Pages

Friday, 29 January 2010

On a Highland Shore



Title: On a Highland Shore

Author: Kathleen Givens

Type: Historical Fiction

Pages: 464

Published: 2007


Synopsis: Set in the late 13th century, "On a Highland Shore" is a story about Margaret MacDonald, the daughter of a Scottish laird who is preparing for her wedding to the cousin of the Scottish king. Before the wedding can happen her home is decimated by a group of Vikings who are raiding the Scottish coast. Margaret is determined to hold her clan together and find her missing 8 year old brother who was taken during the raids. She isn't sure if she can trust some of the noblemen who are pushing for her wedding to take place because it will further advance themselves with the Scottish king. Or should she trust the half-Irish half-Norse Gannon MacMagnus who gives her hope and his aid in finding her brother and restoring her homeland to peace?

My Thoughts: I was, honestly, a little surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. I had quickly picked it up from the library racks based on the title and front cover alone and was just hoping it would be a decent read. This book proved to be more than just decent.

The author keeps up the momentum throughout the book and, although it does have a few mushy romantic parts to it the storyline is quite good. It was one of those books that I looked forward to sitting down with to see what would happen next. The author uses some true historical fact to base her storyline on which include the Norse invasions on western Scotland as well as some real historical characters (King Alexander of Scotland, William Ross etc).

My Rating: 4/5 (a really good read)

2 comments:

  1. I read this book about a year ago and really enjoyed it too. The viking invasion did bother me (but that's just me...I don't like stories, movies, etc. with that kind of violence against children) but I did enjoy the rest of the story. Hmm. Can't believe I actually read a book before you did! HA!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, yes. :) Too many books, so little time. Can you recommend any other great historical fiction? I'm reading about Eleanor of Aquitaine right now and it's really good! Got a bit tired of always reading about England and Scotland ... thought I'd branch out into France. :)

    ReplyDelete

Comments totally make my day!! I read each and every one and really try to reply to all messages posted. Thanks for stopping by my blog!