#BookReview: Born in a Treacherous Time by Jacqui Murray

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 bookโ€™s plot is similar in key ways to … Jean M. Auelโ€™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, Lucyโ€™s band hates her. She is their leaderโ€™s new mate and they donโ€™t understand her odd actions, donโ€™t like her strange looks, and donโ€™t trust her past. To survive, she cobbles together an unusual alliance with an orphaned child, a beleaguered protodog whoโ€™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 wouldnโ€™t think existed in earliest man. Youโ€™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 Subโ€™s Lucy (the ancient female who mentored the female protagonist).

โ€œMurrayโ€™s lean prose is steeped in the charactersโ€™ 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, theyโ€™ll still find the specific twists and revelations to be highly entertaining throughout. A well-executed tale of early man.โ€

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.

***
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! โ€” Highly Recommended.
4 STARS: I WOULD PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER โ€” Go read this book.
3 STARS: IT WAS GOOD! โ€” An okay read. Didnโ€™t love it. Didnโ€™t hate it.
2 STARS: I MAY HAVE LIKED A FEW THINGS โ€”Lacking in some areas: writing, characterisation, and/or problematic plot lines.
1 STAR: NOT MY CUP OF TEA โ€”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

14 Comments on “#BookReview: Born in a Treacherous Time by Jacqui Murray

  1. Great review. This is on my TBR list. I loved the other prehistoric books I’ve read by Jacqui, so I’m looking forward to another great read.

  2. A lovely review, Harmony. I have read this one and have the next one on my kindle.

    • Thanks, Robbie. I’m halfway through Survival of the Fittest and am enjoying it ๐Ÿ™‚