The Forgotten Palace is a fast paced story with a dual timeline between the present day and 1900.

Walsh has highlighted the different cultures and lifestyles of the past and present. The mention of historical events like Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, the modern olympic games, the suffrage movement, and the Boer War gives a sense of realism to the plot. The writing style has lots of vivid imagery enabling the reader to paint a picture of the area. However, the flow wasn't always good, as there were some scenes that jumped timescales and there were also some scenes that were a little repetitive.

The character development of The Forgotten Palace gives the reader background information and flashbacks to draw them into the story. There are many characters that are only mentioned a handful of times, quickly becoming forgettable.

Alice is from a wealthy background and comes across as an intelligent person. She thought herself to be in love but it ends badly when her father finds out and returns her home. Given the chance to travel around Europe with her aunt she jumps and begins the journey to Paris and later Crete...

Eloise stays in the Crete house left to her by her father-in-law when he died after attending her husband's funeral. Eloise plans to continue with the work her father-in-law had started.

The link between the main characters isn't completely clear apart from the small odd chapter that appears to be a clash of Eloise's dreams and Alice's journals...

Overall I felt that The Forgotten Palace is although I appreciate the great sense of history, Greek mythology and philosophy but I felt like there were quite a few passages that seemed to wander away from the plot and what was happening with the characters.

I would suggest reading The Forgotten Palace to people who enjoy reading dual timeline novels and historical fiction, as it is a character driven story about grief, travel, heartbreak and adventure.

The Forgotten Palace by Alexandra Walsh is a novel that encompasses three different women. Each with its own story to tell. The legend of the Minotaur and the history of Crete.

Before 460

Ariadne is a woman dating back to ancient Crete that was put in charge of a labyrinth where there were sacrifices and reparations were sent to Poseidon or Athena. Now remember that this is a myth so whatever you want to believe.

London present day

Eloise, recent time, a widow whose husband has recently passed goes to Crete to the house that her father-in-law, Quinn, has left to her. While cleaning out the house, she discovers secrets from the past, his life work, the Victorian excavation in Crete, and all of its treasures. While there she comes to terms with the mistakes that were made in her marriage with the help of one of her husband's friends. She finds that Quinn has journals from a woman named Alice. Alice tells a tale of the excavation of Knossos and Ariadne the princess of the labyrinth.

London 1900

Then we have Alice who is escaping a personal scandal goes with her Aunt Agatha on a Grand Tour, which takes them to a house in Crete that itself is full of history. She participates in an excavation of Knossos along with her brother and a few other people. While there she befriends a young man and slowly starts to heal her heart after a breakup.

I love dual stories, and this one is no exception. Lots of history and folklore, and the author has done a tremendous job doing the research for this book. I think that if you love a story that is historical for one and that has strong women you will love this book.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Diana Gabaldon and Barbara Erskine fans will be completely dazzled by Alexandra Walsh’s The Forgotten Palace.

London 1900 and Alice Webster has made the biggest mistake of her life. With scandal dogging her every move and her reputation in tatters, Alice jumps at the chance to embark on a Grand Tour with her Aunt Agatha. Broken-hearted and dejected, Alice thinks that far away from society’s censorious glances, she can start to heal and move forward with her life. But when a chance encounter aboard a train bound for Paris stops her in tracks, Alice realises that her entire world is going to be turned on its axis as she heads off on a epic journey where stories from the past will impinge upon her future and change her life forever…

In present-day London, Eloise D’Ath is expected to grieve the loss of her husband, but if people knew the truth about her marriage they wouldn’t be at all surprised to find her rejoicing about her single status. Finally free, Eloise heads off to Crete to the house that had been left to her by her father-in-law Quinn. However, far from a quiet holiday, Eloise finds herself drawn into a powerful mystery where she uncovers Quinn’s life’s work and his greatest obsession: the study of the Victorian excavation to find the Minotaur’s labyrinth. Drawn in by the diaries she has unearthed, Eloise finds herself completely engrossed in Alice’s tale of lost love and her fascination with Ariadne, the princess of the labyrinth.

