Hello everyone!
Hurricane Ian was never going to take prisoners, but honestly it sounds as though it might have HOPEFULLY been a little less bad than projected and predicted? Or was it even worse? Either way, my thoughts and prayers go to you out there, who prepped and now need to deal with the fallout.
I sadly have nothing truly substantial to give as far as that goes, but at the very least good vibes help, or they should somewhat!
For us though, it's time to circle back around to the book we'll be reviewing tonight, or well, books really as it's a full trilogy.
I'm always excited when I see the word OMNIBUS stamped on a cover anywhere, so this was no exception. I'd never read anything by Natalie Murray before so I was also just excited to find another author I could potentially really enjoy.
So without further ado, let's have a look at the Hearts & Crowns trilogy omnibus, shall we? Don't forget to hold tight to that precious gem as we travel through time.
I'll link some reviews down at the bottom of the page that are somewhat connected to what I'm chatting about tonight, but overall this is a standalone that I have yet to see executed otherwise, but I'm definitely keen to explore!
See, this trilogy is about the Tudor Era, or more specifically: what would have happened if Elizabeth I had married Robert Dudley, and had not just a son, but a daughter too? And what happens when a high school graduate falls through time, finds herself in the court of this alternate universe king, and falls in love with him?
Read on.
Until, of course, the author decides there might be MORE to be had in all of this ...
Ha!
I bumped my review up from what it would have been just because I'm a sucker for HEAs, however I'll admit that if the ending had been DIFFERENT, I wouldn't have been mad either.
My ratings would have been as follows:
The King: 4 stars
The Queen: 3 stars
The Throne: 2 stars, but this one got bumped up to 3 and then overall bumped to a 4
So overall, as you can see, my rating steadily declines for this omnibus, which honestly is a pretty decent estimate if you ask me, because it does. I'll explain.
The first book introduces the time travel concept, introduces Emmie into the Tudor era, and then proceeds to go back and forth between today and the 16th century while she and Nicholas try to work stuff out. It's interesting, the concept and the hero are certainly unique, and as a reader you LOVE hearing about the potential. Don't we all occasionally want to disappear into a different period of history and just exist there?
Going into the second book, however, we're spoiled right off the bat when the Duke of Norfolk points out what happened to his niece, Anne Boleyn (spoiler alert: she died), which is then pretty much replicated in the Emmie/Nick plot, except there's still time travel involved, though the ring that's used as mode of transportation seems to be running out of juice. Not only that, but Emmie persists in establishing 21st century feministic views in 16th century England, so three quarters of the clashes she has with Nick are entirely redundant from that perspective, because she doesn't even TRY. Obviously with the Anne Boleyn reference they're doomed, but the end twist IS interesting enough since it puts a different spin on it all.
This is where the third book kicks in, where if you're not mad at Emmie the character (please remember this is all about CHARACTERS, not the WRITER) then I don't know what to tell you. However, the ring kicks up just enough juice so that she and Nick can try and fix all the stuff they messed up, and for 80% of the book nothing really happens as they meander their way to the finish line, after which the last 20% is rushed through to the ending, and the modern history we know today, because apparently the skein of time itself was fed up with all the hopping, and just yanked the lot out to deposit them somewhere they couldn't really mess with the have-beens anymore.
A couple of things I liked:
- the writing itself; Ms Murray manages to really pull you into her writing and the scenes that are unfolding, which is difficult to do with the modern audience, but she has the flair for it, and I'm actually interested in picking up more of her work
- the addendum of Nicholas the Ironheart, which I don't think I've seen before; I went in thinking it was going to be either Arthur or Henry VIII
- the characters being quintessentially themselves (even when this infuriated me later on, I can acknowledge and appreciate there were now 180 spins!)
- the inner circle of supporting characters
- this is superficial, but the cover work on the trilogy and the omnibus is SUPERB
Some of the things I disliked:
- Emmie. Now this isn't for the duration of the trilogy, however, here's my thing: she doesn't even TRY. All the time travelling she does, and she doesn't even consider reading up on the Tudor period to blend in better, nor does she seem to WANT to blend in and not get her head chopped off for her modern views, speech, and beliefs.
- zero planning on Emmie's part, this ties into the above; specifically in the final book in the trilogy, instead of coming up with a plan, letting people know they were headed on a "trip", laying groundwork down etc., she just ... skips back in time again, without even discussing it with Nick, either, on a "maybe it won't work". This might have been acceptable in the first book where she's 18, but she's 21 by the third so the 'teenage mentality' doesn't quite apply anymore
- the fact that she was so convinced the 21st century was better than the 16th; she never looked at it from NICK's point of view. For a commoner? Heck yeah, it would have been awesome. A king though? Who never had to work a day in his life, had things brought to him, and absolute power over others? The 21st century would be a personal nightmare, and she never even pretends to grasp that concept
- I wasn't a particular fan of a rehash on what happened to Anne Boleyn, which is what we get in the second book, down to the title Emmie's granted, which is Marquess of Pembroke
- the thin, thiiiiiiiin reason why Kit NEEDS to tag along with Emmie and Nick at the end; I understand it was for plot purposes, but considering she's 10 and isn't even fully enthroned yet having a regency council, the Lord Protector would have overruled her regardless, and how nobody even voiced the thought that it's a TERRIBLE idea to send BOTH their monarchs into the maw of the beast could have probably been addressed better
- the ending; I'm okay with it - like I said, I'm a sucker for HEAs, but if you read these tight together, you can see that basically, Emmie and Nick SHOULDN'T have worked out. Everything is against them. The way the skeins of the story unfold, if Emmie had indeed ended up back in her time and Nick in his, that would have also been a realistic finish, given everything.
