So I received Dark Aemilia
from a Goodreads give away. All I can say is how lucky I was to receive such a
good book, that otherwise I likely would not have taken a second glance at.
This is a beautifully written piece of historical fiction. Which at its core,
is a love story, between Aemilia Bassano and William Shakespeare. How their
love blossomed and through many external factors was pulled apart. The book is
laid out in acts and scenes like a play and tells the story from Aemilia point
of view. I enjoyed being submerged in the Tudor London at the end of Elizabeth
I reign. This book completely grabbed me from the start and had I had more free
time I am sure I would have read this book in a day or two.
Unfortunately as I haven’t
ever read historical fiction before I don’t really have any point of reference
for comparison. But what I will say is that I thoroughly enjoyed how realistic
this book felt, but still was able to bring in completely fictitious elements
of magic and witchcraft. Sam O’Reilly has managed to bring in these elements,
which appealed to my love of fantasy, without being over the top. I
particularly enjoyed the time when London was under the grips of the plague and
thought it was just so well written and explained. At no point did I feel lost
in descriptions, I was there, with Aemilia and that poor woman just couldn’t
catch a break.
There is ‘mature content’ it
is an adult story of love, so yes there is sex. I personally have no issue with
this and believe it to be an integral addition to this story. It is done well
and doesn’t feel forced or overdone. I am struggling to put into words how much
I enjoyed this book, I will read it again and I would recommend it. I will now
even consider reading other historical fiction that I had not thought I would
enjoy.
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