Michelle Styles

3.5 stars, rounding up because this book has (hopefully!) kicked my reading slump.

Just what it says on the tin. Dagmar is a Viking shield maiden, who makes her living by her sword. Her mother and father had an acrimonious split whens he was just ten, and her mother (also a shield maiden) defeated her father's champion, winning the right to take Dagmar away and raise her, which she did. Dagmar follows in her mother's footsteps, even leading her mother's felag after her death. She is fighting with Constantine's army when Aedan mac Connal, King of Kindra, finally finds her. Aedan is intent on paying his dead brother's debt to Kolbeinn the Blood-Axe, Dagmar's father. He will return Dagmar to her father in exchange for freedom for his country and his people.

Dagmar does not wish to return, but when one of her warriors betrays her in battle, Aeden sees his chance to swoop in and take her, which he does. Once she learns what's happened to her felag, Dagmar realizes she has little choice but to go to her father. She hopes he will allow her to lead one of his brigades, but Aeden realizes that Kolbeinn will just marry her off to strengthen his own legacy.

This is part road-romance, part forced proximity marriage. The stakes are high, on both sides: Dagmar believes her best bet to get out from under her father's thumb is to proclaim that only Aeden will suit her as a husband; she's counting on him choosing his kingdom over her and refusing. He surprises her, instead, because he believes that refusing the daughter of Kolbeinn the Blood-Axe will bring down the wrath of the father, who will slaughter his people. Dagmar and Aeden find themselves locking horns because they are both stubborn goats, too stubborn to admit to each other just how much they've fallen in love with each other during their journey back to Kintra.

I chose this book because (1) it is a medieval, the type of historical romance that I cut my teeth on, and (2) it's been on Mount TBR since 2019. I wanted something different from what I had been reading to try to shake this nasty slump, and this book did that for me. It is not just a romance, but also an adventure story/quest, with compelling MCs. Dagmar is more fully fleshed out here (I'm guessing most of Aeden's backstory is told in the first book of this miniseries), but they are both interesting characters who really look within themselves to figure out how to move forward in the best way. Their attraction to each other is organic and authentic. Dagmar is a bit immature at times, but given the way she was brought up, it's understandable. She has deep scars from her childhood, but from her hardships was born a woman who could more than take care of herself. She fights fiercely for what she wants, and is the one who actually defeats the Big Bad in the end (I was cheering her on all the way!).

I enjoyed the emotional journey these characters undertook and loved, loved, loved the ending. I'd love to add Aeden to my pantheon of book boyfriends for that epilogue alone!

It was absolutely refreshing to read a medieval again, and get swept away into a high stakes world where every word and deed counts. I'm going to seek out the other books in this series (though I think I may have another one on Mount TBR already) because I really enjoyed this one. Kudos for the author's notes and references at the end, too!!… (mehr)

Diana Clare has had enough of London and the men that took advantage of her and now she keeps house for her cranky brother whose wife has died. Rake and gammbler Brett Farnham, Earl of Coltonby rescues Diana from a muddy distracted by book moment and decides that she would be a great mistress but she refuses and as time goes on they both realise that there might be more that they could have in a relationship.

It was a light story and everything resolved itself a little quickly but overall a fun read.… (mehr)