In this story we get two timelines with two women, one set of sisters in the present day whose fate takes them to Ravenscraig Castle in Scotland where they experience the history of the place in an unusual way. As they uncover the history of the place and its significance to Robert the Bruce’s history they encounter two women who fled to the castle after the destruction of their own. We get to see their lives as lowly kitchen servants and the horrible twists of fate that left an impression on the place.
I think this is mis-labelled as a time-slip romance. It’s a historical fiction ghost story with a little bit of romance in it. The modern timeline was much less interesting than the historic one, which was fabulous. I get the purpose of the modern timeline, in the end it worked to really resolve the history. I wished for double the amount of time in the 1300s and half the amount of time in the present day – if that balance had been right it would have been an easy 5 stars. I get the parallels between the girls but I just felt like Leah and Zoe were typical annoying millennials throughout. The heart and raw truth of the life of a servant really carried the story for me. Agnes and Effie had such hardships and such different paths to finding their happiness. You really see the passion and loyalty of the Scots in the 1300’s timeline.
Also another case where I didn’t need the epilogue. I don’t really get the parallels to Outlander – this is nothing like that story except for the setting.
Thanks to Boldwood Books for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions above are my own.
What country setting besides your own have you read the most books?
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