Engaging

A good start to what I expect to be a very enjoyable series. The characters are not real but the story is well done. A terrific balance of dialogue and narrative will have all readers of historical fiction experience total enjoyment. ( )

Well done, historically intelligent and gave the reader credit for a fair understanding of the characters and time period The pace wasn’t too slow in formulating the relevant background details, and it brought the reader into the close reality of a relatively normal, though royal, family. It was a book I read straight through in one sitting, and would have happily read on, so the only thing I would have asked for from this book, was more chapters. It ended in an appropriate place in the storyline, so I will be hoping the author is busy writing more of this story in her own intelligent way. ( )

This is a difficult book to review. It is a simple story of a best loved grandson in a fictional kingdom in a fictional place a very long time ago. He is a good boy, trying to live up to the expectations of his parents and his grandfather, the King, even though he knows he has no prospects as the second son of a second son. There are knights, a jealous sibling, a wife, a favorite horse - as I said this is a simple story. Forgiveness, betrayal and revenge find their places in equal measure and it is these things that move the story forward.

In the author’s words: “This series is dedicated to the hope that thoughtfulness, compassion, respect, and rational dialogue can triumph over bigotry, greed, mistrust and self-righteousness to create a world that is truly a better place for all mankind.” I enjoyed the time spent with this book and realized that a good writer does not always have to be driven by a strong plot, there can be other elements that draw the reader into contemplative thought. A strong 3-1/2 stars.

I received this book from LibraryThing Early Reviewers. ( )

Early Reviewer Book. This is more of a novella but was easy and quick to read. The characters are well defined. The story is interesting and the time period is one of my favorites. I think this is the beginning of a series and I would be happy to read a continuation. ( )

Right off the bat, I have to say I received a copy of this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program, and I am grateful to the publisher for the opportunity to read it.

I didn't find this book super gripping? The plot felt a little weird, especially because the mystery at the beginning took forever to work through in flashback, and once it was "resolved" it felt really obvious, and should have been obvious to Alfred? But it was still an okay book overall, and I had no major complaints about it. I would actually like to see a sequel of Alfred beginning his next journey, as I think that has a lot of plot potential!

But it definitely wasn't a bad book, and it made me want to read more fantasy that relies in some ways on historical fiction (it REALLY made me want to return to Tamora Pierce's work, which I would recommend as a read-alike even though this is not YA.) ( )