Three women from three different time periods are connected by long-buried secrets that might help at long last put right an old wrong that has reverberated throughout the centuries…

A sweeping and satisfying epic full of twists and turns, dangerous deceptions, nail-biting drama and heart-wrenching emotion, Alexandra Walsh’s The Forgotten Palace is the perfect book to lose oneself in. Wonderfully written, beautifully atmospheric and superbly told, The Forgotten Palace is an evocative and enthralling page-turner from Alexandra Walsh readers won’t forget in a hurry.

Loved the descriptions of Greece in this well written novel. Finding diaries about the search for the Minotaur's labyrinth brings Eloise in touch with Alice, a young woman from the dig at Knossos and secrets from the past.

Long time ago I fell in love with the Prince of the Lilies and I was fascinated when I saw Cretean objects at the Ashmolean Museum.
My love for this mysterious civilisation was the reason I asked to join this blogtour and I wasn't disappointed.
Myth, past and present: three women and three different stories mixed with historical facts and characters.
Ariadne, Alice and Eloise: the myth, the past and the present.
It was a riveting read and I learned something more about Evans and even about the Minoans' myths.
The author did an excellent job in researching and bringing back the past and the age of Evan excavation. Alice is a well rounded character and I liked her story and her evolution.
Eloise is the present: a story of a woman who suffered abuse but who was also able to be resist and start a trip of changes and discovery.
Ariadne is the myst and the most intriguing character.
A well plotted and tightly knitted story that I read in two sitting. Loved these characters
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Boldwood Books and Rachel's Random Resources for this arc, all opinions are mine

When Alice Webster is disgraced by indulging in an unwise love affair, her family decides that the best way to help is to remove her from the situation completely. Her aunt suggests a trip where Alice is tutor to her younger cousins travelling through Europe. On the train, they meet a family who spend some of their time in Crete, and in due course, they find themselves there, working on the archeological dig for Arthur Evans, who is excavating at the Temple of Knossos.

Fast forward a hundred years, and we meet new widow Eloise De'Ath at her husband's funeral. Having seen through the formalities, she sheds her jacket revealing a tight red dress and runs out the door leaving a shocked and disapproving congregation behind. She heads to the house in Crete that she inherited from her late father in law. Here, she can heal, not so much from the loss of her husband, but from physical and mental wounds from her marriage. There she is reunited with the Greek family who live next door who makes sure that she is fed and looking after herself, as well as providing insights into the history of the house and the objects in it.

As she settles into her new home, Eloise begins to sort through the belongings and she finds various artefacts, which all link to the Knossos dig. Most intriguingly she finds the dream diary that Alice used to keep, which record dreams that are disturbingly similar to the dreams that she has had since childhood.

The third story which threads through the book is the story of the Minotaur, half bull and half man, famous in ancient mythology.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought the information about the dig was really interesting and I was definitely left wanting to find out more about it. Maybe I should think about a trip to Crete to visit the museum? Having said that, there were times when I felt like every bit of research that the author had done had been crammed into the book. I am sure that wasn't the case but it felt like it.

Normally in a dual time line, it is the historical story that is the most interesting to me. I liked it this time too, but because of the archeological aspects, not so much because of Alice. Of course I felt sorry for her and understood her heartbreak but it was self inflicted in a lot of ways. There was at least one moment in this book when I gasped out loud as something unexpected is revealed in Alice's story.

Eloise's story was interesting, especially the way that the author slowly revealed the truth of her marriage firstly to the reader, but also showing Eloise some truths about her own situation. One of her husband's friends turns up to the house in the Crete to check in on her, and she also has to reevaluate what she knows about him too.


This was my first book by this author, and I liked it a lot. I can see myself reading more of her books. I have seen this book to compared to Susanna Kearsley, who is one of my all time favourites. However, my comparison would be more to the books by M J Rose of ten years ago (which is the last time I read one of her books), where you have the dual times, plus an almost a dark spiritual connection.

