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The Last Odyssey (Sigma Force #15)
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For eons, the city of Troy—whose legendary fall was detailed in Homer’s Iliad—was believed to...
The Falconer's Apprentice
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THE FALCONER'S APPRENTICE is a story of adventure and intrigue set in the intense social and...
Historical Fiction Holy Roman Empire Frederick II Castel del Monte Falconry Medieval Medicine
Merissa (12817 KP) rated The Beauty and His Beast in Books
Mar 3, 2025
THE BEAUTY AND HIS BEAST is a medieval-type story with the Beast being Everild, the current king's cousin, and someone who has seen enough war to last three lifetimes. His Beauty is Camdyn who was training to be a cleric when he was told he was to be married instead.
The connection is there immediately between our two MCs but Everild isn't just the beast. He wants Camdyn to be happy and is happy to waylay his fears in any way he can. They both grow and develop together, learning how to please the other in small but significant ways - a garden hat, for example - and their bond grows. Their relationship is beautiful. Simple as that.
Of course, not everything goes according to plan and there is a 'small' wrinkle in their plans. I won't say more because, you know, spoilers, but suffice it to say I loved every word.
This book had me with leaky eyes and laughing out loud. It was also the first by this author I have read, but I guarantee it won't be the last. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Mar 3, 2025
The connection is there immediately between our two MCs but Everild isn't just the beast. He wants Camdyn to be happy and is happy to waylay his fears in any way he can. They both grow and develop together, learning how to please the other in small but significant ways - a garden hat, for example - and their bond grows. Their relationship is beautiful. Simple as that.
Of course, not everything goes according to plan and there is a 'small' wrinkle in their plans. I won't say more because, you know, spoilers, but suffice it to say I loved every word.
This book had me with leaky eyes and laughing out loud. It was also the first by this author I have read, but I guarantee it won't be the last. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Mar 3, 2025
Toy Defense Fantasy
Games, Entertainment and Stickers
App
Toy Defense Fantasy 2.0 will please fans of tower defence genre with excellent graphics,...
graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated The Black Lyon (Montgomery/Taggert, #1) in Books
Feb 15, 2019
The Black Lyon was a nice, fast-paced read with likable main characters. The story moved briskly and had a lot of events happening, but it ended up working. Lyonene was a strong character who had her faults, as was Ranulf, and they were wonderful together. I loved the scenes when they first met and the last half of the book the best. So some of the writing was flowery and maybe a bit dated to when it was written, but I really enjoyed this story and look forward to more in the Montgomery series.
Note: This does contain what today would be considered rape, twice. They're early on, they happen really fast, aren't described in much detail, and the hero doesn't even realize he does it the second time and he does show remorse. Maybe not what 'modern women' would like to see, but I didn't have much of a problem with it, and rape isn't something I take lightly. The heroine doesn't see herself as a victim, but as a wife just doing her duty. Sounds horrible to my 21st Century sensibilities, but somehow it made me not dwell on the rape and move on to the rest of the book. Other authors have done worse in books written in this time period (70s/80s), and having Lyonene react that way added a touch of realism to the Medieval time period.
Note: This does contain what today would be considered rape, twice. They're early on, they happen really fast, aren't described in much detail, and the hero doesn't even realize he does it the second time and he does show remorse. Maybe not what 'modern women' would like to see, but I didn't have much of a problem with it, and rape isn't something I take lightly. The heroine doesn't see herself as a victim, but as a wife just doing her duty. Sounds horrible to my 21st Century sensibilities, but somehow it made me not dwell on the rape and move on to the rest of the book. Other authors have done worse in books written in this time period (70s/80s), and having Lyonene react that way added a touch of realism to the Medieval time period.
David McK (3557 KP) rated Warlord (The Outlaw Chronicles, #4) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
The fourth book in Angus Donald's <i>Outlaw</i> series, this one is primarily set in and around the last years of Richard I (The Lionheart) reign, leading up to his death on 06/04/1199 after being struck in the shoulder by a crossbow bolt fired from a castle he was besieging in Southern France.
