Review by Deborah Swift, award-winning- best seller- author of historical fiction

"must read."

"I bought this book on #KindleUnlimited and admit I knew nothing about early Scottish or Irish history, so this was really interesting. It is not for the faint-hearted as early on in the book it contains the sort of sex and violence you might expect from warring tribes of this era. Hand to hand fighting with sword and fists is a very different battlefield to that of today. Don’t let this put you off though, as it is extremely well-researched with episodes covering a vast swathe of history. The sort of hand to mouth existence is well-described, the flat-bottomed boats, the reliance on horses, the language of Brittonic, the burns and brochs, the rocks and seashore. I loved the travel between Scotland and Ireland, and the description of life in the Irish fort at Tara, Meath.

I enjoyed Fergus’ character as he grows and develops. The characters are rough men, used to fighting, manipulating, wielding threats and death to those that cross them. Erc was a great character – he dispenses the wisdom born of age, and came across as hard-headed but realistic. ‘If you receive favours instead of being a leader by merit, then your men will not trust you wholly, nor follow you blindly’.

There is a lot in this novel and you have to keep your wits about you as a reader as it zips from place to place. Rowena Kinread’s love of the history of these people shines through and for anyone interested in their Scottish or Irish origins, or early Christian and Druid history, it is a must read."

The Scots of Dalriada by Rowena Kinread

Guest Post - https://viviana-mackade.blog/ - February 27th 2023

Romance is a juicy page turner in any book. Whether a pure romance book or sub-plots in historical-, crime-, or thriller- novels, without a little romance, something crucial is missing, like milk in my coffee for example!

In The Scots of Dalriada, Fergus the MC, meets Rhianna as a fourteen-year-old youngster. He doesn’t know at first, who she is. In fact, he believes her to be a boy! At the time he is hiding from his evil half-brother, disguised as a stable boy, in a horse stud at Brodick castle, on the island of Aran. So nobody knows who he is either, in reality Prince of the Dalriada.
Rhianna has her own problems, she is Laird Douglas’s daughter, a Scottish princess and has been promised in marriage to Ceredig, king of Strathclyde. He is an obnoxious individual, over sixty-years-old, with the stature of an overgrown toad standing upright.

A fine read that’s elevated by Kinread’s passion for her story..."

The BookViral Review:

An interesting new take on the life of Saint Patrick and a praiseworthy release from Kinread The Missionary is more entertaining than Bible-adjacent stories are usually allowed to be and makes for a highly enjoyable read.

Meaningfully writing about historical religious characters is all about embracing the weighty moral, religious and political components of their stories which is something Kinread has done with real dramatic substance. Pulling these elements together in a narrative that clearly defines who the main characters in her story are, what they stood for and why we should care about them.

On this level, she gives us intriguingly contrasted character portrayals that are sweeping, savage, intimate, tender and bittersweet whilst notable period and geographical setting details bring Saint Patrick’s fascinating and tragic backstory along with its many simple human qualities to life.

The Missionary is engaging because it’s actually about something of depth: the love of God, devotion to faith, the clash between beliefs and Kinread’s resulting narrative has its heart entirely in the right place. Finding the right balance between historical fact and human drama whilst giving us some (stylised) sense of Saint Patrick’s inner life along with his emotional and spiritual architecture.

Managing to do this without artifice or pretension what emerges is a story with genuine moments of grace but perhaps more importantly we come to know Patricius the man as well as the Saint.

A fine read that’s elevated by Kinread’s passion for her story and the characters she vividly brings to life The Missionary is highly recommended 5 star read.