New(er) Release Review ~ Before and Again ~ Barbara Delinsky #2018NewRelease

Before and Again by Barbara Delinsky
Release Date: June 26, 2018
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Fiction
Source: I received an eARC from St. Martin's via Netgalley. This did not affect my rating and my review is provided voluntarily.
Rating: 4 Bookworms
Challenges: #2018NewRelease
Goodreads

Synopsis
Mackenzie Cooper took her eyes off the road for just a moment but the resulting collision was enough to rob her not only of her beloved daughter but ultimately of her marriage, family, and friends - and thanks to the nonstop media coverage, even her privacy. Now she lives in Vermont under the name Maggie Reid, in a small house with her cats and dog. She's thankful for the new friends she's made - though she can't risk telling them too much. ANd she takes satisfaction in working as a makeup artist at the luxurious local spa, helping clients hide the visible outward signs of their weariness, illnesses, and injuries. Covering up scars is a skill she has mastered.

Her only goal is to stay under the radar and make it through her remaining probation. But she isn't the only one in this peaceful town with secrets. When a friend's teenage son is thrust into the national spotlight, accused of hacking a powerful man's Twitter account, Maggie is torn between pulling away and protecting herself - or stepping into the glare to be at their side. As the stunning truth behind their case is slowly revealed, Maggie's own carefully constructed story begins to unravel as well. She knows all too well that what we need from each other in this difficult world is comfort. But to provide it, sometimes we need to travel far outside our comfort zones.

I knew here name but I'd never read BDelinsky before. The synopsis of Before and Again intrigued me though so I requested it. I'm so happy I did. Delinsky delivered a character-driven, captivating story dealing with love, loss, guilt, forgiveness, and what it means to be a true friend.

Highlights

• Characters
  Maggie (Mackenzie) is the central character and she was a woman I wanted to wrap up in a big, warm hug. She's endured so much and has built a new life in a small, quiet town, and made new friends. She's on a journey of self-discovery of sorts and she's forced to learn a lot about herself when her past shows up in her present, along with helping a new friend face a challenge. The supporting cast was also well-developed where it needed to be - especially Maggie's friends and Edward. I admired how Delinsky created a close-knit community where, for the most part, people rallied around their own even if "their own" weren't life-long residents. That's something I really enjoy about small town settings.
• Plot
  Delinsky deftly wove together plot threads from past and present as Maggie put together the puzzle of her life. I appreciated how Maggie's past was dealt with and how the present, particularly helping Grace deal with her problem - something Maggie wished she'd had friends do for her - tied those threads together with the present enabling Maggie to see a real future for the first time in a long while.
• Message (for lack of a better term)
  Before and Again deals with some weighty topics but does so adroitly. I liked what Maggie's story seemed to say aobut how our pasts shape us, are a part of us but don't define us. I liked the element of forgiveness - of others but especially ourselves. I also liked the ways in which Maggie learned about love - familial and romantic - and friendship - what it means to be a good daughter, wife, and friend.

I'm delighted with my introduction to Delinsky and will definitely be reading more from her.

Blogger Chick Chat w/Lexxie @ unConventional Bookviews ~ Me Before You ~ Jojo Moyes

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
Me Before You #1
Release Date: December 31, 2012
Genre: Fiction
Source: Paperback ~ B-day gift from Hubs
Rating: 5 Bookworms
Challenges: #HW2016, #ShelfLove
Goodreads

Synopsis
Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time.

***Our Chat***
Spoiler Alert - it is very hard to have a chat about a book and not reveal things. I think we did our best, but if you haven't yet read Me Before You, be forewarned. :D

Lexxie: So, what did you think of Lou and Will? and the whole assisted suicide thing?

Brandee: I adored Lou and Will. They broke my heart, both of them. And it was very interesting to read a book on assisted suicide since Sky did a debate earlier this year (school year) on 'right to die'. I am a proponent of assisted suicide. However, as a parent, my heart went out to Will's parents.
What about you?

