For anyone who follows my socials you’ll know I’ve been a little quiet review wise as I’m been Ill for what feels like forever!! I’m pretty much back at 100% now and ready to share some reviews.

First up for review is King of Wessex by Steven A. McKay. book 3 in the Alfred the Great series.

Here’s the blub

His reign must come to an end. But his legacy will live on forever.

After thwarting the scourge of the Viking hordes that had decimated Britain for decades, King Alfred assured a period of peace and prosperity for the kingdom of Wessex. The dream of uniting all Anglo-Saxons under one, noble banner seems closer than ever before.

But his enemies are not ones to be taken lightly. For even as Alfred works to ensure the fate of his descendants for centuries to come, a fearsome warlord, Haesten, gathers his warriors for a brutal assault upon the shores of Alfred’s territories.

As the battle lines are drawn, as the true power of this new and terrifying threat comes into its own, the ageing king knows in his heart that things will be different this time round. For as strong as his land, his birthright, his Wessex, has become, the consequences of defeat have never been more terrible.

For one who has gained everything… has everything to lose.

Review

At the start of the book we see a monk attacked and the culprits tracked down.. what this gave me as the reader was two things.. You see the tide is pushing against Alfred.. his position is anything but safe… and two.. it showed me the glimpse of the author that I felt perhaps a little subdued in the past two offerings.. don’t get me wrong.. each book has knocked the ball out the park but being heavily constrained to Alfred’s tale it doesn’t leave wiggle room and as a massive fan of the author you get to know the style..the bits of a tale when you really see the author have a bit of fun when they get the freedom to add their own edge and for me this was it.. it just felt like this was going to be the best offering yet from the off.

Alfred has a dream, the dream of uniting all Anglo-Saxons under one banner.. you learn more of his devotion to God but also to his people.. the basic things he wished for everyone and his battle to make these dreams come true.

One of the issues Alfred will face is while there’s been some peace it was never going to last was it?

A Viking named Haesten is back to cause Alfred more pain. Alfred and his army have the not so enviable mission to withstand this Viking invasion!! They have to keep Wessex free from Danes if Alfred’s dreams are to come to fruition.

While the plot is fascinating and exciting to read what really got my juices flowing is the character development, you can almost see the cogs turning in Alfred’s head as he formulates his next move, like a chess board.

Yeah yeah.. plots super important but if you don’t understand the characters why bother.. you need the right mix and McKay certain has the recipe down to a tee.

I feel tackling such a man as King Alfred could be seen as a risk, it’s a very defined set of events so to see the author manage to add their own energy, style and quite simply fun to a tale was great. It’s the character ARCs that really stand out and where the focus always was for me and it’s what made the book standout.

King of Wessex was a bittersweet 5* read.. I knew the series was coming to an end.. but by now I’m fully invested.. I didn’t want to say goodbye to this one.

Sad to see it end but mightily fulfilled.

For the authors own development I see this as showing the world how serious you should take his work and it’s about time you all listen! 🙂

To find out more head to Goodreads or Amazon.

If you want to know more about the author has his other works take a look here – https://stevenamckay.com/