This is my very first Natasha Pulley and I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I’ve only ever heard really good things about The Watchmaker of Filigree Street so I was super curious about The Kingdoms.

The Kingdoms is a very clever and new take on time travel and I can only applaud Pulley for coming up with such a story and managing to make it come alive on paper. Her writing is magnificent and the reason why, I think, I was so enthralled by the plot. I’m not gonna lie, I was very lost and confused for probably the first 30% but got into it after that. The best part of it all, for me, was definitely the ending. I was afraid to be left with a very bittersweet ending but that didn’t happen and I’m very glad!

I purposefully don’t go into details about this book because I think it’s best, for everyone, to discover The Kingdoms, its story and characters, for themselves.

Finally, I do want to say that although I did enjoy it, The Kingdoms is not a book for me. I can recognise its genius and wonderful writing, characters and plot, but I’m not one for historical fiction and this, although it is very fantasy-ish, is historical fiction (it takes place in the 19th century). I just couldn’t get attached to any of it, it was good, but in a very detached kind of way. I do think a lot of people will enjoy this book though so I would still recommend it!

THE KINGDOMS is a historical fantasy set in an alternate universe of time slips that have seen the French win the Napoleonic wars.

It is primarily told following Joe's perspective as he discovers he knows nothing of his life, but has all the skills he would have picked up over the course of it (languages etc). There is this deep, unsettling feeling from the start, as soon as the reader is introduced to a London that is not the London we all know. The slippery quality of it all being both different but familiar at the same time is the perfect way to slide into a mystery full of timeslips that make the world a terrifying parallel to our own.

The mystery of who Joe is and what's happened to the world is really good, slowly unfurled across the book. Characters evade answering questions, arguing over whether to tell him or not. Events niggle and the pieces slowly come together until the most innocuous thing is the final grain on the scales to inform the readers of what's happened. The ending also has the same disconcerting feel of all being just slightly too wrong (except you know why now), which was a nice thematic wrap up, but also kept the tone of the book the same throughout.

Alongside Joe's story are a series of chapters and scenes from the past - not exactly in chronological order, which was a little hard to keep straight at times. These occasional chapters (from two POVs) reveal the events that lead to the world not being the one we know, and were a really cool exploring of a "what if" that leads to France winning at Trafalgar.

Kite is probably the most complex character of the book. It's so hard to work out who he is and if he can be trusted. Some of his actions are horrible, but he's also deeply compassionate and dedicated. Even by the end, when his "character archetype" is revealed, I still wasn't sure what to make of him, as there was no attempt to explain away the more uncomfortable of his actions.

I was so very happy to get an advance review copy from NetGalley, having loved Pulley's previous novels (The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, The Bedlam Stacks, and The Lost Future of Pepperharrow). I am happy to report that The Kingdoms (UK publication date 27 MAY 2021) is an absolute delight, the kind of book that I race through, immediately read again, and mourn for days because it's over.

🗹 identity porn
🗹 diversity
🗹 ambiguous moral choices
🗹 spectacular weather
🗹 historical conundrums
🗹 true love
🗹 london
☒ explaining everything

... I have now read this for the third time, to refresh my memory for this review, and it's still very. very good. I think, too, that it's probably Pulley's most accessible novel to date.

1898: Joe Tournier arrives in London Londres with no luggage and no memory. Nothing about the life that he apparently fits into -- a slave, with a much younger wife and a kind master -- feels at all familiar. He has a vague memory of a woman named Madeline, small and dark and wearing green: wife? sister? When he receives a postcard of a lighthouse, with the message "Dearest Joe, come home if you remember. --M", he's sure that it was sent by Madeline. But the lighthouse on the postcard has only recently been built, and the postcard was sent 93 years ago ...

Joe's quest to recover his identity takes him from Londres to Pont du Cam to the Outer Hebrides to beseiged Edinburgh; from 1898 to 1807 to 1797; from ballrooms and wardrooms to an abandoned lighthouse, and to Newgate. And, though the narrative focusses on Joe, other characters' voices recur: a Spanish naval officer turned pirate captain, his sister the ship's surgeon, and the elusive Madeline.

