Time's Convert by Deborah Harkness | Review

Paperback: 448

Publisher: Headline Publishing Group

Published: 2019

Language: English

Rating: 3.75 / 5 stars 

Can you guys hear my soul weeping after finishing this book? And it is not even good weeping, no. It's full on crying like a baby because I had such high expectations going into this book and it just wasn't what I was expecting it to be. 

I cannot say it disappointed me, it did no such thing, yet it was tiresome and confusing, for it was too detailed.

Time's Convert is a sequel to the All Souls trilogy and it is focused on Marcus' story. Marcus is my favorite character from that series so when I heard that the author was writing a book about him, I was literally doing a happy dance. That is, until I started reading it.

The book is told in two perspectives, Marcus' and Phoebe's, the former's fiancee.

Phoebe's chapters were actually not bad, they were rather fun and I enjoyed reading more about her, seeing that she only made a brief appearance (in my opinion) in the trilogy. She was introduced in the second book and I adored her from the very first moment. 

"Miracles should leave a mark, so that we can remember how precious they are."

Now as much as I loved her parts, I was dreading the chapters that told the story of Marcus' youth. Though I love him deeply, I wasn't fond of the 1700's told from his point of view and especially not the war-centered scenes. 

The author is a historian and I love that she wrote this book as close to the truth as possible, but it felt like reading a plain old history book. And as much as I love history, I have to agree with Mistress Bishop:

"War is such a waste of women's time."

Before reading Time's Convert, Marcus was my absolute favorite character and no other in this series meant that much to me. However, after finishing this book, there is another one that I love just as much, and that is Ysabeau de Clermont. 

Ysabeau is an ancient vampire, Marcus' grandmother, and one of the wisest characters that the author has written. She is elegant, she is a role model and rather old school, which I adore about her. She is always there to guide Phoebe through her transition and offers the best advice.

"'To be a vampire you must choose life - your life (...) over and over again (...),' Ysabeau said. (...) In the end, it is our relentless drive to live that defines us. Without that, we are nothing but a nightmare or a ghost: a shadow of the humans we once were.'"

I read this book in 3 days but it felt like months and I was so excited to just move on to another book.

There were some smutty parts throughout the story which spiced things up a bit, but what saved it, a little bit at least, in my opinion, was the ending. The last 100 or so pages broke the monotony of the war and the memories and developed into a plot line that was so much easier to follow.

All in all, I am actually glad that I read this because I got to revisit this beautiful world filled with incredible characters. There is a book coming soon focused on another character that I am excited to read about, perhaps it will be better that this one. I'm not giving up on this author so easily.

If you read the All Souls trilogy and are curious about Marcus' past and Phoebe's future, then you could give this a try. After all, this was not for me, but it might be the book for you.