I liked this book, but the emphasis on politics was a little too heavy-handed for me. I preferred Through A Glass Darkly, but this was still enjoyable.

Loved it... Really well-written and well-researched historical fiction. The ending felt a bit choppy and I wish the author would have tied up the ends of the each of the character's stories better. Once we passed the climax of the plot and the characters were safely away, not much else was written of the rest of their lives or adventures... Left me wanting to know.."Well, what happened next...?" Still, enjoyed this immensely!

What a wonderful surprise this book was. I purchased it when it was on sale with the other two in the series (which I've already read). And I put off reading this one for a long time. In fact, I started reading it a year ago and put it down after chapter 1, not picking it up again until 2 weeks ago. Now I'm glad I did.

This is the final Tamworth story - and the conclusion of Barbara (sort of).

A lot of this book felt like I was reading 2 books in one. One story in Virginia and one in England. And when it switched between the two, even though it was a chapter break, it felt jarring to me.

***Sort of spoilers***



Also, the end was kind of weird after the Tower of London scene (which was very exciting!! and made especially great because that is based on a true story). We sort of concluded with Barbara, but not really. It focused on Jane's family which was good, but ... what happened to Diana? What about Hyacinthe? I wanted to at least read the conclusions of their stories even if they were fairly predictable. What about Perry? What about the smuggling??? Charles? Yeah, not enough conclusions of all of the story lines.

Those are all disappointments.

This would have been 5 stars if I had liked the ending better. The story was wonderful. I just don't think it was finished. It seemed when you got to the end that the author had to hurry and finish the story or she got tired of writting it. I would have liked to read another 800 pages.

So. Boring. I liked the first book, Through a Glass Darkly, well enough. Although the end was a bit of a slog. But this book... it was a little too much of everything: too much Emo Barbara, too much Barbara the magnificent, way too much time devoted to politics, too much being sad and reminiscing from everyone. I just wanted to read the storyline but the author gets bogged down by reflection. Her characters think way too much. At any rate, skimming through much of the book a decent storyline emerges. But this is definitely a one time read and could have used a good edit.

Not as good as the other two, it seemed a little disjointed. Still Koen tells a good story if you like historical fiction.

What an amazing saga! If you ever wondered about living in either Virginia or England in 1722, this is the book for you. It's not only a great story with political intrigue and passion, but it's also long on details to help you envision living back then. Everything from the types of flowers blooming to the nursery rhymes that children said. It's all here. From ships to soaps to sealing wax.

Apparently Barbara (nee Alderley) was more beautiful than is almost believable. However, if you swallow that, you can pretty much believe the rest of the book—hook, line, and sinker. Wanna know about growing tobacco back then? Check. Shipping bees back then? Check. The royal household quirks back then? Check. The architecture of Christopher Wren? Check.

The end felt a little rushed, but after 734 pages, including the epilogue and bonus chapters, well, it's hard to believe anything could feel rushed. I loved this book and I almost never read historical fiction, so that says a lot.

Now I loved Through a Glass Darkly with a fiery passion,so I picked up this sequel. Big mistake. I could not even finish it. I think I did about 200 pages before I gave up. Maybe it was the American slavery setting or the fact that Barbara seemed like a hollowed out shell of herself, but I could not get into this book.

Sprawling, leisurely paced novel set in the early eighteenth century about the plots to put James III on England's throne. The sequel to Through a Glass Darkly, Barbara, Lady Devane, continues to grow after losing her innocence, her brother, her husband, and her home. I wanted to like this more than I did--her time spent in the colony of Virginia had resonance for her character, but the visit felt temporary and lacking. The romance didn't pick up till the last quarter, the same time the plot did, and was disappointingly treated rather sketchily.