ARC Review: The Lost Sisterhood by Anne Fortier

The Lost Sisterhood by Anne Fortier
Release Date: 11th March 2014
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Source: Netgalley
Buy: Amazon | Book Depository

Goodreads Summary

The Lost Sisterhood is the new novel from the author of Juliet, an Oprah's Book Club Pick published in 30 countries which has been picked up by Universal to be made into a feature film. The Lost Sisterhood tells the story of Diana, a young and aspiring--but somewhat aimless--professor at Oxford. Her fascination with the history of the Amazons, the legendary warrior women of ancient Greece, is deeply connected with her own family's history; her grandmother in particular. When Diana is invited to consult on an archeological excavation, she quickly realizes that here, finally, may be the proof that the Amazons were real.

The Amazons' "true" story--and Diana's history--is threaded along with this modern day hunt. This historical back-story focuses on a group of women, and more specifically on two sisters, whose fight to survive takes us through ancient Athens and to Troy, where the novel reinvents our perspective on the famous Trojan War.

The Lost Sisterhood features another group of iconic, legendary characters, another grand adventure--you'll see in these pages that Fortier understands the kind of audience she has built with Juliet, but also she's delivering a fresh new story to keep that audience coming back for more.

Do you like adventure? Does a good treasure hunt intrigue you? Are you fascinated by ancient history and mythology? Then perhaps you have come to the right place for this book provides you with a good mix of everything I just mentioned above.

There are mixed reviews all over the place about this book and it’s really easy to see why. Some people will love this and some people won’t. One reviewer described this book as the Dan Brown of women’s fiction and that is a very apt comparison because this book does have the same vibes as a typical Dan Brown book and your enjoyment of this book will largely depend on whether or not that sort of thing works for you. If you haven’t read any Dan Brown and are confused as to what I am referring to.. basically, do you like info dumps? Do you mind being stuffed with information? Avoid this if that doesn't appeal to you, but if you don’t mind so long as the topic interests you (which in case it did for me), dive right in but prepared for a couple of unrealistic things that may bother you.

I was in 3^rd grade when I first heard about the lost city of Troy and since then, mythology hasn’t let go of the grip it has on me. As soon as I came across this book and saw the combination of mythology, history and women’s fiction, I knew I had to read it and I was not let down. I went into this expecting a good adventure and that is exactly what I got.

This novel follows the story of two women, namely Myrina, who lived in the Bronze Age and Diana who lives in present day.

Diana is approached by a mysterious man who tells her that proof that Amazons existed has been found. The man proceeds to hand her an image to back up what he is saying. Diana is definitely vary but she is also intrigued because well she is passionate about Amazons and something about the writing in the image seems familiar. It turns out that the notebook her grandmother left her was written in the same language and so begins our adventure as Diana follows the same path Myrina did over thousands of years ago.

Diana for the most part is a pretty decent female lead. She is headstrong and can make her own decisions. She doesn’t let the men make her choices for her but instead does what she feels is right. She’s grown up, she can handle herself… for the most part. Sometimes she may need to be rescued and sometimes her decisions land her in icky messes but really the one thing that bothered me about her is how oblivious she can be. Especially with the whole thing about her grandma. It’s GLARINGLY obvious what’s going on there yet Diana was blind to that for a major chunk of the book.

Also, I do not buy the fact that this chick translated an ancient scripture in a manner of days. Uh.. NO. Even with the ‘translating dictionary’ Diana had (her grandmother’s notebook), it should still take more than a mere 5 days. Remember when I mentioned unrealistic things? Yup, this was one of them.

Myrina was an interesting character to say the least. Both Diana and Myrina get thrown into circumstances that turn their lives upside down, they follow similar paths but their stories are different. Myrina travels all the way to a city to find the Moon Goddess so that her sister can be cured of the blindness that came as a result of a fever. Myrina is a wonderful sister and more than that, she is a brave warrior. She is a hunter at heart and she is a strong female lead and a great leader. In spite of all these wonderful things about her, I never really liked her. I didn’t dislike her, but her story, while fun to follow, was not nearly as enjoyable as Diana’s. Perhaps this is because Myrina’s story has an underlying sadness to it. When you realize that all of this occurred in a past so distant, in a part of history that has been lost and might not ever be recovered, it makes you feel very melancholic.

