Author Pat McDermott weaves a delightful, engrossing and wonderfully enjoyable story with A Band of Roses. Having reading several books from the Historical Fiction genre, reading a royal contemporary story, based on historical "what ifs", was great fun. I truly loved the main character of Talty, Crown Princess and daughter of the current King Brian. She displays wondrous depth, strength and a slight vulnerability that makes her all the more likable.
After enduring a horrible marriage gone wrong, several near death moments by greedy mongrels wishing to take the power that would come with her death, Talty has no where near an easy life. However, her strength, stubbornness and will to survive take precedence over all else.
A Band of Roses is such a wonderful story full of action, adventure, love and the power of strength. Once I began reading, it was so difficult to put aside the story for whatever reason. A reader becomes quickly and deeply engrossed within the world of Talty and the royal conflict that occurs. This is an excellent read and will appeal to a broad audience range, I think.
I look forward to reading more by Pat McDermott in the future!
*overall rating 4/5
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About A Band of Roses:
A Band of Roses is an alternate history adventure set in modern day Ireland. The "what if" premise of the story supposes that Irish High King Brian Boru survived the Battle of Clontarf in 1014 A.D. and founded a dynasty that rules Ireland to this day.
Crown Princess Talty Boru, the daughter of the current King Brian, is the heir to the throne, though she wishes she weren’t. She’d prefer to pursue a military career, but she’s resigned to her royal fate until England’s Prince Geoffrey seizes a tiny Irish island in the North Atlantic and the oil-rich ocean bed around it. Geoffrey plans to return the island to Ireland in exchange for oil wells in the Irish sea. He proposes a conciliatory treaty that would marry Talty to the unbalanced young English King. Talty agrees, as the terms demand that she relinquish her title as heir to the throne. She believes she’s free of her duties as crown princess, but a murder attempt on her wedding night turns her life upside down.
Multiple attempts on Talty’s life force King Brian to send her away to protect her, though he unwittingly sends her into further danger. From Japan to California, Talty must hide her true identity until her elders can set things straight. She can’t disguise her ingrained training as one of Ireland’s ancient Fian warriors, however.
Her recruitment into International Security Forces’ top secret Peregrine Project allows her to visit strange worlds, one an eleventh century Ireland preparing for the Battle of Clontarf. She finds romance and adventure and brings back a discovery worth more than any oil well, yet all she wants is to return to her family and her lifelong friend and protector Neil Boru, the adoptive cousin she secretly loves and can’t have—or so she thinks. Talty’s warrior cousin has a secret of his own, one that emerges as the Boru clan works with England's MI6 to thwart an invasion of Ireland and bring Talty home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt:
The village of Howth sits at the northern cusp of the crescent that forms Dublin Bay. Upscale shops and restaurants line the main street. Fishing trawlers bob in the water beside a private yacht club. Splendid homes adorn the small peninsula, from the waterfront to the top of Howth Head, a lofty bluff that overlooks the Irish Sea. Foremost among these grand abodes is Garrymuir, a majestic estate that had been in the Boru family for generations. Prince Peadar, King Brian’s only sibling, lived there now with his wife and two sons.
A special wing of Garrymuir housed an airy gymnasium dedicated to training Ireland’s next generation of Fianna. Neil Boru, Peadar’s elder son, expected to join their elite ranks soon. While he waited for Talty to change, Neil stood beneath the skylights twirling his bata in practiced circles, swinging the lethal hardwood staff at imaginary enemies.
For years he and Talty had trained to become Fian warriors. Neil’s father had paired the cousins as partners years before, after Neil had emerged as the only boy in the training class unafraid to trounce Talty.
Talty’s midweek call had surprised him. Since her assignment to the Alastrina, Neil had only seen her on his weekend leaves from the Air Corps. Still, he’d had no trouble obtaining permission from his commanding officer to rearrange his flight-training schedule so he could take her to Garrymuir. Being the king’s nephew had its privileges.
“Ready, Neil?” Talty marched in from the lockers dressed in padded workout clothes, as he was. She hefted a six-foot bata from a rack on the wall.
A pretty enough girl, he thought, though thin to the point of being wiry. Her ivory skin and auburn hair proclaimed her Boru heritage. Neil’s own blue-black hair and azure eyes were constant reminders, at least to him, that he only bore his royal surname through the kindness of the man who’d married his mother shortly before Neil’s birth.
He stepped toward Talty. “I’m ready. You’re not.”
“What do you mean?”
