Skip to main content

Blog Tour: Mackenzie's Cross by Sarah Barthel: A Book Review

Mackenzie's Cross
Mackenzie's Cross
Author: Sarah Barthel
Publication Date: May 14, 2013
Publisher: Topaz
Publishing Formats: Ebook, Paperback
Source: This book was given to for the Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: When Duke Kensington dies, how can a young kitchen maid stand up for what she believes and save her best friend? Mackenzie’s life has always been one of duty. However, in a land where even the Brotherhood of the Knights are becoming power hungry mongers, how can a young kitchen maid maintain her morals when tempted with all she’s never had? In the end, the truth is even more complicated than Mackenzie had ever imagined.

     My Review: Mackenzie is a young kitchen maid in the castle of the powerful Duke of Kensington. The duke is hosting a jousting tournament at his castle, and the household is abuzz with activity. The Duchess of Kensington honors the head cook, Adilla, to serve the noble family along with a person of her choosing at the welcoming feast of the tournament. Adilla bestows the honor to Mackenzie to serve with her as her new apprentice. However, at the welcoming feast, disaster strikes, and the duke dies on the spot. It is discovered that the duke has been poisoned, and her friend Adilla has been falsely accused of murder and is imprisoned in the dungeons. Mackenzie realizes that her life will no longer be the same, and she must team up with a knight, Sir Patrick, in order to save her friend.

     The setting of the castle is beautifully written. It is told from the eyes of the servants, and it describes their daily duties. The book mentions the distinct differences of the rich noble class and the poor working class. However, Mackenzie sees the bridge between the two classes, and makes friends with both classes. She also sees that some people in both the poor and the noble class has a greed for power and do not appreciate what they have. In the end, she realises that happiness comes from the heart and not by a person’s social status or what they have.

     Mackenzie is a strong heroine. She is happy with what God has given her in her life. She learns to appreciate what she has. However, she is impulsive and sometimes rash. Sometimes, I did not like her character. She can be selfish and commits ruthless deeds in order to save herself. She does not regret what she does, and rationalizes that it is better to save herself than others. She is also judgmental. However, she does have her good qualities. She is a hard worker, and finds pleasure in her work. She cares for her friend, Adilla. She works hard to save her from her fate.

     Overall, this book is about love, trust, friendship, and survival.The story is fast-paced, and has romance, mystery, and political intrigue. The message of the book is even though you are undergoing many trials in your life, as long as you trust in God, your problems will be solved. Where there is darkness, there is also hope. The story reminded me of the story David and Goliath. Mackenzie was the underdog that fought against a powerful murderer. Yet with God, she conquered her giant and was able to finally have her justice. Thus, I recommend this book to anyone who interested in a historical, Christian, inspirational, romance.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Buy the Book

Amazon CA (Kindle) 
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Barnes & Noble
Book Depository


About the Author

Sarah Barthel

     Sarah Barthel was raised on a steady diet of old Hollywood musicals and classic literature. It instilled in her a love for looking into the past to discover new passions. Nurturing her love of language, she learned French, Latin and Japanese. This led her to study in Paris and host a Japanese exchange student. She followed her passion to American University in Washington DC, where she studied British literature and history. Since then she has thrown herself into writing. She loves to find unique, and unexplored ideas in familiar settings. A member of the Society of Children's Writers and Illustrators, she currently lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, daughter and two crazy dogs. You can connect with Sarah on Facebook.


 photo 0096a0cc-dcd2-42c9-badd-9a464b3cc6e6.png

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Potiphar's Wife (The Egyptian Chronicles #1) by Mesu Andrews: A Book Review

  Potiphar’s Wife (The Egyptian Chronicles #1) Author: Mesu Andrews Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian, Biblical Fiction Publisher: WaterBrook Release Date: May 24, 2022 Pages: 453 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: One of the Bible’s most notorious women longs for a love she cannot have in this captivating novel from the award-winning author of Isaiah’s Legacy .       Before she is Potiphar’s wife, Zuleika is the daughter of a king and the wife of a prince. She rules the isle of Crete alongside her mother in the absence of their seafaring husbands. But when tragedy nearly destroys Crete, Zuleika must sacrifice her future to save the Minoan people she loves.       Zuleika’s father believes his robust trade with Egypt will ensure Pharaoh’s obligation to marry his daughter, including a bride price hefty enough to save Crete. But Pharaoh refuses and gives her instead to Potiphar, the captain...

The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts: The True Story of The Bondwoman's Narrative by Gregg Hecimovich: A Book Review

  The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts: The True Story of the Bondwoman’s Narrative Author: Gregg Hecimovich Genre: History, Nonfiction, Biography  Publisher: Ecco Release Date: 2023 Pages: 430 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: A groundbreaking study of the first Black female novelist and her life as an enslaved woman, from the biographer who solved the mystery of her identity, with a foreword by Henry Louis Gates Jr.       In 1857, a woman escaped enslavement on a North Carolina plantation and fled to a farm in New York. In hiding, she worked on a manuscript that would make her famous long after her death. The novel, The Bondwoman’s Narrative, was first published in 2002 to great acclaim, but the author’s identity remained unknown. Over a decade later, Professor Gregg Hecimovich unraveled the mystery of the author’s name and, in The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts, hefinally tells her story.   ...

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn: A Book Review

The Rose Code Author: Kate Quinn Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Harper Collins Release Date: 2021 Pages: 635 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: 1940, Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire.        Three very different women are recruited to the mysterious Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes.       Vivacious debutante Osla has the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses – but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, working to translate decoded enemy secrets. Self-made Mab masters the legendary codebreaking machines as she conceals old wounds and the poverty of her East-End London upbringing. And shy local girl Beth is the outsider who trains as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts.       1947, London.        Seven years after they first meet, on the eve of the roya...