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Uprising
“Nothing is further away than one second ago . . .”
Wales 1294 . . . a country rising in violent rebellion against the hated English king.
Megan Lynch . . . a high-school sophomore from Virginia Beach, recently arrived in North Wales to stay with her grandmother. A girl about to get badly out of her depth . . . and time!
Following the death of her Navy SEAL father in Afghanistan, Megan is packed off to stay with her grandmother in North Wales. That means a new school to go along with the new country.
“Go stay with your gran for a while, it’ll keep you out of trouble.” Megan’s mother said — famous last words.
In her mom’s defense, she could never have predicted the remarkable events that unfolded in the ruins of Flint Castle that afternoon. She certainly wouldn’t have known about the strange Welshman or the pendant he gave Megan. Even then, if it hadn’t been for the encounter with a local bully, Megan might still be wandering around the ruins of a thirteenth century castle, instead of a fully functioning one.
Her striking resemblance to the king's daughter is initially her saving grace, but the inability to speak Norman French arouses suspicions, and she knows her luck cannot last. Thankfully, help is at hand in the shape of Hugh, the handsome young knight’s squire with a secret of his own.
Their friendship grows as they attempt to stay one step ahead of Hugh’s father as he tracks down his rebellious son. It is a journey that takes them across an oppressed medieval Wales in the throes of an uprising. It is a dangerous world of chain mail, dungeons, crossbows, lynch mobs and burning towns.
There are compensations though; unpolluted air, stunning scenery, imposing stone castles in their full splendor, and of course, Hugh.
Will Megan make it back to her everyday world of Snapchat, Instagram, and Same-Day Delivery? Will she even want to?
Wales 1294 . . . a country rising in violent rebellion against the hated English king.
Megan Lynch . . . a high-school sophomore from Virginia Beach, recently arrived in North Wales to stay with her grandmother. A girl about to get badly out of her depth . . . and time!
Following the death of her Navy SEAL father in Afghanistan, Megan is packed off to stay with her grandmother in North Wales. That means a new school to go along with the new country.
“Go stay with your gran for a while, it’ll keep you out of trouble.” Megan’s mother said — famous last words.
In her mom’s defense, she could never have predicted the remarkable events that unfolded in the ruins of Flint Castle that afternoon. She certainly wouldn’t have known about the strange Welshman or the pendant he gave Megan. Even then, if it hadn’t been for the encounter with a local bully, Megan might still be wandering around the ruins of a thirteenth century castle, instead of a fully functioning one.
Her striking resemblance to the king's daughter is initially her saving grace, but the inability to speak Norman French arouses suspicions, and she knows her luck cannot last. Thankfully, help is at hand in the shape of Hugh, the handsome young knight’s squire with a secret of his own.
Their friendship grows as they attempt to stay one step ahead of Hugh’s father as he tracks down his rebellious son. It is a journey that takes them across an oppressed medieval Wales in the throes of an uprising. It is a dangerous world of chain mail, dungeons, crossbows, lynch mobs and burning towns.
There are compensations though; unpolluted air, stunning scenery, imposing stone castles in their full splendor, and of course, Hugh.
Will Megan make it back to her everyday world of Snapchat, Instagram, and Same-Day Delivery? Will she even want to?
425 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 1, 2020
About the author
Dai Pryce
13 books4 followersBorn and bred in North Wales; after graduating from The University of Leeds with a Mining Engineering degree, I spent the next seven years living and working (often four km underground) in Southern Africa. During this time, I was fortunate enough to visit some of the most fabulous wild places on the planet; and indulge in another passion - wildlife photography (www.stripephoto.com - shameless plug over)
This was followed by spells living in California and London.
I currently reside in the beautiful state of Colorado, but return to Wales as often as possible to visit family, soak up that indefinable magical atmosphere, and experience the sense of belonging I feel nowhere else – Hiraeth as we say in Welsh.
Proper fish and chips and CAMRA pubs serving real ale are the icing on the bara brith.
This was followed by spells living in California and London.
I currently reside in the beautiful state of Colorado, but return to Wales as often as possible to visit family, soak up that indefinable magical atmosphere, and experience the sense of belonging I feel nowhere else – Hiraeth as we say in Welsh.
Proper fish and chips and CAMRA pubs serving real ale are the icing on the bara brith.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 14, 2020
Book Reviewed on www.whisperingstories.com
Sixteen-year-old American Megan has been sent to Wales to live with her Grandmother after her military father was killed in battle and her mother thought she was going off the rails.
The kids at her new school aren’t happy to have a new girl at school, let alone one that is a ‘yank’ as they call her. Megan is bullied by the head girl and things escalate when Megan’s grandmother gets involved. Hoping that the bullies are far away, she heads to the local castle, a place her dad took her to last time they were in Wales together. Unfortunately, she is wrong and the bullies have followed her there.
