Blog Tour – Of Blade and Valor
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This is a Blog Tour post for the release of Cheryl Alleway’s novel ‘Of Blade and Valor’. You can find the rest of the blog tour here. This will not be a complete review of the book, as I was only able to finish around half the book, which means I cannot give a proper review. But there is plenty of other information. Cheryl is one of the authors involved with the anthology being released a few months from now.
Cheryl Alleway was born and raised in Ontario, Canada. She is a lover of the outdoors, which provides her with the inspiration to create her stories and bring her characters to life. Her desire is to bring some insight to her readers, to open them up so they feel the depth of her thoughts and in turn heals her within. Ms. Alleway’s first love is medieval fiction, but beware: many different adventures lurk within her portfolio. Cheryl’s Address: http://allewaybooks.com
The Book Trailer:
I have a lot of grounding in historical fiction, I’ve even done a few book reviews on them previously, but for the most part I tend to enjoy the concept of incorporating and telling a story around historical events that have occurred in the world, whether they add fantasy elements or not. One of my favorites comes from Mark Twain and the events of Joan of Arc, even though that book is far from an easy read and not my normal level of books I tend to go with. This is often the main issue with most historical fiction, there’s a lot to say and a lot of exposition which can often ruin the story-telling aspect.
Of Blade and Valor falls a bit into this same issue, with explaining the history and the war that goes on with the Scots and English, though with a bit more focus on the character and family history instead but still within the bounds of the war. So the initial start of this book runs with the father of the main character, explaining his beginnings and how a ‘farmer’ more or less gains a unique skill of archery.
However this means we don’t even meet the main character for the entire story until a good 15% into the book itself. This isn’t a bad thing, as we do still see the father of Deb regularly, but this means that a good part of the beginning of the book could be considered more of a prologue or prelude to the actual story, as it was all back story that isn’t necessary to the entire plot but definitely assists with it. For the most part though, this prelude section of the novel actually had some really great scenes, including the opening scene, which included Jacob (the father) being dragged away by the English military in a form of drafting for war. The scene was great, but it didn’t end with being dragged off, it kept going on which depleted a well done moment with a bit more of exposition.
Regardless of the opening I did enjoy the main character, Deb, she’s a bit fiery and strong, and certainly well-developed with a long line of her family. However, because of the focus on the father in the opening and his life and how it led to Deb’s development (not to mention Deb herself) I wouldn’t refer to this as a feminist piece, despite the ‘strong’ female protagonist as the story promotes the ideals that masculinity is far more worth it in the world than anything else.
My biggest concern though was how much was pressed on the father’s life, but then when it came to the raising of Deb, most everything was just kind of waved over quickly, in saying that the mother died a few years after birth and that no one else really helped with raising her which explains why she acted more like a boy. I feel like there was a bit of loss in power there. But with that said, one of the biggest bonuses was the focus on the character and her courage in the world, though I don’t think it was necessary to compare her courage and bravery to that of a man, as it was obvious she had courage and it’s not solely a value of a man.
Still, not only was this character well-developed, but the writing offered a strong way of being able to paint a picture or a scene in your head, yes, occasionally it was bogged with exposition or heavy description but that refinement will come over time with further releases of books and more writing, so seeing that level of painting a picture and story shine through so well is a massive bonus.
Hopefully I will be able to get around to a full review later on, unfortunately my time was limited with being able to get through this book, but what I read definitely offered a good look into the older Scotland, and I would in a way compare Deb to Merida from the Disney movie, as they both used archery, but they had wildly different hair. They had many other similarities which made it quite interesting.
Overall this was a great piece to read, I only wish the format for the digital version was a bit better, as it was littered with page numbers and most of the text was squashed into a small area, this made it a bit more frustrating to read but I don’t fault a writer for not getting the format fitted up between digital and physical copies. If you at all love historical fiction, or like to read things on Scotland in general this is definitely one worth looking into.
I’ll close with a quick summary of the story for those a little more interested.
In the midst of war-torn Scotland, a baby girl is born to Jacob Douglas and his young wife. The conflict between the English and the Scots breeds trials of loyalty that tarnish the landscape, while Jacob teaches his strong-willed child the skills she will need to face her uncertain future. Behind the veil of war, villains pillage their land, pilfer what is not theirs and do not fear retribution for their deeds. There is none strong enough to make a stand; no one, until Deb Douglas. Keeping her father close to her always, he radiates a courage that motivates her fight for freedom, for love, and for her land. Deb rallies those she meets to join her cause, which frees the secrets from her past that have been buried for many years. While destiny is all-knowing, Deb never backs down and faces it all with the courage of a man and the heart of a Scot!
