The Kingdoms
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- Create Date：2021-06-21 09:51:11
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Natasha Pulley
- ISBN：1526623129
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Summary
For fans of The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and David Mitchell， a genre bending， time twisting alternative history that asks whether it's worth changing the past to save the future， even if it costs you everyone you've ever loved。
Joe Tournier has a bad case of amnesia。 His first memory is of stepping off a train in the nineteenth-century French colony of England。 The only clue Joe has about his identity is a century-old postcard of a Scottish lighthouse that arrives in London the same month he does。 Written in illegal English-instead of French-the postcard is signed only with the letter “M，” but Joe is certain whoever wrote it knows him far better than he currently knows himself， and he's determined to find the writer。 The search for M， though， will drive Joe from French-ruled London to rebel-owned Scotland and finally onto the battle ships of a lost empire's Royal Navy。 In the process， Joe will remake history， and himself。
From bestselling author Natasha Pulley， The Kingdoms is an epic， wildly original novel that bends genre as easily as it twists time。
Joe Tournier has a bad case of amnesia。 His first memory is of stepping off a train in the nineteenth-century French colony of England。 The only clue Joe has about his identity is a century-old postcard of a Scottish lighthouse that arrives in London the same month he does。 Written in illegal English-instead of French-the postcard is signed only with the letter “M，” but Joe is certain whoever wrote it knows him far better than he currently knows himself， and he's determined to find the writer。 The search for M， though， will drive Joe from French-ruled London to rebel-owned Scotland and finally onto the battle ships of a lost empire's Royal Navy。 In the process， Joe will remake history， and himself。
From bestselling author Natasha Pulley， The Kingdoms is an epic， wildly original novel that bends genre as easily as it twists time。
Reviews
Dd Burlin
，
Childish writing， and a plot that didn't thicken， it just curdled。 I put this book down at 165 pages after realizing that the reason my face was hurting was from scowling at it。 Childish writing， and a plot that didn't thicken， it just curdled。 I put this book down at 165 pages after realizing that the reason my face was hurting was from scowling at it。 。。。more
Kelly Pells
，
God， I love Natasha Pulley。 She's the only author I can think of who can name a character Missouri Kite and I'll totally go along with it。 I had very high expectations after falling in love with The Watchmaker of Filigree Street and its sequel， The Lost Future of Pepperharrow， which was my favourite book of 2020。 She has such a magical touch with writing， both with her characters and with the worlds she creates， that totally absorbs the reader and leaves them heartbroken at the end to leave the God， I love Natasha Pulley。 She's the only author I can think of who can name a character Missouri Kite and I'll totally go along with it。 I had very high expectations after falling in love with The Watchmaker of Filigree Street and its sequel， The Lost Future of Pepperharrow， which was my favourite book of 2020。 She has such a magical touch with writing， both with her characters and with the worlds she creates， that totally absorbs the reader and leaves them heartbroken at the end to leave the story behind。As with Pulley's other books， The Kingdoms is a bizarre， complicated， many-headed creature and， I'm not going to lie， I didn't always completely understand what was going on。 But the writing and the character development and the action scenes were so good， that my confusion just didn't matter at all。 It's an epic， time-hopping love story， taking the reader from battle scenes on the high seas to the dank cells of Newgate gaol。Joe and the aforementioned Kite are both fantastically realistic and flawed characters。 Pulley has a way of writing about the relationships between characters - whether they're siblings， friends， lovers， enemies - that makes my heart squeeze and my blood sing。 A gesture， a couple of words， a quick glance， can be imbued with so much meaning and empathy that I quickly became obsessed with every There are many different settings in this book， taking in many different time periods， and each one is brought vividly to life on the page。 The writing is atmospheric and wonderfully quirky。 The plot is propelled by mystery but never loses sight of the characters at its core。I was devastated to turn the final page and finish this book， only because I'd enjoyed spending so much time in this world with these characters。 It's full of heart and beauty and atmosphere。 It's the kind of story that lodges in your brain and refuses to leave。 It's a book I've no doubt I'll return to read again， and anything Pulley writes in the future will be going straight to the top of my TBR pile。 。。。more
