(4/5 stars)
*I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
*I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
The second I looked at this book and realized it was about Pompeii, I just knew that I had to read it. I have a weird, morbid fascination with Pompeii--I can't even help it. I love the movies, the tv shows on the History Channel, and the songs (just a little Bastille shoutout because I can). So, I'm extremely glad that this book didn't disappoint and just continued to add on to my Pompeii obsession.
What I liked: Oh gosh was there a lot of research done on this book! There's cool mythology and the geography of everything feels legit and the history surrounding the story seems so very real. Like, are we sure Lucia and Tag weren't real people? Because they totally felt like they could have existed. I loved Tag and his role in, not only the story, but in the society around him. He was a slave with dreams that pulled at my heartstrings and I wanted all good things for him. Lucia, for being an upper class citizen and not super privy to an education, was quite intelligent and intuitive. Not only was there a lot of interesting mythology in this book, but there was a neat little (teeny tiny) paranormal twist about curses that added to the story. It did a lot for the relationship between Lucia and Tag, too. And speaking of that romance... hello heartbreak. But I'll get to that...
What I didn't like:... here. Ugh, I know it's a story about Pompeii and obviously things aren't going to turn out all sunshiny and rainbowy, but I really wanted a happy ending you guys. At this point, I don't even care how realistic it is, I just wanted to smile when it was all over--especially since they went though so.much. Besides all my unrealistic and albeit naive expectations, there were some spots that were a bit slow and really focused on the historical side of things. That being said, I didn't personally have a problem with it because I consider myself a history nerd and so that information was interesting to me. But others might find it tedious--just a little warning.
This book was a roller coaster of emotions in the best way possible, and I really felt a connection to the characters. I was constantly rooting for them, and that's all I can ask for in a book, really. Mix in the drama of Pompeii and we've got ourselves an interesting read, y'all.
-Annie
What I liked: Oh gosh was there a lot of research done on this book! There's cool mythology and the geography of everything feels legit and the history surrounding the story seems so very real. Like, are we sure Lucia and Tag weren't real people? Because they totally felt like they could have existed. I loved Tag and his role in, not only the story, but in the society around him. He was a slave with dreams that pulled at my heartstrings and I wanted all good things for him. Lucia, for being an upper class citizen and not super privy to an education, was quite intelligent and intuitive. Not only was there a lot of interesting mythology in this book, but there was a neat little (teeny tiny) paranormal twist about curses that added to the story. It did a lot for the relationship between Lucia and Tag, too. And speaking of that romance... hello heartbreak. But I'll get to that...
What I didn't like:... here. Ugh, I know it's a story about Pompeii and obviously things aren't going to turn out all sunshiny and rainbowy, but I really wanted a happy ending you guys. At this point, I don't even care how realistic it is, I just wanted to smile when it was all over--especially since they went though so.much. Besides all my unrealistic and albeit naive expectations, there were some spots that were a bit slow and really focused on the historical side of things. That being said, I didn't personally have a problem with it because I consider myself a history nerd and so that information was interesting to me. But others might find it tedious--just a little warning.
This book was a roller coaster of emotions in the best way possible, and I really felt a connection to the characters. I was constantly rooting for them, and that's all I can ask for in a book, really. Mix in the drama of Pompeii and we've got ourselves an interesting read, y'all.
-Annie
No comments:
Post a Comment