I received this book in exchange for an honest review, and while I'd love to be able to offer a positive one, I simply can't.

As someone who adores poetry based on real life persons and stories, I truly looked forward to getting this book, but it feels like the author threw it down on paper in one afternoon and then hit 'publish'. It is, much as I hate to say it, the type of book (in terms of professionalism and publication-readiness) that gives self-publishing a bad name. There are typos that appear as early as the first page of the introduction, and formatting is a distraction throughout the book. The writing itself, if you ignore the typos and questionable formatting, is wildly abstract and repetitive, and although there are plenty of lovely sounding phrases, there are far too many cliches, and I generally got the impression that the writer loved to hear/see her own words and work toward flowery prose, but was paying more attention to sound than meaning... and not interested in revising or offering any depth.

Simply put, this isn't a book I'd recommend, and although I'm the target audience for this book, I was utterly disappointed. I won't be trying out anything else by this author, and I hope she'll hire a professional editor before publishing her next work. ( )

Though I noticed a few grammatical errors, the story itself was wonderful. Very tragic and heartbreaking, but wonderful nonetheless. I had never heard of the bittersweet romance of Ines and Pedro, but it made my heart sink as I read all about it. The love that was shared between the two certainly did appear to transcend time (as well as societal norms of that period). It's a quick read (it took me about 10 minutes or less), but it still left me with a profound impression. If you're a hopeless romantic like I am, this is right up your alley. ( )

Ines and Pedro were not social equals but they loved each other until death and beyond. Their love echoes through the years and reaches out to lovers in our time. ( )

I had never heard of Ines and Pedro and this tragic love they shared until now. I'm glad Haidji included an introduction about them, which is an amazing story, by the way.

I enjoyed how Haidji weaved a story where the main character became intertwined Ines. The story was lyrical and poetic and ended just perfectly.

Thanks to LibraryThing's Member's Giveaway for this book and the opportunity to read and review it. ( )

Uniquely written! ( )