Neil loved her tiny pout, the last vestige of the little girl who’d grown up with him and become one of his closest friends. “I mean this.” He tugged her hair, a ritual he’d performed since their first training class, after a fellow Fian student had tried to defend himself against Talty by grabbing her chestnut locks and yanking too hard.
Pulling something from her pocket, she shook her head and ensnared her dark red tresses in a ponytail. “All right. Let’s go.”
She banged her bata three times on the floor, the signal to start. Neil approached her as he always did: with caution. His father’s voice whispered in his ear: A pretty little girl can kill you just as dead as a big, ugly man.
Talty never began a training bout the same way twice. Today she started pacing. Neil concentrated, tried to sense her battle spirit—and just managed to parry a lightning-fast shot to his chest. She jabbed her bata at his head. He had a split second to decide whether to ward a strike that might be a feint, or wait and parry the real attack.
Thwack! The blow might have broken his thigh if he hadn’t deflected it. He darted behind her. She whirled to protect her back.
Sudden fury blazed in her chestnut eyes. Neil decided he’d better find out what was going on before he got hurt. “What’s up, Tal? Uncle Brian got you flustered again? Taking it out on me again?”
“Nothing’s up!” With a furious swing, she cracked her bata against his.
He barely countered the assault. Talty would be a fine addition to the Banfianna, as the female Fianna were called. She might be lagging behind Neil—her royal duties had cut into her training time—but she knew her moves and possessed a strength that belied her slender form.
Thwack! Thwack!
Neil danced back, his bata raised before him in defense. “All right, Tal, what’s wrong? Tell me before you kill me so I can die happy.”
Thwack! “Nothing’s wrong.”
Her glistening eyes said otherwise. Neil flung his bata down, twisted hers from her hands, and slammed his thigh behind her knees.
She crumpled in outrage to the shock-absorbent floor. “You big dope!”
Turning so she wouldn’t see him grin, he sauntered to a nearby alcove and drew two bottles of mineral water from the mini-fridge. “You should learn the Fian motto, Tal.”
“I know it as well as anyone!” She rolled to her feet and stomped after him. “’Truth in our Hearts, Strength in our Arms, Dedication to our Promise!’”
He plunked himself down on the bench against the wall. “All right. Let’s start with truth in your heart.” With two quick twists, he removed the bottle caps and pitched them into a nearby wastebasket. He raised one bottle in a gesture of truce.
She accepted it and sat beside him. A swig of water seemed to calm her down.
“Thanks, Neily. You’re always looking after me.”
“It’s my duty to look after you. I’m your Shivail.”
“An honorary title you take far too seriously. I can look after myself.”
“My father’s always taught me to protect you. ‘As long as you live, neither for gold nor for any other reward in the world abandon one you are pledged to protect.’”
“You’re full of Fian mottoes today. How about this? ‘A pig’s arse, and that’s pork.’”
He pretended to be shocked. “That’s not a Fian motto.”
She drew the bottle to her smiling lips and chugged. “Get a life, Neil. You have more to do than baby-sit me. You’re going to be the best pilot the Air Corps ever had.” The pride in her voice pleased him. “And then there’s the girls.”
“What girls?” He tried but failed to keep from grinning.
“Truth in our hearts, Neily. I’ve heard how you and our rascally cousin Aidan have the girls swooning all over Ireland.” She poked his shoulder. “Strength in our arms.”
“How about you, Lady Princess, off on a ship full of randy sailors?”
Her cheeks blazed. That such a strong young woman could blush so easily had always amused Neil. “I’m not interested in such things, Neil Boru. Anyway, it wouldn’t matter if I had tons of lovers. I’m to marry Thomas Wessex.”
Neil froze, unsure that he’d heard correctly. “Thomas Wessex? He’s the King of England.”
“Aren’t you a feckin’ genius.” She drank until her bottle was empty.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To purchase A Band of Roses (click here)or (click here)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About Pat McDermott:
Born and educated in Boston, Massachusetts, Pat McDermott grew up in a family full of music and myths that have found their way into her stories. She is a member of The New Hampshire Writers' Project, Seacoast Writers' Association, Romance Writers of America, and Celtic Hearts Romance Writers. A frequent visitor to Ireland, she lives in New Hampshire, where she is currently working on her next novel.
To find out more about the author and her work visit http://www.patmcdermott.net/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WIN PRIZES!!!
A BAND OF ROSES VIRTUAL BLOG TOUR '09 will officially begin on July 6 and end on July 31. You can visit Pat's blog stops at http://www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com/ in July to find out more about this great book and talented author!