One of the loop holes in Myrina’s story was her elder sister. I have no idea what happened to her. Perhaps I accidentally skimmed over the part (hey, the book was long!!), or perhaps it was never mentioned.

The world building is were some of the other issues arise. The scholars in this world are constantly looking down on women and I know this happens in the real world. I KNOW. But the extent to which it happens in this book kind of pisses me off. It seems overdone. Then there was also the thing about the female lead being half American and other scholars constantly mocking her for her ‘Americaness’ when according to her she was raised in Britain. Really? Are we really going there?

The author brought some original twists to the tales we know and some of them, well, some of them just didn’t work for me. They were believable. The author didn’t just pull them out of nowhere but sometimes some things don’t work for you and nothing can change that. There were also other things that the author threw into the mix which didn’t sit well with me but I learned to live with those grievances to enjoy the adventure I was on.

One of my other issues with this novel was the romance. No the romances. Neither of the romances were all that well developed. The romance is not the focus of either story (okay so perhaps Myrina’s tale has a tad bit more romance) but I never saw it coming. I mean I knew there was going to be a romance, but there wasn’t enough development in either case to make the romance more believable. They seemed to have popped out of nowhere.

With that said, Myrina’s romance, even with my annoyance of how it seemed random, was so sweet. It really just brought out emotions. Yes I was annoyed that Myrina willingly gave up who she was but then her romantic interest is just so adorable that it’s hard to stay mad. There is so much respect in their relationship and so much love and SO MUCH COMPANIONSHIP. They can tell each other things. They do get mad at each other but they are sweet together.

Diana’s romance was… iffy. Nick is not the best love interest out there. He has been lying to her since the dawn of time and has pulled her inside this complicated web of lies and really I have no idea how she could trust him after everything that he has done. I know I wouldn’t. Pretty face be damned (although I am not sure we know what he looks like exactly).

There are secrets, lies, ancient civilizations and heaps of mythology involved and if you’re looking for an adventure, this book does give you one.

But it’s best not to go into this book expecting to be wowed. Similar to a typical Darn Brown book, the excitement only lasts for the period you are reading the book and once you’re done, everything will fade away. This book makes for excellent brain candy and I’d recommend this to fans of Dan Brown but also to anyone who is looking to lay back and just chill with a good adventure. Don’t let the number of pages scare you off for they go by pretty fast and the book will be over before you know it. 

Timekeeper by Alexandra Monir

Title: Timekeeper

Author: Alexandra Monir
Series: Timeless #2
Publisher: Delacorte Books
Release Date: January 8th, 2013
Buy: Amazon

Goodreads Summary

When Philip Walker appears as a new student in Michele Windsor’s high school class, she is floored. He is the love she thought she lost forever when they said goodbye during her time travels last century. Overjoyed that they can resume the relationship they had a lifetime ago, Michele eagerly approaches him and discovers the unthinkable: he doesn’t remember her. In fact, he doesn’t seem to remember anything about the Philip Walker of 1910.

Michele then finds her father’s journals, which tell stories of his time-traveling past. As she digs deeper, she learns about his entanglement with a mysterious and powerful organization called the Time Society and his dealings with a vengeful Windsor ancestor. Michele soon finds herself at the center of a rift over 120 years in the making, one whose resolution will have life-or-death consequences.

Alexandra Monir’s Timekeeper combines breathtaking romance with a tale of complex magic in a sequel that will have every reader believing in the transcendent power of love.

