Truly amazing book! It was a slow start, but it revved up fast! Also so great for new vocabulary words, I think I looked up at least one word per chapter.
Early on I realized there was a full glossary of characters and dictionary of terms, as well asa timeline, and they were not too spoilery and it definitely helped me to read through that, until I had gotten my footing on who all the characters were

Really fascinating and thorough research! Deducting a star just bc of how long it was and it dragged a little in the middle

I sat on my review of this for a bit because I really dithered between four and five stars. The writing is beautiful and the plot interesting and moves along, and the characters well developed and nuanced.
But I ended up deciding on four stars because I can’t separate my own experience of the church, in which I grew up and in which I now work, from this author’s idealized version; and because the fundamental relationship the book claims to be based on, James and Charles, really isn’t there, they barely have any relationship, and hardly any conversations. So, with much internal debating, (and a lot of analysis of my personal reaction to the book, a reaction which both intrigued and alarmed me), I’m settling on 4 stars

This one is a slow burn, but a good one! Just an easy little read, and a fun take on a pirate story.
I don’t say this much, but I think it would make a great miniseries

I really liked what the author was trying to do and her writing is compelling, but like so many other readers, I just had no idea what I was reading. I loved one of her other books, so I'll probably try out more, but this one just didn't hit the mark for me.

I like time travel books and I usually can suspend disbelief to get into them, but this one had too many holes in the time travel concept, I spent so much time being frustrated with it and with the narrator.

Loved it, and am sorry I didn’t go ahead and buy the next two before my vacation! Will be remedying that upon my return

I was really rooting for this book and it opened with promise, but the writing is SO clunky and didactic, that it became a chore to read. There's so much promise in the characters and in telling the stories of Vietnamese people and Vietnam's history, but this novel just didn't achieve its potential IMHO.
I do think it might be good for younger readers, as an educational tool.

Wow wow wow. I love this series! I think this one was better than the first one, a lot more action and now that the world-building is set, we could just jump right in.
The only off note to me was Dara--I don't get his motivation, and especially in this book, but I also know the plot doesn't really work without him being there, so I'm okay overlooking it.
So excited to get the next one tomorrow!

Give it a chance!

Wow. Didn’t expect this to make me cry, but here I am crying.
The first part of this book, the Evelyn part, is well-written, but I have known Evelyns, I have lived with Evelyns, and I quickly got very tired of Evelyn.
LUCKILY right when I was like “ugh I’m gonna skim the rest of this”, the remainder of the book switches to Philippa and oh my gosh! Phillippa! What heart, what complexity! I loved her section, and what she brought in analysis of Evelyn’s section.
Also give this a chance even if you’re not into fantasy or Narnia (I found Narnia super boring, sorry). This book is more about grief, and living life and being brave for ordinary things, and about how to love people who exhaust you and break your heart. The fantasy bits are few and far between and you can skim them easily.
This is an easy and quick read, so if you’re on the fence, give it a chance!