As a special promotion for all our authors, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour to a published author or a $50 Amazon gift certificate to those not published who comments on our authors' blog stops. More prizes will be announced as they become available.
After enduring a horrible marriage gone wrong, several near death moments by greedy mongrels wishing to take the power that would come with her death, Talty has no where near an easy life. However, her strength, stubbornness and will to survive take precedence over all else.
A Band of Roses is such a wonderful story full of action, adventure, love and the power of strength. Once I began reading, it was so difficult to put aside the story for whatever reason. A reader becomes quickly and deeply engrossed within the world of Talty and the royal conflict that occurs. This is an excellent read and will appeal to a broad audience range, I think.
I look forward to reading more by Pat McDermott in the future!
*overall rating 4/5
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About A Band of Roses:
A Band of Roses is an alternate history adventure set in modern day Ireland. The "what if" premise of the story supposes that Irish High King Brian Boru survived the Battle of Clontarf in 1014 A.D. and founded a dynasty that rules Ireland to this day.
Crown Princess Talty Boru, the daughter of the current King Brian, is the heir to the throne, though she wishes she weren’t. She’d prefer to pursue a military career, but she’s resigned to her royal fate until England’s Prince Geoffrey seizes a tiny Irish island in the North Atlantic and the oil-rich ocean bed around it. Geoffrey plans to return the island to Ireland in exchange for oil wells in the Irish sea. He proposes a conciliatory treaty that would marry Talty to the unbalanced young English King. Talty agrees, as the terms demand that she relinquish her title as heir to the throne. She believes she’s free of her duties as crown princess, but a murder attempt on her wedding night turns her life upside down.
Multiple attempts on Talty’s life force King Brian to send her away to protect her, though he unwittingly sends her into further danger. From Japan to California, Talty must hide her true identity until her elders can set things straight. She can’t disguise her ingrained training as one of Ireland’s ancient Fian warriors, however.
Her recruitment into International Security Forces’ top secret Peregrine Project allows her to visit strange worlds, one an eleventh century Ireland preparing for the Battle of Clontarf. She finds romance and adventure and brings back a discovery worth more than any oil well, yet all she wants is to return to her family and her lifelong friend and protector Neil Boru, the adoptive cousin she secretly loves and can’t have—or so she thinks. Talty’s warrior cousin has a secret of his own, one that emerges as the Boru clan works with England's MI6 to thwart an invasion of Ireland and bring Talty home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt:
The village of Howth sits at the northern cusp of the crescent that forms Dublin Bay. Upscale shops and restaurants line the main street. Fishing trawlers bob in the water beside a private yacht club. Splendid homes adorn the small peninsula, from the waterfront to the top of Howth Head, a lofty bluff that overlooks the Irish Sea. Foremost among these grand abodes is Garrymuir, a majestic estate that had been in the Boru family for generations. Prince Peadar, King Brian’s only sibling, lived there now with his wife and two sons.
A special wing of Garrymuir housed an airy gymnasium dedicated to training Ireland’s next generation of Fianna. Neil Boru, Peadar’s elder son, expected to join their elite ranks soon. While he waited for Talty to change, Neil stood beneath the skylights twirling his bata in practiced circles, swinging the lethal hardwood staff at imaginary enemies.
For years he and Talty had trained to become Fian warriors. Neil’s father had paired the cousins as partners years before, after Neil had emerged as the only boy in the training class unafraid to trounce Talty.
Talty’s midweek call had surprised him. Since her assignment to the Alastrina, Neil had only seen her on his weekend leaves from the Air Corps. Still, he’d had no trouble obtaining permission from his commanding officer to rearrange his flight-training schedule so he could take her to Garrymuir. Being the king’s nephew had its privileges.
“Ready, Neil?” Talty marched in from the lockers dressed in padded workout clothes, as he was. She hefted a six-foot bata from a rack on the wall.
A pretty enough girl, he thought, though thin to the point of being wiry. Her ivory skin and auburn hair proclaimed her Boru heritage. Neil’s own blue-black hair and azure eyes were constant reminders, at least to him, that he only bore his royal surname through the kindness of the man who’d married his mother shortly before Neil’s birth.
He stepped toward Talty. “I’m ready. You’re not.”
“What do you mean?”
Neil loved her tiny pout, the last vestige of the little girl who’d grown up with him and become one of his closest friends. “I mean this.” He tugged her hair, a ritual he’d performed since their first training class, after a fellow Fian student had tried to defend himself against Talty by grabbing her chestnut locks and yanking too hard.
Pulling something from her pocket, she shook her head and ensnared her dark red tresses in a ponytail. “All right. Let’s go.”
