Like in her previous novels, Pulley explores ideas about time, memory, and the impact of particular technological inventions on history in her newest book, The Kingdoms. Here, though, the plot even more directly questions how alternate histories might come about and their impacts, personal and political. Also like her other novels, it's very difficult to describe anything about the book without giving away major twists.
The Kingdoms begins with the main character, Joe, revealing that his first memories had been formed only a few years earlier, in 1898. When he stepped off a train into Londres, he didn't remember who he was or anything about his life prior to that point, though he did remember basic facts about the world (though some are a bit... off). The plot partially centers on his search to find out who he was before that day, a mystery that leads him back to 1807 and the last efforts of the English against the French in the Napoleonic War. Where The Lost Future of Pepperharrow hinges on the historical impact of the earlier invention of the microscope but doesn't explore the alternative histories at much length, this story revolves around the different histories produced by each introduction of future knowledge to people of the past. And, though this is technically a spoiler, if you've read Natasha Pulley's books it isn't long before you start to pick up on hints that this is another beautiful, moving, dramatic love story.

Though I barely knew anything about the war before reading, I was able to follow the story (with a quick Wikipedia search to verify my assumptions). I'm sure someone who did have more historical context would find even more details to delight in. Her writing was just as gorgeous and subtly funny as in Watchmaker and its prequel & sequel, though I think I was swept up in the plot more quickly for this one. I basically didn't stop reading it until I finished, which these days is a rare occurence for me (See: The 69 books tagged Currently Reading on my Goodreads...). Like Six in Watchmaker and Pepperharrow, the children in Pulley's new book create some of the most charming and funny lines (in an already very charming and humorous book). Lily, with her embroidered duck, was a convincing anchor to Joe's original timeline, and Fred was frequently hilarious. Pulley is excellent at historical details that are unique and peculiar enough to feel fully real. The entire novel is infused with tenderness, not just between the two love interests but nearly every major character. Overall, I adored this novel and would recommend it enthusiastically to nearly anyone, but particularly to those who love historical fiction, fantasy, and/or queer romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the free cop of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinion was not affected by the free copy.

I want to be fair to this book. I honestly want to judge it for its contents, but unfortunately I've run across the worst possible thing that comes from an uncorrected copy: a serious need of an editor. Just in the first few pages I read, I saw that more than half the sentences didn't begin with a capitalized letter. I realize that in some cases doing something like this is a style choice, and if it was done consistently maybe I'd be okay, but it goes back and forth, which leads me to believe it's a problem with editing. I don't consider myself OCD but when I saw those sentences starting without a capitalized letter, it really made it hard for me to keep reading.

I'm not going to penalize this book for something that's going to be fixed, but part of the "job" of a reviewer is pointing out these mistakes. It could just be that I was unlucky enough to have a copy with these errors, but they exist and I have to call attention to them so they'll be fixed by the time the book publishes.

I know it seems like such a minor thing to quit a book over, but that's just me. I can't read a book that doesn't look like it's properly mastered sentence structure.

This book had a lot going for it... time travel, sea battles, intrigue, mystery. Should have been an great read. There were times when I really enjoyed it.
Things i enjoyed:
Well written descriptions of battles from the lower deck perspective.
Well thought-out ideas about how knowledge of the future could be used on subtle ways to change the outcome of events.
Ideas about how the time travel method in the book would function to the point of realistic experiments written into the story.

However, there were problems as well. Some of these included:
Odd relationships everyone seemed to have. People seemed willing to sacrifice everything for someone they barely cared about for example. Others would be desperately in love with someone they barely seemed to know.
The major mystery of the book being a mystery only to the main character by about 1/3 of the way through the story.

Overall, it wasn't a bad book, and there are those I know who would enjoy it. I would not rush to recommend it to just anyone however.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

Unfortunately, the review copy I received was nearly unreadable on my Kindle (strange formatting, etc) and required me to read on my desktop otherwise (I'm not quite comfortable reading on my computer screen for long periods of time). I think I'll still pick up a copy when it comes out but just a note for publishers to make sure their review copies are readable for all formats!

A creative story, well-told. Fantasy is not my fave genre, but there is often good books there. I like time-travel stories and enjoyed this one overall. It certainly has a diverse cast, and it's unpredictable. There was a little too much violence and darkness for me, but I admire the author's talent, recommend this for fantasy fans.

I really appreciate the ARC for review!!

I've read all of Natasha Pulley's novels, and I think this one is my favorite. Epic, inventive, and extremely ambitious.

Keeps the action pulsing with enough intrigue to make it hard to turn the virtual pages fast enough. Thoroughly fleshed-out characters you tend to either like or dislike with enthusiasm. A great bedtime read that'll keep you engaged till the very end. Highly recommended!

*This book was provided free of charge in exchange for my honest review. My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to participate in this program.*

I always enjoy books about time travel, memory problems, and/or alternate histories, and this one delivered wonderfully on all three accounts, with a beautiful love story woven in as a bonus. I'll definitely recommend it to customers in my store when it comes out, and I look forward to seeing more from Natasha Pulley.

Frankly, what the HELL just happened?

Things this book is:

• A history-based time travel adventure/romance, taking place in Great Britain around the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

• Kind of slow. Much more heavy on the reflective, atmospheric and emotional side than the adventure one, though there is plenty of seafaring gore.

• Gay.

• Not super surprising. As soon as you get the first reluctant crumb of background about The Kingdom from Kite and the first flashback, you know the MC's previous identity and pretty much what's going on. Then it's just waiting half the book for him to catch up with everyone else.

• Leaving me WILDLY emotionally conflicted. Was the ending happy? Are we happy about this? Do we like both of the MCs? Like, I see it, but having some qualms about [Kite's murdering a young boy just to protect the secret of his own love from Joe and the general faff about him murdering a decent amount of other people and not being fully stable seems justified if Joe is going to raise two toddlers with him. Also, Joe literally was married three different times and had two other sets of children, which is giving me pause. (hide spoiler)]

• And then there's every other relationship that happened in the book, most of which are at least mildly disturbing in some way. Is this okay? Are we all okay with this? I'm going to need a memo written to explain the emotions I should be having, because I'm pretty sure the confusion and discomfort I have going on are not what the author intended.

A nail-biting historical adventure that happens to include a heart-stopping gay romance. I held my breath for most of the time I was reading it. Highly recommend!