Book Review: A Band of Roses, by Pat McDermott

A Band of Roses,by Pat McDermott

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 938 KB
Publisher: Red Rose Publishing (February 12, 2009)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Rating (1 to 5 *): ****



Be sure to come back tomorrow to read the author interview with Pat McDermott!

Review of A Band of Roses

Intrigue. Royalty. Visits to other worlds. Really cool Irish talk. A Band of Roses takes us through the political struggles of the Irish royal family (fictional, of course), fighting off invasion from England. The story begins of the fateful political marriage of Princess Talty to England’s simple-minded King, which soon reveals a plot from two competing factions in England to grab Irish oil wells…or to take over Ireland completely.

Talty, a trained warrior, survives a nearly-unsurviveable attack and is sent into hiding. Her adventures take her first to Japan, then to California to participate in a fantastic experiment where she travels to other worlds that are similar to, but with different history than, her own. It is through these travels that she finds vital information to help her family fight off England’s attack. Of course, like any good story (particularly one about Ireland), there is also a case of incurable love to deal with.

A Band of Roses is a fascinating tale that firmly pulls the reader in, making you want to get to know the characters and spend time with them. The manner of speech and interactions of the characters transports you right into Ireland, pulling for the good guys in the fight against those who would harm her.

I must say that I had two issues with the book: the first is that Talty is just a little too perfect. She’s not only beautiful and loved by all, but she is ridiculously good at everything she does, picking up and mastering every new skill with ease. She seems to have no flaws or holes whatsoever, which makes her almost annoying…except that she’s also pretty cool, so I didn’t mind TOO much.

My second issue is that the story line with traveling to other worlds seems a bit out of place and unnecessary. While it does tie in to the main plot, it does so weakly, and it seems wasted—like it should be its own book, fully developed.

However, these issues were really a very mild distraction from the quality of the book and enjoyment of the story. I greatly enjoyed reading A Band of Roses and would love to read more by Pat McDermott.