They didn't completely break my heart, but I did cry in the very end, when Lou ended up going to Switzerland to show him her support anyway.

And I'm like you, I'm all for it, but it would definitely be difficult to help a child (even an adult one) go through with it. We wouldn't really have to travel, though, it could be done at home.

And I thought the whole 'why aren't I enough' part from Lou was more than a little selfish! She knew Will for six months, and while I do believe they both had very strong feelings for each other, I was a bit mad at her when she didn't even want to speak to him after he told her that he was still going through with it. It truly must be awful to depend on people for every little thing, plus Will was in pain as well.

So did you like Will and Lou? As I was sitting here thinking of that question, I was thinking that I could see where Lou would irritate you. wink emoticonBut I cried so often while reading their story. As you know though, I'm hyper-emotional right now.

Assisted suicide is being debated in Colorado right now. It passed our Senate but hasn't passed completely yet. But yet it'd be very hard to help a child go through with it.

I loved both Lou and Will, and I thought that Lou really grew a lot thanks to working with Will, and asking herself some real questions about her life and what she wanted to do with it. Plus, I think it really helped both her and Will when she told him about what had happened in the maze.

I was happy that Lou went to Switzerland in the end. I did think she was selfish in her reaction, but I also felt her reaction was understandable to a certain extent - realistic, even. I hated that it hurt Will though.

In a way, her reaction was understandable, however, she only did see things from her own perspective, not Will's. And I was so glad when he told her that the last six months - those with her - were the best he had after his accident.

I liked watching Lou blossom. And I was so happy she shared what happened to her with Will. He was able to pull her out of that shell she'd put herself into. It was beautiful to see them both pull each other out. And it was interesting that they were both trying to convince the other to live.

I liked that Will told Lou that as well.

Yeah, because Lou had effectively been not living for longer than Will, she had just been existing.

Do you think Lou telling Will about the maze helped him by letting him see why she was living the was she was?

Yes, because that was a way for her to protect herself - she was with running-man because she didn't really love him, but it was expected of her to be with someone at her age; she had worked at the café because it was safe, and she never wanted to leave the little village because it was safe for her there, with mostly people she already knew and tourists she could steer clear of.

Oh, it absolutely was her way of protecting herself. Ugh! Running man...I hated that he got to the be the one to end things because really, Lou should have dumped him. But I understood.

What did you think of Lou's relationship with her sister?

And how did you feel about her mother's reaction to Lou at the end?

I think she was just so comfortable with that relationship she didn't really care. And I didn't even really mind that he was the one to end it - it was really over in her heart long before that.

That's true. And I'm happy things ended before she was married and 'stuck' there.

The sister was smart in many ways, but she was definitely taking advantage of the situation whenever she could.

It bothered me that Lou's parents were always telling her that Treena was the smart one.

And Lou's mother gasp emoticon- I was not at all understanding where she came from!! What's the biggest sin? 'Making' someone stay alive with medicine, or help them die, or even just let them die so they can be in peace?

Yeah, that's not nice at all, and it was like they didn't even try to understand her, but they were happy to take her money, of course.

Exactly!

And so was Treena, but I guess that's how it works in some families, where every person puts themselves first.

Yes, well the religious side is the reason there's even a debate over assisted suicide. I don't understand it myself. I've said for many, many years that here in the US we treat our pets more humanely than our family.

But Lou's mom...that made me so mad!

True! And if they want it to be the way it was before, Will would have probably died when he had his accident, or the very first time he got pneumonia.

Yeah, Lou's mom was really over the top! I wanted to smack her! Heap some more grief on your daughter, won't you?

I thought Treena was taking advantage. It bothered me, honestly.

Oh, and Will's mom... what did you think of her?

I'm the smartest, and I have a child... you have to work, Lou, so I can follow my dream, my brain is going to waste *rolls eyes*

*ha* Reading your last comment about Lou's mom made me realize her whole family was a bit selfish.

Her dad was the most supportive - and he really supported everybody! Working long hours, and not being too proud to take the job at the castle after he lost his job at the factory.