Leanne Argh
，
The book opens with a man departing a train in London with no knowledge of who he is。 Everything around him， the language， the signs and the people are familiar but simultaneously alien。 His head tells him everything is as it should be but his heart tells him something is terribly wrong。 This book follows the protagonists search to find answers and brings the reader along for the adventure。 His journey is interlaced with intuition， magic， humour and danger， so that we can forgive the protagonist The book opens with a man departing a train in London with no knowledge of who he is。 Everything around him， the language， the signs and the people are familiar but simultaneously alien。 His head tells him everything is as it should be but his heart tells him something is terribly wrong。 This book follows the protagonists search to find answers and brings the reader along for the adventure。 His journey is interlaced with intuition， magic， humour and danger， so that we can forgive the protagonist his initial acceptance of his new fate。 The book asks the question， without the circumstances of our birth and upbringing that are far beyond our own or even our ancestors control。 Would we have the same character， the same resilience or the same fight。 The pacing struggles at times with parts of the book too heavy with unnecessary details and interactions。 However for the most part this is a thrilling read， with fascinating characters and an intricate narrative。 Would recommend for fans of alternative histories like Cloud Atlas and Fatherland。 。。。more
Clbplym
，
I absolutely loved this book。 It grabs you from the beginning as Joe arrives at the train station with no idea who he is。 You are already sympathetic to his plight but the life he then leads never feels like his own。 He has received a postcard of a lighthouse from a hundred year’s ago but it wasn’t built then。 When he has the chance to go there， he meets Kite and the adventure begins。 It’s hard to say more without giving away the story。 I feel I need to read it again to fully understand it and p I absolutely loved this book。 It grabs you from the beginning as Joe arrives at the train station with no idea who he is。 You are already sympathetic to his plight but the life he then leads never feels like his own。 He has received a postcard of a lighthouse from a hundred year’s ago but it wasn’t built then。 When he has the chance to go there， he meets Kite and the adventure begins。 It’s hard to say more without giving away the story。 I feel I need to read it again to fully understand it and put all the parts in the right order which I normally feel when reading books by this author。 Highly recommended so long as you enjoy the fantasy elements of a story。 。。。more
Jeff Dow
，
Great premise。 I plowed through the first 100 pages quickly then it just bogged down。 I think it could have been 50 to 75 page shorted and it would have made a much tighter story。 The stories are disjointed。 It almost felt like as the author kept writing， she added adding threads because she could at the expense of the story， rather than moving it forward。
Karen Frey
，
This was a time-travel fantasy/adventure with some romance and a dash of historical fiction。 It did start to get bogged down a little about 3/4 of the way through， but picked up again。 Did I get confused at times with the multiple time lines？ Yes It was still worth the read。
blue
，
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Meg
，
Time travel with so many time lines - really creatively done but did take some concentration to remember who was when。 Dark and challenging at times， but I was happy with the ending。
KindOfUnfunnyStories
，
When I picked up the Kingdoms， I thought it was going to be the book for me。 The concept sounded really interesting， the time period was something I wanted to learn about， and the whispers of a gay romance I heard through the grape vine were definitely a bonus。 Unfortunately， I enjoyed almost nothing about the Kingdoms。 It is difficult to explain exactly what my problems were without spoiling it， but I will do my best First， the good: 1。 The concept still IS interesting。 I would certainly read a When I picked up the Kingdoms， I thought it was going to be the book for me。 The concept sounded really interesting， the time period was something I wanted to learn about， and the whispers of a gay romance I heard through the grape vine were definitely a bonus。 Unfortunately， I enjoyed almost nothing about the Kingdoms。 It is difficult to explain exactly what my problems were without spoiling it， but I will do my best First， the good: 1。 The concept still IS interesting。 I would certainly read another book like this 2。 The romance was great。 I was invested enough to finish the book despite not liking almost anything else about it。 And yes， I did end up crying in the end。 If the rest of what I’m about to say doesn’t seem like it would bother you， I /would/ recommend the Kingdoms for what is essentially a very beautiful and tragic love story。