I have terrible luck, whenever I get excited for something it gets messed up. I wish I could say this book was amazing and that it was worth it but it wasn't. This book was disappointing. It was so disappointing that I feel like pretending that the first was a stand alone and that the ending never happened. Okay I may be overreacting according to some people but I am so disappointed it hurts. The author had two years to work on this and if this is what she came up with.. well I don't even know what to say. The first one was magical, it had this musical flow to it which made you love it so much and things made so much more sense in the first one. Also the historical concept was so much more better. I am not one for historical fiction but sometimes I'll come across one that I love, Timeless was one of them but Timekeeper failed to do the time era's it was referring to justice. Aside from that it also seemed rushed, the author never focused on anything, just kept on throwing bits of stuff at us. One second she would say one thing and the other she would mention another, she kept on jumping from idea to idea never telling us enough about what she was talking about. For example, Lisa was mentioned once in the book when Michele had to go to her for help. Lisa disappeared from the book after that. She used to be her mother's best friend. I would have loved to know something about her but there was nothing. I got the ending I was hoping for but not in the way I wanted, some of the things don't even make sense with the whole Philip thing. Monir took the easiest and the most obvious way out of the problem and it disturbed me because it wasn't what I wanted. I was even more disappointed with how easily Philip accepted things, it was so sudden you don't see the change happening. Did I mention how obvious her solution was? I am going to repeat it to put emphasis on the obvious part because half of the people already guessed it. I guess it's not only the romance that disappointed me because the romance wasn't the only thing that captivated me in the first book- although it was part of it, it was the how the author weaved in the historical concepts and Michele's way of dealing with things. This book was a jumbled puzzle. The pieces didn't fit together perfectly. The whole book was all over the place. I feel like I am being easy on this book because despite what I said it breaks my heart to see how Timekeeper turned out. I cannot make myself give it a worse rating because despite being not as good as I hoped, it wasn't horrible. In most situations a horrible sequel would make me dislike the first book but it didn't happen in this case probably because I felt so detached in this one. I never got involved with the characters. I was sitting there trying to figure out where the characters I loved disappeared because in this book, they were flat. There was no depth to them. I really do hope that people don't find it as disappointing as I did because I know a lot of people have been waiting for it longer than I have and I hope that it makes them happier than it made me. I think the worst part is that this was the book I was most excited about for this year and seeing how it wasn't nearly as good as I hoped, I lost hope for all the other books I had been waiting for.

Timeless by Alexandra Monir

Title: Timeless
Author: Alexandra Monir
Series: Timeless #1
Publisher: Delacorte Books
Date Published: January 11, 2011
Buy: Amazon

Goodreads Summary

When tragedy strikes Michele Windsor’s world, she is forced to uproot her life and move across the country to New York City, to live with the wealthy, aristocratic grandparents she’s never met. In their old Fifth Avenue mansion filled with a century’s worth of family secrets, Michele discovers a diary that hurtles her back in time to the year 1910. There, in the midst of the glamorous Gilded Age, Michele meets the young man with striking blue eyes who has haunted her dreams all her life – a man she always wished was real, but never imagined could actually exist. And she finds herself falling for him, into an otherworldly, time-crossed romance.
 Michele is soon leading a double life, struggling to balance her contemporary high school world with her escapes into the past. But when she stumbles upon a terrible discovery, she is propelled on a race through history to save the boy she loves – a quest that will determine the fate of both of their lives.

I read this book because of this one review I had read. It was a reviewer I followed and well since she had given it 5 stars and written such a good review for it I though I should read it.

I was looking for a good romance, after reading so many unreleastic teen romances, I needed characters to have the spark.

Even then, I didn’t expect a whole lot when I went into the book, much less to come out with my brain fried.

Writing the review approximately 2 months after reading it I still get goose bumps thinking about it.

Alexandra Monir is a genius. I had wanted to read this book for the romance but I ended up enjoying the whole time travel concept equally.

Monir has a different approach to time travel and for that I am glad. I am so fed up with people always complaining about how traveling back in time will change something in the present blah blah blah. But here it’s about Michele helping out her ancestors. It’s how her help led to the things as they are in the present and that itself is such a unique concept. The way Monir connects everything and brings it all together like pieces of a puzzle makes it so unique. There are still some pieces that are missing or don’t fit but I guess that’s what Timekeeper is for.

Moving on to our main character. I loved Michele. I absolutely loved her. I loved how brave she was and how she was willing to let Philip go even seeing how much it hurt her. I really didn’t think she would be that strong when I started the book. Like I said before, I was vary of the book when I had started reading. But Michele proved to be a lot more than a love sick teenager. She had so much going on and she figured out so many things. I love her for her determination and her will to do the right thing.

Now moving on to our love interest, Philip.

I am not going to say anything about him. Just 4 words. They should get my point across.

I LOVE YOU PHILIP! 

The ending of the book isn’t necessarily like the cliff hanger people make it out to be. It could be viewed as a happy ending were the book a stand alone but if you read the synopsis to the sequel, Timekeeper, that’s when the ending becomes a cliff hanger and that’s why I cannot freaking wait for the book to be out. I need it so bad because there are so many questions in my mind that need to be answered.

Gravy Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Title: Grave Mercy
Author: Robin LaFevers
Series: His Fair Assassin #1
Publisher: Andersen Press
Release Date: April 3, 2012
Buy: Amazon

Goodreads Summary

‘Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?’

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

This book waited for a long time to be finally read by me. I found it early last year and bought the book about 5 months ago. It sat on my bookshelf patiently waiting for me to make my mind up and give it a go.

Really the only reason I added this book was because of assassin nuns. That was enough inspiration, however I thought it would be historical fiction and because I am not a huge fan I put it off for a while. Still I bought because I wanted to buy something and this appealed to me.

I got the feeling after a while that this book would indeed be one of the best things ever and with my recent luck in finding books that blew me away, I didn’t want to have to give this one up so easily so I  sat in anticipation waiting for the ‘right time’.

The wait was worth it because when I finally picked it up … I fell in love.

This book starts with Ismae’s wedding day. She is 14 and has suffered a life of abuse. She thinks that maybe this wedding will be a turning point for her. Sadly she is mistaken, after being beaten nearly to death by her husband; she is rescued and sent to the Covent of St. Mortain.

Here she learns tons of ways to kill men and is prepared to carry out the work of Mortain, the god of death. The sisters at the Covent believe in vengeance and don’t think people deserve second chances.

Because of this, Ismae ends up killing an important informant and thus angering Duval. They strike an agreement where Ismae is to join Duval at court and won’t kill anyone important unless they are certified traitors.

Thus begins Ismae’s journey into the world of politics.

Every corner you turn you won’t be able to tell friend from foe. You don’t know who is conspiring against you. Although this book is technically not a mystery, it has the feel because there are so many lies being told and secrets being kept. On top of it, it seems realistic. The author doesn’t make the traitor predictable nor unpredictable, there are signs that point to him/her but it doesn’t stick out because there could be so many possible traitors and of course there are more than one.

What I like most about Ismae she doesn’t let her naivety about the court be used against her, she does her best to find out everything she can and adjust to court life. She questions stuff that has been taught to her but she doesn’t completely let go either which makes her more real. You cannot just throw away what has become your life.  Plus she is a kick ass chic. She has her own set of insecurities and weaknesses but she is also brave, determined and loyal.

Duval is one of my favorite love interests. There are many things to like about him. For starters there is almost no focus on his looks. Besides this he is a very clever person. He is always a couple of steps ahead and always has a back-up plan. However, he is kind of a serious guy (not that that bothers me). He is also very loyal to his sister and his puts his duty as a brother and as one of the dutchess’ most trusted confidants at the highest priority , which I really appreciate because no, love doesn’t make the Earth go round.

The romance between Ismae and Duval is slow to develop but the cutest thing ever. I cannot count how many times I squealed or said awww. They start with hating each other and then they become comrades because of their common goal, to protect the dutchess. Slowly they began to trust each other and open up and before they know it, they are in love.  The romance in this book is one of my favorites and seeing that I haven’t come across good ones lately I am really happy.

This book is an amazing read and will always keep you on the edge. I recommend it to everyone (although a lot of people have read it already). I might or might not read the sequel, I don’t know because if it aien’t about Ismae and Duval then I don’t know if I want to read it but I still want to re-read this one.

Mini Reviews: Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill and Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

Title: Some Girls Bite
Author: Chloe Neill
Series: Chicagoland Vampires #1
Publisher: NAL Trade
Date Published: April 7, 2009

This book probably deserves more than the 2.5 I gave it but then again it was somewhere between okay and likeable for me. I am not a fan of vampire books, I have my reasons of course and I am trying to reconnect with vampires because otherwise I am going to be avoiding a lot of books and then eventually I’ll run out of books to read and then I’ll die.

