The Du Lac Chronicles by Mary Anne Yarde
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I wanted to love this story. I love history. I love legends. A semi-romantic adventure story about Lancelot’s son sounded perfect. Alden was a well developed character. He was a good leader, who didn’t want to lead (they are the best, right?). He is tortured because he lost his kingdom to the evil Cerdic. Cerdic’s daughter saves him and accompanies him on his quest to gain back his kingdom.
Cerdic’s daughter Annis is an awful character. I get that women in those days were very dependent on men due to societal constraints, but jeez. She is brave enough to help Alden once, but then does nothing but get in his way the rest of the time.
There were quite a few other things that threw me off in this book. Lots of modern colloquialisms and phrases that wouldn’t be used in that time period. Having them there kept pulling me out of the story, when I very much wanted to get lost in it. The author also took a lot of licence with history and legend, though she readily admits that in her notes to the reader. Because of that, and the fact that the average reader doesn’t have the historical knowledge that I do, I can’t fault her too much for it.
Disclaimer: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. I was not monetarily compensated for my review and all my opinions are my own.
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