This is not a review. It’s a sequence of events that led to the one-star rating.

Years of Wonders was one of the choices for Sep BoTM in the RF group. I skimmed the reviews to shortlist and vote for this (KMN) despite reading that the last 50 pages were sort-of extra.

I don’t re-read the blurb when starting a book. So, all I remember is that the book is about Plague, Anna, and the villagers’ condition, with a good dose of witchcraft thrown in.

The book started well enough, albeit slow. I expected the slow pace and trudged on the first couple of days.

By around 45%, I felt something was missing or not right. Still, I continued by starting to speed-read the rest.

By 73%, I was half exasperated with the whole thing. There were too many things going on, and the pacing wasn’t helping either. I wondered if the author was following some sort of checklist.

Then, I saw two friends declare that the ending was a huge letdown. I thanked them and prepared myself for the worst. How bad can it be? I underestimated the author.

A couple of twists I expected arrived soon. I was prepared. New developments unfolded. I connected the dots and reminded myself about the ‘worst part’.

Then, I read the epilogue. I went back to read it again. Maybe I was reading an excerpt from another book. Alas, no! It was the same story.

And that last page of the story… let’s say I value my life enough to not smack my head against the wall. Mind you, I’m a certified HEA lover, and this ending ruined my love for it.

The afterword followed. It was like dunking my head in a bucket of ice. The story was supposed to be about how the villagers of Eyam quarantined themselves to stop the spread of the Plague. What I read wasn’t that! The true incident was only one of the subplots. I read Anna’s story from her POV (more on this next).

Here, I thought the book was about Anna, and lo! It is actually about the villagers and their grit to quarantine themselves. What’s more, I didn’t even feel the impact of their decision. It was always about Anna.

It didn’t end there. The book had real characters. Rev. William Mompesson (real) became Rev. Michael Mompellion. The same with his wife. Okay! They were fictionized. Agreed. I’m a writer too. I know creative freedom and all that. But you can’t disgrace a real person like that. The poor man has been dead for ages. He’d be turning in his grave with what happened in the last 25% of the book.

The whole story seemed more like a piece shoehorned to fit a prompt (here, the prompt being the Plague). That explained the multitude of themes and the stupidest ending.

How could I rate a book higher when I know it doesn’t even do justice to the real incident? The book was supposed to be about how the villagers dealt with the Plague and quarantine. It had to have both sides of the coin. Not a bunch of depressing themes, all possible evils, and a few birthing scenes (plus a couple of sex scenes).

I don’t mind the detailed description of the gruesome scenes. I pretty much skipped them. I do mind the lack of positivity in everyone except Eleanor (and Rev. MM). Give people some credit. They sacrificed themselves to save others. Talk about their emotions, too, instead of slotting them into good and bad. There’s hardly anything wonderful in the book (except the illogical ending, which is positive only for Anna). The first-person narration sure didn’t help.

And the narration… this is something I commented on in one of the recent writing events we conducted at The Hive. When writing a first-person POV, the narration has to suit the character and align with the arc.

Anna is an illiterate who later learns to read and write. Her skills are still limited, never mind that she was an overachiever (God, I hate this trope). The narration alters between sophisticated descriptions and crass statements. The dialogues are more like Anna, but the narration would suit someone like Eleanor (minus the gruesome details). I can ignore this if the rest of the book is good. It isn’t, which means I’m pissed off enough to point out as many flaws as I can.

… Phew! That’s it, I suppose. Will edit the review if I remember more.

If you still haven’t understood the low rating, you might just like the book. Give it a shot. If you nod your head in agreement with my statements, thank you, and welcome to the club.