The only vampire series I’ve read and thoroughly enjoyed was the Vampire Academy. I was actually surprised by how good the world building was in this book but it couldn’t overlook my issues with the book. The main character was awesome but I hated how she was obsessed with Ethan. I do NOT like Ethan. I like Morgan and she doesn’t really spare him a second glance. I also dislike her best friend. She is supportive and what not but it seems like she is more obsessed with the idea of her best friend being a vampire than anything else. Also it annoys me that she doesn’t realize that Merit is moving out because of her. It really pissed me off because you know you both share the house dammit and she also needs her sleep, go to his house if you plan on staying awake (no I am not going to say it). One of the things that bothered me about the world building was that why are the vampires only in Chicago? What’s so special about Chicago? Yeah.. that didn’t make sense to me at all.

I believe that this book would probably appeal to everyone but if you cannot overlook certain things then you are going to have a hard time enjoying it, just like I did.

Title: Ruby Red
Author: Kerstin Gier
Series: The Ruby Red Trilogy #1
Publisher: Henry Holt
Release Date: May 10, 2011
Buy: Amazon

Damn these Germans can write, first Cornelia and now Kerstin.

I don’t think I’ve read a time travel book this good. Mostly you would come across time travel romances but this book isn’t about the romance, it’s about the mystery and time travel.

Everything is so well developed. From the relationships to the plot to the ending. The ending is good but the epilogue is worth dying for. Plus there isn’t a cliff hanger although the Epilogue does leave you rather excited (dying) for the sequel.

The only problem I had was Gideon. I kind of dislike him. He is the pretty boy, the boy who thinks it’s alright to act like a jerk and treat people like shit, sure there are good sides to him and he has his own sob story (well it isn’t that sad but you get the point) but I hate it when guys be jerks for no real reason.

This book blew my mind and is so damn original. Time travel, secret societies, lies, evil mind readers, sarcastic main characters, what else can a girl want?

I recommend this book to everyone who is looking for something unique.

Shadows of the Past by Carmen Stefanescu

Title: Shadows of the Past
Author: Carmen Stefanescu
Publisher: Wild Child Publishing
Date Published: December 4, 2012

Goodreads Summary

When Anne and Neil leave on a one-week holiday hoping to reconcile after a two-year separation, little do they know that destiny has other plans for them. Their discovery of human bones and a bejeweled cross in the hollow of a tree open the door to the supernatural realm and the anguished life of Genevieve, a nun from medieval England.

Can Anne save her relationship and help Genevieve her eternal rest?

The twists and turns in this paranormal tale keep the reader guessing up to the end and weave themselves together into a quest to rekindle love.

“Shed blood never dies, they say. It cried for the settling of things.”

This book wasn’t for me. I had quite a few problems with this one. Ms. Carmen approached me with this book, asking if I would review it, I checked out the trailer and the synopsis and it sounded really interesting. Plus that title. It wasn’t the type of stuff I usually read but never the less I decided to try it because it sounded good.

I think the main problem with the book was the writing style. Because of it I couldn’t connect to the characters. The whole plot line was amazing and I liked how the past and the future didn’t exactly overlap each other. They were very alike but they weren’t the exact same thing.

The thing with the writing style was that it was too wordy, like dumping words from a dictionary or thesaurus. For example the sentence “My curiosity’s aroused”. The author could have said the same thing using different words that would help the reader connect to the book more.

One of my other problems was the characters. They were too pants (if you don’t know what I mean, go to http://theoatmeal.com/story/twilight ). There wasn’t much about their personalities. I mean, we know how they look like, what jobs they do, the reason Neil and Anne broke up, but that’s about it. We don’t know what they like or anything.

Some of the more annoying things were that the story line that takes place in the past didn’t seem like it was taking place in the 15^th century. There is a certain way people act that helps you know what century they were in. It was like there were the rituals/traditions/etiquettes of that century but it didn’t seem like they were in that century. You could tell from the way to talk.

