Official Review: Anstey's Revenge by Susan Hancock

Okafor Prosper · Post by **Okafor Prosper** » 13 Feb 2021, 07:17

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Anstey's Revenge" by Susan Hancock.]

4 out of 4 stars

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Anstey's Revenge: Will Love be Enough? by Susan Hancock is the second book in a trilogy, Anstey's Kingdom, that expertly ties elements of history with sci-fi, romance, and suspense to produce a captivating read that is bound to keep you at the edge of your seat.

The characters, after the fight of their lives led by Thomas Alban and Kat Wrenn-Alban, have just gotten rid of Anstey, who enslaved them and executed all kinds of horrors on them. Now that they are free, they can just live happily ever after, right? Things are not even close to that, as there is still the fear that Anstey and his enforcers are out there plotting his return. There are issues surrounding the strict laws governing the central characters who came from a futuristic planet, Domum-Orbis, and the consequent segregation of humans due to the enmity between themselves and humans. Also, the trauma faced by Thomas at the hands of Anstey presents a stern test for his love for Kat. Amidst all these worries and threats, will love be enough?

Just like the first book, the story is set in Elizabethan times and is told from multiple perspectives, as Kat told her story in the first person while the rest of the story is told in the third person. The book can be read as a standalone, as Susan Hancock does well to include a quick recap of the story in the first book and introduce the characters and their situations at the beginning of the book.

The story mainly centers around Thomas and Kat, and we observe the intriguing dynamics between them while they struggle with intimacy after all they have faced. Kat is torn between worry for her husband and anger at the people that traumatized him, and Thomas is ever forgiving and goes as far as sparing the lives of his attackers, but he struggles with severe depression and blames himself for several losses in the first book. I have to say that following the strain on their relationship and wondering if they would pull through were my favorite parts of the book.

Numerous twists are also included in the story, which added a lot of suspense at different points of the book. I will not fully give out what the twists were to avoid spoilers, but I can tell you that one of them involved the paternity of two of Thomas' and Kat's children. So, you can imagine what they were up against. The elements of mind sharing, reading, and control are also explored here, and it excited me and gave me more to look forward to while reading.

There wasn't much to dislike about this book. I would have appreciated a deeper exploration of the events of the era where the story is set, even though we meet the Lundye Pirates and their slave-trading activities and experience the floods that occurred in that time. I found a few punctuation errors while reading, but the book seemed like it was professionally edited overall.

All things considered, Anstey's Revenge: Will Love be Enough? deserves a rating of 4 out of 4 for the author's near-perfect execution of this suspenseful character-driven story. In the end, a few lessons that readers will relate to are learned. The book contains profanity and includes descriptive sex scenes; therefore, I would recommend it to mature audiences that enjoy romance and sci-fi novels.

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Anstey's Revenge
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smolbird · Post by **smolbird** » 16 Feb 2021, 05:27

Although it sounds interesting, this series just isn't my cup of tea. Thanks for the insights, though.

Rayah Raouf · Post by **Rayah Raouf** » 17 Feb 2021, 12:10

I do occasionally enjoy reading sci-fi/fantasy books with a romance focus. I wouldn't mind checking out this one. Thank you for the review.

WADonnelly · Post by **WADonnelly** » 17 Feb 2021, 17:33

Sounds like a compelling book to read. Thank you for you insightful review.

NetMassimo · Post by **NetMassimo** » 18 Feb 2021, 06:02

Romance is not my thing, but this novel seems to go far beyond cheesy love stories. Thank you for your great review!

Hunter Tester · Post by **Hunter Tester** » 24 Jul 2021, 09:23

Sounds like a mixture of many genres together. Not sure if I would enjoy it or not, some parts seem interesting though!

MoeBrown · Post by **MoeBrown** » 24 Jul 2021, 09:45

Sci-fi isn't my go-to and so I don't think I would be interested in reading this novel. The story does seem to be interesting for those who prefer sci-fi. Good review though.

Amina Yusuf · Post by **Amina Yusuf** » 24 Jul 2021, 09:49

Some of my favorite themes are woven into this story. Kat and Thomas have gone through a lot together, however, will love be enough to get them through the hurdles they have to faced again? Sounds intriguing.

Brenda Creech · Post by **Brenda Creech** » 24 Jul 2021, 10:11

This sounds like an interesting story. I am not much for sci-fi and fantasy, and I don't care for books with explicit sex scenes and profanity. I do hope Thomas and Kat could work things out in their marriage. That there are questions about the paternity of two of their children is intriguing, but I am going to pass on this one! Thanks for the great review!

Mohamed Nady · Post by **Mohamed Nady** » 24 Jul 2021, 10:14

It looks like a great book, I love science fiction books mixed with reality

Jorge Leon Salazar · Post by **Jorge Leon Salazar** » 24 Jul 2021, 10:17

The second book in the trilogy, Anstey's Kingdom. It Combines science fiction with romance and suspense. The story focuses primarily on the characters Thomas and Kat. It seems that they face various external struggles and also between themselves.

Saumya Gupta Gupta · Post by **Saumya Gupta Gupta** » 24 Jul 2021, 10:25

The review sure paints a very good image of what to expect from the book. However, I am not sure how much I will enjoy this book not being a fan of the people from another planet trope.