Like the first in the series, this novel is quite different from what I am used to reading from Philippa Gregory. The good news is that I still very much enjoyed my reading experience! The story continues from where we left off in The Tidelands, but a couple of decades later. This does leave a bit of gap in the story and Gregory could have easily taken advantage of this to build another book in between, but I didn't really find myself missing the extra years. It does create an effect that nearly makes the two books act as standalones, though there is some background necessary to fully understand this installment.

The story is broken into two separate pieces, with one following Alinor and her family in England, while the other follows Alinor's brother, Ned, who has moved to colonial America. I don't mind dual narratives, in fact I enjoy them most of the time as they tend to give a better overall view of the plot and the characters. In fact, I liked both of these story lines, but I think they may have been better served to have been divided into separate books. They don't really interweave, but rather run parallel to one another. Keeping them together did result in a little bit of a lack of cohesion for the overall novel, but not in a way that made the stories murky.

I loved Gregory's writing as usual. She is great at setting a scene and creating complex characters. There is a good mix of good, morally gray, naive, and devious. Alys continues to be a bit of an annoyance character for me and I certainly hope that the actions in this novel prove to show some change in her if this series continues. I like Alinor. She's a bit of a subtle genius and it seems that no one really likes to listen to her, though she really does know more than everyone else seems to comprehend. Livia proves to be an interesting character. She is a bit heavy-handed for a Gregory novel, but it becomes very clear who she is without readers having to work that hard. I guess in a way that can be nice. I didn't like her, but I appreciated her as a character...if that makes sense. I can't really say more without spoiling some things.

The plot moves at a nice speed in both parallel stories, but feels a bit more natural on the Ned side. The narrative for Alinor's family does admittedly get a bit convenient in a few spots. It feels a little lazy for Gregory, but did make the read fun. Without being spoilery, I will say that Sarah's character arc in particular requires a bit of suspension of belief. I will admit that I rolled my eyes a couple of times.

Despite the flaws that may be present in the construction of the novel, this was still a very fun read for me. I just enjoy everything that Philippa Gregory writes. Some more than others, but I was in the right headspace for this one to read quite well and provide ample entertainment. It's not the best book for an introduction to Philippa Gregory, but it will prove a good read for those familiar with the breadth of her works.

* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *