This book made me very cranky. In fact, I ended up disliking it so much I requested a refund from Amazon, which I guess they don’t normally do if you don’t like a book on Kindle. (They gave it to me, But just this once, because I’m such a loyal customer! Honestly, though, it was a $10 e-book and I did not tolerate it enough to permanently part with $10.) Honestly, I’m not sure how informative this review will end up being if you’re curios about the book, because I’m not sure entirely why I disliked it so much. It just immediately struck the wrong chord with me, and never recovered.
Here is the blurb, since I don’t feel like expending any mental energy to explain it:
Jamie Maddox is worried about her grip on reality. Has her consciousness really been transported back to 1560, landing in the body of Blanche Nottingham? Not good, since Blanche, a lady-in-waiting for Queen Elizabeth I, is plotting a murder. The other possibility that Jamie faces? She’s had a psychotic break that has trapped her in an Elizabethan fantasy while another personality—let’s call her Blanche—has taken control of Jamie’s life and is jeopardizing everything.
Jamie is repeatedly zapped back and forth between the present and 1560 (or in and out of that twisted fantasy). Betrayal, murder, thunderstorms, and two doctors complicate everything as Jamie and Blanche battle to control Jamie’s body. Just as Jamie is running out of both hope and time, help—and love—come from a most unexpected place.
To begin with, the main character Jamie, I did not like her at all, almost immediately. Well, actually, that was my entire problem. I just really, really disliked her. And I also disliked her girlfriend, which made me dislike her more for being with her girlfriend, who was so mean! From the opening pages, when she is making friends with a homeless man (a ploy on the part of the author to make her likable, in my opinion), to her fights with her girlfriend where her wife is belittling her for a fear of needles (and basically telling her she’s boring), I was just like, no.
It did get better when she was in the past because Friend seems to be really into the Tudor period, and there was good historical detail there. The time travel plot was pretty good as well. Unfortunately, we were still in Jamie’ head, so I didn’t really enjoy those parts either. I had actually really been looking forward to this book when I put in my Read Harder list, so I’m pretty disappointed about this outcome. I was too mad at the beginning of the book when it came time to turn around near the middle, and things ostensibly got better, but it had already lost me. YMMV though, because I have one GR friend who gave it five stars.
Read Harder Challenge 2019: A book published prior to January 1, 2019 with fewer than 100 reviews on Goodreads.