Published: July 26, 2013 by iUniverse
Series: The Carolingian Chronicles #1
When this book first arrived I wasn't sure what to think. The cover wasn't really my type. Plus at first glace it looked long and dense, and I wasn't too sure what I got myself into. I started, finding myself in the middle of a battle scene with a ton of characters I couldn't straight, and was sure I had judged the book correctly.
Except, I kept reading, and fell in love with the story. The book takes place in Europe in the 8th century, and for me was a good mix of the Renaissance based historical fiction I tend to love and what feels like a fantasy world full of knights and dragons. The story follows the 4 children of Charles the Hammer, a history I knew nothing about. But what I learned when I finished was that Charles the Hammer is the grandfather of Charlemagne, a figure who I may not know a lot about, but I definitely know.
The story is told from the point of view of each of Charles' children, and while I found aspects of each to enjoy, but far my favorite was the sister, Trudi. But even as it jumped between character and location, I was surprised how well it flowed.
One aspect I found to be a pleasant surprise was the detailed author note at the end. In a book such as this, where the reader may not know what is true, it made the world of difference to me. I can hardly believe how much we do know about this time period, but on the other hand, how much of this history has been lost.
This book is the first in a series, and I can't wait to see how the story continues. Even writing this review, I don't feel like I'm doing justice to my feelings. But I'm so glad I decided to give this one a chance since I think I'll be thinking about this for a while now, and only hope you choose to do the same.
4.5/5
Disclosure: I was provided this book through Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours. All opinions expressed are my own.
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