Vellum Voyages

4 helms

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Ok ok I know I’m verra late in the game with this one! It was first released in 1999 & Karen Marie Moning’s debut! I finished this book in three days (yes this is good for me as I’m a slow reader because I get easily distracted by things..haha).

Sidheach (pronounced Sid-Hawk in the book. Not 100% sure if this is correct?!) a.k.a Hawk is a well-known legend for his beauty & prowess in the bedroom & battlefield. The conniving fairy Queen Aoibheal seeks some sport & sings his praises to arouse jealousy from King Finnbheara & The Fool. This provokes them both & they hatch a plan for revenge, in the form of beautiful Adrienne from the future who hates beautiful men. What follows is a series of misunderstandings, clash of wills & of course falling in love.

I have such mixed feelings about this book because I LOVED it, despite the fact it contained poorly researched facts, countless slips of the pen & incorrect scots speak! (Dalkeith is south-east of Edinburgh not the Highlands & the words “buck up” do not belong to the local tongue in medieval Scotland & its “dinna” not “doona”) 8O. Usually, all this would annoy me so much, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I was enjoying myself! Oh & I really liked the purple prose in this book! Hahaha!

I liked where KMM was going with this one: fairy lore, time travel, tortured alpha male in a kilt, strong heroine, love triangles, revenge & gypsies all in one book! She manages to pull it off but there was a lot going on which doesn’t allow much in the way of character or plot development as sometimes it felt a bit rushed with little or no explanation. It did come together at the end, albeit in a haphazard way & despite its flaws, I enjoyed the characters (Insolent Adam Black! OMG!), the story & the setting. There is no doubt KMM’s a powerful world builder who shows much promise for her future books & therefore this is why I have decided this is a keeper!

Readers who are actually Scottish & know their history, BEWARE! There are things that will annoy you but dinna fash yerself, enjoy the ride & prepare to want more! Buck Up!