An extra out of day Friday Reads review in the last day of November for my last NetGalley November entry. I really didn't do too well, but at least I improved my ratio a lil bit! Still, I will continue to prioritize my NetGalley ARCs through December too, so I can at least start the New Year with the recommended 80% ratio!
Covenant with Hell by Priscilla Royal
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
When I requested the ARC of this book on NetGalley I wasn't aware that it was the 10th book in a series, but once my request was approved I decided to read it as a stand alone and see how well that would work. Thankfully the book reads well enough as a stand alone, with enough information being revealed and explained about backstories of characters to understand them better.
The series follow a monk and a prioress of a special order where monks and nuns are allowed to work together and the top authority of the order is in the hands of a woman, since it is dedicated to the Queen of Heaven, the Virgin Mary. These two tend to find themselves in the middle of mysteries and crimes and are a bit of a detective duo.
Covenant with Hell is a Middle Ages murder mystery, that seems to be easy to figure out at first, but once the bigger conspiracy comes to the front, things are not as straight forward as it might have seem at first.
Brother Thomas and Priestess Eleonor are quite well developed and their relationship clearly has been developed along a few books, but that wasn't a problem for me to get into the story and to side with these two.
The book have some different POVs and at first it seemed a lil disjointed at first, but later on all the previous chapters started adding up and all the hints and information made sense. The setting and all the historical elements felt very genuine and authentic, clearly the author knows her stuff when it comes to the Middle Ages. The murder mystery was done well, and I liked how in the end the guilty party is the least likely.
Quite entertaining, and though this is not a fault of the book, I just kept on enraging myself with the treatment to women in that era. Once the action got going a bit more and all the different POVs started making more sense together, the story picked up speed. I wasn't too happy that the final resolution of the conspiracy and the murder was just told to the characters and not part of the action. Still, I feel quite intrigued to read the previous books of the series.
3.5 stars, entertaining but not can't-tear-my-eyes-off-the-page.
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Covenant with Hell by Priscilla RoyalMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
When I requested the ARC of this book on NetGalley I wasn't aware that it was the 10th book in a series, but once my request was approved I decided to read it as a stand alone and see how well that would work. Thankfully the book reads well enough as a stand alone, with enough information being revealed and explained about backstories of characters to understand them better.
The series follow a monk and a prioress of a special order where monks and nuns are allowed to work together and the top authority of the order is in the hands of a woman, since it is dedicated to the Queen of Heaven, the Virgin Mary. These two tend to find themselves in the middle of mysteries and crimes and are a bit of a detective duo.
Covenant with Hell is a Middle Ages murder mystery, that seems to be easy to figure out at first, but once the bigger conspiracy comes to the front, things are not as straight forward as it might have seem at first.
Brother Thomas and Priestess Eleonor are quite well developed and their relationship clearly has been developed along a few books, but that wasn't a problem for me to get into the story and to side with these two.
The book have some different POVs and at first it seemed a lil disjointed at first, but later on all the previous chapters started adding up and all the hints and information made sense. The setting and all the historical elements felt very genuine and authentic, clearly the author knows her stuff when it comes to the Middle Ages. The murder mystery was done well, and I liked how in the end the guilty party is the least likely.
Quite entertaining, and though this is not a fault of the book, I just kept on enraging myself with the treatment to women in that era. Once the action got going a bit more and all the different POVs started making more sense together, the story picked up speed. I wasn't too happy that the final resolution of the conspiracy and the murder was just told to the characters and not part of the action. Still, I feel quite intrigued to read the previous books of the series.
3.5 stars, entertaining but not can't-tear-my-eyes-off-the-page.
View all my reviews
Wow, sounds like a really different read to what I usually pick up. Would be a really interesting insight into that era, although the treatment of women would definitely get to me too. Thanks for sharing Pili!
ReplyDeleteJeann @ Happy Indulgence
Thank you, Jeann! It was quite a welcome change of pace for me too!
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