An affecting romance told with intelligence and nuance.
In this historical novel, set in the eighth century, a Viking mercenary kidnaps a wealthy woman for profit before they unexpectedly develop romantic feelings for each other.
Lord Cecil Allard hires Norseman Einar Herjolfsson to charge into his upcoming wedding ceremony and kill his fiancee. He pays the Viking half of his fee in advance and says that he can get the rest by stealing silver and gold from the cathedral. But when Einar and his men arrive at the ceremony, there are no riches to be found, so the Viking decides to take the bride, Seraphina, and two of her friends, Iohannes and Hadley, as captives for ransom or later sale. Seraphina turns out to be the daughter of a wealthy landowner with powerful political connections, which presents even greater opportunities for her captors. As a result, Einar must protect her from his cohorts, including his rapacious stepbrother, Gunnar, who bitterly feels that Einar’s introduction into the family by marriage has unjustly deprived him of his own “firstborn-son status.” To complicate matters further, Einar finds himself “intrigued” by Seraphina’s combination of beauty and courage from the first moment that he sees her, and his feelings only deepen over time. Eventually, Seraphina begins to return Einar’s affections, and she turns against her fiance completely when she learns of his treacherous plan. Gabel (Making Friends, 2016, etc.) stirringly depicts the fragility of moral principles during a time of violent lawlessness. The attraction between Einar and Seraphina is jarringly implausible on its face, but this only makes it more impressive when the author makes it not only seem credible, but also touching. Also, she powerfully contrasts Einar’s rough-hewn honor and Cecil’s “well-groomed sophistication,” as when the former remarks to Seraphina, “Has he proven himself in battle? Does he treat others fairly? Does he honor his word? I think not.” Overall, Gabel has constructed a work of historical fiction that’s both faithful to the period and dramatically captivating.
An affecting romance told with intelligence and nuance.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 274
Publisher: Tri Swan Publishing, LLC
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.
Are we not men? We are—well, ask Bigfoot, as Brooks does in this delightful yarn, following on his bestseller World War Z(2006).
A zombie apocalypse is one thing. A volcanic eruption is quite another, for, as the journalist who does a framing voice-over narration for Brooks’ latest puts it, when Mount Rainier popped its cork, “it was the psychological aspect, the hyperbole-fueled hysteria that had ended up killing the most people.” Maybe, but the sasquatches whom the volcano displaced contributed to the statistics, too, if only out of self-defense. Brooks places the epicenter of the Bigfoot war in a high-tech hideaway populated by the kind of people you might find in a Jurassic Park franchise: the schmo who doesn’t know how to do much of anything but tries anyway, the well-intentioned bleeding heart, the know-it-all intellectual who turns out to know the wrong things, the immigrant with a tough backstory and an instinct for survival. Indeed, the novel does double duty as a survival manual, packed full of good advice—for instance, try not to get wounded, for “injury turns you from a giver to a taker. Taking up our resources, our time to care for you.” Brooks presents a case for making room for Bigfoot in the world while peppering his narrative with timely social criticism about bad behavior on the human side of the conflict: The explosion of Rainier might have been better forecast had the president not slashed the budget of the U.S. Geological Survey, leading to “immediate suspension of the National Volcano Early Warning System,” and there’s always someone around looking to monetize the natural disaster and the sasquatch-y onslaught that follows. Brooks is a pro at building suspense even if it plays out in some rather spectacularly yucky episodes, one involving a short spear that takes its name from “the sucking sound of pulling it out of the dead man’s heart and lungs.” Grossness aside, it puts you right there on the scene.
A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.Pub Date: June 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-2678-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
The emotions run high, the conversations run deep, and the relationships ebb and flow with grace.
When tragedy strikes, a mother and daughter forge a new life.
Morgan felt obligated to marry her high school sweetheart, Chris, when she got pregnant with their daughter, Clara. But she secretly got along much better with Chris’ thoughtful best friend, Jonah, who was dating her sister, Jenny. Now her life as a stay-at-home parent has left her feeling empty but not ungrateful for what she has. Jonah and Jenny eventually broke up, but years later they had a one-night stand and Jenny got pregnant with their son, Elijah. Now Jonah is back in town, engaged to Jenny, and working at the local high school as Clara’s teacher. Clara dreams of being an actress and has a crush on Miller, who plans to go to film school, but her father doesn't approve. It doesn’t help that Miller already has a jealous girlfriend who stalks him via text from college. But Clara and Morgan’s home life changes radically when Chris and Jenny are killed in an accident, revealing long-buried secrets and forcing Morgan to reevaluate the life she chose when early motherhood forced her hand. Feeling betrayed by the adults in her life, Clara marches forward, acting both responsible and rebellious as she navigates her teenage years without her father and her aunt, while Jonah and Morgan's relationship evolves in the wake of the accident. Front-loaded with drama, the story leaves plenty of room for the mother and daughter to unpack their feelings and decide what’s next.
The emotions run high, the conversations run deep, and the relationships ebb and flow with grace.Pub Date: Dec. 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5420-1642-1
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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