Set during Scotland's war for independence, we follow Christina Bruce. She fights to find her own place in the world and tries to help her country be the country she thinks it can be.

This biographic piece had a lot of history in it that often at times felt clunky and thick. My knowledge of the Scottish war for independence doesn't exist, but even with the history laid on throughout the novel, I don't feel like it's any better. It slowed down the pace and didn't make it an easy read for me.

It wasn't only the thick history that slowed the novel down for me, but the writing in general. It was all clunky and didn't flow well. At times, the writing felt like it was aimed for younger readers. The blend between fiction and non-fiction didn't feel cohesive. There was a divide there which left me feeling like I was reading a non-fiction story more than a fiction story based on history.

Due to the writing, I had a hard time getting to know Christina. The story spanned for around ten years, so I should have gotten to know her and see how much she changed over the years, but I didn't get any of that. She came across as rather plain to me when I'm sure she was anything but.

I was eager to dive into this novel, but due to the writing and the ending, this book really missed the mark for me.

I have to start out by writing that my "go to" genre is historical fiction though mostly in the 20th century. I know nothing about Scottish history nor of the heroes/heroines of those times. No, I did not see Mel Gibson's movie. I enjoy books with strong women and Christina lives up to this attribute. Maybe because of my lack of knowledge, I found there were too many characters to keep track of especially with the swapping the use of first and/or last names. Maybe a character diagram would have been helpful. For the most part, I found the pace consistent throughout the book. My rating is 3.5 but rounded up to 4. I am sure a reader with interest in this part of history would enjoy To Crown a King.

I missed it when selecting Raedene Jeannette Melin’s To Crown a King so I’m gonna start by noting the book is a biographic piece based on the life of Christina Bruce, sister of that other Bruce, the one carefully omitted from the jacket description in favor of a Mel Gibson reference.

All joking aside, I admit I liked this piece. Melin’s To Crown a King is smaller in scope than J.M. Harvey’s Sisters of the Bruce 1292-1314, but I think the modest frame of this narrative allowed a nice degree of thematic depth. Melin doesn’t forget the history, I felt it layered a bit thick in places if I’m completely honest, but there is enough of a character arc to balance the fact.

My only quib with this piece is the pacing. I was slow on the uptake, but once I got my head on straight, I remembered enough to recognize where this story was going and consequently found it hard to rouse my enthusiasm for the twists and challenges the rebellion was meant to create for Christina.