4.5 stars
This is set on the present day and in the early 1900s, as well as some glimpses into the life of the Minatour and his sister, Ariadne. All three women have had traumatic experiences with men they thought they loved. I enjoyed the way the stories connected with each other and the how their stories panned out. The main characters of Alice and Eloise were very likeable and it was good to read how they overcame their experiences and became more confident in themselves. This was an interesting and enjoyable read, mainly set in Crete. The archeological dig was interesting to read about, how they organised it, funded it and displayed the finds. I was a bit confused at first as to what Alice had done but this was made clearer later on. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a really unusual and entertaining novel set loosely over three different time periods and exploring the legend of the Minotaur and the history of Crete. In the modern day we have recently-widowed Eloise who has come to Crete as a means of escaping troubling events back home where she becomes intrigued by the history of Knossos and the diaries of Alice who was present at the dig uncover ng the site in 1900. Alongside we hear the story of Alice and the troubles she herself suffered back in the Victorian era which brought her to Crete. There is a strange connection between the two women and, in turn, to Ariadne and the true story of the Minotaur.

I thought the author wove the storylines of Eloise and Alice together very skilfully to paint a picture of two women a century apart but both suffering from very difficult circumstances as women. Eloise’s story was especially harrowing and may be triggering for some readers but the author dealt with it very sensitively. You do have to suspend your disbelief a little to get lost in the story as some of the ideas and circumstances are a bit out there but this is a piece of fiction, so that’s fine by me.

Despite the fact that this is fiction, it is threaded through with a big dose of historical fact when it talks about the discovery and uncovering of the Knossos site by Arthur Evans at the turn of the twentieth century and it was this that made the book a particularly compelling read for me. I have never come across this story before and this book has made me want to go off and explore more about Arthur Evans and his discoveries. Only the very best books make you want to go off and do additional research after you have finished reading and the author helpfully provides a list of resources to help you do so.

The setting of the book is perfect, and the author really brings the landscape and people of Crete to life in this novel, both in the present and the past. If this book doesn’t stir wanderlust in your soul, there is something wrong with you. The author’s alternative ideas about the truth behind the Minotaur story was also really interesting and food for thought; I wonder how Greek historians and lovers of mythology will feel about it? Read the book to find out, I certainly found it thought-provoking.

This was a book that kept me glued to the page and I read it in a single 24 hours. An unusual and enticing blend of fact and fiction, modern and historical, myth and narrative, I thoroughly enjoyed it and have no hesitation in recommending it to lovers of historical fiction and Greek myth alike.

Two women, in 1900 and the present day,
The island of Crete is the place they stay.
Linked by a myth, the search for what's true
Dreams show them a different point of view!

A Grand Tour with her Aunt Agatha to get away,
After her actions bring scandal and disarray.
The dig at Knossos proves a distraction to heal,
With family dramas and new feelings so real.

After her husband's funeral, Eloise De'Ath ran away,
Off to the island of Crete where she plans to stay.
Her late father-in-law left her his house there
Together with his research into Knossos in her care.

How do these women connect to each other
And to the myth of the minotaur they'll discover.
There are secrets, legends and surprises, too,
In this fantastic read I highly recommend to you.

A brilliant blend of myth, romance and dreams
Where the truth may not be what it first seems!
For my complementary copy, I say a huge thank you,
As I share with you this, my honest review.

I am a fan of Alexandra Walsh’s Tudor series so was delighted to see this book that combines dual time periods with Greek myths.

The story starts with a huge list of characters which seemed quite daunting, but reading the story the characters were introduced smoothly.

In the present day, Eloise is burying her husband with his obnoxious family and friends in tow. After the funeral Eloise escapes to Crete and the house that she inherited from her father-in-law Quinn. The house is near the archeological find of the Knossos palace and the legend of the Minotaur. While trying to heal Eloise becomes enmeshed in the story of the disovery of the palace and the diaries of Alice, a Victorian young woman who was part of the dig.