I like Will's mom...what we got to know of her. She made some comment about how her relationship with Will had always been difficult and I wondered why. I guess it was just Will's personality. We did have that explained a bit near the end...how he'd been as a child. I didn't understand her relationship with his dad...why all that had happened and why she was dealing with it the way she was. But then, I guess that's a whole other story.

Yes, I did like Lou's dad even if he talked down to her. He was supportive and he still stood by Lou in the end.

I think some children kind of just don't get along with their parents, Will seemed to be one who enjoyed doing the opposite of what was expected of him in some situations. And if he didn't really get along with his mom, it must have been even harder to have to live at home again and depend on his parents after his accident!!

It seemed to me that Will's mom and dad had possibly wanted to divorce before Will's accident, but then, they stayed together afterwards to kind of care for him together? Not sure... That relationship sounded like a very clichéd upper class marriage to me.

*sigh* Will really did break my heart. To have to live like he was - and it not even have been caused by something he did. You know? He was hurt while jumping off a cliff...and I couldn't imagine living life so fully, as he did, and then to end up living a life he hated.

Yes, I did feel their marriage was cliched.

And I felt like Will's dad wasn't as committed to his wife's cause with Will either.
And I think that is a way that this book is very important! To show how difficult it is for someone who leads an active life, at the very beginning, he didn't even want a vacation where he could relax, he wanted to jump from a parachute or something
Then, nothing he could do on his own anymore. That was definitely tough to read about, but it didn't completely gut me.

I agree. It was important to show how unhappy Will's circumstances would make him since there was nothing of his old life he could still enjoy. And he was certainly a thrill seeker.
Yeah, and while he seemed to be excited about the trip to the US, where he could have done some of the things he had done in the past, it wouldn't have been the same. And it was definitely very realistic that he got sick and couldn't go.
Okay, okay - so I'm just a sap. Is that what you're telling me?!? ;P

My final thoughts:
Me Before You is a poignant story in which Lou and Will show each other, teach each other, about living life...convince each other that living is worthwhile but also recognizing that ultimately the choice is, and should be, yours.
I cried over so many things in Lou and Will's stories - the reality that sometimes life is brutally unfair. I could see this story from so many angles - as a mom, as a sister, as a daughter, as a wife. Lou and Will's story ended as I felt it should and yet I'm still thinking, feeling - in profound ways. It certainly left its mark.

Sky & I Review ~ Ethan Frome ~ Edith Wharton

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
Release Date: 1911
Genre: Classic American Fiction
Source: Kindle freebie
Rating: 4.5 Bookworms
Challenges: COYER B2B
Goodreads

Synopsis
Ethan Frome works his unproductive farm and struggles to maintain a bearable existence with his difficult, suspicious, and hypochondriac wife, Zeena. But when Zeena's vivacious cousin enters their household as a "hired girl", Ethan finds himself obsessed with her and with the possibilities for happiness she comes to represent.

In of of American fiction's finest and most intense narratives, Edith Wharton moves this ill-starred trio toward their tragic destinies. Different in both tone and theme from Wharton's other works, Ethan Frome has become perhaps her most enduring and most widely read novel.

Sky was reading this for school and since it was something I'd always meant to read, I grabbed a free copy and read it along with her. And since we both read it, and loved it, we thought we'd share our reviews with y'all.

***My Review***

I immensely enjoyed Ethan Frome. Wharton eloquently describes the New England landscape - especially as affected by winter. She also describes life in New England - especially as affected by winter - with aplomb. New England is rather harsh and unforgiving during the winter, where people were forced into a solitary existence as the cold kept them shut up. Life was also affected by technological advancement - like the railroad - which hurt small communities economically and socially.

As for Ethan Frome himself, well, he broke my heart. He grew up in Starkfield, MA, with a family in farming and lumber. Sickness and life in general took its toll on the Frome family. Ethan was called back from college when his mom took ill and that one even changed the course of his life. Ethan had dreams that were smothered. And when he finally found a passionate love, it was too late...his life was already cemented.

