Hi everyone. Today, I have a review for you from fellow author, Jacqui Murray. I came across book one in The Crossroads Trilogy after seeing a book-launch post on Mae Clair’s blog. The introduction to that book recommended that I read this book first, instead … so, I did. I’m now set up to read Survival of the Fittest, which I’m looking forward to. Here’s my review:

About the Book:

‘The book’s plot is similar in key ways to … Jean M. Auel’s The Clan of the Cave Bear–Kirkus Reviews

Born in the harsh world of East Africa 1.8 million years ago, where hunger, death, and predation are a normal part of daily life, Lucy and her band of early humans struggle to survive. It is a time in history when they are relentlessly annihilated by predators, nature, their own people, and the next iteration of man. To make it worse, Lucy’s band hates her. She is their leader’s new mate and they don’t understand her odd actions, don’t like her strange looks, and don’t trust her past. To survive, she cobbles together an unusual alliance with an orphaned child, a beleaguered protodog who’s lost his pack, and a man who was supposed to be dead.

Born in a Treacherous Time is prehistoric fiction written in the spirit of Jean Auel. Lucy is tenacious and inventive no matter the danger, unrelenting in her stubbornness to provide a future for her child, with a foresight you wouldn’t think existed in earliest man. You’ll close this book understanding why man not only survived our wild beginnings but thrived, ultimately to become who we are today.

This is a spin-off of To Hunt a Sub’s Lucy (the ancient female who mentored the female protagonist).

“Murray’s lean prose is steeped in the characters’ brutal worldview,Fictig her story on timeless human concerns of survival, acceptance, and fear of the unknown. Even if readers have a general sense of where the plot is going, they’ll still find the specific twists and revelations to be highly entertaining throughout. A well-executed tale of early man.”

My Review:

I picked up Born in a Treacherous Time after coming across book 1 in the Crossroads Trilogy, which recommended I read this book first. This is the first time I’ve read this sort of fiction, and the author did a great job with her research and portrayal as far as I can see.

A few spelling errors presented themselves in the text, which pulled me out of the read somewhat … things such as site instead of sight, knap instead nap (for sleeping), fascial instead of facial, etc.

Other than the above mentioned errors, I found this to be a well formatted and entertaining read. So much so that I read this novel in one sitting, and I am all set up and ready to move onto book 1 of The Crossroads Trilogy now.

I give this a solid four stars and look forward to more from this author.

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NOTE ON RATINGS: I consider a 3-star rating a positive review. Picky about which books I give 5 stars to, I reserve this highest rating for the stories I find stunning and which moved me.

5 STARS: IT WAS AMAZING! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! — Highly Recommended.
4 STARS: I WOULD PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER — Go read this book.
3 STARS: IT WAS GOOD! — An okay read. Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it.
2 STARS: I MAY HAVE LIKED A FEW THINGS —Lacking in some areas: writing, characterisation, and/or problematic plot lines.
1 STAR: NOT MY CUP OF TEA —Lots of issues with this book.

Purchase Links:

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07CTCR944/

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Born-Treacherous-Time-Humanity-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B07CTCR944/

You can find Jacqui Murray on Twitter: @AskATechTeacher