Post from the Curse of a Name forum
I got this as an ARC and I was very keen!! But I might not be in the emotional space to read this. 10% in and this is really sad and really dark and I'm a bit scared to continue
Historyandfantasy commented on Historyandfantasy's review of The Very Secret Sex Lives of Medieval Women: An Inside Look at Women & Sex in Medieval Times
I finish the book with a lot of mixed feelings.
Firstly, and I say this as a qualified medieval archaeologist this book is for entry level enthusiasts or general interests of history/medieval era and women.
If you have an ounce of historical critical theory in your past this book will annoy you.
It has some truly spectacular parts. However the author is spends far too much time judging medieval women and society for what we now in the 21st C see as antiquated practices. More time needed to spent explaining why the things that occurred made sense for the era. I wish we spent more time exploring Trotula and her impact rather than just describing her recipes. While the humour was nice at the start it was used way too often and the dialogue scripts were extremely anachronistic, it’s simply not how conversations occurred.
It frustrated me the level empathy that the author showed to medieval prostitutes and that this empathy was not extended in full to every day women, nuns or nobles. It felt very targeted.
It was as a fun book overall but I found myself audibly sighing and being exasperated by large parts of it. Also the medieval era and places are NOT homogeneous hardly any teasing out of early, high and late Medieval occurred (trust me it was soooo different) and the only time places outside of the UK were explored was for specific evidence from cherry picked case studies so it got a bit confusing on WHO and WHICH medieval women we were meant to be learning about
Historyandfantasy wrote a review...
Thank you for the ARC!!!
This was a fun and fast fantasy book. It was an expansive world with a lot of different magical elements to it. It would have benefited from a slower pace so that the readers had a better grip on all the differing magics, races and supporting characters.
The FMC was very sweet but incredibly naive and I understand this was inevitable given how insanely sheltered she was however until 3/4 of the book is read she is a touch annoying.
The two MMCs are very strong archetypes and very different in character which is good it helps make them more distinctive characters.
The storyline was very fast however because it jumped around so much just when I got comfortable somewhere you left which was a tad jarring.
However this was a very fun, very romantic, very sad and very sweet story! Would recommend to a beginner of the romance fantasy genre. It leans more YA then adult.
Stars 🌟 🌟 🌟 Spice 🌶️ Enemies to lovers ✔️
Historyandfantasy finished a book

The Thrice-Bound Heir
Ree Culp
Historyandfantasy wrote a review...
I loved this book so much! Like all of Gibson's work she found a way to make the past accessible, emotional and feel so connected to what is happening in the present. Each chapter and each 'witch' explored was done with so much respect, amazing use of evidence and gentle but fair assessment. I still think Witchcraft A history in 13 trials is my favorite ever book written about witches in history but this book Witchland has joined the ranks of one of my most favorite texts on the past and i recommend it to all!!
Historyandfantasy finished a book

Witchland
Marion Gibson
Historyandfantasy TBR'd a book

The Bone Witch
Rin Chupeco
Historyandfantasy commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum
Heyyy! I'm wondering what books you have found by yourself and had no clue it was actually really popular on BookTok or somewhere? For me it was Lights out. When I was halfway through reading it I realized that it was actually trending. 🤣
Historyandfantasy wrote a review...
Fun. Sad. Hot. Quick
Historyandfantasy finished a book

To Kill A Goddess
Rachel Tork
Post from the To Kill A Goddess forum