Was this book a little interesting? Mhmm
Did I have a clue what was going on? Nope..

I sadly found this book such a struggle which is a shame after reading the binding & enjoying it! However I did finish it. Full review to follow on my insta blog @the.readinglife

I’m not at all really sure how I feel about this book. I’m not sure I ever really understood what the grand jeu was even by the end and reading the author’s note afterwards. The story is told through three characters: the rat, the Magister Ludi and Leo (both present day and through his 10 year old diary). I enjoyed the portrayal and development of the relationships between Leo, Carfax and the Magister Ludi and it was this that made me want to keep reading to the end. However, I wasn’t convinced by the rat and her role seemed almost a little too contrived at the end.
Thanks to NetGalley for an E-arc in exchange for a review.

I've lots of Bridget's other books so was beyond excited to give this a go. This was such a good book. I love historical fiction, especially when it is about eras/ situations that I previously knew nothing about and this was definitely one of those books. It was so well researched and so compelling in its narrative that not only did I love reading it but I felt that I learned too. A really enjoyable read and perfect for any fans of historical fiction

Not for me. Difficult to read and to follow. The characters were unlikeable and the story very up and down

This book is not for me. I didn't like the characters and I found the book to be very boring. I could not continue with it.

This was another amazing story by Bridget Collins. It was so unbelievable that it gripped me from the start to finish. To be able to imagine something like this, is a skill in itself. It was easy to relate to the main characters and the game was very intense, .An open ended conclusion but with hope for the future.

Wonderful writing and such a descriptive and deep novel.

This book is complicated and takes a while to unravel but once you get into it you cannot put it down.

I loved the binding and this is so different but unique in its own sense.

I unfortunately DNF'd this book quite early on. I just couldn't get into it. I may give this another go and pick it up at a different time but for now I just couldn't focus and concentrate enough on it. This is doubly disappointing because I picked up a physical copy of this - the paperback version - and the cover art is gorgeous and the matte finish feels lovely.

I was given a free copy through Netgalley email, rather than finding this on my own.

The Betrayals is full of twists and turns. It is an interesting read. The friendship between Leo and Carfax and their fierce rivalry is a fascinating one. I was fascinated to unravel the mysterious connections and the lies.

A book suffused with mystery which kept me reading and trying to guess what was behind the mystery throughout. Intriguing and original, with well drawn unusual characters and settings, I really enjoyed it.

Léonard Martin, after his political career ended in disgrace, returns to the remote Montverre academy to continue his studies of the grand jeu. The past haunts him as he struggles with living up to his previous achievements. The new arrival couldn’t go unnoticed by the new head of school Claire Dryden, first ever woman taking the position.

The reading experience was slow, the paragraphs were full of information irrelevant to the plot, making it hard to connect with it. The author had a vision of what the reader should feel while reading, however I was left with verbose prose, failing to catch any hidden meanings.

The plot shifted between 4 POVs and within a small volume of text the characters weren’t given the opportunity to be understood by the reader, with Léo’s casual misogyny and Claire’s womannessness. The author highlighted the fact she’s a woman many a times, which felt like a heavy-handed way of leading us through the narrative.

Grand jeu as a concept is quite intriguing. However, as with the characters’ motivations, the author relied on the reader’s imagination to deduce what it might be as the principles were intentionally metaphorical. I’d recommend the book if you’re into the more vague narratives with element left untold.

This book took me ages to get into, I nearly gave up, so glad I didn't.
Slow to start and I found the plot difficult to grasp, suddenly all became clear and I was living the story, so much buttoned up emotion, heartbreak and dishonesty.
Leo Martin a former pupil of ancient Montverne is now a disgraced politician, he is sent back to study there and pick up information. he forms a relationship with Magister Ludi the sister of his former friend who committed suicide. How much was Leo to blame for his death?
Thoughtfully written and intriguing.
Thank you NetGalley and Bridget for this really fascinating novel

An extraordinary book, it lives up to all the superlatives in the MSM reviews. It takes a while to get into it, but the rewards are immense. I read the Glass Bead Game some 30 years ago and immediately picked up on the references but this is a more interesting read. Mesmerising.
I would award 6* if I could.