Alice is traveling in Europe with her aunt and young cousins as a way to escape a scandal in her past. She becomes intrigued by the dig at Knossos while she and her aunt are guests of an English family that own land and a vineyard by the dig site.

Interspersed is the story of Ariadne, Theseus and the Minotaur but with a different telling than the accepted Greek Myth.

Alice, Eloise and Ariadne all have to overcome trauma in their lives and find a path forward to forgiveness and redemption.

I enjoyed the book but would have loved to have more of the Ariadne story than was included. I also found the love interests for Eloise and Alice to be a bit underwhelming, Overall another good book by Ms. Walsh and I look forward to her next endeavor.

Thanks to Netgalley, Boldwood books and the author for the chance to read and review this books.

The Forgotten Palace is an epic timeslip novel that is as intriguing as its cover. And what a wild ride it is through the pages of history that includes the real-life excavation at Knosses in Crete! There’s a fair bit of historical content utilised skilfully and beautifully on the lost civilization of the Minoans. The author weaves this through the story and makes it personal through her imagined characters plus real life persons such as archaeologist Arthur Evans who wanted to rediscover the Minoans.

Ms Walsh created Alice Webster, as the fictional Victorian England heroine, who ends up on the real dig through a chance meeting on a train, after she has accepted her Aunt’s invitation to go on a Grand Tour. She has been caught in a scandal and has shamed her family. Now she seeks a way forward by being part of the dig to find the forgotten palace. While helping it rise up from the soil to tell its story again, she escapes her own. The author has noted that her action is similar to the ‘symbolic labyrinth of despair and lost love’. It is easy to see parallels between her and the Greek classic myth. We know from history the Knosses Palace ruins were uncovered but the labyrinth was not. Many have wondered though, if the inspiration for the labyrinth myth was drawn from the building itself which had numerous maze-like compartments.

We effortlessly travel back and forth between 1900 and present day with our journey starting in London, dotted by short passages of ancient Greece and the Minotaur myth. I loved how the chapters were grouped together giving us ample opportunity within each time period to get acquainted with the characters and their dramas and to obtain an encompassing feel of the settings before being shifted forwards or backwards. This format creates a gentle flow with no abrupt changes in the two storylines.

Eloise De’Ath of the current timeline has lost her husband to an unexpected death but although onlookers expect her to be grieving, she is relieved. She has had a very difficult marriage and if others knew the truth of her late husband’s activities, they would truly understand her lack of grief. Needing to escape the whole horrid experience, she prepares to put the marriage home up for sale and heads to Crete, to the house left to her by her father-in-law Quinn along with his life’s work: the Victorian excavation to locate the Minotaur’s labyrinth. There in Quinn’s office she finds and reads the diaries of Alice who was part of the dig. And becomes deeply fascinated by the Minotaur myth and fixated on Ariadne, the princess of the labyrinth.

This story is about so many things (including the finding and preserving of historical artefacts) but also a good portion is about abuse and forgiveness, innocence and maturity, bondage and independence, infatuation and love. Learning what a healthy relationship is and if you find you are in a bad one, digging your way out of the dirt. Having courage to let yourself heal and to rise out of the ashes into the warmth and kindness of truly caring arms. Arms that do not punish but hold you through the darkness and pain. Even teaching frightened feet to dance again with joy.

The past and present meet on Quinn’s property of many mysteries as they walk ‘the steep path to the hidden grove with the standing stone.’ The story of the Palace is brought to light and delivered together through people such as Quinn, Alice and Eloise.

