I would like to thank netgalley and Luath Press for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting, but a little confusing.

It rewrites the story of fictional Flora from Sir Walter Scott's Waverley, alongside real life characters from history. I haven't read the book so can't tell where the authors story picks up.

I was initially interested in reading this book, however my tastes have shifted and I do not think I will be able to get to it now. Many thanks to the publisher for sending me a digital copy!

Disappointing read. Lots of lives crammed into too little space without enough room to breathe. I liked the idea of taking a character written out of another novel and giving her another lease of life but this was a bit lacking.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Loath Press and Donald Smith for the opportunity to read and review a copy of Flora McIvor.
I am a huge fan of historical fiction, but I found I had a lot of trouble getting into the storyline of this novel. Not a book for me.

This is an ambitious novel, which is, I think, its problem. There are too many discrete stories, each of which, if tackled in greater depth, would have made a strong novel in itself. I particularly enjoyed the parts of the novel set in the theatre worlds of Paris and Lisbon in the late 18th century, and think that this section, alone, could have worked if it had been crafted into a three act story structure. . Unfortunately, put together as they are in this way, none of the stories, nor the principal characters, is presented in sufficient depth of detail to make for an entirely satisfying read, and on the whole, the book seems a bit of a "clamjamfree" . It is a readable work, but, in my opinion, it suffers from having too many different storylines.

I didn't enjoy this one at all. The prose wasn't flowing, it seemed a bit nonsensical in spots. It was difficult to follow.

I am a fan of historical fiction, however I could not get into this story, it didn´t grab my attention.

I don’t know what to make of Flora McIvor. The book brings back a fictional character from Popular Classics, Waverley by Walter Scott, set during the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, sought to restore the Stuart dynasty in the person of Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Flora is all about poetry and music. The language in which the story is written sometimes sounds as poetry, sometimes as pure fiction even though it is wrapped around historical events.

As a fan of historical fiction, which appreciates the richness of history brought in this genre, I could not get into this story sounding very frivolous.