Three Hundred Years

Reading a novel written by AI for the first time.

Started reading: 11/28/24

Finished: 12/4/24

Amazon review (2 stars)

I really enjoyed the idea of this novel. Forbidden love? Time travel? Smutty spice? Count me in!

However, the writing style made it tough to read through to the end. There were a lot of repetitive phrases like (heart pounding in my chest or hand on the hilt of the sword) that (if edited more thoroughly) could have reduced the size of the novel by a good 30% without negatively affecting the story.

I also had a difficult time distinguishing the characters from each other in the beginning. Many have similar mannerisms and nervous actions which made them all blend together until I was about 25% through. That extended to the dialogue. Many of the characters used similar vocabulary and speaking styles which made they hard to distinguish.

There's also a narrative tone issue.

The story takes place in two time periods (I think 16th and 19th century Korea - or a fictionalized version of it -) but characters often talk and think like they're in the 21st century US. Because it was labeled as historical romance, I was hoping to get a glimpse into the style and manner of communication of that time period better. I didn't get that feeling. Since the entire story is in first person (shared between two characters Ahyeon and Gisa) this stands out a lot because we're reading their thoughts for the entire book.

The inclusions of Korean history were interesting though. I liked that part of it.

As for another bright spot, the sex scenes were generally well done. They had the uh... shall we say intended effect ;) and really showed the connection between the lead characters. These were the best parts of the book for me (and not just for obvious reasons). They were the most well-written! Really they were!

But overall, the story lacked narrative cohesion.

Each chapter often bled away suspense by overexplaining character thoughts or actions. There were many sections that read like a list of facts rather than descriptive world building (lots of telling rather than showing).

And though Ahyeon and Gisa share the story, the former was really the star of the show; the latter is just... kinda there. There was a lot more that could have been explored with her character and her connection with Seonghwa and how it was slightly different yet connected with Ahyeon's and Goo Hae's destiny.

In conclusion, if you like a unique story of lovers separated by time (with a healthy dose of steam) then you'll probably enjoy Three Hundred Years.

But with the rough prose, I can't recommend it for anyone but the most hardcore of genre fans.