Some might say that Ethan deserved what happened to him. I say he was a victim of circumstance - of life. As Mrs. Hale said,

"You've had an awful mean time, Ethan Frome."

He did have an hard time of it. And I'm sure he suffered til the day he died.

***Sky's Review***

Those of you who said The Book Thief would be too depressing for you… that book didn’t even touch the level of this one. Ethan Frome started from rock bottom and somehow managed to get lower. It’s the sobering kind of depressing that makes you want to go stare at a wall for a few hours. It’s very harsh and deeply sad.  

Ethan Frome is set in a little town called Starkfield, which is rather appropriately named. The story is set in the middle of bleak New England, around the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, when there was no electricity outside of big cities and rural farmers struggled to eke out an existence while their urban counterparts worked in debilitating conditions in factories.

The main character of the story, Ethan Frome, is a relatively young man who has been saddled with tragedy throughout his entire life. Born into a poor family, he was forced to return to the destitute farm and mill in Starkfield by the death of his father. The slow decline of his mother’s health resulted in his requiring the assistance of a girl named Zenobia, whom he felt obligated to marry following the death of his mother. Zenobia, it turns out, was a proficient healer due to her own condition, and Ethan quickly discovered her to be in perpetually declining health, as well. Thus, Zenobia’s cousin, Mattie Silver, was brought into the house to help perform the basic tasks that Ethan’s wife was unable to. Here begins the real tragedy.

Ethan falls in love.

In the dreary and bare world that Wharton has created, I can’t help but believe that she has intentionally forced a harsh reality upon her readers. In Starkfield, as in much of the world, there are no happy endings. Each winter slowly whittles away what could have been the happiness and the prosperity of the town’s inhabitants, leaving behind the empty shells of people who have been absolutely gutted of emotion throughout their lives. Not even love, that bright light that refuses to fail in most stories, can escape the relentless winter. These peoples’ youth, innocence, joys, hopes, dreams, fantasies -- all are stolen by the years of Starkfield winter. In this book, there is no freedom. The characters are trapped in their situations, and even if they tried, they could not escape. In this book, there is no hope. The centripetal emotion of this story is despair.

This book is beautiful. Wharton’s depictions of New England scenery, the glorious Mattie through Ethan’s eyes, the quaint and charming neighbors of the Fromes -- these are all intensely gorgeous bits of the book that provide tantalizing glimpses of love and wonder throughout the narrative. However, although Wharton seems to support the idea that there is beauty even within the darkest depths of despair, in the end, her characters seem to have been destined for tragedy.

If you’re looking for a short, powerful, and sobering read, I would recommend this. Ethan Frome is a fantastic book because it makes you think, and it brings you out of your comfort zone. You are plunged into icy despair, but even though you’re drowning, you can see the light of the moon from below the water.  

Blog Tour Review & Giveaway ~ The Witch of Painted Sorrows ~ M.J. Rose

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for M.J. Rose's The Witch of Painted Sorrows. My stop includes all the details on this first installment in the Daughters of La Lune series, my review, and a giveaway. Enjoy!

THE WITCH OF PAINTED SORROWS (Daughters of La Lune #1)

by M.J. Rose

Gothic Historical Fantasy

Published by Atria Books on March 17th, 2015

Possession. Power. Passion.New York Times bestselling novelist M. J. Rose creates her most provocative and magical spellbinder yet in this gothic novel set against the lavish spectacle of 1890s Belle Époque Paris.

Sandrine Salome flees New York for her grandmother’s Paris mansion to escape her dangerous husband, but what she finds there is even more menacing. The house, famous for its lavish art collection and elegant salons, is mysteriously closed up. Although her grandmother insists it’s dangerous for Sandrine to visit, she defies her and meets Julien Duplessi, a mesmerizing young architect. Together they explore the hidden night world of Paris, the forbidden occult underground and Sandrine’s deepest desires.

