I was really enjoying this to start off with, and the premise is good, but it just started to get quite boring and I struggled to hold interest. I didn’t care for any of the characters and it just couldn’t hold me. I struggled on to the end but it was a chore.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the copy.

I thought this was a clever and wonderful novel! Highly recommendable to people who like their fantasy light and historical setting solid.

This is one I eventually want to own and re-read so I can catch all the nuances I think I missed previously. Natasha Pulley is now one of my must-read authors.

This is a story about forgotten time.

This was such an odd, beautiful story. I loved the non linear format, and the strange manner in which the love story unfolded. I also enjoyed the altered history elements!

Thank you so much Netgalley & bloomsbury for this eArc! I’m sorry it took me so long to finish! Yay

I fell in love with the idea of this story of two parallel times lines for the same place. A breach of history that set two very different possibilities, for the same place and the people that lived there.

Joe stepped off a train in Victorian London, but it wasn’t the London he knew. It was now called Londres, and everyone spoke French, not English. Disoriented and confused, he was diagnosed with a new form of epilepsy, which caused amnesia and had already been diagnosed in a few other people. He found out that he had a wife and baby daughter, whom he couldn’t recollect. When he receives a postcard that the post office has held for 91 years, it simply says, “Come home, if you remember”. The lighthouse had been built a few months ago, yet it is on the postcard. Joe feels a pull to it.

The crack in the timeline sits in the sea, off the shores of the Outer Hebrides’. The lighthouse had been erected mistakingly in the wrong era. Everything revolves around this. The lighthouse is eerie, where both timelines can be heard, like ghosts from the past and future. It is a place where both can be seen by just taking a step to the side. The views are very different.

I found this story fascinating with the tidal wave of changes that had taken place from the breach that had taken place. It wasn’t just the structure it was the people too. Some didn’t exist anymore, whole generations gone. Joe got the opportunity to go to the lighthouse, but what could he do to put things back on course, and would he want to?

There were times that the storyline felt hard to follow, and I had to go over parts again, but I liked the idea of this story. There were some fascinating characters in each timeline. I liked how it all came together. It was a super ending and a story that I enjoyed.

I wish to thank the publisher and Net Galley for an e-copy of this book, which I have reviewed honestly.

This book surprised me actually! I'm not the biggest magnet to time travel books. In fact I typically repel them but thankfully Natasha Pulley mixes a variety of interesting things, love, loss, decisions, memories, and the fragility of our lives. This is an epic love story, told across time periods and through mysterious time travel portals. It's got the same queer DNA that Pulley's other books have, and which she does so well. ALSO I have to confess that this is my first Pulley book and I will definitely be reading more.
Full review to come on YouTube.

The premise of this book really appealed to me, but sadly it didn’t deliver fully in terms of early promise. Disappointed, would give 3 stars.

This book has a really interesting premise, and it works out well. At first it's strange to get used to the protagonist who can't remember anything about his life, and it's very intriguing to try to figure out who he should or shouldn't trust.

When he goes to the lighthouse things get even weirder and even more interesting!

I fell in love with the cover and with the premise of The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley but the story couldn’t draw me in. This was a rare DNF for me, as much as I tried, it wasn’t the right book for me right now. Maybe it’s one I can come back to at another point because I do think there’s an intriguing story here but I wasn’t connecting.

The story follows Joe Tournier, a man who finds himself somewhere in London, a London occupied by the French following their win at the Battle of Trafalgar. He can't quite remember why he came from Scotland to London, but he's a slave now, with a wife, a job and a child. However, he still remembers a life that's very different from this one, a London where English is spoken and the French never conquered. When a postcard of a lighthouse built just six month prior but dated almost a hundred years ago arrives for Joe, it makes him set off on a journey to a remote Scottish island and through time itself, as he battles to save his life and perhaps create a very different future.

Now, the concept itself is really interesting and I'm always a sucker for historical fiction, particularly these alternative scenarios of, "What if someone else won this battle" or "What if this person didn't die as they should have", because it's a great exercise of the imagination to run through the different outcomes. Sure, it requires a little bit more imagination on the part of the reader, but that didn't actually bother me. The way the plot is structured, the move between past and present and future, the way even small actions change things, that's all basically right up my alley. I was invested in the character relationships and it's not hard to feel sorry for Joe as he goes between the life he's told he should have (and be grateful for) and this nagging feeling that somewhere out there is what he's truly meant to experience. Again, this is all basically stuff I should be excited about and as the story unfolded there were a lot of tender moments where Pulley really showed off her writing skill.

