Tagged: ireland
An Immortal Descent by Kari Edgren
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Selah Kilbrid, descendant of the Celtic goddess Brigid, has been ordered to remain in London and leave any dangers in Ireland to her goddess-born family. They fear she’s no match for Death’s most powerful daughter and—if the legend holds true—the witch who once nearly destroyed the Irish people. But Selah has never been good at following orders, and nothing will stop her from setting out to find the two people she loves most—her dearest friend, Nora Goodwin, and her betrothed, Lord Henry Fitzalan.
Hiding from kin, traveling uneasily beside companions with secrets of their own, Selah is forced on an unexpected path by those who would steal her gift of healing. With precious time ticking away, she turns to a mortal enemy for help, heedless of the cost.
Selah would pass though hell to rescue Nora and Henry, but what if it means unleashing a greater evil on the human world? Her only chance is to claim the fullest extent of her birthright—at the risk of being forever separated from the man she longs to marry.
[Full disclosure: I requested and received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
It took me much longer than expected to finally get to An Immortal Descent, the last book in the Goddess Born trilogy, but I finally did. And I’m very, very glad I did.
The second book ended on a cliffhanger with Selah’s friend Nora being kidnapped by Deri, the daughter of Cailleach who can kill people just by touching them. So Selah has to travel to Ireland, where Deri has taken her friend for a possible ritual sacrifice. Of course the journey doesn’t go very smoothly as we discover that Cailleach has more than just one child on the loose and that perhaps not all of Brigid’s children use their gifts for good as Selah does. There are plenty of twists and turns on Selah’s journey with a surprising yet satisfying ending. Even better, the plot is relatively fast-paced considering just how much information and character development Kari Edgren puts into her novel.
What I really loved about An Immortal Descent was the expanded mythology of the goddess born. As we learn, Cailleach and Brigid certainly aren’t the only ones to have descendants in the human world, even if they do seem to be the most prolific. There are others like Nuada, Balor and Lugh whose descendants have motivations of their own and unique powers. And unlike with descendants of Brigid and Cailleach, their powers aren’t always immediately apparent. It certainly makes for a few surprises throughout the novel.
Another satisfying bit was the character development of Selah. She’s come a long way from the first book but it’s only really now that she’s truly learning to trust her instincts when it comes to her healing powers. Selah tries to do things she never would have in terms of healing in the first book (like reattaching a certain idiot’s hand). And she’s becoming more self-possessed, more willing to challenge Henry on his seemingly increasing penchant for violence. She stands up to people like Julian, James and Cate more than she did in the last book and finally takes fate into her own hands. It’s a wonderful transformation from the generally shy yet still feisty woman we met in the first book.
Although Henry doesn’t play as big of a role in this book as he did in previous ones, he’s still present and he’s definitely a changed man. Despite his penchant for violence and his hot temper, he listens to Selah and values her opinion. Even when he completely disagrees with her, he at least listens before taking action. And now Henry isn’t as blind to the motivations of those around him. He realizes that James completely mistreated Selah and that Julian is a growing danger (not just a romantic rival), despite ostensibly being on the side of the other goddess born like Tom and Cate. When he and Selah are together, they make a very well balanced couple and they’re one of my favourite book couples of all time.
If you enjoyed the previous two books, Goddess Born and A Grave Inheritance, you’ll love An Immortal Descent. It’s a satisfying conclusion to a thoroughly enjoyable trilogy. I can’t wait to see more from Kari Edgren in the coming years.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
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Éire’s Devil King by Sandi Layne
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
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.
[Full disclosure: I requested and received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
I’m always a little nervous starting the last book in a series that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. Why? It’s usually because I’m worried that the author isn’t able to wrap things up in a satisfying manner, answering most (if not all) questions that arose throughout the series. Sometimes my nervousness is justified and other times it’s not. Éire’s Devil King is most definitely the latter. I didn’t need to be nervous at all when it comes to the last Éire’s Viking book.
In the first book I always favoured Turgeis above Agnarr, maybe in part because Turgeis was not the one actively raping Charis and humiliating her. Agnarr reformed himself in the second book but I still was generally more interested in Turgeis’ story. In the beginning I’ll admit I was a little disappointed in how slow the book started out but once things got going, they really did get going. Turgeis is a man who is already quite mature but throughout the story he does come to see things in a much different light. Instead of burning and pillaging he wants to assimilate to a certain extent and rule over the locals. He won’t give up his precious Norse gods and convert to Christianity like Cowan and Agnarr but he at least tolerates Christianity and doesn’t impose religion on anyone. As you can probably guess, his hands are far from clean but I definitely like this new Turgeis better than the old one.
