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3 out of 4 stars
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Battle in Spring Sleet by Lila Rhodes is a historical fiction novel about the battle of Palm Sunday in England during the spring of 1461. The story follows a group of men who survive the battle and look for a way back home. The writer’s style is direct, casual, and informal, while he also uses linguistic terms from the 15th century, thereby successfully placing the reader in the historical setting.
The author introduces the main character, who is named Albin, as well as his cousin, who is nicknamed Birdface. Albin and Birdface are enlisted in King Henry’s army, so they fight against the rebels following Edward of York, who has committed treason. Another man, named George, is in King Henry’s army, but Albin dislikes him because they both want the same woman, who is called Genovefa. Albin is an archer in the battle, so he asks for courage and accurate marksmanship from Saint Sebastian during the morning of the Palm Sunday battle. King Henry’s side begins losing, as the rebels advance, while Albin’s right hand is injured. How will Albin evade the rebels? What will happen to Albin’s companions?
There were plenty of strengths to this book. To begin with, the story contained numerous historical details that were accurate. In particular, the author used language from the 1400s to add authenticity and realism to the text. Additionally, the writer added creativity and originality to the book through the unique storyline of the novel, which is different from other historical fiction stories. What I liked most about the book was that it had tension, suspense, and intense emotion, as the author used cliffhangers and descriptive techniques, thus avoiding creating a dull and uninteresting plot.
What I disliked most about the text was that the author made too many grammatical errors when taking into account the small length of the book. As a result, this novel requires another round of professional editing.
This book will be enjoyed most by fans of historical fiction and medieval England. All the main characters in the story are men, so male readers will find this novel more interesting. Catholic readers will prefer this book since it is written from a Catholic point of view, with references to Catholic monks and saints.
To conclude, this book deserves a score of 3 out of 4 stars. A perfect score was not given to this particular novel because of its grammatical mistakes. Nevertheless, I could not justify giving it a lower rating, as it was original, authentic, historically accurate, and exciting.
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Battle in Spring Sleet
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