3。 While the writing wasn’t my favorite， I recognize that’s a me problem。 Objectively， if you enjoy flowery and long descriptions of scenes， feelings， etc then you will like Pulley’s writing Now for the bad 1。 The plot DRAGGED。 Nothing happened for so many parts of this book， and it was infuriating especially considering how the romance was directly tied to the progress of the plot。 I found myself constantly aware of how many pages I had left because I was just so freaking sick of waiting 2。 The “twist” was not a twist。 Around pages 100， you know what is going on。 The characters do not fully realize it until page 3 freaking 50。 It takes over two hundred and fifty pages for them to catch on， and it’s， god， the most frustrating thing I’ve ever read If the book had been arranged in a different way， perhaps if the “flash backs” were interspersed throughout instead of just being shoved towards the latter half， I think the story would have been substantially more engaging。 For example， if we were constantly going from a chapter in the “past”， then a chapter in the “present，” I doubt I would have hated the middle 250 pages of the book as much as I did。 If I didn’t like what was happening in one chapter， I would still be looking forward to the next chapter set in a different time。 As it was， the Kingdoms was just a slog。 I’m honestly really upset that I hated reading it so much， because the concept is one I will think about for quite some time。I can say that if someone decides to make this into a movie， I would probably love it 。。。more
Isabel Ballan
，
Possibly the best historical fantasy time travel novel I’ve ever read。 The attention to detail， the plotting， the characterisations were all spot-on。 Completely absorbing， both tragic and uplifting， both heart- and mind-exapanding。 I still feel breathless。
Anja
，
3。5
Elise Norrid
，
I want to give this 6 stars
James Schisler
，
I'd never fallen in love with a book before。 This is a love story， and an adventure novel， and historical fiction， and a time travel/alternate history work。 And Natasha Pulley does a damned good job at each of these things， and it's still greater than the sum of its parts。 The writing is stellar， the pacing is among the best I've ever seen， the plot is the right amount of twisted and confused， and the characters have depth that most books wouldn't dream of。I've not read many books I was sad to f I'd never fallen in love with a book before。 This is a love story， and an adventure novel， and historical fiction， and a time travel/alternate history work。 And Natasha Pulley does a damned good job at each of these things， and it's still greater than the sum of its parts。 The writing is stellar， the pacing is among the best I've ever seen， the plot is the right amount of twisted and confused， and the characters have depth that most books wouldn't dream of。I've not read many books I was sad to finish。 This one though？ I teared up at the end， because of the sheer emotional content， yes， but also because I didn't want it to end。 I wanted to savor it， to linger in the world still longer。 436 pages was nowhere near enough。 It's everything I can do to not dive back in and restart this book right now。 That starts with the writing: Pulley has written a time travel/multi timeline novel that has a stunningly cohesive plot and narrative。 Every single swap from one moment to the next feels natural， even if it's a hundred years in the future or past。 Her prose is gorgeous and impactful， catching me flatfooted with emotional punch that I was just not prepared for。 I usually struggle with novels that take place across multiple time threads， as I tend to find the transitions synthetic， and the prose often almost clinical， so focused on getting the job done of orienting you。 This is set against a backdrop that I was always bound to love: as a history nerd， what isn't to love about an alternate （ish） history in which Napoleon won and took over England？ But the layering of other "alternate alternate" timelines was deftly done to great effect。 There's a lesson in this book， about when you have to accept things for what they are， and focus on the moment。 There's a lot to learn from the characters， too。 Generous， spiteful， vulnerable， harsh， cruel， kind， compassionate， strong- I think all of these words apply to most of the characters in this book。 Not a flat character to be found。 Pulley doesn't shy away from the harsh， bad sides of her characters。 Instead， she uses them to show us more about the characters around them。 Her capture of the love people share， of that feeling when someone just makes you calm， of the what it means to be home， is overwhelming in the best possible way。This book feels like it reached inside of me， pulled out my soul， found a piece missing， and replaced it。 I've never read such a whirlwind of lovely， beautiful storytelling， of pining， of drama， of adventure， of dreams and memories， of love， and of what makes us the people we are。 I can't recommend this book enough。 If you're considering it， you should read it。 。。。more