This is a stunning piece of historical fiction, highly researched and filled to the brim with fascinating pieces of Cretan history. This past year I have read a number of fiction books with the Minotaur myth at their core. And this is yet another, but it is a worthy addition with its remarkable tale of love. I definitely recommend it but yes, it is not light reading in places and some parts will make you shudder with grief but in the end you will smile at its satisfying ending. I am really glad I read it. Thanks to Boldwood for the invitation and to Netgalley for my review copy. 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Forgotten Palace by Alexandra Walsh was a novel written in two timelines, well, three, really, if you want to count the Greek legend that was interwoven. Eloise De’Ath was a doctor and yet her husband had died on their kitchen floor and she could do nothing to stop it. Now the funeral was over and she shed her coat to reveal the bright red, sexy dress she was wearing that matched the shoes she had on. Everyone was aghast but she kept right on walking, up the aisle, and to the car that would take her to the airport and to Crete. She had a house there. Her father-in-law had left it to her. Why, she wan’t sure, but she was grateful. She began her new life with the same dream she’d been having for years, and, like always, she wrote it down immediately. It had been the suggestion of her therapist. Slowly she began to heal, from his death, and from her marriage. The second timeline was that of Alice Webster, who had been duped by an older man and embarrassed herself and her family. She had come to Crete with her aunt and spent weeks in an archeological dig at Knossos, the home of the Minotaur myth. As she dug, her pain lessened, until she found herself in love, this time for real.

This was an interesting story woven around the Greek myth, which was blood-thirsty at best, given the sacrifices made to the Minotaur. Was Eloise the reincarnation of Alice. We we leave that for the reader to decide. Eloise had Alice’s diaries and so had woven a close bond. It was a love story, well, several, really. It was not explicit although I’m sure that happened off the pages. It was the story of two abused women, different sorts of abuse but still abuse. It was also the story of ridding themselves of the abuse and living the life they were meant to live. Claud, a friend of Josh, Eloise’s husband, was an interesting character who, because of things he saw in his childhood, worked with his godmother to bring medical treatment to abused women. This was a surprise to both the characters and the reader when it was disclosed. The plot was meandering, women look for closure and new lives. It was woven together almost magically as one would be telling a story and by the end the other was telling it, one hundred years later. It was a beautifully written book.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of The Forgotten Palace by Boldwood Books, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #BoldwoodBooks #AlexandraWalsh #TheForgottenPalace

A dual time line story set in the 1900’s Hampshire and present day London.
Alice Webster has been locked in her bedroom by her father. She is in disgrace, she was going to elope with her boyfriend , from Southampton, but this plan was foiled, this action will have many repercussions in the present day.
Alice is placed in the care of her Aunt Agatha, she is to join them on an European tour, it is hoped that distance will let tempers settle and the scandal and disgrace to abate. On board the train to Paris, they are introduced to George Perrin, who is going to an archeological dig on Crete, looking for the fabled Palace of Knossos, home of the Minotaur. Aunt Agatha and the younger members of the party are intrigued by this and decide to go to Crete also. Once there, Alice experiences vivid and dark visions about the monster, which make her determined to take part in the dig to see what these dreams mean.
Eloise De’Ath is at the funeral of her late husband. Respectfully dressed in black, apart from some red shoes, she faces the hostility of his family and friends, who don’t know the full story of her marriage. Before the end of the service, she channels her inner Mary, Queen of Scots, by taking of her black coat, to reveal a bright red dress and leaves the church in a Taxi, her luggage is already aboard, and takes a plane to Crete, to Sfragida House, a personal gift to her, from her late father- in - law.
This author can really put an alternative spin on historical events. Her Marquess House trilogy was so persuasive, and this story gives us a perfectly reasonable explanation for the supposed appearance of the Minotaur, the deformed creature of legend. I was totally involved in this story, the setting and heat of Crete, two different women, but both so strong and convention defying, and both suffering such pain. I was intrigued by the archeological aspects and the ancient legends of Knossos, I really wanted to find out what the ending was without reading the end of this book.!!
An absolute five star read! I know a couple of friends going to Crete this year, that will make a lovely read for them.
My thanks to Netgalley and BoldwoodBooks publishers for my advance digital copy, given in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.
I will leave reviews to Goodreads and Amazon UK.