Among the bohemians and the demi-monde, Sandrine discovers her erotic nature as a lover and painter. Then darker influences threaten—her cold and cruel husband is tracking her down and something sinister is taking hold, changing Sandrine, altering her. She’s become possessed by La Lune: A witch, a legend, and a sixteenth-century courtesan, who opens up her life to a darkness that may become a gift or a curse.

This is Sandrine’s “wild night of the soul”, her odyssey in the magnificent city of Paris, of art, love, and witchery.

Praise for The Witch of Painted Sorrows

“This bell époque thriller is a haunting tale of obsessive passions.” —People Magazine

“Provocative, erotic, and spellbindingly haunting…will have the reader totally mesmerized cover-to-cover….a ‘must-have’ novel.” —Suspense Magazine

“A haunting tale of erotic love…. M.J. Rose seamlessly weaves historical events throughout this story filled with distinctive characters that will keep the reader captivated to the end.” —Examiner.com

“Rose has a talent for compelling writing, and this time she has outdone herself. Fear, desire, lust and raw emotion ooze off the page.” —Associated Press

“Haunting tale of possession.” —Publishers Weekly

“Rose’s new series offers her specialty, a unique and captivating supernatural angle, set in an intriguing belle epoque Paris — lush descriptions, intricate plot and mesmerizing storytelling. Sensual, evocative, mysterious and haunting.” —Kirkus

“Mixes reality and illusion, darkness and light, mystery and romance into an adult fairy tale. [Rose] stirs her readers curiosities and imaginations, opening their eyes to the cultural, intellectual and artistic excitement that marked the Belle Epoque period. Unforgettable, full-bodied characters and richly detailed narrative result in an entrancing read that will be long savored.” —Library Journal (Starred Review)

“An elegant tale of rare depth and beauty, as brilliantly crafted as it is wondrously told….melds the normal and paranormal in the kind of seamless fashion reserved for such classic ghost stories as Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw.” —Providence Journal

Amazon – Barnes & Noble – iBooks – indieBound

I admit I'm not well-versed on French history, art or alchemy but my ignorance of these subjects didn't hamper my enjoyment of The Witch of Painted Sorrows. I think that speaks to the talent of the author. Ms. Rose weaves a story around the mystery of an ancient family curse, art, a Paris very curious about the occult, and robust characters to create a lush, atmospheric, provocative, and riveting story.

Sandrine is a young woman recently arrived in Paris seeking the safety of her grandmother and her family home following the death of her father. Her grandmother isn't thrilled with her arrival since she believes Sandrine is in danger. And Sandrine's arrival sets into motion events that have her, and those surrounding her, questions the existence of angels and demons, their beliefs, and even Sandrine's sanity.

Ms. Rose truly built an incredible setting for this series. Not only was I fully engaged with Sandrine but I was also fully entrenched in Paris at the turn of the twentieth century. I was swept away in the mystery of La Lune and in all the events that symbolized her existence. I especially delighted in the detail with which Rose described Sandrine's painting. It was a vivid experience. As was the entire story.

**I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

New York Times Bestseller, M.J. Rosegrew up in New York City mostly in the labyrinthine galleries of the Metropolitan Museum, the dark tunnels and lush gardens of Central Park and reading her mother’s favorite books before she was allowed. She believes mystery and magic are all around us but we are too often too busy to notice… books that exaggerate mystery and magic draw attention to it and remind us to look for it and revel in it. Rose’s work has appeared in many magazines including Oprah Magazine and she has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, WSJ, Time, USA Today and on the Today Show, and NPR radio. Rose graduated from Syracuse University, spent the ’80s in advertising, has a commercial in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and since 2005 has run the first marketing company for authors – Authorbuzz.com. The television series PAST LIFE, was based on Rose’s novels in the Reincarnationist series. She is one of the founding board members of International Thriller Writers and currently serves, with Lee Child, as the organization’s co-president. Rose lives in CT with her husband the musician and composer, Doug Scofield, and their very spoiled and often photographed dog, Winka.

