bringmybooks's reviews
1153 reviews

Thank you to NetGalley, Marysue Ricci Books, and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own. 

Overall Rating: ★★★★ / 4.13

Rating each element of the book out of 5★
Characters ★★★★ 
Atmosphere ★★★★
Writing ★★★★
Plot ★★★
Intrigue ★★★★
Logic ★★★
Enjoyment ★★★★
Pacing ★★★★
Dialogue ★★★

★ did not like / ★★ it was okay / ★★★ liked it / ★★★★ really liked it / ★★★★★ loved it

• I love the idea of the Crossings, and every time I could sense one was coming I didn’t want to put the book down - there’s almost this plausibility to all of this; when was the last time you looked into someone’s eyes, and they back into yours, for 4-5 minutes straight?
• Even as I don’t know what I just read, and I’m not even 100% sure how much I genuinely enjoyed it (??), I know it’s a book that will stay with me for some time.

• I think the entire novel could have been strengthened with more of the backstory of Alula & Koahu’s love story - flashbacks interspersed throughout, maybe? As it stands you’re kind of led to believe that this entire thing is driven by their love and connection for one another but also have nothing to give this credence.
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  ^ That being said, I think the strongest part of the book is dealing with the moral and ethical implications of the blind crossings, and in the initial crossing that Alula did to follow Koahu - I think (I got a little confused) that the reason she was so worried about him is that she knew he would not remember and be lost to her, but after a certain amount of time why are they still being drawn to one another (that goes back up to the point above).
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  There’s a looootttttttt of moral ambiguity here - I don’t know that I particularly liked the characters, but I did think they were drawn well.
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  I’m not really sure why the author chose to use Coco Chanel in the way he did; maybe because she would have had the clout to try and draw Madeline out? (also, Coco Chanel = not the best, and not because her soul was stolen by a time crossing madman - more so seems she was opportunistic no matter the harm it caused others, which was a lot)
•  
  Unless I totally missed it, the book is left open ended in a way that is not enjoyable - what happened after he became the doctor and she was hiding out from Coco? Did they find one another again? Did the evil madman cross out of Coco right after the war, or stay with her until she died in 1971?