**3.5**
As someone who is not overly familiar with the English Civil War, I am happy to say that I did not have trouble following the history of this story. Setting the period between the major phases of the wars was smart as it provided background to what came before, as well as setting the scene for the future. Gillian Bradshaw felt like a reliable source in terms of historical accuracy (but again, this is not my period), which is always refreshing.
Giving Lucy a job as a printer allowed Bradshaw to go into the political and social details of the day in a realistic and engaging way that prevented the need for info-dumping.
The one down side for me was that the ending somewhat set up the sequel, which is a writing device that I strongly dislike as it usually prevents complete closure of the story.
As someone who is not overly familiar with the English Civil War, I am happy to say that I did not have trouble following the history of this story. Setting the period between the major phases of the wars was smart as it provided background to what came before, as well as setting the scene for the future. Gillian Bradshaw felt like a reliable source in terms of historical accuracy (but again, this is not my period), which is always refreshing.
Giving Lucy a job as a printer allowed Bradshaw to go into the political and social details of the day in a realistic and engaging way that prevented the need for info-dumping.
The one down side for me was that the ending somewhat set up the sequel, which is a writing device that I strongly dislike as it usually prevents complete closure of the story.