Medieval Love and War by Terry Mott-Bellin

King Matthew is kind and generous. However, not everyone loves him: Calibor is King Matthew's enemy and wants to win the Great Sea Kingdom and rule it himself. The Springtide Festival is held annually, and people from miles around come to enjoy a day out. Fifteen-year-old Princess Eden persuades her father to let her participate in The Spring Moon Dance. King Matthew feels his only daughter will be safe with her lady-in-waiting, her tutor, and guards with her. However, when the dance finishes, Eden accepts gifts from the spectators and overlooks Calibor. Calibor is angry that he has been snubbed and commands his sorcerer to put a spell of pox on all the young men! What plans does Calibor have for Princess Eden? What is different about Tomas? Moreover, who do the servants help to seduce Princess Eden? Read Medieval love and War by Terry Mott-Bellin to find the answers.

This book only has one hundred and ninety-seven pages, but by the end of chapter four, more than sixteen main characters have been introduced. I found trying to remember whom everyone was confusing, spoiling the book's flow. There are also many grammar errors. This book needs to be proofread as mistakes like 'beforeheading' would have been picked up if it had.

Despite the errors, I did enjoy this book. It has all the ingredients of an adult fairy tale. King Matthew, adored by his people, has a beautiful daughter who falls in love with a handsome man. And his adversary, the evil Calibor, rules his people with fear and punishments and has a sorcerer to cast horrific spells on anyone in his way. Furthermore, there is a supposed faithful servant working for the other side, a village of little people, and a good witch. I also enjoyed all the pagan references, particularly the handfasting of Maia and Tomas.

I recommend Medieval Love and War by Terry Mott-Bellin to anyone who enjoys romance, good versus evil, or an adult fairy tale. Many medieval words are used, which a historian would also enjoy. Sex is mainly hinted at, but I would not recommend this book to people under sixteen.

I want to give Medieval Love and War 3 out of 5 stars because, although I enjoyed the story, introducing so many characters in the first few chapters confused me. I re-read the first four chapters and made a list of the people, their characteristics, and which of the other characters they knew. Terry Mott-Bellin should add this information at the beginning of the book for readers to refer back to. A map of all the places mentioned in the book would also be helpful. I have reduced the stars because this book has yet to be edited or proofread, and there are errors on most pages. So many mistakes are annoying and spoil the book's flow!

I want to thank Terry Mott-Bellin for a copy of Medieval Love and War in exchange for my honest and impartial review. 

You can see more of my reviews here http://onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-tara-d-morgan.html

Book review : First Lessons by Lina J Potter

 

First Lessons by Lina J Potter begins as Aliya, a high achieving medical student, is heading home, she has presents for her family and is so excited to share that she has all A grades. Her parents meet her at the end of her train journey. In the car they are busy catching up on all the news when a large truck comes over the hill straddling the lanes, it crashes into their car flipping it several times before it crashes into a tree. When Aliya comes round she is in a lot of pain, she doesn’t recognize the room she is in, the person who is sitting by the bed or the extremely overweight body she now has. Aliya has taken over the body of Countess Lilian! With the help of Lilian’s nanny Aliya realises that she has time-travelled to Medieval times. The resourceful Aliya has to quickly learn how to behave but she doesn’t want to be like Lilian who spends her time lazing around eating, stitching and waiting for the occasional visits from her husband who needs an heir. These are scary times there are robbers, pirates, slave traders, murderers and spies who are only too happy to bring about Aliya’s downfall. Aliya remains strong and adjusts to this unknown world, starting with a major upheaval of the staff she employs and then by repairing and building up her crumbling and unkempt estate. As she has always done she rolls up her sleeves and with sheer hard work and determination she works to get the best she can for her kingdom!
 

I appreciate the extensive research Lina J Potter has done in order to give us an insight into the life and times of the era, in particular the use of herbs as medicines. The author has also followed closely the fact that Aliya is a medical student in the present day and brings this knowledge to the fore when Lily is hunting out the skills of the crafts people of the day. The author cleverly shows the reader how important these skills were, for survival, in Medieval times. 

I was frustrated with the way Aliya got on with life and fell into the role of medieval Countess. Aliya is never going to return to the present day but doesn’t seem to be particularly bothered, I appreciate that she doesn’t want to draw attention to herself but surely in private moments she would have shown some fear and upset about the life she has left behind. I also felt that the change in character that Aliya brings to Lily would have been questioned particularly by the nanny who is always by her side. First Lessons starts off really well and I was excited to see how it developed but for me it never did. Lina J Potter is a clever researcher and writes a good narrative but there is nothing to get the reader excited. Lina J Potter hints at friction, murderous intent and slavery but these fizzle out really quickly and left me thinking ‘that could have been great, if only….!’ 

There were a few minor errors but in the main this book was well edited. I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars, it was an interesting read but it just didn’t have enough substance for my liking and there was a great beginning but the middle and ending all merged into one and was very much the same. 

I think this book would appeal to teenagers who like historical fiction. I think they would find it entertaining but they would also learn a lot through the history and science without realising as it is so well woven into the structure of the book.

Thank you to Lina J. Potter for a free copy of this book in exchange for an impartial review.