Helpful Score: 1
I was intrigued when I won this as a Goodreads First Reads, and delved into it as both a lover of historical fiction as well as someone with an educational background in art history. While I do think it had promise, it ultimately was just okay for me.
Of course it should be noted that I did receive an ARC - an uncorrected copy which still required editing. I do hope that an editor thoroughly goes through the book to clean up extraneous storylines and improve the writing. At times I found the prose a bit sophomoric. The perspective is first-person present-tense, which I found to be a little distracting. I do wish that Wagner would have focused on the Franco-Prussian War. It is touched on, but only very briefly, and I think this could have been a really interesting storyline and a good distraction from the overly romance-y aspects of the story.
The second half was the better part of the book. It was definitely quicker and more interesting, and I found myself flying through the pages. I would recommend this more for fans of historical romances - as a historical fiction lover I was left just a little disappointed.
Of course it should be noted that I did receive an ARC - an uncorrected copy which still required editing. I do hope that an editor thoroughly goes through the book to clean up extraneous storylines and improve the writing. At times I found the prose a bit sophomoric. The perspective is first-person present-tense, which I found to be a little distracting. I do wish that Wagner would have focused on the Franco-Prussian War. It is touched on, but only very briefly, and I think this could have been a really interesting storyline and a good distraction from the overly romance-y aspects of the story.
The second half was the better part of the book. It was definitely quicker and more interesting, and I found myself flying through the pages. I would recommend this more for fans of historical romances - as a historical fiction lover I was left just a little disappointed.
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