She banged her bata three times on the floor, the signal to start. Neil approached her as he always did: with caution. His father’s voice whispered in his ear: A pretty little girl can kill you just as dead as a big, ugly man.
Talty never began a training bout the same way twice. Today she started pacing. Neil concentrated, tried to sense her battle spirit—and just managed to parry a lightning-fast shot to his chest. She jabbed her bata at his head. He had a split second to decide whether to ward a strike that might be a feint, or wait and parry the real attack.
Thwack! The blow might have broken his thigh if he hadn’t deflected it. He darted behind her. She whirled to protect her back.
Sudden fury blazed in her chestnut eyes. Neil decided he’d better find out what was going on before he got hurt. “What’s up, Tal? Uncle Brian got you flustered again? Taking it out on me again?”
“Nothing’s up!” With a furious swing, she cracked her bata against his.
He barely countered the assault. Talty would be a fine addition to the Banfianna, as the female Fianna were called. She might be lagging behind Neil—her royal duties had cut into her training time—but she knew her moves and possessed a strength that belied her slender form.
Thwack! Thwack!
Neil danced back, his bata raised before him in defense. “All right, Tal, what’s wrong? Tell me before you kill me so I can die happy.”
Thwack! “Nothing’s wrong.”
Her glistening eyes said otherwise. Neil flung his bata down, twisted hers from her hands, and slammed his thigh behind her knees.
She crumpled in outrage to the shock-absorbent floor. “You big dope!”
Turning so she wouldn’t see him grin, he sauntered to a nearby alcove and drew two bottles of mineral water from the mini-fridge. “You should learn the Fian motto, Tal.”
“I know it as well as anyone!” She rolled to her feet and stomped after him. “’Truth in our Hearts, Strength in our Arms, Dedication to our Promise!’”
He plunked himself down on the bench against the wall. “All right. Let’s start with truth in your heart.” With two quick twists, he removed the bottle caps and pitched them into a nearby wastebasket. He raised one bottle in a gesture of truce.
She accepted it and sat beside him. A swig of water seemed to calm her down.
“Thanks, Neily. You’re always looking after me.”
“It’s my duty to look after you. I’m your Shivail.”
“An honorary title you take far too seriously. I can look after myself.”
“My father’s always taught me to protect you. ‘As long as you live, neither for gold nor for any other reward in the world abandon one you are pledged to protect.’”
“You’re full of Fian mottoes today. How about this? ‘A pig’s arse, and that’s pork.’”
He pretended to be shocked. “That’s not a Fian motto.”
She drew the bottle to her smiling lips and chugged. “Get a life, Neil. You have more to do than baby-sit me. You’re going to be the best pilot the Air Corps ever had.” The pride in her voice pleased him. “And then there’s the girls.”
“What girls?” He tried but failed to keep from grinning.
“Truth in our hearts, Neily. I’ve heard how you and our rascally cousin Aidan have the girls swooning all over Ireland.” She poked his shoulder. “Strength in our arms.”
“How about you, Lady Princess, off on a ship full of randy sailors?”
Her cheeks blazed. That such a strong young woman could blush so easily had always amused Neil. “I’m not interested in such things, Neil Boru. Anyway, it wouldn’t matter if I had tons of lovers. I’m to marry Thomas Wessex.”
Neil froze, unsure that he’d heard correctly. “Thomas Wessex? He’s the King of England.”
“Aren’t you a feckin’ genius.” She drank until her bottle was empty.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To purchase A Band of Roses (click here)or (click here)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About Pat McDermott:
Born and educated in Boston, Massachusetts, Pat McDermott grew up in a family full of music and myths that have found their way into her stories. She is a member of The New Hampshire Writers' Project, Seacoast Writers' Association, Romance Writers of America, and Celtic Hearts Romance Writers. A frequent visitor to Ireland, she lives in New Hampshire, where she is currently working on her next novel.
To find out more about the author and her work visit http://www.patmcdermott.net/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WIN PRIZES!!!
A BAND OF ROSES VIRTUAL BLOG TOUR '09 will officially begin on July 6 and end on July 31. You can visit Pat's blog stops at http://www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com/ in July to find out more about this great book and talented author!
As a special promotion for all our authors, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour to a published author or a $50 Amazon gift certificate to those not published who comments on our authors' blog stops. More prizes will be announced as they become available.
2 comments:
I'm delighted to be visiting Cafe of Dreams today. My thanks to April for hosting me and A Band of Roses, and for the wonderful review!
This one sounds terrific April! Great review.
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