his was a very interesting story set in early 5th century Ireland, and showed a lot about what a society transitioning from its ancient ways might have been like. From druids seeking truth to warring clansman and feuds, to slave raids.
Its also a story of two lovers, seperated by supposedly insurmountable odds and trying to find each other again, and understand what was happening to them in light of their faith. I would say thought that this is more of a historical adventure than a romance.

Its not a case of "Christians good pagans bad" which can be the case with some inspirational fiction. The Irish chief is a good man who loves his people, but that sometimes leads him into controverisial choices. Greed and jealously drive people, not always faith.

Although I think this generally gave an accurate view of what life might have been like in 5th century Ireland, and that the author has a gift for writing battle scenes & smaller historical details.
I did have a couple of niggles. First of all, characters in Wales speaking Gealic. There seems to be this notion that everyone in Early Medieval and Ancient Britain spoke Gaelic, but this is wrong.
Gaelic is an Irish langauge: Most people in 5th century Britain spoke Welsh, or a language similar to it called Brythonic.
Welsh is not the same as Gaelic, which was kind of the impression I got from this story. Yes, theyr'e both "Celtic" languages but they're very different. Same as French and Romanian are both Romance languages but are not the same.

Second: A reference to Pumpkins in 5th century Britain. None there.

Otherwise, its a good read with some great characters. Recommended for lovers of historical Fiction, but advise caution for younger readers.

Thaks to BooksgoSocial on Netgalley for appproving my request for this title, which I subsequently bought for myself.

I really wanted to like this book, but the writing was awkward, dialogue was stiff, and the plot was not interesting. Sorry.

this was a really interesting read, I enjoyed the characters and going on this journey. I liked the use of the time period.

More historical than romance, The Slaves of Autumn is an immersive story that explores why good people make bad choices, as well as the lengths people will go for those they love. The author, Mark E. Fisher, has a gift for descriptive battle scenes and making an ancient world come alive.

This story took me by surprise. I must admit, I expected it to be a bit dry or stodgy (and I really can’t explain why I thought that…). The Slaves of Autumn was definitely not dry or stodgy. It had a wonderful blend of action, history, and romance that kept me involved in the plot and wanting to read more.

It was easy to see how much research went into the historical setting of this novel. I was fascinated at how the author brought the fifth century to life with all its beauty and heartache. And the touch of the supernatural gave the plot such a richness and gave the characters a terrific depth that swept me away.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable read, and I’d most certainly recommend it. I’ve never read anything by Mark E. Fisher before, but I will continue to read his work now.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Many thanks to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for the digital copy of this book for review purposes. I was not required to give a positive review. All opinions are my very own! 🙂

I thought that maybe the "religion and spirituality," of this book would have some traditional irish mysticism mixed in with the Christianity, I could've handled that but I really didn't make it very far into the book. It felt forced and there was a lot of christianity. IDK if you are into more christianity books then this might be good but it just wasn't for me.

I gave it my best effort, but I just couldn’t do it. This story was just not for me. I ended up skimming the last half.

Completely swept me away! Rich with historical details relevant to the time period. Wonderful characters with depth and substance. I was immediately drawn in and held captive from beginning to end.

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.

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