So why two stars? Because one of the most egregious things that happens in the book is this ridiculous, "Well, I could tell you but it's too dangerous for you to know" or similar. You have entire characters who keep dancing around the topic of Joe's real identity (though admittedly I figured it out fairly early on and then just doubted myself because I couldn't possibly think it was that easy), you have characters who basically die or are killed before they can reveal the truth, you have entire plot threads that truly don't go anywhere other than to serve as red herrings with no payoff. The plot has pages and pages where it just drags, where nothing seems to happen and you're wondering how on earth a premise as exciting as this can just meander about pointlessly. This technique of withholding information from a character genuinely annoys me, because it felt like everyone thought they knew better than Joe. He's an adult! He can make his own decisions! I don't need this ridiculous plot contrivance to make me care about his plight, I'm reading the book now so clearly I'm at least partly invested in what happens to him! And with the emotional core of the novel, the romance in it, hinging on basically Joe figuring out who he really is, it's really frustrating when Agatha, one of his actual fucking wives says nothing to him, despite knowing exactly who he is.

I found the ship parts extremely boring. Naval warfare, like military sci-fi, isn't something that I deliberately seek out or anything, but when done right I actually enjoy it. Hell, the second trilogy in Robin Hobb's Realm of the Elderlings is almost entirely set on boats and I had no problems at all. But this was just... bleak. It's bleak, it's unending, it's monotonous and if this was Pulley's attempt at mirroring Napoleonic Era warfare for me, then okay well done, you made it as grim as it was in real life I guess. Reading over and over about how Joe suffers from seasickness, how scared he is of the conflict, all of this, doesn't even make sense in hindsight when you realise who he actually is, who was much more accomplished at sailing and it's all a bit like, you definitely kept some of your skills when you forgot who you were but totally forgot others, especially the plot relevant ones? Okay I guess?

Finally, I feel like all the side characters get the shortest end of the stick possible. Joe has something like three wives and several children that just blink out of existence and he doesn't seem too nonplussed about it, including Agatha who I feel gets dealt the worst of the lot. Kite himself comes across as basically unhinged throughout the narrative, up to and including murdering a child just to keep Joe's identity from him, but somehow the ending makes it look like it was all worth it??? Even Fred's sister seems to forgive Kite surprisingly quickly for what he does, which I found absolutely wild. It just feels like Pulley wanted to write this big tragic love story that spans literal time itself, but instead we got this messy book where the entire plot could have been resolved with a conversation (which literally happens at the end!) and I'm just not here for that level of contrivance.

I'm sure there are people for whom this book would work. Again, the premise is interesting, the writing quality is good, but I can't recommend characters who refuse to use their words to communicate, all in a bid to keep adding tension to the plot. That and I don't seriously think unrepentant child killers should get a good ending, but maybe that's just me. All in all, I wish The Kingdoms had been as good as its premise made it out to be.

A really interesting concept even if not to my taste specifically. I do really appreciate alternative histories and this one gave a lot to think about!

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley. While I found the premise of this novel to be intriguing, the execution was not. I just could not get into it no matter how many times I tried. I have DNF it for now but may try to read it at another time.

Alternative history with time slip, sounds good, should be my kind of fantasy yet I found it painfully slow and really found it a struggle to get to the end. The world building is strong and detailed, the descriptions really make the settings believable. I won’t try to describe the plot, it’s convoluted! There’s lots of great imagery and ideas throughout.

Prior to starting The Kingdoms, I hadn't had the pleasure of reading any of Natasha Pulley's other work (although I'd heard amazing things!), so I went into it without any preconceived thoughts of what to expect. Ya'll...it made my heart ache and my brain do somersaults and I loved every minute of it.

At the beginning, we meet Joe -- a man who finds himself at a train station in London with a bad case of amnesia. Even without his memories, things don't seem quite right -- everything is in French, and London appears to be under French rule. While he tries to adjust to this new world and life that he has no recollection of, he begins to have flashes of old memories he can't shake and feels compelled to seek out who he used to be (and more importantly, the people he feels certain he's left behind).

Part historical fiction, part science fiction, this is an alternate reality that makes you question what is most important to you -- your freedom, your country, your loved ones? What would you go to the ends of the earth to protect, and what would you be willing to sacrifice along the way? As these questions are confronted, the characters are what truly shine -- it was a slow build, but I found myself feeling so deeply for them and the difficult journeys they endure.