This is, in part, an alternate history. It's the perennial time-travel conundrum: can history be changed? In this case, yes, and that part of the plot hinges on a sketched map of the London Underground and a telegraph machine created too early. (There's also an experiment involving tortoises.) But what makes The Kingdoms so compelling is the shifting relationships between Joe, Kite and Agatha. Agatha is monstrous, and has crafted a monster: Kite is a study in a warped kind of toxic masculinity, both fragile and brutal. They both know more about Joe than they're prepared to tell, and they will go to atrocious lengths to preserve his ignorance. But he can't stay ignorant for ever, and even though he may not be able to remember anything about his life before arriving at the Gare du Roi, his subconscious, or his heart, or history itself still resonates.

I'm intrigued, and still a little perplexed, about what does and doesn't feel familiar to Joe: what he remembers, and what he recognises with hindsight. He's lost so much -- lost so many people who mattered -- and some of those memories are weightier than others. And he is inexorably drawn to Kite, despite the threats of violence, despite Kite's obvious insanity.

So much rawness and vulnerability in the dialogue of this novel, and so many harrowing scenes. (Pulley's description of sweeping the deck after a battle: 'Sailors were going over the deck with wide brooms, pushing all the pieces of people overboard and leaving red comb patterns behind -- it was the brooms that hissed.'[2798]. At least as vivid as anything in Patrick O'Brian.) And there is a lot of sudden, casual violence: because much of the novel is set during wartime, and pragmatism is the order of the day.

I would love to read a novel by Natasha Pulley in which there is a likeable, sympathetic female protagonist. There are plenty of excellent women in The Kingdoms, but: Agatha. And yet, when her backstory was revealed, her motives were thoroughly comprehensible, and I pitied her.

And now I have a book hangover again -- that feeling where you don't want to read anything else, but only to fall back into what you've just read ...

I love Pulley’s books. I’ve read them all. Her style of writing effortless weaves magic and the fantastical into something quite believable. She gets you comfy in her prose, and then introduces the absurd which your brain welcomes in like a hearty pub landlord on a winter evening.

This book is about Joe, he is introduced to us knowing about as much about himself as we know; the contents of his pockets, the lining of his jacket and a sudden confusion of a very imperial french London. That knocks you for six and that’s just page one.

The story develops and we learn more of this strange parallel world as he becomes accustomed to it. It doesn’t sit right for the protagonist and nor does it for I, the reader. We look for answers in the familiar, the reliable north of Scotland where the British resistance reside. Alone, on a remote lighthouse, which seems to exist in its own timeline & accepted as such by the locals. When Joe is taken quite against his will, to help a cause which has little merit in his own time, he focuses on his own questions to discover the mysteries of his own times.

An excellent story! Drama, mystery, suspense & romance. A must read. A favourite you’ll want to read again, to see anew the clues you missed first time around. Bravo Pulley!

The Kingdoms starts with a mysterious person trying to find out who he is. Why is he wandering around in a French version of London? The clues come to him in mysterious ways. Despite the misgivings about leaving his family for three months in the dead of winter, he heads for a ruined, or at least abandoned, and possibly haunted lighthouse on the edge of the Scottish Islands.

I have other books by Natasha Pulley on my TBR, but this is the first of hers I’ve read. The parallel world-building is brilliantly detailed, creating a sense of place and history as clearcut as the fine glass of the aristos. The aristos may have gone, but the glass remains. The English aristos are still there, and running the navy. The pace is good, although I struggled to keep my place between the several shifts in timelines. Although there was always a sense of who was who, and where they were in their own unique history.

I wondered at 40% whether I really wanted to continue, since the ARC formatting was not helping. But something kept pulling me back. Was it the eeriness of the lighthouse which changes appearance and whispers? Or did the key to the time changes raise all sorts of possibilities in my brain? But having gone back, I was well and truly hooked and finished it in two more sessions. I found characters who are both appealing and not, simultaneously. I was pretty sure of the main identity theft issue at around 60%. Yet there are plenty of twists and loops near the end to keep you on your toes–and the characters too. It leaves you questioning what you believe to be true, of yourself, your friends and your loved ones. And in some ways, that can be very frightening.