Website – Twitter – Facebook – Pinterest – Goodreads

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Character Interview ~ Éire's Devil King ~ Sandi Layne

As y'all know, I recently reviewed the final book in Sandi Layne's Éire Trilogy, Éire's Devil King. After following these characters in their journeys, I became especially fond of Agnarr, the viking who chose Ireland to be his home. I had the honor to being able to ask him a few things about his life. Here's what he shared with me.

***

Heill, Brandee. It's good to see you again. Thank you for having me.

*blushes* It's good to see you, Agnarr. Thank you for agreeing to be here.

You originally came to Éire in search of treasure. How does having made your home there, and the 'treasures' you've found, compare?

The life I've made for myself and my family in Tuaim Rithe is fulfilling. Here, I feel that I need not seek further to find a home. With Aislinn and our children, I have a home, and there is no restlessness to find more treasure.

How do you feel about Tuirgeis and other Northmen, as well as the Danes, invading your adopted home?

*frowns* In truth, I was angry to find that Tuirgeis wanted to, to try to make himself a king, here. If he and his men—men I knew, for the most part, men from my homeland—had chosen to settle in Éire, this would have been welcome for itself. *shrugs* I miss the men of my land at times. I miss the language of my youth. The customs. The midvinterbløt. 

It is those I do not know who worry me. The Danes, the others. I know how they think and what they want and I do not want them anywhere near my family. I have fought to defend my home, before, and I will do so as often as needed until I can fight no longer. 

I do not want the Danes on this island.

Do you have any regrets over the things you've given up for Éire?

Given up? *grins and gestures expansively* What have I given up? Long, frozen winters? Raiding every summer? Long sea voyages? 

Do I miss that? No. I think *pause* I think if I miss anything, it is my youth, sometimes. I am not a young man any longer. The times of a young man are filled with vigor. Filled with adventure. I do not have those things, now. But I do not think, after living here with my family, that they are only to be found in Nordweg. They are here, too. 

My sons will have a good life, here. And there is nothing I will regret about that. Not ever.

Takk, Agnarr. I appreciate your candor in answering my questions.

***

About the Book

Release Date: April 2 , 2015

Published by The Writers Coffee Shop

Genre: FICTION / Historical Fiction Time Periods/ Medieval / Viking

ISBN e-book: 978-1-61213-376-8

Available from: Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble,

TWCS PH

Synopsis

A man of ability and ambition, Tuirgeis Erlingrson has nurtured the desire to carve a place of leadership for himself on the Green Island, Éire, that he has raided multiple times. After the death of his wife in Nordweg, he takes his surviving son to Éire. Having connections with his adopted brother, Cowan, and Agnarr, his former countryman, Tuirgeis feels he has the support he needs to make his claims strong.

Agnarr is torn. His promise to Aislinn to remain with her on Éire is still in force, and he resists Tuirgeis’s requests to join the conquering forces from Nordweg. He desires above all things to maintain a safe home for his wife and children in Dal Fíatach. Charis encourages Cowan to do the same, though this makes for tense moments between them.

After initial disastrous attempts to achieve his ambition, Tuirgeis comes to learn that there is more to claiming a kingship than merely overpowering the locals. Tuirgeis finds himself at odds with the very people he had hoped would reinforce him. In addition, he wants to establish his father-line. He has one son; he wants another to be born of Éire. Will the woman of his choice accept and support him?

At length, Agnarr and Aislinn—though she is heavy with child—sail with Cowan and Charis to join Tuirgeis as he battles over one final summer to attain the High Kingship of the island.

Tuirgeis knows he doesn’t have long to make his claims; the Danes are coming in greater numbers than before. As he wins men of Éire to his cause, he has to maintain the relationships he has already fostered with Agnarr and Cowan. Charis finds that her Otherworldly gifts are needed by a man she considers her enemy.

Cover Reveal ~ Eire's Devil King ~ Sandi Layne

PRESENTS. . .

