I chose this book, because I love history. I read a lot about the Tudors and Stewarts.
This book was very different from other books.

James IV was may be the best king the Scots ever had. He was so different form his father and grandfather. This story takes James on a spiritual path. We discovered why he was such a good leader.
Also this story is based on myths and speculations in history. The circumstances of his death and the days and years after that, And so the stories about this king started.

It is a great way to reach out to readers, who need the spirituality in their lives.

The story doesn't stick exactly to the history. In the story the king sends his friend on a mission, while in real life, he fought on the battle field. Yes, Margaret Drummond died, but it could have been food poisoning as well, since in those times hygiene was not at its best.
Margaret was perhaps his favourite mistress, but there is nothing about their child. And even in the days of Margaret other illegitimate children were born.
These are just a few things to mention.

So, yes I find it difficult to rate this book. I mean, I like retelling fairy tales, but this is history.
I want to give two stars for the history and four stars for the idea of this book, which was very good.

The Kings Way Home is an extraordinary book that I would highly recommend to people who love historical fiction and even the new age genre (others, too)!

The beginning of the book struck me a little weird with the first merging of East and West, but immediately after the initial meeting - the book took off.

Captain van Horn took on a formidable task after coming from the bottom the barrel and saved by Zheng He to find someone in the West worthy of receiving teachings that originated in the West (a Syrian monk) but were brought East. After meeting with many people, van Horn finds his worthy person with the boy who later become James IV of Scotland. The story then goes through James's learning of the teachings as well as going through the history as we know it.

At the end, we find that some things James thought were not to be; some things James thought came to be; and he was able to be free to be who he really was. And in being who he really was, well, he was surprised.

The setting of this book is marvelous. In the late middle ages a young man becomes a king in Scotland. This in combination with some eastern ways of wisdom which are somehow related to Christianity can create a bestseller. However the development of the plot is too predictable and therefore you don’t get to know the characters better during the novel. I was happy when the book finished. Many thanks to NetGalley for the possibility to read and review an unknown novel.

This book was not for me. I’m not a fan of golf, so found those part boring. I couldn’t figure out if the spiritual parts were spiritual or mystical. It came across as a “magic system”.
I enjoyed the true historical aspects. I learned something from this book because of those.