Scandinavia
The Girl in a Swing is part psychological thriller, part paranormal horror and part twisted love story. I picked it up because it’s by Richard Adams, the author of my favorite fantasy novel, Watership Down, but anyone looking for characters as likeable as Hazel and Bigwig should look elsewhere. Th ...
I've read more than a few books that started off well, but floundered as I moved along. However, The Warlord's Wife follows a less common path. The first half or two-thirds of this book is painfully terrible, so awful in fact that I found myself wondering if F- might possibly be a grading option. Bu ...
The Truth About Leo is the fourth book in Ms MacAlister’s Noble series, the first of which, Noble Intentions was released over a decade ago. Two more books followed, but Ms MacAlister turned her attention elsewhere after the third, and has only now returned to the Regency era with this new additio ...
In history books I've read, the Medieval mindset in some ways seems quite foreign to the modern American way of thinking. The veil between the physical world and the supernatural feels a bit thinner; it's a world where curses and magic coexist with daily life. The Viking's Sacrifice is not a paranor ...
After I had three people recommend The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to me within the space of a week, I decided to give it a try. I discovered in the bookstore that I was not unique; the cover of Entertainment Weekly was devoted to the Dragon Tattoo phenomenon. Obviously, I had jumped on a very popul ...
Sandra Hill’s time traveling Vikings are back for another trip. Rough and Ready has a lot of farcial episodes and plenty of ultra-hot sex, but it lacks the touch of poignancy that made the early books in this series something special.
Torolf Magnusson, son of Magnus, the Very Virile Viking, ...
C+
When I think of the top ten sexiest hobbies, stamp collecting doesn’t exactly make the list. In fact, it’s probably near the bottom, sharing space with butterfly collecting and obsessive devotion to YuGiOh cards. So I kind of got a kick of this book’s cover, which features a naked male torso, ...
"On April 5, 1768, Johann Friedrich Struensee was appointed Royal Physician to King Christian VII of Denmark, and four years later was executed."
I found myself fascinated by the above quote at the beginning of The Royal Physician's Visit - struggles for power can make for delicious reading. Bo ...
Author Josie Litton may have chosen to be a mystery, but the success of her books isn't. Between the brilliance of the marketing scheme surrounding her and her excellent writing - as defined by her enjoyable characters and exciting plots - little is left to chance. The finale to her "debut" medieval ...
A-
There's a big mystery at Bantam. They're touting Josie Litton as the next big thing, but the name is a pseudonym of a "successful" romance author who so far has been able to remain anonymous. If these two books are any indication, the publisher is right to create some buzz. I can't remember the last ...