To Crown A King

I have read my fair share of historical fiction, but this is the first book I've read set during the Scottish War for independence. This was certainly something that was of interest to me and I really liked the storyline... but I found this quite difficult to read if I'm being honest.

For the first half of this book I thought I would be giving it 4 stars, but unfortunately it ended up being a 3 star read for me. 

There are far too many characters to keep track of. Some of which disappear for a bit and reappear. I had to pause every time a character was talked about for a moment and just try and remember who they were.

Perhaps this was because I don't have a lot of knowledge about that specific time period (except from things I've learnt from Braveheart - and yes I know it wasn't exactly 100% accurate). So maybe this book would be perfect for someone who knows a thing or two about that particular time.

The story struggles with pacing & can be a bit slow in parts (there is lots of riding back & forth etc).

But is also very heavy on the history and I actually really enjoyed that part. I think if I were to reread this book, I would have a better understanding of what is actually going on, and would probably enjoy it a lot more.

I also loved the character of Christina as well, so that's a positive for this book.

She is brave, fierce & loyal to a fault sometimes. But the author has clearly spent a lot of time and effort in building her character up. She felt so real in the book, and I could almost imagine her sat in front of me.

There is a lot of history in this book, and I loved how the history was delved into.

I felt like I've learnt a lot if I'm being honest. Even if it did take me a while to wrap my head around it all.

I also enjoyed Christina's relationship with her family and Wallace.

There is certainly a lot of drama that happens in this book. But what it lacks in pacing, it makes up for with a strong female character, an interesting family dynamic and a lot of history.

It leaves you wanting more... so it's definitely worth a read.