I really enjoyed this. The twist at about 40% really was unexpected. I did feel like the pacing in the beginning was a little slow, however I really liked being immersed in the medieval world. I truly felt like we had done time travel so that was very believable. I was very intrigued to see how that was gonna play out and completely thrown for a loop when it turned out, it was essentially like a video game platform. I thought all of the spice was done really well and honestly continued to think about the book in the story days after I was done. The ending even has me very intrigued as to what will continue on in the second book.

Premise was great but it didn’t fully deliver. The pacing was off and at times I found myself bored. I also hated the way it formatted on my kindle. It was so hard for me to read and strained my eyes.

The premise of this was amazing, and it really held my attention for a solid start to the book. But once I got further into the story, I really lost interest. It took almost the rest of the book to be invested again.

3.75 ⭐
The blurb on the back of the book drew me in and "Outlander meets Black Mirror in this sizzling dark time travel romance" was pretty accurate.

With that being said, I almost feel like I should rate the first half of this book separately from the last half. The first half of the book dragged for me. I was dreading picking it up, taking me 5 days to get through it when I typically finish books in a day or two. I was considering DNF-ing. The story was slow, repetitive and mostly character driven. I was just following along day-to-day life waiting for something to happen, there wasn't much action or plot. I get set up is necessary but there can only be so many scenes about washing yourself, needlepoint and eating before you check out.

Then the plot twist happened. From then on, I was super engaged in the story and finished it in hours. There were intense battle scenes, spicy romance and other plot details I can't mention, or I will spoil the book. The characters were easy to be invested in, and care about the outcomes they may have. The book ended on a huge cliffhanger.

I will pick up the next book, just to see how the story continues. Thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing Co-op for the eARC!

I absolutely loved this book from the very first page! The twist was mind-blowing—I never saw it coming! The writing is exceptional and completely hooked me in. The chemistry between the characters is palpable, and the world-building is nothing short of fantastic.

I found myself holding my breath during the intense battle scenes, fully immersed in the action. Sophia's struggles resonated with me deeply; I felt every emotion she experienced. And let's not forget Ethan—he's the book boyfriend everyone dreams of having!

This book had me laughing, crying, and biting my nails. I can't wait for the next instalment!

It's been a few days since I read A Code of Knights and Deception, and I'm still not honestly sure how I feel about it. Overall, I definitely want to read the second book, so I think that's an endorsement. And there were certainly elements that I found engaging and unique, not least the main premise of the book! However, there were quite a few threads which I found frustrating, though this may simply be because it's the first part of a duology and things will be tied up in the second book.

With this book, it's hard to say too much without giving away big spoilers. I would say that the comparisons to Outlander and Black Mirror are pretty accurate; there's some nasty dystopian stuff going on, as well as some time travel that results in the FMC landing at the beginning of the 15th century in the world of Warwick Castle.

There are a lot of historical inaccuracies, such as modern language used in 1401 or potatoes being served for dinner 200 years before they were discovered and brought back from Peru. These are relevant to the story, deliberate and acknowledged, but still make for challenging reading as it can be quite jarring until you realise it's part of the plot. I found the main relationship (for reasons I can't mention here in case of spoilers) kind of predatory and also a bit awkward. I'm fascinated to see how this develops in the second book, once it becomes much more real.

I did enjoy our FMC, Sophia, who doesn't allow herself to be cowed by what has happened. She retains her dignity and her strength, finds purpose in a new time and a new role, despite not having the skills to fit into society. I particularly enjoyed that she didn't follow the usual time travel trope of not wanting to alter the future. She desperately tried to help improve people's lives by giving them important information on things like health and cleanliness, for example, boiling water to kill germs. There's a whole scene where she is teaching children about things like the rain cycle and how clouds form, which is brilliant. I'm fairly certain in reality, she would've been burnt as a witch within weeks if not days! But she makes for a lively, intelligent protagonist.

The cliffhanger is a doozy, and while I felt a little mixed about the book overall, I am waiting with anticipation for the Swords of Time #2 to find out what happens next.

Thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing Co-op for the ARC. This is my honest opinion.

Thank you to #NetGalley for allowing me to read and honestly review this ARC. I give this novel a 3.5/5 ⭐️.

"On this solemn day, the 8th of April in the year of our Lord 1401, my father, Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick, has left this world." He swallowed hard, struggling to compose himself….. "Kneel and give homage to Richard de Beauchamp,
13th Earl of Warwick.”

This time slip novel takes us on a very detailed tour of Warwick Castle in the Medieval Ages. We explore the time period through “Lady Sophia”’s point of view. The author does a phenomenal job of exposing the grim realities of hunger and punishment as well as the monotonous routines in very explicit detail. Her prose is very good, and the language is spot on, and the dialogue between the characters is pretty good tbh.
Our main female character is Sophia a young married German mom in her early 30’s in present day. We learn through further reading that she has a PhD in Biochemistry and studied at a university in England and doesn’t have a great relationship with her husband of 8 years. She takes a tour of the grounds of Warwick Castle by herself after her husband refuses to accompany her while on vacation. While exploring the grounds she is assaulted and knocked out by two men in disguise.
When she wakes up she finds she is transported through time, in the room is her sweet attendent, Polly. She goes into a tangent of her inner monologue overexplaining that she can’t let anyone know she’s from the future, and trying to figure out if what she is experiencing is an “act or a play”. After she is assaulted again by a peasant and witnesses his murder after trial she realizes this is indeed her new reality.
The book does very well at captivating your attention in the first 25% and I was very interested. However, after a while it starts lagging and nothing really happens. It’s like we’re just watching someone going through the motions of living life with the original little intrigue with her new love interest Sir Henry Raville. His “azure eyes” got a little annoying to read about and he came off a little bit like an ass. We also explore her friendship with Lizzie, and some other characters that were not that enthralling to be honest.
This book mentions women being unable to think for themselves making bad decisions, infidelity, violence and some other tough subjects. Overall it was entertaining, but it did lag in some spots and I started losing attention and interest. The twists and action took a little long to develop and I wish there had been a little more sprinkled throughout.

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