One of the most enjoyable mystifying and baffling mind-bending books I’ve read. A handle on the Franco-English wars at the turn of the 19th Century helps.

As soon as I started this, I knew would be one I loved, and that was most definitely the case. That being said, I'd definitely recommend reading it in nice big chunks, as I found if I was busy and didn't read for a few days, I came back VERY confused haha

BUT wow, what a story! The world building and character building is always a joy in Natasha Pulley's writing and this one didn't let her down. I'm also sucker for anything with a slight nautical theme, so she had me hook, line and sinker (Pardon the pun)

A must for fans of her previous work and new readers alike

Thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the ARC!

I am afraid I didn't finish this book. I tried but just didn't connect with it .I hope other readers like it more than I did.

2.5 stars

The Kingdoms started out strong but as each of the six sections passed the story became less and less engaging. Characters who I was intrigued by started to become boring if not straight up annoying to read about. There was real emotional weight to begin with but by the end, these huge moments had little to no introspection. I think Pulley is a very talented writer and has a way with words, though this book wasn't for me. The central mystery is no mystery at all, and intriguing set ups get anticlimactic conclusions. The ending fell so flat to me as I had long since ceased caring about the characters and its hard to root for a romance when you don't like half the pairing.

As soon as I started reading this book I knew I was going to love it. The style of writing instantly pulled me in and made me feel comfortable and at home, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop reading. The story, the writing and the characters have a heart and soul that you instantly feel connected too. And then when you really get into the story there’s a dystopian future, an ever changing history, time travel, and one heck on an adventure. Ultimately though it is a very unique and sweet romance. What’s not to love?

Joe Tournier has lost his memory, but memory is too small a word for all that has been lost – wives, friends, battles, language, history. His life begins anew and there are things that make it worthwhile - freedom, work, a beloved child, but it is never quite enough. A postcard of a lighthouse in the furthest reaches of Scotland might lead him to some answers, but it might be a way to lose even more parts of himself.

Many books set in alternate timelines intersperse dates throughout the narrative, and this one follows that convention, and they are very important for following the story. It starts with a very significant date ″Londres, 1898 (ninety-three years after Trafalgar)″. Immediately that sets the scene: this is a French London and it is somehow French because of what happened at Trafalgar. And into that scene steps Joe Tournier who remembers nothing of his former life, although he can function in society. He discovers he is a slave, with an apparently kind master. He is married to a woman half his age, who should have been his brother′s wife, but she is not the woman whose image he can sometimes see. When a perplexing postcard arrives, it leads him to a new job and eventually to the farthest reaches of Scotland, and what he discovers there will not only change his life, but perhaps history itself.

I loved how the different histories in this story were interwoven, and that it challenges the reader to keep track of the different threads. There is an air of melancholy throughout the book because not everything that is lost is found again. The final words of a letter can bring a gut punch of sadness, and there is sudden horrific violence which destroys more than the victims. There are also beautiful descriptions which make the book very visual, for example this brief sketch of Nelson ″ … looking scruffy and only a little more substantial than a collection of dandelion feathers.″

I have read several of this author′s books and this has been my favourite so far. (Also the title is a pun which I always appreciate!)


I had a copy of this book early through Netgalley

Joe Tournier arrives at the Gare du Moi in Londres, the in the year 1898. He has no recollection of his life before this point and the doctor puts it down to paramnesia.
It’s clear to the reader that he is in some alternate reality in which the French won the Napoleonic war.
Joe receives a postcard of a lighthouse addressed to him but dated a hundred years earlier. People seem to mysteriously disappear from there……
He volunteers to work at the lighthouse, hoping that being there will help him make sense of things.
Without giving too much a way this is a gripping historical time travel adventure mostly at sea. There’s some wonderfully strong female characters for the time and also a beautiful gay relationship that develops over several timelines and different existences.
My favourite character is Kite, who has very many different sides to his personality.
I enjoyed this story so much! I’d advise anyone who reads it to take notice of the year on each chapter heading so as to avoid confusion.
The first book I’ve read by Natasha Pulley and I can safely say it won’t be my last!