This was a book of two half's for me really didn't enjoy it at all until I was halfway through I'm glad I perceived though as it really picked up and I enjoyed it. It was well written but it really wasn't my usual genre but think it will appeal to some readers

In a fictional country that could be modern Russia, a politician, Leo, speaks his mind and falls out of favour. He is quickly fired, and exiled to his old college. The country is becoming more authoritarian and starting to persecute minorities. The novel splits into two time periods, each with a sort of love affair involving Leo. In the first, Leo is a young man with a rival student. In the second, with a female academic in an otherwise all male staff. In both time periods Leo is unaware of the bigger picture and unwittingly does a bad thing, hence the book's title. Students at the college study something called The Great Game. It is never explained but is a symbiosis of music and mathematics and is symbolically important for the country. It is a nicely created world although I wasn't always invested in the characters. I would have loved to know what the game was and that would have elevated the novel to greater heights. Nevertheless it was an intriguing read, if a little austere.

A mesmerising and beautifully written novel with rich characterisation and a gentle unfolding of the plot. Plenty of mystery and an enchanting atmosphere. 4 stars

When he refuses to follow the Party line, Léo Martin is forced out of Government, and banished back to his old place of study.
Claire is the first woman to become Magister at Montverre, and fears the new Government reforms will punish anyone of differing faiths or gender.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The narrative is split between a few characters/timelines.

Léo was the Minister of Culture, but when he voices opposition to the new rules that will make it impossible for Christians to hold jobs, etc; his party force him out, sending him in exile to Montverre. It follows him as he views his old home as a prison, full of discomforts, after his rich life in Paris.
The narrative also follows Léo as a young man, in his second year at Montverre. He is friendly with most of his fellow students, except for Carfax - a brilliant, but vastly disliked young man. The two of them are forced to work together by the Magisters, and find a certain understanding.

Claire is the first woman Magister. She is highly suspicious of Léo - his appearance at a time when the Government is bringing in strict new laws, it seems like they're putting a spy/enforcer in Montverre.

There is also the character of Rat... a girl who thinks she's a rat...

This book wasn't for me, which was unfortunate, as I loved The Binding by this author. I know that book started off slow and ended up being a surprising and exciting ride. This may be the same, but I struggled to stay invested.
The beginning is very slow, and all of it is focussed on the Grand Jeu. The actual "Grand Jeu" is danced around. It's explained as a combination of Maths, Music, Dance, Language, Science; but it is never described outright.
The way it is described made it feel like I was on shifting sands, with hints and words that just jarred and made it hard to connect.

Just not for me, I'm afraid.
The characters are only seen in a draughty castle which functions as a refined European boarding college for men, probably but not certainly in Britain. The characters compose dreary-sounding European musical scores and contorted dramas in 'the game' to earn their degrees. We get no description of the natural environment. All the story is told by present-tense conversations and jumps back and forth in time, apart from the running thread of a mute-seeming girl who is someone's hidden child. And she dis-endears herself to us at the outset by killing a harmless bird.
The author makes a point about women in higher education, but it's hard to know where she is going, given the slight allusions to fascism outside the walls.
In case the reader thought this tale might be for young adults, like many alternative reality tales, we get strong language in the second chapter, repeated throughout. There must be other ways to tell a story.

I downloaded a copy from Net Galley. This is an unbiased review.

although i enjoyed the binding but was not gripped by it i found this book to be less interesting than the binding. I think i will give up on this author as im just not feeling it.

This is the kind of book which reminds me of a tapestry, rich in texture and detail. At first, you are exposed to a small portion of it and although the story draws you in, you have no idea who it is about or how they relate to each other in the story. Then bam, the connections fall into place and things get interesting. For me, this was about half way through the book.

A disgraced politician is sent back to his old school for some “time out”. Montverre is a prestigious school, where there is a great focus on games (the “grand jeu”). These are created by the pupils with much skill and involving many aspects such as music, maths and academia. I didn’t understand too much about the games actually but I appreciated they were usually complicated and required skill.

The story then begins to move back and forth in time as the disgraced politician Leo recounts his memories of his time there and one pupil in particular named Carfax. Carfax comes from a family with a history of madness and is his initial nemesis. This changes when they are paired up to work on a game together.

In present time, we are made aware that Carfax died young and that his sister now works at Montverre in the revered position of Magister Ludi. The midsummer games are looming and she’s yet to create the game she has to present.

Here is where the tale unravels to reveal twists I had not been expecting. Could there be happiness after all these lies? As a romantic, I didn’t get to the ending I wanted but I did think the end Collins chose fitted well.

There was a sub story regarding Rat Lady who I found intriguing – for a while I could not be sure what she was. It would be nice to encounter her in another tale.

All in all, it’s a book which really grabs you once you get into it. My copy was kindly provided by Netgalley though I certainly know a few people who would appreciate this treasure of a novel. Out now and published by Borough