Like the previous three books in the series, this is presented as an elderly Alan Dale recounting the adventures of his youth, with each section (and the epilogue) of the novel as him committing the tale to paper, and his thoughts in so doing.
While the cover of the novel also has "A Robin Hood tale" above the title, I actually found that character to be sidelined more in favour of Alan in this novel than in the previous, where he very much was central to the story but seemingly not so much here. That's not to mean that he's not present, and that he doesn't have a role to play: just that this novel is more about Richard than it is Robin.
The novel also includes elements form that other great Medieval tale/obsession of the Holy Grail, which is worked into the reason why Richard is besieging the castle (at Robin's urgings) at which he receives his fatal wound. That plot strand, however, is also left wide-open for the sequel, already announced as titled <i>Grail Knight</i>, and which I'm already looking forward to!
Like the previous three books in the series, this is presented as an elderly Alan Dale recounting the adventures of his youth, with each section (and the epilogue) of the novel as him committing the tale to paper, and his thoughts in so doing.
While the cover of the novel also has "A Robin Hood tale" above the title, I actually found that character to be sidelined more in favour of Alan in this novel than in the previous, where he very much was central to the story but seemingly not so much here. That's not to mean that he's not present, and that he doesn't have a role to play: just that this novel is more about Richard than it is Robin.
The novel also includes elements form that other great Medieval tale/obsession of the Holy Grail, which is worked into the reason why Richard is besieging the castle (at Robin's urgings) at which he receives his fatal wound. That plot strand, however, is also left wide-open for the sequel, already announced as titled <i>Grail Knight</i>, and which I'm already looking forward to!
David McK (3557 KP) rated Northlanders Book 1: The Anglo-Saxon Saga (Northlanders, Book 1) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
Boy, was that violent - if this was a movie, it would probably be given an '18' (or 'R'estricted, for those Americans out there) rating, not just for the blood, guts and gore, but also for the - occassional - nudity, and the not-so-occassional language.
Actually a collection of 5 different short stories, I can't say how true to history these are as I'm not a Norse scholar. I also found the vernacular a bit off-putting (were swear-words the same in the early Medieval Period as they are now? Really??), with the art-style (and plot) in some of the stories were better than in others. Talking of stories, this contains the following:
[b]Lindisfarne[/b]: depicting an early Viking raid on the monastery of the same name
[b]The Shield Maidens[/b]: in which three Viking women hold off hordes of the Saxons
[b]Sven the Returned[/b]: in which Sven returns to his homeland to claim his inheritance, having previously run away and joined the Byzantine Varangian Guard
[b]Thor's daughter[/b]: in which a clan leader is murdered and his land sold to a rival leader but his 14 year old daughter takes up his mantle and leads an army against the encroaching Vikings
[b]The Cross & The Hammer[/b]: Set in Ireland, this is more-or-less a murder mystery in which the central character is trying to track down the person(s) responsible for a spate of killings.
Actually a collection of 5 different short stories, I can't say how true to history these are as I'm not a Norse scholar. I also found the vernacular a bit off-putting (were swear-words the same in the early Medieval Period as they are now? Really??), with the art-style (and plot) in some of the stories were better than in others. Talking of stories, this contains the following:
[b]Lindisfarne[/b]: depicting an early Viking raid on the monastery of the same name
[b]The Shield Maidens[/b]: in which three Viking women hold off hordes of the Saxons
[b]Sven the Returned[/b]: in which Sven returns to his homeland to claim his inheritance, having previously run away and joined the Byzantine Varangian Guard
[b]Thor's daughter[/b]: in which a clan leader is murdered and his land sold to a rival leader but his 14 year old daughter takes up his mantle and leads an army against the encroaching Vikings
[b]The Cross & The Hammer[/b]: Set in Ireland, this is more-or-less a murder mystery in which the central character is trying to track down the person(s) responsible for a spate of killings.
SV
Simon V of Montfort and Baronial Government, 1195-1218
Book
Dissenter from the Fourth Crusade, disseised earl of Leicester, leader of the Albigensian Crusade,...
Edward IV: Glorious Son of York
Book
Few English monarchs had to fight harder for the right to rule than King Edward IV - Shakespeare's...