Pulley's writing is unique and thought-provoking, and I'm already rushing to get my hands on more of her previous work....Watchmaker of Filigree Street, here I come!

My Review: Just Not For Me
Rep: LGBTQIA+

It is with a sad heart that I must say this novel did not work for me. It had so much potential but ultimately wasn’t what I was looking for.

The Pros: What Worked For Me

The plot was incredibly intriguing and kept me motivated to finish the story.

The Cons: What I Didn’t Like

The writing style was convoluted. By trying to keep the story shrouded in mystery, the writing became messy. I’m not sure if it was my ARC or not, but sentences were missing and there was a lack of transition between scenes. It made it difficult to read.

Character growth was almost non-existent and I did not like any of the main characters. There was no connection between the characters, and I did not connect with them, either.

I wanted more exploration of the political climate that Joe was dealing with, and more world building was required.

I’m disappointed because I wanted to love this book. However, I’m struggling to find much that I actually enjoyed about this story. The writing was all over the place, the character development was non-existent, and I needed more world building to make the story come to life. Sadly, I’m going to be giving this 1 star.

Ok this was not at all what i was expecting. It wasn’t a good fit for me at all. I wish a i would have known it was a gay book- perhaps mention that I’m the summary? I didn’t enjoy this book.

Pulley's books always wreck me, in the best ways. I enjoy historical fiction, but I don't LOVE it. Somehow though, Pulley is able to infuse her historical fiction with so much emotion; I FEEL these stories more than most other books I read. Her writing just connects with me on a level that a lot of other books don't...I just don't know how to explain it.

Wooowwww!! What a ride! If you like time travel books, this is for you! It is a little hard to talk about without giving away spoilers. So just go in to it blindly and you’ll be glad you did!

Natasha Pulley always writes beautifully atmospheric novels. And sometimes it works wonderfully, like in The Watchmaker of Filigree Street. But sometimes, like in The Kingdoms, her writing makes the book feel incredibly slow.

The Kingdoms is a time-traveling adventure centered around the adventures of Joe Tournier. It’s ambitious in both its plot and its scope. Unfortunately, this novel is also quite convoluted and difficult to fully immerse yourself in. The main twist in the novel is painfully obvious quite early on, even though the protagonist doesn’t arrive at the same revelation until nearly the end. In general, I struggled with the middle portion of the novel, as Pulley slowly reveals how everything unfolded in the past to land each of the characters where they are in the present.

But it’s difficult to read because we transition between time periods and different sets of characters without much more notice than a different year at the beginning of each chapter. I think having the reveal earlier would have made it easier to care about the main romance as well. Even though I’m typically 100% in love with the grumpy + sunshine trope, the continual back and forth between the timelines made it difficult to really become invested in their relationship.

Overall, I struggled with The Kingdoms, but I do think that readers who enjoy more atmospheric, character-driven historical fiction novels might like this one.

While the idea of the story really appealed to me, the execution did not as everything seemed a bit scattered and the parallel time storyline did not make a lot of sense to me. Even so, I did somewhat enjoy this one as the character development was very good.

If Natasha Pulley’s latest novel, The Kingdoms, were a movie script, the elevator pitch might have been “Master and Commander meets “The Final Countdown” (look it up kids). Part time-travel story, part love story (several actually), part Patrick O’Brian story, it curves and recurves through beauty and brutality (more of the latter than the former), time and space, trauma, and rescue (more of the former than the latter), as it, delights, horrifies, and frustrates. I loved the first half to two-thirds, felt it went off the rails a bit for some time, then was happy to see it get back on track in time to nail the ending. Which is why I’m recommending it, despite its issues.

The book opens, appropriately enough, with a sentence about memory followed by a sense of disquiet: “Most people have trouble recalling their first memory . . . That was it, the first thing he remembered, but the second was something less straightforward . . . the slow, eerie feeling that everything was doing just what it should be, minding its own business, but that at the same time, it was all wrong.” The “he” here is mid-40s year-old Joe Tournier, who has stepped off a train in 1898 Londres (London in a world where Napoleon defeated the English) with no memory of who he is, where he’s been, or where he’s going. After a brief stint in an asylum, Joe is collected by his master (turns out he’s a slave for a little while longer until he pays off some debt) and his too-young-for-him wife.

