This work started out well with the first chapter. It provided an intense moment, showed the characters’ personalities well, and promised much. Then it collapsed. The narrative switched into second person, which is technically very difficult to maintain.
The narrative also became much less compelling. The character’s backstory wasn’t compelling, and the writing wasn’t strong enough to make up for it. It became confusing due to the number of people mentioned; without any direction from the author on where to focus, the novel began to feel like too much work to follow.
I stopped reading before page 30. I do think that for a certain kind of reader, one interested in this historic timeframe (which I am) and who also likes a bit of soap-opera kind of drama (which I don’t), this work could be a great read, so do give it a try.
1 star.