loulou_22 's review for:

A Good Deliverance by Toby Clements

4.0

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Jesús defend me!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bolinda Digital for a copy of the audiobook of this title.

Being a fan on the author's previous series ("Kingmaker") and having a passing interest in the War of the Roses, I only had to glance at the description of this book and the first two words - "Warwick, 1468" were enough to persuade me to start listening straighaway.

I did enjoy the story and how Sir Thomas Malory's life was affected by the political landscape of England in the early-mid 15th century (The author does a brilliant job of introducing the big names of this time without it being too confusing, and Matt Addis's voice talents really help bring each of the characters to life) but Malory is not a character you can easily fall in love with; he is an arrogant, self important man who loves the sound of his own voice.
This is surely a intentional choice by the author though, for as much as Sir Thomas wishes to paint himself a chivalric hero in the vein of his favourite King Arthur stories, he gets so caught up in telling his tales to young master Brunt that the facts seem to tell of something much different. (I will admit that I did find myself softening to him towards the end, but still not enough to like the man. )

For story alone; I was hovering around the 3 - 3.5 stars mark as I enjoyed the main plot, the descriptive writing style of the author and numerous funny moments sprinkled throughout the story - but it is the work of the narrator that really helped push my review up to 4 stars by bringing the work to life and making me feel like I was the one trapped in a room, being forced to listen to the tales of Sir Thomas Mallory from the man himself. (In a good way)

Content Warnings