Series: The Scottish Scrolls
Author: K.T. Anglehart
Expected Publication Date: October 28, 2020
Publisher: Kat Biggie Press
Pages: 213 (epub.)
Introduction
There's something wrong with McKenna. She's always thought so, but after her 17th birthday, things start getting even weirder than they usually are. She's having vivid dreams, and seems to be influencing things. When she goes to her fathers for answers, they are forced to tell her the truth. Her birth mother, a mystic, left to protect her, and she is a Wise One.
They don't offer any other details, so McKenna knows that she must find her mother to to get the whole story. So, she ventures out to across Ireland, knowing that going back to living half in the dark about who is no longer an option.
McKenna
McKenna was an extremely annoying protagonist with very childish tendencies. She was written more like a fourteen year old than someone that just turned seventeen. Everything she does is done without thinking, literally at all. She had no plan for her trip to Ireland, or how she was going to find her mom when she got there, she didn't consider how her parents would feel and she didn't spend a second thinking about the consequences of any of her actions.
McKenna's Journey
I know this is a fantasy novel, but McKenna's journey, both to and around Ireland, was painfully unrealistic, and also painfully irresponsible. First, McKenna leaves without her parents knowing (with, I might add, all their savings stolen from a safe.) She had absolutely no plan. She dragged a person she barely knew with her. Neither of them had passports, and they still managed to get to Ireland, in a way that is so completely out of the realm of possibility that it actually baffled me when I read it, even with McKenna's abilities.
It was also outrageously irresponsible for her to agree to a ride from Cillian, and even more ridiculous that Nissa was the one that suggested it. Neither one of them were a poster child for rational thinking.
To me, everything just seemed like it worked out too perfectly, too much of the time. No obstacle stayed an obstacle, as everything just conveniently fell into place all of the time. I know parts of it were planted that way, but because so much just worked out on it's own, by the end the conflicts didn't hold very much weight to me.
Pace
This wasn't a long book, but unfortunately, there was a lot of time that felt like nothing was happening that was relevant to the story. There was a lot of filler on the road with Cillian that added nothing to plot.
Nissa
I didn't mind Nissa, and I liked her journey throughout the book, but it felt like Nissa was a part of the story most of the time just to be a quirky sidekick to balance McKenna out, and although I didn't mind Nissa's story/journey throughout the book, it was no more realistic than McKenna's was.
Cillian
I liked Cillian's character and his role in the book, although I didn't care much for the feelings that were growing between McKenna and him. It didn't feel like it was based on anything. They didn't know very much about each other on a personal level, so unless McKenna's Wise One influence was working it's mojo on Cillian, there just seemed to be no reason why they would like each other, so to me, it wasn't a very interesting aspect of the story.
Ending
The last 30 pages or so are about the most exciting part of the the whole book. It's the only part of the book where it actually feels like things are moving along at a good pace, and what ultimately upped my rating to two stars on Goodreads.
Conclusion
I was not a fan of this book, even though I so badly wanted to be. I even posted my very first Waiting on Wednesday for it, specifically stating how excited I was to get my hands on this book, but it really missed the mark for me. I liked the ending, but I don't think I will be continuing on with this series.
