Book Review: The Circle Cast by Alex Epstein

At First Sight: Before the Morgan of legend, she was a girl named Anna. Anna who was the beloved daughter of Gorlois, a governor of Britain, and his beautiful wife Ygraine. And it was her mother's beauty that destroyed her family.

During a council, before all the chiefs of Britain marched out to face the Saxons, Anna's mother caught the eye of Uter Pendragon, and that was the beginning of the end. Taking offense of Uter's pursuit of his wife, Gorlois took them all back to their holding and shortly after lost his life at the hands of Uter.

Knowing she wouldn't be safe in Britain, Ygraine sent Anna to live with relatives in Ireland; and stayed to help protect their people once Uter showed up to claim his conquest.  Anna, wild with grief, swore to return one day and avenge her father by killing Uter.

Once in Ireland, Anna is gone, becoming Morgan and enduring a lot of things - among them the awakening of her mystical powers and slavery - until she meets Conall, the son of an Irish Chieftain, whose love might very well spoil her plans of revenge.

Second Glance: I'm a nut for all things Arthurian legend and I particularly love the side stories - sort of what happens before and in between the more well known stories, which was why I was very excited to read The Circle Cast.

And I was instantly drawn into the time and place - a mythical, medieval Britain and Ireland - and the author really does a wonderful job putting you there. I really liked the beginning of the story, how Anna's narrative feels urgent and a little grim - and I liked Anna in general. 

But I had big problem with Morgan: I didn't like her. The way she's obsessed with revenge put me off a fair bit. And what happens with Conall... well, I can't really complain about that because I totally knew what I was getting into, but it still bummed me a bit.

Bottom Line: Perhaps if I were more a fan of Historical Fiction rather than of historical romance, I would have enjoyed this book more, because that part of the story was great. Personally, I didn't love the characters, but that's entirely because of personal philosophies. Otherwise, I think it was a nice read.

1/3

This review is part of the Teen (Boo Scene) Book Blog Tour. To check out the future and past entries to the tour, please click here 

Interview with Alex Epstein

Today, I'm happy to welcome Alex Epstein -author of The Circle Cast - to the blog.

I asked him a few questions and he answered them tweet-style!

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First, tell us something about your book, The Circle Cast?
Ever wonder how King Arthur's sister learned how 2 b a legendary badass sorceress? They don't exactly teach that in high school. #wicca

What got you interested in Arthurian Legend?
My dad used to read THE ONCE AND FUTURE KING to me when I was a kid. I could never get it out of my head. #excalibur

Why Anna/Morgan?
Losing your name is huge. When Uter kills her dad, Anna has 2 become a new person, with a new name: Morgan ("sea-born"). #metamorphosis

What was the hardest thing about writing THE CIRCLE CAST?
Satisfying my editor. I rewrote the entire book 9 or 10 times, 2 make the story come alive. #writingisrewriting

The easiest?
I feel like Morgan speaks to me: stubborn, angry, passionate. Writing her always made sense.

If you could be in Arthur’s court, who would you be?
Arthur! But I'd divorce Guinevere, remarry, and have a bunch of heirs. And I'd give Mordred a dukedom so he wouldn't feel dissed. #realpolitik

Now, tell us something about yourself that no one would believe?
In my day job, I'm mostly known for writing movie & TV comedy. TCC is sort of primordial me. #boncopbadcop

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About The Circle Cast:

How did an exiled girl become the most powerful witch in legend?

Britain, 480 AD. Saxon barbarians are invading, pushing the civilized British out of their own island. Morgan is the daughter of the governor of Cornwall. But when her father is murdered and her mother taken as the King's new wife, she has to flee to Ireland to avoid being murdered herself.

But Ireland is no refuge. She's captured in a slave raid and sold to a village witch. As Morgan comes of age, she discovers her own immense magical powers. She falls in love with a young Irish chieftain, and makes him powerful.

But will her drive for revenge destroy her one chance for love and happiness?

This interview is part of The Circle Cast's Blog Tour (which I get to kick off! YAY!). For future stops of the tour, you can check out The {Teen} Book Scene by clicking here. 

GIVEAWAY
And, as part of the blog tour, four ebook copies of The Circle Cast are up for grabs, just leave a comment and a winner will be chosen every week out of all the comments in all the tour stops  of the week (so be sure to check those out!)

Good luck!

Alex.