After an altercation, Megan remembers falling and the next thing she is being dragged out of the moat, but the place is different. The castle is no longer crumbling and people are calling her Lady Mary as they seem to think she is King Edward the first daughter. However, one of the knights who has spent time with Lady Mary notices that she is not the girl knows and Megan has to explain what happened.
With the help of Hugh the Knight, Megan manages to get away from the castle, but how is she going to get home, and can her knowledge of the past help with the Welsh Uprising of 1294?
The King’s Daughter is an interesting take on the time travel genre as I don’t know of another YA book that takes the reader back to medieval Wales. I didn’t know much about the uprising and the battle that took place in which the English won and ever since the heir to the throne has been called ‘The Prince of Wales’, so I found the book educational.
Megan is a feisty young girl who can hold her own, against one, but the school bullies come in packs and she can’t defend herself against three or more of them. After her fall she quickly realises that she is in another time and does her best to fit in, all along knowing that if she is found out that she isn’t the King’s daughter punishment will come.
Hugh is a brave knight who wants to help Megan as well as use her knowledge of what is about to happen in battle.
The plot is quite drawn out and the action took a good few chapters to get going, then once we are transported to 1294, not a great deal happens except travelling, travelling, and more travelling for a long time. Personally, I feel the book was overly long and scenes either needed cutting or something exciting to happen in them as the plot did start to drag in places.
I also noticed there were words used by the characters in 1294 (not Megan), that weren’t around back then or weren’t used in the manner that the author meant them such as someone tells Megan she is the ‘spitting image’ of the king’s daughter but the phrase wasn’t coined until 1689 or they were asked about ‘lurking’ in the woods, again the word lurking wasn’t used until the fourteenth century. I found quite a few words like these. Some might not know that these words didn’t exist back in 1294 so won’t care. Unfortunately, I do know and care.
Overall, I think the book missed the spot. The premise and the idea are certainly there but I don’t feel it currently works as well as it could.
Sixteen-year-old American Megan has been sent to Wales to live with her Grandmother after her military father was killed in battle and her mother thought she was going off the rails.
The kids at her new school aren’t happy to have a new girl at school, let alone one that is a ‘yank’ as they call her. Megan is bullied by the head girl and things escalate when Megan’s grandmother gets involved. Hoping that the bullies are far away, she heads to the local castle, a place her dad took her to last time they were in Wales together. Unfortunately, she is wrong and the bullies have followed her there.
After an altercation, Megan remembers falling and the next thing she is being dragged out of the moat, but the place is different. The castle is no longer crumbling and people are calling her Lady Mary as they seem to think she is King Edward the first daughter. However, one of the knights who has spent time with Lady Mary notices that she is not the girl knows and Megan has to explain what happened.
With the help of Hugh the Knight, Megan manages to get away from the castle, but how is she going to get home, and can her knowledge of the past help with the Welsh Uprising of 1294?
The King’s Daughter is an interesting take on the time travel genre as I don’t know of another YA book that takes the reader back to medieval Wales. I didn’t know much about the uprising and the battle that took place in which the English won and ever since the heir to the throne has been called ‘The Prince of Wales’, so I found the book educational.
Megan is a feisty young girl who can hold her own, against one, but the school bullies come in packs and she can’t defend herself against three or more of them. After her fall she quickly realises that she is in another time and does her best to fit in, all along knowing that if she is found out that she isn’t the King’s daughter punishment will come.
Hugh is a brave knight who wants to help Megan as well as use her knowledge of what is about to happen in battle.
The plot is quite drawn out and the action took a good few chapters to get going, then once we are transported to 1294, not a great deal happens except travelling, travelling, and more travelling for a long time. Personally, I feel the book was overly long and scenes either needed cutting or something exciting to happen in them as the plot did start to drag in places.
I also noticed there were words used by the characters in 1294 (not Megan), that weren’t around back then or weren’t used in the manner that the author meant them such as someone tells Megan she is the ‘spitting image’ of the king’s daughter but the phrase wasn’t coined until 1689 or they were asked about ‘lurking’ in the woods, again the word lurking wasn’t used until the fourteenth century. I found quite a few words like these. Some might not know that these words didn’t exist back in 1294 so won’t care. Unfortunately, I do know and care.
Overall, I think the book missed the spot. The premise and the idea are certainly there but I don’t feel it currently works as well as it could.
July 25, 2021
I picked this up on Kindle Unlimited, while trying to find a time travel themed book. Disappointed to say that I won't be finishing it.
The concept is fine. Modern day teenager gets transported back to medieval Wales. Nothing wrong with that. Plenty wrong with the character and story though. I'll start with the character...
Megan is not believable at all. She's able to easily defeat a male bandit twice her size, without even really trying. In basically wrestling/martial arts combat at that. All because her daddy was a SEAL and showed her a few moves... Right. The other scene of her defeating someone with daddy's moves earlier in the book was more believable, because it was against another girl her own age, who she took by surprise with it. But the big male mentioned above was supposedly the best fighter out of a group of men who commit violence and intimidation as a way of life.
