'Sleeper's Castle' was an Amazon recommendation based on books I've downloaded or bought in the past. There are times I think the Internet is intrusive but when it comes to book recommendations, it's actually a pretty effective tool. I haven't been steered wrong on suggested selections very often, and this book is a case in point.
It was my first introduction to the writings of Barbara Erskine and it seems I've been missing out. This English authoress writes engagingly, in the genre of my choice with a sprinkle of magic & a dual timeline to boot. Seems like I would have given it more than 3 stars, right? I think 3 1/2 would have been perfect. I'm definitely going to read another novel by her (I found there are a plethora of choices & every one I looked at appeared interesting.) Although I very much enjoyed this book, parts could have been omitted & the story would have had the same effect & in my opinion, been better. Let's backtrack first tho before I start slashing apart the painstaking work of the author.
'Sleeper's Castle' gets it name from the dreams it induces when someone stays/sleeps within it's medieval walls. The castle is situated in a remote, picturesque part of Wales known as "the Marches" ~ borderlands between Wales and England. Miranda, aka Andy, starts dreaming immediately upon taking up residence & gets totally sucked into another time in history (1400's) and into the story of a young woman (Catrin) who resides within the very same castle. Catrin lives during a violent period in Welsh history when Owain Glyndwr, the last native Welshman to hold the title 'Prince of Wales,' leads a final rebellion to try & free his country from English rule. It's a time of seers, poets, bards and magic. Fascinating & all the more so since learning I have Welsh ancestors. I liked reading every bit of the history in that part of the book.
Now, back to the parts that could have been omitted, both are in the modern timeline, wouldn't you know? One was the visit by Andy's father. I don't know why, but that whole interlude seemed a bit cheesy?? Everything she thought she remembered about him wasn't true & he offered nothing to the story. The other part was the ex-wife of her deceased lover. A mentally unbalanced person who perhaps was added to ratchet up the tension in the book (??) but I found her totally distracting & completely unnecessary. I felt the book & it's history would easily hold a readers interest without either addition ~ therefore the lower star rating.
By the end of the book Andy was "dreaming" so much, she was hardly awake. I almost felt like nodding off with her ~ another reason to eliminate the extraneous parts, it would pare down the 500+ pages to the most essential (& interesting) elements.
The book ends on a happy note with a tidy little historical link to the castles' predecessor.
'Sleeper's Castle' was a good read. It didn't blow me away but I'm entranced enough to search out another title by this author plus it piqued my interest in Owain Glyndwr and now I definitely want to read more about him!
It was my first introduction to the writings of Barbara Erskine and it seems I've been missing out. This English authoress writes engagingly, in the genre of my choice with a sprinkle of magic & a dual timeline to boot. Seems like I would have given it more than 3 stars, right? I think 3 1/2 would have been perfect. I'm definitely going to read another novel by her (I found there are a plethora of choices & every one I looked at appeared interesting.) Although I very much enjoyed this book, parts could have been omitted & the story would have had the same effect & in my opinion, been better. Let's backtrack first tho before I start slashing apart the painstaking work of the author.
'Sleeper's Castle' gets it name from the dreams it induces when someone stays/sleeps within it's medieval walls. The castle is situated in a remote, picturesque part of Wales known as "the Marches" ~ borderlands between Wales and England. Miranda, aka Andy, starts dreaming immediately upon taking up residence & gets totally sucked into another time in history (1400's) and into the story of a young woman (Catrin) who resides within the very same castle. Catrin lives during a violent period in Welsh history when Owain Glyndwr, the last native Welshman to hold the title 'Prince of Wales,' leads a final rebellion to try & free his country from English rule. It's a time of seers, poets, bards and magic. Fascinating & all the more so since learning I have Welsh ancestors. I liked reading every bit of the history in that part of the book.
Now, back to the parts that could have been omitted, both are in the modern timeline, wouldn't you know? One was the visit by Andy's father. I don't know why, but that whole interlude seemed a bit cheesy?? Everything she thought she remembered about him wasn't true & he offered nothing to the story. The other part was the ex-wife of her deceased lover. A mentally unbalanced person who perhaps was added to ratchet up the tension in the book (??) but I found her totally distracting & completely unnecessary. I felt the book & it's history would easily hold a readers interest without either addition ~ therefore the lower star rating.
By the end of the book Andy was "dreaming" so much, she was hardly awake. I almost felt like nodding off with her ~ another reason to eliminate the extraneous parts, it would pare down the 500+ pages to the most essential (& interesting) elements.
The book ends on a happy note with a tidy little historical link to the castles' predecessor.
'Sleeper's Castle' was a good read. It didn't blow me away but I'm entranced enough to search out another title by this author plus it piqued my interest in Owain Glyndwr and now I definitely want to read more about him!
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