Kingfisher
(The Kingfisher Series, Book One)
By D. K. Marley
The past, future, and Excalibur lie in her hands.
Wales, 1914. Vala Penrys and her four sisters find solace in their spinster life by story-telling, escaping the chaos of war by dreaming of the romantic days of Camelot. When the war hits close to home, Vala finds love with Taliesin Wren, a mysterious young Welsh Lieutenant, who shows her another world within the tangled roots of a Rowan tree, known to the Druids as ‘the portal’.
One night she falls through, and suddenly she is Vivyane, Lady of the Lake – the Kingfisher – in a divided Britain clamoring for a High King. What begins as an innocent pastime becomes the ultimate quest for peace in two worlds full of secrets, and Vala finds herself torn between the love of her life and the salvation of not only her family but of Britain, itself.
"It is, at the heart of it, a love story – the love between a man and a woman, between a woman and her country, and between the characters and their fates – but its appeal goes far beyond romance. It is a tale of fate, of power, and, ultimately, of sacrifice for a greater good." - Riana Everly, author of Teaching Eliza and Death of a Clergyman
Publication Date: June 28, 2021
Publisher: The White Rabbit Publishing (HFC Press)
Page Length: 530 Pages
Genre: Historical Time Travel
MY THOUGHTS
I don't often read historical fantasy, but I do have a passing interest in the legends of King Arthur, but my knowledge is very rudimentary, so I was looking forward to reading this novel. The book opens in 1914, and we are introduced to a family whose foundations is one of the most famous legends of them all - but they don't know that, yet!
With a mentally ill mother and the clock ticking forever onwards, Vala cannot help but wonder if she will ever find true love, she is way past the marriageable age and yet, she has a hint of wildness about her. She is, I guess pushing against the conventional role of women in the early 20th Century. To escape this mundane existence she escapes into her imagination and it is Camelot that inspires these imaginations. What she was not expecting was that this fascination was grounded in reality - her reality. And the reason why she has not found her "true love" yet was because... Shh! I must not give away the story, but what I can say is that Vala discovers two things (well, she discovers a few more things but these two are quite important), the first is the reason behind her mother's so-called madness and the second thing is her own true calling.
While Britain begins to mobilise to fight in what would later be called the Great War, Vala has an even greater battle to face. She must embrace her true self, kick-off convention go back in time and meet her destiny head-on.
Kingfisher is the story of the Lady of the Lake, her origins, her enemies and her mission! She has to make sure the Uther has a son "Arthur". It is a heavy burden to carry, especially when Uther is not the nicest of men on first meeting (and I think his accent is meant to be Scottish - which usually endears a character to me, but not so much in this case)! Although he does mellow as the story progresses and like Vala, I hoped he would have a better end than the one legend foretold.
A character that I really adored was Taliesin - his story both in the early 20th Century and back in Avalon is, well, let's call it complicated, magical but complicated. But his compassion, his love and his determination really drew me towards him. I enjoyed reading the scenes that he is in very much.
Kingfisher is a must read for lovers of Arthurian romance, or anyone else who enjoys a well researched (both in history and legend) novel.
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D. K. Marley is a Historical Fiction author specializing in Shakespearean adaptations, Tudor era historicals, Colonial American historicals, alternate historicals, and historical time-travel. At a very early age she knew she wanted to be a writer. Inspired by her grandmother, an English Literature teacher, she dove into writing during her teenage years, winning short story awards for two years in local competitions. After setting aside her writing to raise a family and run her graphic design business, White Rabbit Arts, returning to writing became therapy to her after suffering immense tragedy, and she published her first novel “Blood and Ink” in 2018, which went on to win the Bronze Medal for Best Historical Fiction from The Coffee Pot Book Club, and the Silver Medal from the Golden Squirrel Book Awards. Within three years, she has published four more novels (two Shakespearean adaptations, one Colonial American historical, and a historical time travel).
When she is not writing, she is the founder and administrator of The Historical Fiction Club on Facebook, and the CEO of The Historical Fiction Company, a website dedicated to supporting the best in historical fiction for authors and readers. And for fun, she is an avid reader of the genre, loves to draw, is a conceptual photography hobbyist, and is passionate about spending time with her granddaughter. She lives in Middle Georgia U.S.A. with her husband of 35 years, an English Lab named Max, and an adorable Westie named Daisy.
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