This is such an amazingly written book. Set in 1898 in an alternate reality where France had won the Napoleonic Wars, we find Joe Tournier arriving at a London (Londres) train station suffering from acute amnesia, later to be diagnosed with epilepsy. He has no recollection of anything prior to the arrival at the station, except that maybe he has a wife named Madeline.
This book is deep, thought-provoking, and absolutely compelling. To write more would be to add spoilers, the mysteries are slowly revealed in small phases, and drawing the reader deep into its spell.
I loved this book so much.
Congratulations to Natasha Pulley for writing such an amazing story
Thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ahead of publication in exchange for an honest review

I adored this book!! A wonderful, romantic story with some of the most memorable characters I have ever met and a brilliant time-slip plot. I can't wait for this to come out so I can recommend it to everyone I know. Just wonderful in every way.

I came into this as a fan Natasha Pulley's work and I enjoyed this one as much as I hoped I would.

The theme of time travel is one that can sometimes come across as a confusing end result to the reader, but not the case here. The story flowed, in what is a hugely enjoyable read, and one that I will be recommending to all my friends.

Thanks to NetGallery, the author Natasha Pulley and Bloomsbury for the chance to read this advance copy in exchange for an honest review

This is a lovely book with a very strong cover image. In fact I'd pick this up and buy it solely because of its cover.

I was really excited to read this book, but unfortunately I just could not get into it and did not finish.

The Kingdoms was definitely an interesting read and the premise absolutely fascinating.
Joe Tournier can't remember anything about himself  when he arrives at the Gare du Roi station in central Londres - in 1898. It becomes rapidly clear to the reader that the events are set in an alternative version of history where the English lost the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, but this doesn't explain why Joe has no recollection of his past or present.
The only clue he has to unlock his memory is a century-old postcard of a Scottish lighthouse. But when Joe decides to travel to the lighthouse to see if he can find out anything more, he finds himself dragged into something bigger than him and whose consequences are far beyond his control.
What troubles me is that the premise is indeed great and I really like Natasha Pulley, she is one of my must-read authors, but found The Kingdoms a bit out of tune.  It's hard not to be mesmerized by the alternative history element, but I agree with whoever said that the plot was quite "convoluted in places and a little confusing to follow".  I experienced exactly the same. At times I had to go back to check where and when the action was set, even if everything was progressing slowly.
Also, I didn't find the lead characters as interesting as her previous ones, but in the end, being a beautifully written story about love and loss, I ended up caring for them and hoping for a happy ending. Natasha Pulley has a real knack for creating characters you care for, that's a fact.
While I am writing this I feel like I might reconsidered everything and change my mind after a second reading. Therefore, I will start by recommending The Kingdoms just to those devoted to time travel and with a huge interest in historic fantasy, and then I shall see.

My thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for giving me the chance to read the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Joe Tournier has a bad case of amnesia. His first memory is of stepping off a train in the nineteenth-century French colony of England. The only clue Joe has about his identity is a century-old postcard of a Scottish lighthouse that arrives in London the same month he does. Written in illegal English—instead of French—the postcard is signed only with the letter “M,” but Joe is certain whoever wrote it knows him far better than he currently knows himself, and he's determined to find the writer.

A history-based time travel adventure/romance, taking place in Great Britain around the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The Kingdoms is an enigmatic and atmospheric alternative history tale that sometimes lingers with you but mostly leaves you puzzled but in a good way.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5!

I thought this book sounded interesting which is why I requested it but unfortunately I just couldn’t get into it and unlike me I failed to finish it..

I tried. Really. Because I generally like timetravel. I enjoyed the Scottish landscape and the main character. The writing was just so slow that most of the time I didn't know on which side of time I was.This book wasn't for me. I gave up halfway.

Thank you Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the ARC.