Carole's Sunday Review: The brothers path - Martha Kennedy

Author: Martha Kennedy

Title: The Brothers Path

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: ebook

First Published: July 2016

Where I Got It: My shelf (Given to me by the author/publisher for my honest and unbiased opinion)

The world-shattering tumult of the Protestant Reformation enters the Schneebeli household when Rudolf Schneebeli is born two months early and dies a few minutes later without being baptized. Named for the well trodden track linking the Schneebeli farmhouse to the old Lunkhofen castle, The Brothers Path is set in a Swiss village near Zürich, between 1524 and 1531. It chronicles the lives of the six Schneebeli brothers, Heinrich, Hannes, Peter, Conrad, Thomann and Andreas. Each brother navigates his own path through, around or directly into the deadly drama of the Protestant reformation. 

This story follows the tale of six brothers during a turbulent time in Switzerland during the Protestant Reformation. The brothers are all very different, but they do share love for each other and the land. They all have different paths that they need follow. 

I'm really glad there were clear indications of when the POV would change. It would've been rough if there hadn't been, because there are a lot of characters running around. The brothers, their wives, and etc. So thank you, author for making it clear when the POV would change. Even with all the POVs it wasn't too hard to keep track of the whos and whats. Surprising!

Ooooooooooh I wanted to slap Andreas' stupid wife! UGH! I can't say what, but she was a fool and I felt so bad for Andreas...I liked him and he deserved better. However, there is a lesson to learn there! Do not fall for a pretty face. Tsk. 

Peter was an asshat. Sure he redeemed himself later, but still...ugh. 

Heinrich was okay. Kinda boring sometimes. 

Loved Hannes and Thomann!

I think what really makes this book stand out is the setting. There are not a crazy amount of books set in Switzerland, so it was a nice and refreshing. The author did a wonderful job bringing the world to life and I felt like I was really there. 

Now...I have two major issues. 1) SO MANY DRY SPOTS! 2) A lot of God talk. OK - I mean it is a given that there is going to be some talk of God since it set during this time period and religion is a biggy and the main topic of the time. It is also the big plot of the story. Yes, I understand...however sometimes it really dragged down the plot and the conversations with the characters. I'm not really a religious person at all so I can't really say much about this topic. However, as a writer...it did slow things down majorly. 

All-in-all, this was good. It was certainly different location and I liked it. Sure there were slow moments and maybe too much God-talk, but I enjoyed the people and their stories. I shall stamp this with 3 stars overall.