The way Neil and Anne talked in the present was similar so it sounded really weird because that’s not how people talked even in 1990’s, I am sure of it. Plus the whole nickname thing, it doesn’t make sense that the same nickname would be used in the 15^th century and in the 20^th century. That’s too coincidental. When you think about the 15^th century was still middle English so they wouldn’t use a nickname like “My beautiful wood anemone”.

I also disliked the fact that the whole story was centered around love, I love romances but to have a story centered around love, it didn’t work for me.

I think one of the better parts was the ending, it left us on the note that it wasn’t completely an HEA, shit would still happen but you got the feeling that they would get through with it.

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Title: The Name of the Star
Author: Maureen Johnson
Series: Shades of London
Publisher: HarperCollins
Date Published: September 29, 2011
Buy: Amazon

Goodreads summary 

The day that Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London to start a new life at boarding school is also the day a series of brutal murders breaks out over the city, killings mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper spree of more than a century ago. Soon "Rippermania" takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him--the only one who can see him. And now Rory has become his next target. In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

What is not to love about this book? It has some romance, it’s scary, it’s about ghosts, and it has Jack the Ripper!!! This is a perfect book for me it has everything I could possibly need. The story was great, the characters were good and did I mention it was about Jack the Ripper? 

I haven’t read any of Maureen Johnson’s books and by the look of them I don’t think I will not my kind of scene, unless someone can persuade me. I need something that will keep me interested in the book long enough for me to fall in love with it and this book has done it, I really didn’t know what to expect, but I wasn’t expecting this. 
Damn she did her research about London and about the facts, I know a lot about Jack the Ripper and 1888 and damn she was right, and there were something’s that I didn’t even know. I live near London and not that I know the place well or anything but the detail in the description? I think it was more or less spot on, and the boarding school? As soon as it was described I went on Google to see if it was a real place and if hopefully it would have a place for me sadly it isn’t, or it’s so well hidden I couldn’t find it whatever the case may be I badly wanted to go to that school. 
A couple of little things that bugged me though, was the romance it was really disappointing, they weren’t even dating and they just kissed and the author didn’t even want to share the details of it, like in all of the other books I’ve read. Another thing, sure I guess this book could be fine just being a novel and not having a trilogy it had a start and an end but hey I will be first in line at the store waiting for this book and I guess there could be quite a bit to write about now. 
All together the book was great, the story was great, Jack the Ripper was great, everything was just great. 

                                                        My kitty stealing my amazing book

Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey

Title: Haunting Violet
Author: Alyxandra Harvey
Pages: 344 Paperback
Release Date: May 24th 2011
Buy: Amazon

Goodreads Summary:

Violet Willoughby doesn't believe in ghosts. But they believe in her. After spending years participating in her mother's elaborate ruse as a fraudulent medium, Violet is about as skeptical as they come in all matters supernatural. Now that she is being visited by a very persistent ghost, one who suffered a violent death, Violet can no longer ignore her unique ability. She must figure out what this ghost is trying to communicate, and quickly because the killer is still on the loose.

Afraid of ruining her chance to escape her mother's scheming through an advantageous marriage, Violet must keep her ability secret. The only person who can help her is Colin, a friend she's known since childhood, and whom she has grown to love. He understands the true Violet, but helping her on this path means they might never be together. Can Violet find a way to help this ghost without ruining her own chance at a future free of lies?

The only reason I picked up the book was because of the cover (shameful I know) I had no idea what the book was going to be like, and at the very start where it started out very dull and slow I was about to throw this book out of the window for picking it up (oky so not really but still) But after about 100 pages it was starting to go somewhere, and from that point on the book was amazing! Good job that I have to finish a book that I started, I can’t just leave it. A lot of books have this story that you either read or saw somewhere the story that is about to happen and there isn’t a lot they can’t do with it, and I was thinking this was going to be one of those books that you know what will happen as soon as you pick it up, but it actually surprised me. The ending was so unexpected I had no idea what to think so I just kept on reading it. I was a bit taken aback when I saw that it was set in 1872 and it annoyed me a bit, not really sure why though. 

So final thoughts::: amazing story line, beginning very boring and plain but it picked up later on. I’m quite happy that I judged the book by the cover :D