5/5 ⭐️s

I read this book last year - basically inhaled it in one sitting - and have wanted to reread since I put it down the first time. This read, I paced myself and two three weeks to read it. It gave me more time to appreciate the small parts of Alex and Henry’s relationship that really makes it wonderful.

Their email correspondence was dazzling and beautiful (Henry is definitely a poet, and I’m upset he’s fictional with no real book coming out to read), and I loved all the love letter quotes from historical figures.

I also had a chance to really appreciate the supporting characters this time around. Yes, Phillip and the Queen were a bit too stereotypical villain for my taste...but June, Nora, and Bea were all amazing. I wish this had been broken into multiple books so we could’ve delved further into their characters instead of simply seeing them revolve around Alex and Henry.