After a few years in which he becomes free, gets a job as a welder, and has a daughter, he receives a mysterious postcard from “M”, showing a remote Scottish lighthouse (in this alternate history Scotland is still free of French domination) and asking him to “come home, if you remember.” When he travels there, he eventually ends up in 1807, where he is pressed into service against the French, who have not yet won the ongoing war. His captor is a Captain Kite, who clearly knows Joe somehow and also knows he is from the future (Joe, it turns out, is not the first wayward traveler). Kite sees Joe’s advanced technical knowledge as the only hope in an increasingly desperate war, and so refuses all entreaties by Joe to return home to his daughter.

Having set up the two base timelines, the novel moves back and forth in time, not just between those two years but advancing in time as well. There are also direct flashbacks via character memory to earlier times, before Joe jumped back to 1807, as well as flashbacks via a lengthy letter Joe is reading sporadically throughout the novel. And that’s all I’ll say about this very twisty, complicated plot.

Well, at least as far as recapping it goes. I will note that a central mystery in the story is the question of just who Joe really is. I’m not sure making this such a core question for nearly the book’s entire length is beneficial to the book as my guess is that the answer will become clear relatively quickly to most readers, and to nearly all of them before Joe himself figures it out. It also forces Pulley into some awkwardly contrived plotting whereby certain details have to be withheld from Joe (and the reader) so as not to reveal the answer too soon. For instance, Joe is several times interrupted from reading the letter detailing the past, and it just became difficult for me to buy into both the interruptions and Joe’s own passivity in not simply taking a not-too-long-a-time to just read the damn thing. This wasn’t a huge problem, but it was an always-in-the-background grating one. I also think the plotting and pace went astray in the latter third or so of the book, though I won’t detail why so as to avoid spoilers. Up to that point, the story was compelling and fast-paced.

Stylistically, the prose is often brilliantly, vividly sharp as well as strikingly beautiful/original. The naval battles are brutally vibrant, precisely detailed in all their terror and body horror. Here, for instance, is the aftermath of one such scene: A hissing came from behind them, sailors were going over the deck with wide brooms, pushing all the pieces of people overboard and leaving red comb patterns behind — it was the brooms that hissed.” The “pieces of people” is obviously horrific, but to me what really carries the weight of this description is its mundane detail: the brooms, the swishing “hiss” we all know and recognize.

Meanwhile, domestic details are just as sharp, with lovely moments between Joe and his daughter. And an early interlude in a coastal town is just filled with gorgeous, poetic description:
The winter was coming in at running pace over the sea. It swept in from the west, and in its wake the water froze in a clear grey line . . . it made a sound, a creaking splintering that must have been forming frost … They were waiting so that she could run with the frost line, the summer ahead and the winter behind … The beach was glittering with frost. Whale ribcages made cloisters all across it, and on the bones perched dozens of cormorants, every single one of them dead, because they had been drying out their wings when the winter came, and now they had frozen.

The characters are complex, difficult at times to get a handle on but in the best of ways. Kite, for instance, is terrifyingly ruthless and on the one hand seems utterly lacking in emotion but on the other seems as if he is barely keeping a lid on a volcano’s worth of feeling. The same characters perform both atrocities and acts of tenderness, enact moments of surprising loyalty and surprising betrayal. Seemingly good, “civilized” people are driven to horrible, ugly acts of brutality, murder, and barbarism, either by the situations they currently find themselves in or by some past trauma that still (and probably forever) haunts their minds and steers their actions/reactions. If someone told me after reading The Kingdoms that they felt “one way” about any of the characters, I’d wonder what book it was they read. On the one hand, they’re all wonderfully (if one can use that word in the context of some of their actions) complex. On the other, I can’t say Pulley is fully successful in executing that complexity. I’d argue that a bit too much is withheld from the reader, that we have to take some of this as a given based on what we’re told; as long as the book is, I would have rathered a bit more time spent with each to fully set up/flesh out their inner selves. This unfortunately holds true with the love story part, which I had difficult feeling fully real. This causes some issue with an otherwise richly emotional ending, which comes with more than a little bit of heart-breaking sacrifice, which again feels a little rushed through.

That said, I want to credit Pulley for diving into a far darker aspect of alternate histories. Where most such works just kind of “write off” the replaced timeline — “whoops, there goes another one . . . “— Pulley makes those losses achingly painful. A timeline “restored” (whatever that means in the complexity of multiple such lines) does not come without cost, though too often one wouldn’t know that. Pulley doesn’t just note this loss; she centers it. That alone, I’d say, makes The Kingdoms worthy of reading. But you don’t have to settle for only that; you also get beautiful prose, mostly strong plotting and pacing, and a rich complexity of characterization.