BUT that being said, I think the author was ambitious with this retelling or alternate universe of the Tudor history (which resets back to the one we know at the end) and I admire her for it. I admire her writing style, and the trilogy was easy to read, quick to read for the most part, not to mention had a bunch of laugh out loud moments where you could roll your eyes, snicker, and then move along.
Unfortunately there are some counter-points to that which bring everything down, however, when drawing the final line, I think this still deserves a 4 of 5 regardless, because it's not bad. Just a bit iffy at times.
Recommend if you'd like to see what might have been had Elizabeth I had children!
My ratings would have been as follows:
The King: 4 stars
The Queen: 3 stars
The Throne: 2 stars, but this one got bumped up to 3 and then overall bumped to a 4
So overall, as you can see, my rating steadily declines for this omnibus, which honestly is a pretty decent estimate if you ask me, because it does. I'll explain.
The first book introduces the time travel concept, introduces Emmie into the Tudor era, and then proceeds to go back and forth between today and the 16th century while she and Nicholas try to work stuff out. It's interesting, the concept and the hero are certainly unique, and as a reader you LOVE hearing about the potential. Don't we all occasionally want to disappear into a different period of history and just exist there?
Going into the second book, however, we're spoiled right off the bat when the Duke of Norfolk points out what happened to his niece, Anne Boleyn (spoiler alert: she died), which is then pretty much replicated in the Emmie/Nick plot, except there's still time travel involved, though the ring that's used as mode of transportation seems to be running out of juice. Not only that, but Emmie persists in establishing 21st century feministic views in 16th century England, so three quarters of the clashes she has with Nick are entirely redundant from that perspective, because she doesn't even TRY. Obviously with the Anne Boleyn reference they're doomed, but the end twist IS interesting enough since it puts a different spin on it all.
This is where the third book kicks in, where if you're not mad at Emmie the character (please remember this is all about CHARACTERS, not the WRITER) then I don't know what to tell you. However, the ring kicks up just enough juice so that she and Nick can try and fix all the stuff they messed up, and for 80% of the book nothing really happens as they meander their way to the finish line, after which the last 20% is rushed through to the ending, and the modern history we know today, because apparently the skein of time itself was fed up with all the hopping, and just yanked the lot out to deposit them somewhere they couldn't really mess with the have-beens anymore.
A couple of things I liked:
- the writing itself; Ms Murray manages to really pull you into her writing and the scenes that are unfolding, which is difficult to do with the modern audience, but she has the flair for it, and I'm actually interested in picking up more of her work
- the addendum of Nicholas the Ironheart, which I don't think I've seen before; I went in thinking it was going to be either Arthur or Henry VIII
- the characters being quintessentially themselves (even when this infuriated me later on, I can acknowledge and appreciate there were now 180 spins!)
- the inner circle of supporting characters
- this is superficial, but the cover work on the trilogy and the omnibus is SUPERB
Some of the things I disliked:
- Emmie. Now this isn't for the duration of the trilogy, however, here's my thing: she doesn't even TRY. All the time travelling she does, and she doesn't even consider reading up on the Tudor period to blend in better, nor does she seem to WANT to blend in and not get her head chopped off for her modern views, speech, and beliefs.
- zero planning on Emmie's part, this ties into the above; specifically in the final book in the trilogy, instead of coming up with a plan, letting people know they were headed on a "trip", laying groundwork down etc., she just ... skips back in time again, without even discussing it with Nick, either, on a "maybe it won't work". This might have been acceptable in the first book where she's 18, but she's 21 by the third so the 'teenage mentality' doesn't quite apply anymore
- the fact that she was so convinced the 21st century was better than the 16th; she never looked at it from NICK's point of view. For a commoner? Heck yeah, it would have been awesome. A king though? Who never had to work a day in his life, had things brought to him, and absolute power over others? The 21st century would be a personal nightmare, and she never even pretends to grasp that concept
- I wasn't a particular fan of a rehash on what happened to Anne Boleyn, which is what we get in the second book, down to the title Emmie's granted, which is Marquess of Pembroke
- the thin, thiiiiiiiin reason why Kit NEEDS to tag along with Emmie and Nick at the end; I understand it was for plot purposes, but considering she's 10 and isn't even fully enthroned yet having a regency council, the Lord Protector would have overruled her regardless, and how nobody even voiced the thought that it's a TERRIBLE idea to send BOTH their monarchs into the maw of the beast could have probably been addressed better
- the ending; I'm okay with it - like I said, I'm a sucker for HEAs, but if you read these tight together, you can see that basically, Emmie and Nick SHOULDN'T have worked out. Everything is against them. The way the skeins of the story unfold, if Emmie had indeed ended up back in her time and Nick in his, that would have also been a realistic finish, given everything.
BUT that being said, I think the author was ambitious with this retelling or alternate universe of the Tudor history (which resets back to the one we know at the end) and I admire her for it. I admire her writing style, and the trilogy was easy to read, quick to read for the most part, not to mention had a bunch of laugh out loud moments where you could roll your eyes, snicker, and then move along.
Unfortunately there are some counter-points to that which bring everything down, however, when drawing the final line, I think this still deserves a 4 of 5 regardless, because it's not bad. Just a bit iffy at times.
Recommend if you'd like to see what might have been had Elizabeth I had children!
xx
*images not mine
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