Tom - Reader of Books
，
I have to say I really admire the authors ambition here in what is a sprawling tale intricately laid out。 However because of the scale this causes a few problems。In parts the story stalls and momentum is lost。 I’m not sure if the author really knew what they wanted to achieve in this because it becomes a bit muddled and the characters aren’t strong enough to lift the story。That said， there is a lot to enjoy and it cleverly constructed when it’s successful， it zings along。 Just didn’t feel the bo I have to say I really admire the authors ambition here in what is a sprawling tale intricately laid out。 However because of the scale this causes a few problems。In parts the story stalls and momentum is lost。 I’m not sure if the author really knew what they wanted to achieve in this because it becomes a bit muddled and the characters aren’t strong enough to lift the story。That said， there is a lot to enjoy and it cleverly constructed when it’s successful， it zings along。 Just didn’t feel the book could keep it up all the way through。 。。。more
Robyn Stuart
，
Just finished Natasha Pulley's The Kingdoms。 Wow！ What a ride。 Darting back & forth between late 1800 to early 1900 & late 1700 to early 1800 & between an England where France won the Napoleonic wars & a Britain fighting the wars--on sailing ships & lighthouses & steam-powered things & bigtime amnesia （time travel mixed with changing futures）。 I'm going to have to read it again， because it felt so head-spinning intricate， even though I was reading it without much interruption by other stuff。 And Just finished Natasha Pulley's The Kingdoms。 Wow！ What a ride。 Darting back & forth between late 1800 to early 1900 & late 1700 to early 1800 & between an England where France won the Napoleonic wars & a Britain fighting the wars--on sailing ships & lighthouses & steam-powered things & bigtime amnesia （time travel mixed with changing futures）。 I'm going to have to read it again， because it felt so head-spinning intricate， even though I was reading it without much interruption by other stuff。 And there was a wonderful depth lying underneath in the question: Is the death of a few warranted to save the many？The main character suffers personality and life history changes and amnesia of what he had lived through because of profound alterations to the course of the Napoleonic wars through the acquisition of future technology。 And the reader suffers alongside Joe as the story unfolds in a piecemeal fashion。 The whole amazing mystery is solved like a jigsaw by Pulley slotting in pieces of the sky & then doing a bit of work on the foreground then heading off to the horizon。 The edges are laid early but the picture is resolved only at the end。At heart though it is a love story。 Superb。 。。。more
Sophie
，
This is a book to take in slowly and savour。The Kingdoms opens with an amnesiac man in an alternative London where the French have won the Napoleonic wars。 Searching for answers our main character， Joe， ends up on a remote lighthouse in Scotland where he is kidnapped and taken back in time。 There’s a lot to unpack there but Pulley does a fantastic job of introducing you gently while setting down plot clues and establishing characters。 Despite some misdirection， I think most readers will pretty q This is a book to take in slowly and savour。The Kingdoms opens with an amnesiac man in an alternative London where the French have won the Napoleonic wars。 Searching for answers our main character， Joe， ends up on a remote lighthouse in Scotland where he is kidnapped and taken back in time。 There’s a lot to unpack there but Pulley does a fantastic job of introducing you gently while setting down plot clues and establishing characters。 Despite some misdirection， I think most readers will pretty quickly realise the truth behind Joe’s identity。 From that moment onwards the wait is on for Joe to catch up。 Knowing Joe’s identity doesn’t hamper the readers experience， in fact it adds to it。 There’s a double meaning behind every event and interaction between characters。 Pulley excels at writing characters that attempt to keep themselves emotionally distant whilst also allowing the reader to connect and feel deeply for them。 By the end you are so invested in them that the decisions and choices they have to make are truly heartbreaking。 It really made me wonder if I would choose the same in that situation。 This is a beautiful story and the perfect blend of magic， history， complex characters and love。 Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
jack ford
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Wonderful bookJust as brilliant as her other 3 books。 I loved it。 It was simply beautiful。 A must read for all Natasha Pulley fans & indeed for everyone else。
Alexandra
，
this book made me ABSOLUTELY feral this was some next level star-crossed slow burn bullshit！！ Amazing！！！ Emotionally devastating！！！ A lovely ending！！！ 4。5/5 because i ended up spending a good hour on wikipedia looking up details about the napoleonic wars and 18th century naval warfare >:（
