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elevetha's review against another edition
3.0
**An ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
I did enjoy this a good bit - it kept me interested throughout, the writing was pretty good, I liked the characters well enough and especially the female friendship between Pidge and Nora, and the romance was blessedly light. But I had some issues with it,
Well.
Kinda.
I did enjoy this a good bit - it kept me interested throughout, the writing was pretty good, I liked the characters well enough and especially the female friendship between Pidge and Nora, and the romance was blessedly light. But I had some issues with it,
Spoiler
mainly regarding Brigid and how her character was treated, mostly due to the integration of Celtic mythology, which is cool except when it's messing with Catholicism. To be honest, this book mostly treated Catholics about as well as could be expected for a while, but then even when the Catholics themselves were still treated decently, Catholicism as a whole was getting the short end of the stick. I get that this is fantasy and clearly isn't supposed to be real, but when you make St. Brigid also the goddess Brigid of the Tuatha De Danann, that's where the wires are a bit too crossed. So when Nora is pondering that"Being Catholic and believing in the gods and warriors of legend weren't mutually exclusive."
Well.
Kinda.
td3's review against another edition
3.0
Bury the Living is the first book in Jodi McIsaac’s new revolutionary series that features the history of the Irish Civil War with a touch of fantasy added.
It’s difficult to review this book without giving away any spoilers, so I will just give a brief synopsis and tell you that I enjoyed it and look forward to McIsaac’s next book in the series.
The book centers around Nora O’Reilly, a fifteen year old living in Belfast. Her family is caught up in the politics of the time, and because of this, Nora ends up down a path in life she might not otherwise take.
Through a series of events, Nora finds herself transported back to 1920’s Ireland. From here, the story really picks up and Nora starts an adventure in history that she believes will change the lives of those in present day Ireland and possibly even change the destiny of her family members.
Bury the Living was a fast and entertaining read full of Irish history, adventure, curses, time travel and entertaining characters. Great escape reading!
Thank you to Net-Galley and 47North for allowing me to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
It’s difficult to review this book without giving away any spoilers, so I will just give a brief synopsis and tell you that I enjoyed it and look forward to McIsaac’s next book in the series.
The book centers around Nora O’Reilly, a fifteen year old living in Belfast. Her family is caught up in the politics of the time, and because of this, Nora ends up down a path in life she might not otherwise take.
Through a series of events, Nora finds herself transported back to 1920’s Ireland. From here, the story really picks up and Nora starts an adventure in history that she believes will change the lives of those in present day Ireland and possibly even change the destiny of her family members.
Bury the Living was a fast and entertaining read full of Irish history, adventure, curses, time travel and entertaining characters. Great escape reading!
Thank you to Net-Galley and 47North for allowing me to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
gretel7's review against another edition
1.0
I received ARC from netgalley.com
The book turned out to be about Irish 'factual' history with liberal doses of fairy tale fantasy lore. The first 25% of the book covered in-depth Irish politics and its history. We learn some tragic background and childhood memories of Nora. Then she time travels back 80 yrs, thanks to the help of St. Bridgit.
Ya know, I was ok with reading the dry and dusty politics of the day, and I can accept the time travel theory by touching the finger bone of a dead saint. But when ancient fairy tale characters came to life, that's when I truly lost interest. The story just didn't hit with me. Some coarse language.
1 stars out of 5
The book turned out to be about Irish 'factual' history with liberal doses of fairy tale fantasy lore. The first 25% of the book covered in-depth Irish politics and its history. We learn some tragic background and childhood memories of Nora. Then she time travels back 80 yrs, thanks to the help of St. Bridgit.
Ya know, I was ok with reading the dry and dusty politics of the day, and I can accept the time travel theory by touching the finger bone of a dead saint. But when ancient fairy tale characters came to life, that's when I truly lost interest. The story just didn't hit with me. Some coarse language.
