Today I’m reviewing The Scots of Dalriada by Rowena Kinread.

Here’s the blurb

THREE BROTHERS

Fergus, Loarn and Angus, Princes of the Dalriada, are forced into exile by their scheming half-brother and the druidess Birga One-tooth.

THREE FATES

Fergus conceals himself as a stable lad on Aran and falls helplessly in love with a Scottish princess, already promised to someone else. Loarn crosses swords against the Picts. Angus designs longboats.

TOGETHER A MIGHTY POWER

Always on the run the brothers must attempt to outride their adversaries by gaining power themselves. Together they achieve more than they could possibly dream of.

Fergus Mór (The Great) is widely recognised as the first King of Scotland, giving Scotland its name and its language. Rulers of Scotland and England from Kenneth mac Alpín until the present time claim descent from Fergus Mór.

Full of unexpected twists and turns, this is a tale of heart-breaking love amidst treachery, deceit and

Book information

• Genre:  Historical Fiction (5th Century, Scotland and Ireland)
• Print length:  250 pages (79K  words)
• Age range: This is an adult book but suitable for mature teens aged 16+
• Trigger warnings: Violent deaths, infant death

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Review

From the synopsis I knew straight away The Scots of Dalriada was the book for me.

The story follows Erc of Dalriada and his sons Fergus, Loarn and Angus as they take shelter from their evil half brother who resents them and wants power all for himself.

We see each character grow, find love and discover their own individuality and skills and we learn the depths some men will go to, to get what they crave.

The writing style is very much no nonsense, short and sharp.. no preamble. The book is kind of written in a text book style with information flowing but at the same time injected with a bit more depth to keep the reader interested which I found hooked me in quite nicely.

Pace wise the story flows fast, there’s no wasted time so the reader moves quickly through the tale but at the same time enough character growth for me to become invested in them.

The best kind of historical fiction is the kind that feels real makes you feel each tragedy, each bit of passion.. each gut wrenching turn. The Scots of Dalriada certainly ticks all the boxes.

Well worth grabbing a copy!

4/5 stars

To find out more head to Goodreads or Amazon.

My thanks go to the author, publisher and Coffee and Thorn for the review copy to aid my review and for having me on the tour!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rowena Kinread grew up in Ripon, Yorkshire with her large family and a horde of pets.

She began writing in the nineties. Her special area of interest is history. After researching her ancestry and finding family roots in Ireland with the Dalriada clan, particularly this era. Her debut fiction novel titled “The Missionary” is a historical novel about the dramatic life of St. Patrick. It was published by Pegasus Publishers in April 2021 and has been highly appraised by The Scotsman, The Yorkshire Post and the Irish Times.

Her second novel “The Scots of Dalriada” centres around Fergus Mór, the founder father of Scotland and takes place in 5th century Ireland and Scotland. It was published by Pegasus in January 2023.