3.29 avg rating — 11,097 ratings

"Book starts with a big fat anachronism right on page 1, in sentence no. 1: "The hammering on the door shot him into wakefulness like a handgun going off in his face." -- This book is set in 1453. Yep ... SURE they already had handguns back then ...

As for the overall verdict, here's a quote from Kirkus Reviews (see https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...

"For a period piece, Gregory indulges in ridiculous-sounding anachronisms. A brigand actually says, "Now, little ladies, put your hands in the air ... and nobody will get hurt." A lot of talk is given over to the weakness of women so that Isolde and Ishraq can contradict it—which Isolde does in distinctly noncanonical fashion: "[Y]ou would destroy us who are made in the image of Our Lady Mary and put us under the rule of men?" Even the actual writing is sloppy, in keeping with the overall construction. Gregory says in her author's note how much fun she had writing this. Perhaps some may enjoy reading it.""

3.73 avg rating — 9,602 ratings

"A few anachronisms too many for an author who is supposedly an expert on the era he writes about (19th century/Victorian Britain) -- especially in the portrayal of women."

3.33 avg rating — 1,620 ratings

"Riddled with anachronisms as well."