1 stars out of 5
pforpedrox23's review against another edition
2.0
This review is for an eGalley I received from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
Great historical and cultural research, which was my pull, but the plot and character development are rushed and unconvincing. Read it to learn more about the tense and violent atmosphere of this time period.
Great historical and cultural research, which was my pull, but the plot and character development are rushed and unconvincing. Read it to learn more about the tense and violent atmosphere of this time period.
utopiastateofmind's review against another edition
4.0
I went into this book expecting something like Outlander, but what I got was something even more surprising. Bury the Living is a rich tale that has elements of gods and saints, war and suffering, and love and friendships. Nora’s time travel has a purpose and a complex and violent history. Her story is full of surprises, twists, and the power of courage.
Full Review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/?p=300
Disclaimer: I received this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley
Full Review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/?p=300
Disclaimer: I received this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley
mechee91's review
4.0
With an intriguing mixture of Irish mythology and politics, Author Jodi McIsaac has created a new historical fiction series for the masses. The Easter Rising happened just over 100 years ago and sometimes it is easier for people to forget the pain and hardships that the Irish people went through to get to the point that they are at today. Starting in 2005, we are wiped back in time to just after the Tan wars to when it was quickly becoming a Civil War in the North with Catholics and Protestants each fighting for their homes and their lives. We follow Nora O’Reilly from Belfast to Kildare and through time to help the mysterious man haunting her dreams.
As enjoyable as I found this first book, I did find myself doing separate research on certain parts of history that McIsaac glossed over or assumed the reader knew or didn’t need to know. Typically I find that historical fiction writers can add too much history and bog down the fiction but in this case it was the reverse. The fight for independence and freedom in Ireland is a complicated and nuanced history, but I felt that parts of the story were very one sided. Though that may have just been part of the writing style. If you like Irish history, historical fiction, and some time-travelling women this would be a great book for you. The second book of the series comes out on the 17th of January 2017, so I look forward to reviewing it as well.
As enjoyable as I found this first book, I did find myself doing separate research on certain parts of history that McIsaac glossed over or assumed the reader knew or didn’t need to know. Typically I find that historical fiction writers can add too much history and bog down the fiction but in this case it was the reverse. The fight for independence and freedom in Ireland is a complicated and nuanced history, but I felt that parts of the story were very one sided. Though that may have just been part of the writing style. If you like Irish history, historical fiction, and some time-travelling women this would be a great book for you. The second book of the series comes out on the 17th of January 2017, so I look forward to reviewing it as well.
neftzger's review
3.0
This is a time travel/ fantasy book that takes place in Ireland and is more historical in nature than sci-fiction or fantasy. While the plot relies heavily on the fact that one character has knowledge of the future, she doesn't know if it can be changed (and at what level? For one person? For an entire country?). The author does a nice job of blending modern and historical concepts to create some interesting situations for the characters, and I like that there are some strong female leads. The time period is one in which women weren't given as much opportunity, but these female characters find ways to make a difference. The book addresses the impact of war on the average person and the sacrifices made for the sake of freedom.
Note: I was given a free ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.
Note: I was given a free ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.
zelda's review
2.0
I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
After her brother's death, teenage Nora decides to follow in her brother's footsteps and join the IRA to fight for her country's freedom. A decade later, she starts to have dreams of a man telling her to go to Kildare and find a lady named Brigid in order to help him. She does and with the help of a relic belonging to Brigid of Kildare, she travels back in time eighty years during Ireland's civil war. Sounds cool right? It honestly was, but there were so many things that made this book fall short.
At first I thought it was because I really didn't know anything about the war, but really Nora was basically given all of the information she needed on a silver platter. It made everything so... anticlimactic. And when the action started to pick up, I had to force myself to continue reading because of how choppy the writing was. There was unnecessary details forced into the story and dialogue that could have probably just been summed up in a sentence or two, especially in the beginning. I really didn't care about how character A blinked ten times in the last five minutes.