I love historical fiction, and for me, this book was done just right. Each part of the story, from the Victorian protagonist to our modem day protagonist, was told really well and, unusually, I didn’t find myself preferring one narrative over the other- I thoroughly enjoyed both!

Both narratives linked together, alongside snippets of a myth we all think we know very well, with what I’d like to call a hint of magic, but is probably a bit of serendipity and faith.

To say this book entwines different storylines, including myths and the hint of the mystical, I found it written authentically and the modern day narrative especially touched on a hard-hitting storyline.

It’s not often I read a novel and can imagine it being made into a TV programme or film, but this one for me does it. I loved it!

A dual time story with a real difference, the lives of two women over a century apart, linked by their experiences and dreams of the Minotaur’s labyrinth at Knossos – and I really have to say I loved every moment.

The story opens in the present day, Eloise prepares for her husband’s funeral after his sudden death – we meet his three friends who were ever-present throughout her marriage, and witness her particularly spectacular exit from the ceremony before travelling to Crete, her father-in-law having left her a house that she can make her refuge. And then, in 1900, there’s Alice’s story – joining her aunt, family and entourage on a European Grand Tour to escape a difficult situation of her own making. Their itinerary is fluid, and a chance meeting takes them to Crete – where Alice joins the dig at the archaeological site at Knossos. It turns out that both women stay at the same house, where Eloise’s father-in-law had made it his life’s work to research Arthur Evans’ dig at the Knossos complex – but the women are also linked by the dark recurring dreams they both experience, rich with detail drawn from myth and legend.

The stories are very cleverly wrapped around each other – something I always enjoy rather more than alternation of chapters – and there’s more than a touch of real darkness as the full story of Eloise’s difficult marriage slowly emerges as her life moves forward. And we also discover the full and rather shameful story behind Alice’s departure, as she finds her own empowerment through the beginnings of a new relationship and the work she becomes part of at Knossos. And then there’s the recurring story of the Minotaur and his labyrinth, the women linked through the character of Ariadne and a really original interpretation of its reality.

The research that went into this book must have been tremendous – the detail about the Knossos dig and discoveries, the real individuals who were part of it brought to life through the story, and all the small historical details (down to the corsets and clothing) that brings the whole era vividly to life. I was fascinated too by the exploration of the Theosophy movement, the continuous flow of life, and the concept of the Akashic record – that might look a touch heavy, but it really works well to underpin the women’s experiences – and the reinterpretation of the familiar myth of the minotaur is extremely well handled.

The characterisation is excellent – I became fully involved in the lives of both women as they grew in strength and confidence, along with the well-drawn individuals who were part of their lives, and the relationships they developed (even a touch of romance) as the threads gradually drew together. The setting too is wonderfully drawn – Crete itself, and the enigmatic Sfragida House with its many secrets. And the way the story unfolds, with secrets slowly and shockingly revealed, both threads equally engaging, punctuated by the increasingly vivid and unsettling dreams, had me totally engrossed from the story’s beginning to its wholly satisfying end. Unlike anything I’ve read before, and very highly recommended – I’ll be looking forward to reading more from its extremely gifted author.

Love the two female leads in this time slip novel - Eloise in present day and Alice from the early 1900s.
Both are strong female characters who have been used and disillusioned by love, including quite shocking domestic abuse.
I was totally immersed in the similarities in their timelines and the recurring theme of Greek mythology in their dreams as well as details of the archeological dig in Crete.
You felt completely swept up in their adventures and new loves in Crete and the magical mystery of the labyrinth and Adriadne, sister of the Minotaur, who betrayed her brother for love.
A well researched,, beautifully written book.
Thanks Netgalley Boldwood Books and Alexandra Walsh for the preview copy

Thank you to the publisher, Boldwood Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Eloise has just lost her husband, but all she feels is relief, and to get away, she heads to Sfragida House in Crete which was left to her by her father-in-law Quinn. A century earlier, Alice Webster arrives at Sfragida House with her aunt and cousins, and having recently suffered a heartbreak, is hoping that this trip and the opportunity to assist with the world famous excavation at Knossos will be a distraction if not a cure. Both women’s paths lead them to this house filled with history and they seem inevitably drawn to the story of Ariadne and the myth of the Minotaur – and the underground labyrinth said to exist under the Knossos complex.

