Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
120th out of 265 books
—
1,353 voters
The Ballad of Young Tam Lin
by
Patricia A. Leslie (Goodreads Author)
The place is the Scottish Borders. The time is 1790. Lady Janet Dunbar, just turned twenty, is a very proper young heiress, who has had a "modern" education, and does not believe in tales about fairies and elves.
But now she is with child, gossips' tongues are wagging, her father the Earl is furious and has ordered her to keep to her chamber until she agrees to reveal her l...more
But now she is with child, gossips' tongues are wagging, her father the Earl is furious and has ordered her to keep to her chamber until she agrees to reveal her l...more
Paperback, 476 pages
Published
October 21st 2011
by Createspace
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
210)
I enjoyed reading the ballad of Young Tam Lin. It was a wonderful love story, along with just enough mystery to keep the reader wondering what will happen next. The characters were believable and fun. I enjoy ancient history, so the background was awesome. I also enjoy fantasy, so the combination of the two was fun to read. My only criticism was the book was a little too long, but still enjoyable.
I was worried when I read the first page. It was an author's note explaining some aspects of the book. Bad start; all that information should either be self-evident, which most of it was, or explained in the narrative.
The story launches with a too-long conversation between a heavily-accented man and his somehow accent-free daughter. The girl has no apparent personality traits besides being easily swept off her feet. And ultimately, I didn't care to meet the man who had impregnated her - I need m...more
The story launches with a too-long conversation between a heavily-accented man and his somehow accent-free daughter. The girl has no apparent personality traits besides being easily swept off her feet. And ultimately, I didn't care to meet the man who had impregnated her - I need m...more
The Ballad of Young Tam Lin is at its core a love story. I generally don't go for pure love stories because I find on the whole that they are too predictable, too sappy, and the characters are too ridiculously ideal that I just become frustrated with them all. This book appealed to me at first, even as a romance, because it is set in the 1700s, in Scotland, and includes elves. As a fan of historical fiction and fantasy, this really sounded like it would hit the spot including both genres.
It did...more
It did...more
I have to admit I was skeptical when I bought this - I usually am about self-or-indie-published books. Granted, things are better lately than they were a couple years ago, but there's still a lot of dreck published that way! However, this book was really quite good. And nice and long :)
The switch between past tense - for the in-Scotland parts - and present tense - for the Summerland parts - was a bit annoying at first, but I know that's just one of my pet peeves. However, I got over it. This was...more
The switch between past tense - for the in-Scotland parts - and present tense - for the Summerland parts - was a bit annoying at first, but I know that's just one of my pet peeves. However, I got over it. This was...more
First, I received a copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads. Second, I loved it! The writing was gorgeous - quite Austen-esque - and the world building was fantastic! Mrs. Leslie certainly spent some time on the mythology of Summerland, and this novel was all the better for it! Of course, I am a feminist myself, so I suppose it was mostly just preaching to the choir, lol! I loved Janet's character throughout the novel, and I appreciated John's character growth and maturity. I also quite...more
The Ballad of Young Tam Lin is a lyrical and highly descriptive story of the way the land of the faery interacted with the harsh world of 18th century Scotland. While there were a few lapses in language given the time and place, overall the book created a magical atmosphere of life in rural Scotland, rough as it could be.
Overall I give this 3 1/2 stars, as by the end I was not happy with how easy John had things while Janet does all the suffering and takes most of the risks. And I'm not sure wh...more
Overall I give this 3 1/2 stars, as by the end I was not happy with how easy John had things while Janet does all the suffering and takes most of the risks. And I'm not sure wh...more
When I started reading this book I felt swept into a lyrical world through the medium of articulate writing, which I enjoyed, but as I continue reading, I am impressed by the historical accents that relate the world of human society of the time (1790) with the magically conjured world of Summerland. An enjoyable read on many levels.
I loved this book - creative, exciting. It was really fun reading with the old Scottich dialect (it thankfully comes with a glossary). Weel, tae be sure, a ne'er read a bidder one (apologies to the author for trying to mimic the language..). Once you start this book, you won't want to put it down.
Great Christmas gift idea.
Great Christmas gift idea.
Dec 23, 2011
Rick F.
marked it as to-read
very very unique and interesting plot!! must read for sure!
Feb 29, 2012
Cheryl
marked it as to-read
Elves. Gotta read it.
Apr 22, 2013
Alina
marked it as to-read
Apr 10, 2013
Sarah
marked it as to-read
Apr 02, 2013
Katie Batty
marked it as to-read
Mar 31, 2013
Meggie
marked it as to-read
Mar 24, 2013
LivedOneThousandLives
marked it as to-read
Mar 05, 2013
Chloe
marked it as to-read
Feb 09, 2013
Wanda
marked it as to-read
Feb 07, 2013
Stephanie
marked it as to-read
Jan 23, 2013
Bonnie
marked it as to-read
Jan 20, 2013
Nicole
marked it as to-read
Jan 19, 2013
Shannon
marked it as to-read
Jan 13, 2013
Stam
marked it as virgin-heroine
Dec 19, 2012
Melissa Huang
is currently reading it
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
BA, anthropology, University of California, Berkeley
MS, metaphysics, American Institute of Holistic Theology
Certificate, Museology, CSU, Chico
Phi Beta Kappa
Past:
Artistic Director, West End Repertory, Berkeley, CA
Present:
Novelist
Animal Portrait Artist
Freelance proofreader
Vegan
Scottish Country Dancer
Folksinger
More about Patricia A. Leslie...
MS, metaphysics, American Institute of Holistic Theology
Certificate, Museology, CSU, Chico
Phi Beta Kappa
Past:
Artistic Director, West End Repertory, Berkeley, CA
Present:
Novelist
Animal Portrait Artist
Freelance proofreader
Vegan
Scottish Country Dancer
Folksinger
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
Jan 08, 2012 06:42pm