Ok

I am a massive Karen Brooks fan - the Good Wife of Bath being my favourite - but I just couldn’t get into this.. I’m not sure whether it’s because it’s set around the same time as ‘Forever Amber’ and the descriptions are just so real and vivid in that book that this one feels insipid and uninspiring? Anyhow I’ve paused it for now and will return when I have nothing else to listen to.

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Brilliant

Captured me straight away. Fantastic information of London history in the 1600. Great read. Brilliant.

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Enjoyable but a bit too long

Good storyline, very well narrated, I agree that it could have been shorter as some things repeated a little. But it was easy to listen to and overall a good story. Well researched, even enjoyed the last part from the author.

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Oooh, A Chocolate Delight of a Book!

I was riveted from the very beginning with Rosamund’s Life and times in this book.
It certainly taught me a lot more than I knew about this period and also about chocolate and chocolate houses, of course.
I also thought that the narrator brought this book to life extremely well too.

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Didn't want it to finish

Interesting to consider the similarities between the social issues faced in the 1600s and the parity with today

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1 person found this helpful

Simply Amazing and Addictive

Such an amazing writer. I’ve never really been that interested in the restoration period but I must say that this book has whetted my appetite. I think Rosamund is amazing and Bianca too. Thanks Belinda.

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2 people found this helpful

Failed to captivate me...

The writer has clearly researched this novel meticulously and comprehensively. I adore historical fiction and really wanted to like it! But for me it’s overly-long, could have been a third fewer words. Even the author’s note and acknowledgements take up the best part of an hour in their own right! I found myself willing it to come to a conclusion, and with books I love, I experience the exact opposite of that.

None of this was helped by the narrator, who sounded like she was reading the news from an autocue, albeit with a convincingly good range of accents and voices. The narrative passages between the dialogue were flat and perfunctory. I did warm to the protagonists, but overall, an unsatisfying experience.

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A touch of the Mills & Boon

It was ok, nicely read, likeable characters, well researched but the plot lines were pretty predictable and the main romance was total Mills & Boon. Reasonably enjoyable but wouldn’t chose to read more from this author.

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A truly wonderfully flavoured tale

Loved the story line, just didn't want my litery tasty cup to finish! The narrator made the story come to life.

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3 people found this helpful

Got bored about half way through

I was really looking forward to this. I love historical fiction, especially that which features a female protagonist, but I found I didn't care about Rosamund. It was way too long, the narration at times akin to reading the football scores and some of the writing isn't great. An extremly interesting period in time, the plague, the fire etc, but I never want to hear the word 'chocolate' again.

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1 person found this helpful