I still enjoyed the hell out of this book, despite the slow start. One thing I did appreciate about it is seeing the evolution of St. Mary’s relationship with the Time Police. They’ll never be more than reluctant allies, but at least they’re not trying to murder each other unnecessarily anymore.
For all that Max has said in previous books that people displaced in time have absolutely no chance, she certainly made a go of it. It certainly wasn’t easy, and Max had a few benefits on her side (such as a working knowledge of the time period and passable Latin), but there was very much the sense that any day could see her death. Except — the narrative made it very clear that Max was retelling all of this from safely in the future, with eliminated some of the tension.
On the other hand, it was a lovely dive into a specific period of history concerning day-to-day life. Usually the historians are there for a Major Event, so this slower look isn’t as accessible. Note that an historian is involved, so there are still appropriate levels of mayhem.
This novel also took an interesting look at relationships that I very much enjoyed. Tears were definitely involved, because Taylor is my favorite author who can make me both cry and laugh out loud in the space of a single scene. Max and Leon are my OTP, but Taylor definitely makes us root for Max no matter what situation she has found herself in.
And the ending…so close to a certain conclusion and yet so far. But events I was absolutely no expecting happened, and I continue to applaud Taylor for her deft hand with surprises.
Rating: 4 (out of 5) stars. Cross-posted to Amazon and Goodreads.
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