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niarastitt's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
lsparrow's review
3.0
I was interested in the time that this story is set in. It just didn't have the depth that I would have hoped for.
lisafleck353's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
emily_pns's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Sometimes hard to follow the change of tense, but loved the story and the setting. Not often that we get historical fiction THAT historic. Enjoyed this read immensely!
ms_greenjeans's review
3.0
“Mists of Avalon” meets “Clan of the Cave Bear.” Don’t knock it, you know you loved both of those books. There’s a seer, druids, sacrifices, the birth of toxic masculinity and a sweet depiction of young love set in the bogs of Britain before the Romans took over. Make sure you read the Wikipedia description of the Lindow man to complete the the story.
smalltownbookmom's review against another edition
3.0
Entertaining listen. Nothing super stand out about it though. Would recommend for fans of Ken Follet, Jean M. Auel or Edward Rutherfurd.
100pagesaday's review
4.0
In Iron Era Briton, the season of Fallow is upon the small community of Black Lake. The small community works the land, hunts, forges iron, and lives off of the land; protected by and ruled over by their gods. Sacrificing to them when rain does not stop or fields do not grow is part of their everyday life. For Devout, Mother Earth is her provider. Devout came of age that Fallow and is able to seek a mate. With this comes a choice, mate with Arc, a fellow field hand or a tradesman, Young Smith. As Devout is choosing, change is coming to Black Lake. A Druid comes to tell of the impending Roman invasion and most of the Smith clan goes to fight. Seventeen years later, Devout's daughter, Hobble sees the Roman's arrival in one of her visions. When a druid again shows up to Black Lake, he wants to use Hobble's visions to incite the villagers to fight.
Daughter of Black Lake weaves together the coming of age stories of mother and daughter for an intimate portrait of life within an Iron Age settlement. The point of view switches between Devout and Hobble as young women giving a progressive view of Black Lake and the people there. I enjoyed reading about the day to day activities of Black Lake and how much their beliefs in the four gods of Protector, War Master, Begetter, and Mother Earth affected their daily lives. I was enthralled by Devout's devotion to Mother Earth and the rituals she followed as well as Hobble's gift of sight and how she used it. The writing had immersed me in the lives of the people of Black Lake and their daily struggles and successes. While they lived a very different life from us, the uncertainties they faced and bonds they made felt very similar to life today. This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
Daughter of Black Lake weaves together the coming of age stories of mother and daughter for an intimate portrait of life within an Iron Age settlement. The point of view switches between Devout and Hobble as young women giving a progressive view of Black Lake and the people there. I enjoyed reading about the day to day activities of Black Lake and how much their beliefs in the four gods of Protector, War Master, Begetter, and Mother Earth affected their daily lives. I was enthralled by Devout's devotion to Mother Earth and the rituals she followed as well as Hobble's gift of sight and how she used it. The writing had immersed me in the lives of the people of Black Lake and their daily struggles and successes. While they lived a very different life from us, the uncertainties they faced and bonds they made felt very similar to life today. This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
meggreadsxo's review
1.0
I am not sure me and other goodreads members have read the same book.
I found this novel highly dissapointing. I wanted to like this book so, so badly, but I just could not get into it. painfully Slow pacing, with limited characterization. I found that I could not get attached to anyone in the book from the limited amount of characterization given. We were given zero atompshere, imagry or any real background. The swaping of the narratives was highly confusing and at least for me, took me awhile to realize that devout was Hobble's mother. I spent a majority of the book lost as to what was going on, or how anything was playing into the plot or confused and unclear as to where the plot was progressing. I felt like Hobble's "gift" was underplayed and felt almost pointless. Their could have been SO MUCH MORE that could have been done with that. Characters were bland and most of them served no real point to the overall plot. This being my major complaint, nothing substantial happened from begining to end. The revelation of the big "secret" could be seen from miles away. Even Devout's storyline was stale and pointless. I'm not sayig that I would like non-stop action but anything to help progress. Their was no resolution, just nothing. The immpending threat of The Romans fizzled out into nothing. I took nothing away from this book. save yourself the headache. If you are into reading about this time period may I suggest "Illuminations," "The passion of Dolsa." or "Pillars of Earth." I think a history textbook was more exciting than this.
I found this novel highly dissapointing. I wanted to like this book so, so badly, but I just could not get into it. painfully Slow pacing, with limited characterization. I found that I could not get attached to anyone in the book from the limited amount of characterization given. We were given zero atompshere, imagry or any real background. The swaping of the narratives was highly confusing and at least for me, took me awhile to realize that devout was Hobble's mother. I spent a majority of the book lost as to what was going on, or how anything was playing into the plot or confused and unclear as to where the plot was progressing. I felt like Hobble's "gift" was underplayed and felt almost pointless. Their could have been SO MUCH MORE that could have been done with that. Characters were bland and most of them served no real point to the overall plot. This being my major complaint, nothing substantial happened from begining to end. The revelation of the big "secret" could be seen from miles away. Even Devout's storyline was stale and pointless. I'm not sayig that I would like non-stop action but anything to help progress. Their was no resolution, just nothing. The immpending threat of The Romans fizzled out into nothing. I took nothing away from this book. save yourself the headache. If you are into reading about this time period may I suggest "Illuminations," "The passion of Dolsa." or "Pillars of Earth." I think a history textbook was more exciting than this.