The premise behind the plot of this book is interesting: two women living more than six centuries apart have similar experiences and become aware of one another through a psychic link. The author has cleverly crafted the characters’ two storylines to be plausibly similar despite unfolding in quite different environments.
Unfortunately, for three quarters of the book, I disliked both women, especially present-day Grace, who certainly does not live up to her name. She is selfish and deceptive, carrying on an affair while her husband is away for an extended time. The husband sounds like an unpleasant person, but the reader sees him only through Grace’s opinions. She whiles away her time at a pub with her boyfriend and pals, complaining about the husband, avoiding his phone calls and texts, but not doing much to help herself. Medieval Elizabeth, trapped in a castle full of gossiping women, is seduced by a rogue and finds herself isolated and friendless, in part due to poor decisions and a hot temper. These characters may be intentionally unlikable at first, but neither displays redeeming qualities such as a sense of humour or engaging quirkiness. Spending time with them as a reader was no fun.
Eventually, both women’s situations become more interesting as the result of complications in their lives and their awareness of one another. Their struggles to escape the consequences of earlier mistakes make them more sympathetic. At that point, I became eager to find out how their stories would play out. The final quarter of the book is tense and dramatic, and the ending is both poignant and satisfying.
In addition to the unlikable main characters, I could not avoid noticing other problems. Characters’ names are confused in several scenes. For example, James and Mason are mixed up in two scenes, including a crucial one near the end of the book. I also noticed several instances of dangling modifiers and a number of misused words, notably “plague” and “ague,” which are not the same condition. “Cosset,” “priggish,” and “cuckold” are also misused. Such errors may not matter to some readers, but I did notice them and was pulled away from the story as a result.