Also Megan, who is an American who grew up in the USA, somehow knows more about Wales and medieval Wales, than modern teenagers seem to know about their own cities or states. How? because she went on vacation to Wales with her dad, and loves history I guess. Ok, whatever. Somehow this girl knows all about these locations in Wales, speaks fluent Welsh, but yet is constantly stumped by modern English slang terms. It's annoying in the story, as every time a place is mentioned, or a landmark passed, she's like "I've been there! Or, I know what this place is...etc."
Why do a handful of her female schoolmates, instantly have a hate-boner for Megan too? They act more like semi-retarded aggressive males who just want to fight and bully everyone, than high school girls. I never once encountered aggressive girls such as these, all through my school years.
I eventually just gave up and returned the book. Too many things that irked me, and not enough of an interesting story to make up for it.
The concept is fine. Modern day teenager gets transported back to medieval Wales. Nothing wrong with that. Plenty wrong with the character and story though. I'll start with the character...
Megan is not believable at all. She's able to easily defeat a male bandit twice her size, without even really trying. In basically wrestling/martial arts combat at that. All because her daddy was a SEAL and showed her a few moves... Right. The other scene of her defeating someone with daddy's moves earlier in the book was more believable, because it was against another girl her own age, who she took by surprise with it. But the big male mentioned above was supposedly the best fighter out of a group of men who commit violence and intimidation as a way of life.
Also Megan, who is an American who grew up in the USA, somehow knows more about Wales and medieval Wales, than modern teenagers seem to know about their own cities or states. How? because she went on vacation to Wales with her dad, and loves history I guess. Ok, whatever. Somehow this girl knows all about these locations in Wales, speaks fluent Welsh, but yet is constantly stumped by modern English slang terms. It's annoying in the story, as every time a place is mentioned, or a landmark passed, she's like "I've been there! Or, I know what this place is...etc."
Why do a handful of her female schoolmates, instantly have a hate-boner for Megan too? They act more like semi-retarded aggressive males who just want to fight and bully everyone, than high school girls. I never once encountered aggressive girls such as these, all through my school years.
I eventually just gave up and returned the book. Too many things that irked me, and not enough of an interesting story to make up for it.
May 19, 2021
A reasonably enjoyable romp through medieval Wales. Like other reviewers I wasn’t overly keen on the course language in places and wasn’t sure it added to the story. There were some loose ends that didn’t get tied up, particularly a character that seamed to get forgotten about. Maybe the the next in the trilogy will come back to him, although I suspect not. The ending was satisfactory though and made this book a complete story in itself. I would have loved to have delved dealer into some of the characters and had more females involved. Overall I think it’s a plot line that has promise and could be expanded on, although it could do with a little polish. If you want an enjoyable steady read which teaches you a bit about Welsh history I would recommend this book.
I was gifted this copy by voracious readers in return for an honest review.
I was gifted this copy by voracious readers in return for an honest review.
May 6, 2021
Off Flint .
Enjoyed the descriptions of all the places mentioned in North Wales and my hometown of Flint. The main character Megan was also interesting as I have a relative of the same name from Virginia. The story brought the characters to life in an easy to follow storyline . I learnt a lot of interesting facts about the castles too, will see them in a new light when I visit them again.
I didn't like the modern language swear words but unfortunately a necessity for the story.
Enjoyed the descriptions of all the places mentioned in North Wales and my hometown of Flint. The main character Megan was also interesting as I have a relative of the same name from Virginia. The story brought the characters to life in an easy to follow storyline . I learnt a lot of interesting facts about the castles too, will see them in a new light when I visit them again.
I didn't like the modern language swear words but unfortunately a necessity for the story.
May 19, 2023
gripping adventure
Page turning excitement which was unexpected from a book with little romance the ending kept you wanting just a little bit more so on to the next book in the series
Page turning excitement which was unexpected from a book with little romance the ending kept you wanting just a little bit more so on to the next book in the series
May 21, 2021
I quite enjoyed this book. The story moved at a good pace and the characters were interesting. It will be interesting to see where the storyline goes from here.
March 3, 2024
Decent enough story but little innovation.
Basic time travel tail aimed at teens and young adults. Fast paced and easy reading, I finished the book in two days.
Basic time travel tail aimed at teens and young adults. Fast paced and easy reading, I finished the book in two days.
January 17, 2025
Very enjoyable hope to read the next book
Good read worth it's 4 stars and I hope to be able to read the follow up to this one
Good read worth it's 4 stars and I hope to be able to read the follow up to this one
August 31, 2025
This book was very well written. The characters were strongly developed. It was definitely well researched. I learned a lot about Welsh history. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good adventure.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews