I really struggled with this at first. I found the modern segments difficult to get through because the FMC is a bit whiney and oh-woes-me-ish. It gets better over time as she grows and accepts responsibility for her life - except for part near the end where all she has to do is literally accept a phone call and listen *bangs head on wall*. 

The parts set in the past were so fantastic. It’s a different story that we usually hear, not a lot of popular historic-fiction is set in Shakespearean time and from the view of a woman who isn’t wealthy/high class. 

Emilia’s story is tragic from the start, she goes through a lot of good and bad, and in the end you just absolutely are heart-broken for her and her circumstances. I sobbed through the end of it.

This felt very well researched, and I think the modern bits really pulled the story together, but the historic segments are really where this book shines.