Amelia
，
Another masterpiece by Natasha Pulley I am shattered in the best way and I will be thinking about this book for a long time。 Wow wow wowowowowowow I can’t handle my feelings right now。 This books made me scream， cry， laugh， ache。 All of Natasha Pulley’s books are miracles with behold but she keeps getting better and better。 This book is stunning。
Lany
，
She's done it again， folks 😭 I really can't help but love whatever Natasha Pulley writes。 I couldn't give it a full five stars because I feel like， as compared to her previous books， there was bit of under-development with some of the characters and their relationships， but I think it's because there seemed to be a few more characters than she generally deals with， and because there was SO much going on with the time travel aspects of the story。 I feel like some of the character stuff got lost i She's done it again， folks 😭 I really can't help but love whatever Natasha Pulley writes。 I couldn't give it a full five stars because I feel like， as compared to her previous books， there was bit of under-development with some of the characters and their relationships， but I think it's because there seemed to be a few more characters than she generally deals with， and because there was SO much going on with the time travel aspects of the story。 I feel like some of the character stuff got lost in trying to keep up with all of that。 HOWEVER， I was compelled from the first page， and that's saying something， because I feel like it usually takes a few chapters for me to get into her books。 Once she gets going， I'm totally sold， but I feel like they always start out a little slow。 That wasn't as much the case with this one。 The fact that Joe has no idea who he is when he gets off the train in a London controlled by France is extremely interesting， and I couldn't help wanting to know what had happened to him as much he did。 There is something inherently terrifying about not knowing who you are， but knowing that you *should* know， and basically just having to rely on the idea that everyone around you had halfway decent intentions in order for you to get by。 Joe more or less takes it all in stride， and I liked him very much without really being able to put my finger on exactly why。And then we get Kite， who is exactly the kind of damaged， repressed character Natasha Pulley writes best， and I loved him too， despite his stand-offishness。 What I think she does well in The Kingdoms， and in all of her books， is tenderness。 Every small interaction between characters reveals something about them that doesn't have to be said， and it's in the quiet moments between them， or when they're alone that I， as a reader， always end up falling a little in love with them。 My chief qualms， were， like I said， with a certain lack of development in the relationships between the characters （things come together at the end， and after so much build-up， it feels like not enough）， and that I felt a bit icky about the fact that 3/4 significant women in the book met rather grim endings for no reason other than what felt like to kind of get them out of the way for the m/m romance。 All of Pulley's books feature m/m romances， and so I don't go into them expecting a massive amount of screen time for the women—and don't really mind that there isn't it—but I feel like she generally handles them a little better than she did in this one。 Not many of them were even that likeable this time around， and I also usually feel rather fond of the women in her stories。 I would probably benefit from re-reading this book （and I'm notoriously slow， so it's not like I sped through it the first time）， but I feel like because there is so much going on， that it would be fun to take notes about things on a re-read， and that I would probably pick up on things that I missed the first time around。 Historical fiction can be hard enough to keep up with when time travel and shifting timelines aren't involved-- when they are， it definitely becomes more of a challenge！ Overall， I liked it a lot。 I would definitely read it again。 I'd pay a king's ransom for the audiobook。 It's just that having read her other books， and *knowing* how well she usually does， this one was just a little short of the others， imo。 I do think it was just because the plot was so ambitious， and I don't think that's a bad thing。 I'm still going to look forward to whatever she writes next！ 。。。more
Grace Freeman
，
Everything she does is magic。 Just incredible， as amazing as her previous books。 10/10
Kel
，
A very enjoyable read that involves time travel， fantasy， and definite steampunk elements。 If you need an escape from present day travails， highly recommended！ Also if you just like novels that get complicated-but in a intriguing way。
Shayla
，