A Cover

Reveal for

Éire's Devil King

Book 3 of Éire's Viking

Trilogy

by Sandi Layne

Release Date:

April 2 , 2015

Published by The Writers Coffee Shop

~~SUMMARY~~

A man of ability and ambition, Tuirgeis Erlingrson has nurtured the  desire to carve a place of leadership for himself on the Green Island, Éire, that he has raided  multiple times. After the death of his wife in Nordweg, he takes his surviving son to Éire. Having connections with his adopted brother, Cowan, and Agnarr, his former countryman, Tuirgeis feels he has the support he needs to make his claims strong.

Agnarr is torn. His promise to Aislinn to remain with her on Éire is still in force, and he resists Tuirgeis’s requests to join the conquering forces from Nordweg. He desires above all things to maintain a safe home for his wife and children in Dal Fíatach. Charis encourages Cowan to do the same, though this makes for tense moments between them.

After initial disastrous attempts to achieve his ambition, Tuirgeis comes to learn that there is more to claiming a kingship than merely overpowering the locals. Tuirgeis finds himself at odds with the very people he had hoped would reinforce him. In addition, he wants to establish his father-line. He has one son; he wants another to be born of Éire. Will the woman of his choice accept and support him?

At length, Agnarr and Aislinn—though she is heavy with child—sail with Cowan and Charis to join Tuirgeis as he battles over one final summer to attain the High Kingship of the island.

Tuirgeis knows he doesn’t have long to make his claims; the Danes are coming in greater numbers than before. As he wins men of Éire to his cause, he has to maintain the relationships he has already fostered with Agnarr and Cowan. Charis finds that her Otherworldly gifts are needed by a man she considers her enemy.

~~EXCERPT~~

It was dark in the langhús, save for the glowing of the coals banked in the fire ring. Agnarr enjoyed his wife’s responsiveness to him, and when they made love, he never forgot to thank his new God for letting her live through the births of the children their bodies made together. Before the sun crept under the door and through the shutters over the new windows, they were smiling and silent and relishing the moments—he knew there would only bemoments—before the children stirred in the bench-bed they shared.

Later, as their son and daughter began shifting restlessly prior to awakening, Agnarr sat up and blew out a breath. “Wife.”

“Yes, husband?” She joined him, finding his hand with hers in the shadowy enclosure of their private area.

“We need to be ready. You need to be ready. You and the children.”

She sighed and shifted on the blankets so that she was looking directly at him. As was her habit, she continued to touch him with her fingers as she spoke. “I can fight. And you gave Dow a real knife at the Christ Mass.”

Discomfort tightened his stomach as he shook his head. “You need to be able to escape, just in case.” He knew far too well what would happen if someone found his attractive wife. Someone whom he didn’t know. Someone who would find her dark hair appealing and the tatú on her cheek mysterious and alluring. Someone who would want to take her as their leman, as he had once taken Charis.

Someone who might take his son as a slave.

Jaw tightening in anger, he shook his head again. Hard. “You know what can happen to you.” Her eyes were on his face, and he met their steady gaze. “And the children. You need to be able to get away. We should find a way to make you safe.”

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~~ABOUT THE AUTHOR~~

Award winning author of short Celtic fiction, Sandi Layne is the creator of the Éire's Viking Trilogy, as well as works of contemporary Christian romance.

She began by self-publishing her novels in 2000, garnering a loyal group of readers whom she continues to appreciate to this day.

Married for more than twenty years to a fantastic man, she has two sons, no pets, and a plethora of imaginary friends. Her interests range from ancient civilizations to science fiction. With degrees in English and Ministry, she also claims Theology’s crimson Masters collar which she has been known to don on rare occasions.

If you drive by her window before dawn, it is likely she’ll have a light on for you. Or at the very least, she’ll be alert on twitter. She invites you to visit her online space at http://sandyquill.com.

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~~OTHER TITLES IN THE SERIES~~

 

TWCS PAPERBACK

AMAZON PAPERBACK

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BARNES AND

NOBLE

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TWCS PAPERBACK

AMAZON PAPERBACK

BARNES AND

NOBLE

AMAZON KINDLE 

BARNES AND

NOBLE 

Kobo