The Day of the Duchess
Heartbreaking, frustrating and so so good!!Sarah MacLean is a master! I felt so many emotions reading this, I was frustrated, my heart was sore and I totally loved every second of it.
At first, I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy this. It was clear from the get-go that this will be heartbreaking. I wasn't sure I was going to like the story because I wasn't a fan of Malcolm's behavior a few years back. But the amazing thing is MacLean totally redeemed him. I mean totally!
Which is odd considering, how messed up the situation was.
Then again this is a MacLean book and I adore her character building.
The Day of the Duchess absolutely shines when it comes to character building. We get to revisit characters from the previous books. And just as always MacLean write unique and interesting characters that feel realistic.
I could relate to Seraphina and Malcolm alike. I got both of their POV, I felt their heartache and their longing.. Incredibly well written.
The cast is made up of strong, interesting characters. Females and males alike feel unique and fascinating.
I have 3 sisters so I know something about sisterly love. And the Talbot sisters portrait sister dynamics and love perfectly. I quite often thought of stuff we would do as sisters and how we would react similarly if we would have been in the same situation. Brilliant, if you ask me. Also made me wonder if MacLean has sisters as well.
Another testament to MacLean's knowledge of her craft is how she weaves historical facts with fiction. How she highlights social-historical situations that we kinda know, but with her fiction, she puts a face to the known facts. With that, the storyfeels more real but also makes the reader feel more aware of said facts.
The story is heartbreaking and yet also beautiful. Though I did end up feeling rather exasperated with the two of them. The cat and mouse games were tiring, the longing was emotionally exhausting. And yet, I wanted more. I need more, I sure hope there will be more!