3。5/5 Well， where do I start？I purchased this book a few days ago， solely because I read a blurb on the back that say this novel combines “history， speculative fiction， [and] queer romance。” It checked all the boxes for me （+ time traveling！）。 It was about half way through the book when I realized… nothing major is happening。 I’m just reading pretty language。 I would say that 60% into this book， we get 30% plot。 I made it to Chapter 31， when I decided to DNF this book （I really tried to push thr 3。5/5 Well， where do I start？I purchased this book a few days ago， solely because I read a blurb on the back that say this novel combines “history， speculative fiction， [and] queer romance。” It checked all the boxes for me （+ time traveling！）。 It was about half way through the book when I realized… nothing major is happening。 I’m just reading pretty language。 I would say that 60% into this book， we get 30% plot。 I made it to Chapter 31， when I decided to DNF this book （I really tried to push through， y’all）。 I just didn’t really care for any of the characters except Joe; mainly because I wanted to see him discover who he really is。 Other than that， didn’t really care about anyone else or the war going on。 However， I will say this: I would like to pick up another book by this author。 Why？ The writing is actually quite stunning。 They did a fantastic job at creating detailed sceneries and intriguing atmospheres。 Hence why I pushed forward and continued reading。So while unfortunately this book wasn’t for me， I’m interested in what else this author creates in the future！ 。。。more
Jamie Lee
，
Hooooolllyyyy shit， this book。 End of review。 Bye。 God damn。 I adored this twisty turn story， full of action， romance and different timelines all smushed together in one epic book！ The characters are extremely well written and complex， you can't help but fall in love with them。 You want to know everything about what happened and is happening to Joe as his life and his memories don't seem to match up。 The world is so vivid it's easy to escape into even though I did find myself at points having to Hooooolllyyyy shit， this book。 End of review。 Bye。 God damn。 I adored this twisty turn story， full of action， romance and different timelines all smushed together in one epic book！ The characters are extremely well written and complex， you can't help but fall in love with them。 You want to know everything about what happened and is happening to Joe as his life and his memories don't seem to match up。 The world is so vivid it's easy to escape into even though I did find myself at points having to force myself to stop reading because I just didn't want it to end。 All the twists and turns in this book kept me guessing and I really liked the notion of not knowing what the outcome was going to be。 This book was an utter masterpiece and a joy to read。This is my first time reading anything by Natasha Pulley but I will be immediately purchasing everything she's ever written to correct the error of my ways as she will 100% become an auto-buy author after this。 。。。more
Raven
，
I enjoyed this book a lot， but the last quarter needed to wind up a bit faster。
Elaine
，
I love Pulley’s imagination but I found much of the timeline muddling here just befuddling。 The slipping from one era to another， battle to sea voyage， who knows what （and did they already meet in another chapter and was that before or after this era on the timeline？） made it really challenging for me to find the thread extending through the novel。 In addition， I found Joe to be a very passive protagonist; he was， no doubt， generally at least as confused as I was。I expect it would be a much more I love Pulley’s imagination but I found much of the timeline muddling here just befuddling。 The slipping from one era to another， battle to sea voyage， who knows what （and did they already meet in another chapter and was that before or after this era on the timeline？） made it really challenging for me to find the thread extending through the novel。 In addition， I found Joe to be a very passive protagonist; he was， no doubt， generally at least as confused as I was。I expect it would be a much more engaging novel on second reading （“ah， now I see where she’s going！”） but there’s so much other great stuff to read that I don’t think I’ll bother。 Perhaps this is a blame-the-reader rather than the author scenario。 。。。more
Bethnoir
，
I found this book emotionally difficult。 The initial confusion and feeling that everything was not quite right for the main character when we meet him was unsettling and upsetting。 As rhe story progressed， I grew attached to some characters， then terrible things happened to them， there was a lot of violence and suffering and loss。To be fair to the aurhor， I was very taken with the story and people I met in the book， but overall it was a bit too brutal for me。
Abigail Pankau
，