All of the characters were so boring. If you were to throw them all into a big pot and asked me to tell the difference between them, I wouldn't be able to. Even the ones that were remotely interesting became boring because of how their backstories would be revealed so quickly. At the end of the book, I really didn't care about any of them, and while that may work in a different type of book, it doesn't work here.
Really this was kind of a goldmine of infodumps. If all of the information had started to be revealed closer to the last quarter of the book, it would have been a whole lot more interesting.
After her brother's death, teenage Nora decides to follow in her brother's footsteps and join the IRA to fight for her country's freedom. A decade later, she starts to have dreams of a man telling her to go to Kildare and find a lady named Brigid in order to help him. She does and with the help of a relic belonging to Brigid of Kildare, she travels back in time eighty years during Ireland's civil war. Sounds cool right? It honestly was, but there were so many things that made this book fall short.
At first I thought it was because I really didn't know anything about the war, but really Nora was basically given all of the information she needed on a silver platter. It made everything so... anticlimactic. And when the action started to pick up, I had to force myself to continue reading because of how choppy the writing was. There was unnecessary details forced into the story and dialogue that could have probably just been summed up in a sentence or two, especially in the beginning. I really didn't care about how character A blinked ten times in the last five minutes.
All of the characters were so boring. If you were to throw them all into a big pot and asked me to tell the difference between them, I wouldn't be able to. Even the ones that were remotely interesting became boring because of how their backstories would be revealed so quickly. At the end of the book, I really didn't care about any of them, and while that may work in a different type of book, it doesn't work here.
Really this was kind of a goldmine of infodumps. If all of the information had started to be revealed closer to the last quarter of the book, it would have been a whole lot more interesting.
wayfaringbibliomaniac's review
5.0
ARC provided in exchange for honest review.
I absolutely DEVOURED this book! It was an amazing read - so gripping I actually couldn't put it down until I was basically falling asleep.. McIsaac made Nora and the rest of the characters in the story come alive for me - I was cheering her on like I would any real person. I felt like I was right alongside her at times. She really makes you love the characters she brings to life for the novel. I was especially into it because it's one of my favorite topics - Irish history. I find the history so rich and interesting, the fairytale aspect is so enchanting, and for her to combine both the way she did was so appropriate for the time period in which it was set - like adding magic to the real world. Then to make one of the characters an actual person taken from a fairytale? Unreal..
It was in the same realm as Outlander and Exit Unicorns - being a historical fiction - and a good way to fill the gap between those. While I feel it should have been longer and more in depth, that's probably me being selfish because it didn't last nearly as long as I wanted it too. I wísh there had been more detail, though, because more of the history could have used explanation - especially for those who know nothing about the time period. I got really into it, but felt it moved along too fast in some instances. I truly cannot wait for the second installation of this series. I believe it could be as good as the other series I mentioned above. I truly hope the next one is longer and more detailed! She's an amazing author and this is going to be a classic series some day.
I absolutely DEVOURED this book! It was an amazing read - so gripping I actually couldn't put it down until I was basically falling asleep.. McIsaac made Nora and the rest of the characters in the story come alive for me - I was cheering her on like I would any real person. I felt like I was right alongside her at times. She really makes you love the characters she brings to life for the novel. I was especially into it because it's one of my favorite topics - Irish history. I find the history so rich and interesting, the fairytale aspect is so enchanting, and for her to combine both the way she did was so appropriate for the time period in which it was set - like adding magic to the real world. Then to make one of the characters an actual person taken from a fairytale? Unreal..
It was in the same realm as Outlander and Exit Unicorns - being a historical fiction - and a good way to fill the gap between those. While I feel it should have been longer and more in depth, that's probably me being selfish because it didn't last nearly as long as I wanted it too. I wísh there had been more detail, though, because more of the history could have used explanation - especially for those who know nothing about the time period. I got really into it, but felt it moved along too fast in some instances. I truly cannot wait for the second installation of this series. I believe it could be as good as the other series I mentioned above. I truly hope the next one is longer and more detailed! She's an amazing author and this is going to be a classic series some day.
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