Cat

This book is the modern Frankenstein except not all the Victor Frankenstein equivalents learn their lesson. I expected very graphic horror but Crichton utilized a subtle approach to the horror.

If you're concerned that you'll be bored because you watched the Netflix adaptation, don't be daunted by it. The books are on a different level. One, the author writes them as though his readers are of at least average intelligence. Instead of spoon-feeding us the story, he uses foreshadowing and doesn't hesitate to use ambiguous endings or messages. You end up interacting with the material for so much longer than you would think because you're fascinated. Who said the curse? Why did he do this? You never walk away feeling like an idiot, even if you do have questions.
The only thing that detracts from it is that it can sometimes feel disjointed. Sapkowski makes a very limited use of transitions. I can think of two or three stories which flowed from one another very naturally. Still, it's a very mild complaint as the book is split up by each story so the occasional use of smooth transitions wasn't too different from the other stories.

TL;DR Skip the book and just go with the movie inspired by it.
This book was a major disappointment. It supposedly tells the story of Queen Esther, through a diary Esther wrote late in her life for the benefit of another Jewish woman who has entered the harem. An odd set up that requires a great amount of effort in suspending disbelief. Somehow this diary has been secretly preserved and hidden at the behest on one family. This is when it gets bad- instead of the story of Hadassah becoming Esther, we are now focused on this modern Hadassah and her imminent wedding.

This book is purposefully misleading , skimming over Queen Esther's life like it wasn't important in the slightest just to set up another book. Just watch the movie inspired by this book- at least then, we see Esther's struggle and character- she's ambitious but incapable of cruelty, she is a romantic but remains sensible whereas this book simply has a cardboard cutout of a woman for the author to mess with. No personality traits ever come through, except for her love before 1st sight with Xeres and the severe internalized misogyny Esther has.

Well....
She's a strong character and a very difficult one to read. She's pretty insane, like this lady needed medication. However, Philiippa Gregory deserves a lot of praise for this book. At times, I had to put this down and stop reading, I felt like I was entirely too deep into this woman's head. It's strongly written, the character is....unique and it does provide another perspective that might help when reading this series.

I would completely recommend this book. I was afraid that the multiple POVS would leave me confused but I was proven wrong. The characters are so unique in their voices and thoughts that they're hard to mix up. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.