Joe Tournier steps off a train in London and can’t remember anything from his life from before that point。 He remembers general things， though， like how to speak English and French， as well as basics of history， like England is a part of the French Republic after losing Trafalgar。 The doctors tell him it’s a form of amnesiac epilepsy that has recently been affecting various people across the country。 He tries to make the best of it， until one day he receives a mysterious postcard postmarked near Joe Tournier steps off a train in London and can’t remember anything from his life from before that point。 He remembers general things， though， like how to speak English and French， as well as basics of history， like England is a part of the French Republic after losing Trafalgar。 The doctors tell him it’s a form of amnesiac epilepsy that has recently been affecting various people across the country。 He tries to make the best of it， until one day he receives a mysterious postcard postmarked nearly 100 years before， but has a picture of a lighthouse built only a few years ago。 Looking into it， he travels to the lighthouse hoping to learn about his own past， and gets pulled into something larger than he could have imagined。 This was interesting， and confusing， and I’m really torn over it， because the ending was excellent。 This is a historical fiction but also an alternate history because of time travel。 The book starts out very confusing， especially for the first hundred pages， though that might be done purposefully to enhance the main character’s own confusion。 But because of the back and forth nature of the story-telling， telling points of view from two different timelines， while also have flashbacks mixed in， it gets confusing and sometimes it’s hard to tell when exactly a flashback is taking place。 Also there were a few points when precise time-frames that were given （like X happened two years and two months after Y） but the times didn’t add up properly。 The reveal of who Joe is wasn’t much of a surprise as there were plenty of hints scattered throughout， so the surprise was stretched out far longer than it needed to be。 It’s also hard to care about some of the major characters because they aren’t very likable because they play their cards a little too close to the chest， and so it’s not clear whether you’re supposed to like them or hate them until the very end。 And because major characters are playing their cards so close to their chests， the Romance feels a little unearned。 Plus all the characters voices sound the same， making it hard to tell whose point of view we’re following。 Also this might just be me， but I wanted better disambiguation of when people were speaking English or when they were speaking French。 I feel like it really would have added to the realness of the world-building。 But even after all the confusion and rough storytelling and things that irritated me， the ending is excellent。 It is a superb ending。 It ties up all the threads nicely， and gives a very moving and satisfying conclusion for the major characters。 It's very satisfying， especially after being irritated with other things about the book。 So yeah， I’m really torn over it。 But after thinking about it for a long while， I think that a story about time travel and altering timelines should have paid more attention to making sure time-frames added up and making sure it was clear when flashbacks were happening。 Also， it needed to make all its main characters likable for the Romance to feel earned。 。。。more
Crystal
，
Sorta confusing and hard to follow。 One of those books that you read a chapter but then don't understand what's going on until the next chapter or 5 later！ Sorta confusing and hard to follow。 One of those books that you read a chapter but then don't understand what's going on until the next chapter or 5 later！ 。。。more
Marlene
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This is an alternative history about traveling through time from the end of the 19th century to its beginning and the extreme aftereffects thereof。The book has a great premise - a portal between past and present， a man trying to put together the forgotten pieces of his life and the Napoleonic wars between Britain and France as background。 At stake is nothing less than true love！Unfortunately I found the story somewhat of a mess to read。 Pulley moves along from scene to scene without any fluid tr This is an alternative history about traveling through time from the end of the 19th century to its beginning and the extreme aftereffects thereof。The book has a great premise - a portal between past and present， a man trying to put together the forgotten pieces of his life and the Napoleonic wars between Britain and France as background。 At stake is nothing less than true love！Unfortunately I found the story somewhat of a mess to read。 Pulley moves along from scene to scene without any fluid transition or connection with what came before。 I was able to work out the twists that dealt with the protagonist’s identity early on - so there was little that surprised me or kept me suspended。 Some characters died abruptly and the other characters barely seemed to react to their passing， which could make sense given the plot’s war context but reads very awkwardly indeed。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Kingdoms
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Kingdoms&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Kingdoms&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0