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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
This is the first book I recommend to anyone looking for historical fiction. Set in 12th century Wales, a mercurial king is wed to a young English woman. Then their already rocky marriage is threatened by the king's bosom friend and "fool" Gwirion. The queen, Isabel, must decide whether her loyalties lie in her increasingly unstable husband and his kingdom, or to Gwirion and her own heart. This sounds more romance-y than it really is, and it's chock-full of interesting history, violence, and character studies. The relationship between King Noble and Gwirion is just as fascinating as the romantic relationships.
While I am a big fan of medieval fiction and while this particular one took almost half of the book to develop some tension, I was tested to end up liking it. The last half had some nice zing to it and ultimately gave some interesting perspective to teh Welsh side of history for this time period.
The first chapter was the biggest hurdle - after that I was completely sucked in by the characters. I found it easy to read after that. However, I felt that the second half languished a bit long with the affair, and the wrap up in the final chapter felt sudden and somewhat unsatisfactory. The characters are very memorable and I found myself thinking of them a lot. Gwirion was my favourite.
This was recommended to me by a Facebook friend, and I am so glad! This is readable, interesting historical fiction, without jarring modern notes (nothing that felt too modern to my tastes, anyway). I got frustrated with Noble and Gwirion's insistence on turning *everything* into a game or a prank (although that was kind of the point), but the manipulations in those games (and outside the games too) kept things interesting. And there was a shocking twist at the end, which I did not see coming! I will definitely seek out more books by this author.
I wanted to love this book, and I almost did. When I finished it I was on a roller coaster of emotions, and I couldn't wait to tell my husband about it. The thing is, I was able to give him the entire basic plot in a span of about 1 minute. The fact that I was able to take something that had originally captivated me and whittle it down to a 1 minute description left me feeling a little deflated - especially considering the amount of time I dev oted to reading the book. I loved the characters and the setting, and the end of the story left me with a lump in my throat. Maybe I'm used to overly complex plots like Diana Gabaldon's novels. Maybe my own preconceived notions got in the way of a story that was intended to be primarily driven by the emotional development of the character. But in the end I was left wanting a little more action. Still, this is definitely a worthwhile read!
Interesting. Boring. Interesting again.
Then finished with a bang. Didn't see it coming.
Then finished with a bang. Didn't see it coming.
The 12 century Welsh setting was the most interesting part of this story. It was interesting to see life at that time and the intrigues between English and Welsh rulers. Unfortunately the actual story is focused on a never quite believable love triangle, with a disappointing resolution.
2.5 Stars
Honestly, I couldn't even finish it and that's rare for me. The writing was mediocre, the plot was unoriginal, and the characters poorly developed. Mostly, it was the characters that really bothered me.
It reminded me of high school in one of those YA series or in those old 90's teen movies, just in 12th century Wales. "Noble" (that nickname bothered me for no reason other than it's obvious intent to relieve the use of Welsh names) was the popular jock with a hidden playful streak, Isabel his bitchy girlfriend, and Gwirion as his goofy best friend.
Granted, the author admitted that this is a highly fictionalized account of Wales in the medieval period, but even that isn't enough to redeem the book.
So 2.5 stars, a half star given for the author's acknowledgment of it being more fiction than historical. Although that doesn't explain the lack of creativity since it was similar to almost every teen series I've ever seen.
Honestly, I couldn't even finish it and that's rare for me. The writing was mediocre, the plot was unoriginal, and the characters poorly developed. Mostly, it was the characters that really bothered me.
It reminded me of high school in one of those YA series or in those old 90's teen movies, just in 12th century Wales. "Noble" (that nickname bothered me for no reason other than it's obvious intent to relieve the use of Welsh names) was the popular jock with a hidden playful streak, Isabel his bitchy girlfriend, and Gwirion as his goofy best friend.
Granted, the author admitted that this is a highly fictionalized account of Wales in the medieval period, but even that isn't enough to redeem the book.
So 2.5 stars, a half star given for the author's acknowledgment of it being more fiction than historical. Although that doesn't explain the lack of creativity since it was similar to almost every teen series I've ever seen.