Turgeis is definitely the main focus of this last story but we also see some incredible glimpses into the lives of Charis, Cowan, Agnarr and Aislinn on occasion. Charis and Cowan aren’t getting any younger (well, Cowan sure isn’t whereas Charis is her same ageless self) and Aislinn and Agnarr are still working on having some more children. Things don’t always go smoothly in the village because the Danes are coming to raid their land but overall there’s much more peace on the island than there was when we first met Charis. This is in part due to Cowan being Turgeis’ adopted brother but also because the men from Nordweg are more interested in immigration and assimilate than conquest. They want to be a part of the great island instead of just plundering its riches. I really liked how Sandi Layne showed that gradual change that comes over decades while at the same time introducing the new threat of the Danes to help move the plot along.
Charis, as always, stole the story for me. She’s an incredible woman with possibly Otherworldly powers but she also doesn’t have her head in the clouds like you’d expect from someone like her. There are times she can be very stubborn but she’s at heart a pragmatic woman and will ally with people she dislikes, such as Turgeis, in order to achieve her own ends. In this book it’s peace on her island and a home from her adopted daughter’s children and grandchildren. There’s an interesting little epilogue that brings her incredible story to an end and it’s really quite satisfying even if we don’t know exactly what she is and where her powers truly come from. It’s sort of left to the reader to figure things out and draw their own conclusions.
So while the plot wasn’t fast-paced in the beginning things quickly got exciting and through it all the incredible characters Sandi Layne has created over three books really shone through. Charis in particular stands out to me but all of the characters were very well developed; there’s a character for everyone here. From the author’s note I believe the little historical details within the story are true as are the broader strokes like the migration of the Danes but Sandi Layne does admit to changing around Turgeis’ story just a little bit. And that’s fine because it really works well for this story. I’m sad to see the trilogy end but it was done in a way that really satisfied me as a reader so I have no problem with that. It’s a great ending to a good trilogy.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Éire’s Captive Moon by Sandi Layne
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Éire’s Captive Moon, the first book of Sandi Layne’s Éire’s Viking Trilogy, brings you to the unsettled era of the early Viking raids along the coast of Éire – today’s Ireland.
A wounded refugee from the violent Viking raids on Éire’s coast is healed so well by Charis of Ragor that Agnarr captures the moon-pale woman for his own and takes her home to Nordweg to be his slave.
Also captured is Cowan, a warrior gifted with languages. He is drawn to the healer of Ragor and finds himself helpless before her. In more ways than one!
Through the winter, Charis plans a fitting vengenance upon her captor for the men he killed. She also prepares to return to Éire and the children she left behind.
But will her changing feelings interfere with these plans? When two men vie for her heart, will she give way before either – or both?
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
When I requested this book I was sure it was going to be a captive-captor love story. Books like this usually are, after all. And that was fine for me; I need some guilty pleasure. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Sandi Layne put some excellent twists into what I thought was a dead horse trope.
Charis is a great character and even though I liked Cowan as well, she of course stole every scene she was in. She’s tough but vulnerable at the same time, especially when you see her love for her twin husbands. And even though she’s taken as a slave she retains some individuality and never gives up hope for an escape. I especially liked how, at the end, you still weren’t truly sure of what course of action she would take. The ending was very much in doubt, believe me.
I know very little about Vikings or the 9th century in general, but I can tell you what little I do know says that this book is pretty historically accurate. Would an authority on the matter say the same thing? I’m not sure. But for your average person’s purposes, there is more than enough history in here to keep you immersed in Charis’ world. It’s a harsh world where the strong kill the weak with frightening regularity, but Sandi Layne’s writing does make you feel like you’re immersed in that world.
The only criticism I have about the book is that we’re introduced to a lot of characters quite quickly and everyone calls them different names. For example as far as I can tell Cowan is called “Kingson” and “Geirmundr” later on in addition to his other name. This may not sound like much, but I would have liked for a little bit of a slower pace at some points in the book so I could keep up with this information. The voyage of Cowan and Charis as captives was very quickly described and I felt there was a different need for expansion because I was still trying to gain my bearings.
In short, Éire’s Captive Moon is a pretty good book. It’s not perfect and still needs a little bit of editing, but overall I enjoyed it.
I give this book 4/5 stars.