway though I realized this wasn't going to be a two or three day book - no, I was going to be staying up to finish it all in one night.
I greatly look forward to reading the rest of the Onyx Court series.
This was an interesting read that blended history and fantasy in a plausible fashion. I found the writing style solid, though some readers may have difficulty with the jumps in time and visions. That said, I found the two main characters to be wooden albeit not unlikable. I also gave an inward groan when a "third power" was introduced towards the end with little reference to its presence earlier in the novel. I would recommend this book to fans of Philippa Gregory's Tudor-era historical novels or fantasy novices and followers.
It was not as good as I thought it would be.