Having read and loved The Marquess House series, I was excited to see what the next book by this author would be, and even more so when I found out that this too, was historical and a little mythological based as well.

The synopsis sounded amazing, and the concept had potential, but unfortunately the execution didn’t work out. Just a warning, there are a few spoilers ahead since I found it impossible to discuss this book without bringing up any.

This book started off strong in the first couple of chapters, introducing the main characters in various timelines and setting them on the path that would lead them to Crete. But after that it began to wander quite a bit. Most disappointingly, entirely too much of the focus was on Alice and Eloise’s personal troubles, and even once their stories turn to Crete and the excavation in Knossos, the mood never really set in for me as every time something interesting started coming up from the mythical or historical angle, it was diverted by one of their arcs taking a turn.

When the focus did finally turn to the archaeological, it became a much easier read, though the author wove in the research just a little too much, so it became rather overwhelming and dry at times for me.

This was another dual timeline narrative, though perhaps triple timeline might be more accurate. There were the past and present timelines from Alice and Eloise’s POVs, but there were also scattered chapters that narrated the myth of the Minotaur and wove an alternative version of Ariadne’s tale.

The writing was not up to the mark at all and I constantly felt like the chapters were far too descriptive and the narration extremely long winded and providing unnecessary detail that the story would have made perfect sense without. Pacing was another issue. I didn’t really start getting hooked into the story until well past the 60% mark which is a ridiculous amount of time to build up the background.

Characters-wise, I definitely preferred Alice’s POV to Eloise’s, though largely, I didn’t find myself especially interested in either. The POVs were handled well and it was easy enough to tell when they changed and who it was changing to.

On the downside, I found neither of them particularly likeable nor was I able to connect with them – though it’s impossible not to sympathize with them on some level. I think this was mostly because my entire focus was on the plot and the meandering character arcs kept drawing my attention away from it. Which was rather unfortunate in my opinion, since from a purely character development angle, this was actually quite good, just not my type of read. I wasn’t all that invested in the romance arcs either.

The story danced around both Alice and Eloise’s recent terrible experiences for ages and remained infuriatingly vague until the last quarter of the book for literally no reason at all. I expected, with this degree of evasive narration, there might have been a mystery behind it, but the facts were pretty much just dropped on the reader in a manner so clear there were no questions to ask.

My biggest gripe about the way this ended was that the connection between the myth, the excavation in Knossos and both the timelines was left extremely vague and a touch mystical. I was really expecting to see a concrete link between Alice, Eloise and the story of Ariadne, so to have it left this way, basically up to the speculation of the reader was a letdown for me. I did however like the alternative version of the myth this story presented

I think, with this book, my expectations were way too high after The Marquess House series, especially as the blurb also pointed to something along those lines. This didn’t work out for me largely because of how much focus there was on the characters’ lives and troubles and barely any on the historical/mythological element. This really wasn’t to my taste, but if the plot sounds interesting to you, I would suggest trying it out.

Two women, 100years apart, go to the island of Crete to rest and recover after bad experiences in their lives. They also have a connection to the ancient civilization there. Interesting historical fiction that mixes both real and fictional characters. Makes me want to go to Crete and see the Palace of Knossos and learn about the history there.

I feel like this book was written for me. I thought it was perfect. Dual timelines, a bit of a mystery and Greek Mythology all rolled up into an amazing package. What I especially loved was the authors research into women archaeologists at the turn of the century and how inspiring they are, even now. Overall, a spellbinding book

This is a book with dual timelines that overall was well-written and engaging. My one fault was that there were times when it was overly descriptive.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.