Daughter of Black Lake

I went into Daughter of Black Lake without much investigation beforehand. I knew that this was a story that touched on an area of history that doesn't get much attention, and was intrigued by the pagan aspect of it. Other than that, I was wide open! My hope was to be transported to another time and place, which I can tell you that Buchanan does expertly. From the first page I was transported into the lives of those who lived in Brittania before the Romans took over. It was fascinating.

In terms of the story, it was simple enough to follow. We are introduced to Hobble and her village. I thought Buchanan did a good job of setting up their society. It's true that there are some rather brutal parts of their belief system, but keep in mind that these fit with the time. I thought they were handled as gently as can be expected. I'm also not generally a fan of dual POVs, but in this case it was done exceptionally well. Watching Devout and her daughter Hobble, 17 years apart, navigate their changing world was so intriguing.

So what were my issues? First off, the pacing of this book is really slow. There is a lot of repetition, especially when it comes to the sort of love triangle that develops. Combined with the fact that there is a large cast of secondary characters, it made it a little tough to keep focused on the overall plot line. As the story progressed, it definitely picked up. However by the time I was invested fully, it was already the ending and the story was complete. I'll happily still give this book a solid 3-star rating and recommend it!