📖 Blog Tour ~ Promises of the Runes by Christina Courtenay

 

Headline Review
13 April 2023

Runes #5

My thanks to the publishers and Rachel's Random Resources for my copy of this book
and the invitation to the blog tour

He travelled through time to capture her heart.

The amulet was still in the palm of his hand. Was it some sort of conduit to the past? The image of the anguished woman in his vision was seared into his mind. Perhaps it could help him find her?

Ivar Thoresson is desperate for adventure. As an archaeologist specialising in Viking times, he wants nothing more than to travel back to the ninth century as his loved ones have done, to learn everything he can about the era which fascinates him. And whilst his adopted family have always made him feel loved, the chance to meet a true ancestor, the warrior Thorald, is a temptation he cannot resist.

But while Ivar is preparing to go, he uncovers an amulet which shows him a vision of an arresting woman with red-gold hair. Clearly in distress, she is pleading for help. Convinced of the power of the charm and its message, Ivar’s journey takes on a new purpose. He steps back in time determined to follow his destiny – and find the woman who has called to his heart.

📖 My Review..

It's always a real pleasure to go back in time with this talented writer and this Viking series has been a particular favourite of mine especially as each story brings a new and exciting character whilst taking us back to what has become a quite familiar world. This fifth book in the series is deliciously different as it gives us the story from a male point of view.

Ivar Thoresson is an archaeologist who specialises in the ninth century world of the Vikings and he would dearly love to travel back in time in order to discover, at first hand, what it was like to live amongst his ancestors. When Ivar discovers a rather unusual silver amulet he is irresistibly drawn towards the plight of a young woman who appears to pleading for help. Armed with with only a vague notion of what time travel is really like, Ivar sets out to discover more about this ancient world with fascinating and rather unexpected consequences. 

Ivar is irresistibly drawn to Viking life and although he has some reservations about life in the ninth century, he soon begins to feel at home there, especially as he gets to know the people, their customs and their way of life. The story soon draws you in and the author's flair for detail and her impeccable research makes this time slip novel feel beautifully authentic, each chapter flows seamlessly bringing the Viking world to life in glorious detail.Nicely descriptive and with a wonderful romantic element, Promises of the Runes is another wonderful Viking adventure from this talented writer of historical fiction.

Whilst Promises of the Runes is the fifth book in this Runes series of historical time slip novels, each can be read as a standalone however, as with any series it does make sense to start at the beginning, and if you are new to this author's skilful writing you won't be disappointed.

About the Author

Christina Courtenay writes historical romance, time slip and time travel stories, and lives in Herefordshire (near the Welsh border) in the UK. Although born in England, she has a Swedish mother and was brought up in Sweden – hence her abiding interest in the Vikings. Christina is a former chairman of the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association and has won several awards, including the RoNA for Best Historical Romantic Novel twice with Highland Storms (2012) and The Gilded Fan (2014) and the RNA Fantasy Romantic Novel of the year 2021 with Echoes of the Runes. Promises of the Runes (time travel romance published by Headline Review 13th April 2023) is her latest novel. Christina is a keen amateur genealogist and loves history and archaeology (the armchair variety).

Twitter @PiaCCourtenay

Website Facebook Instagram

@rararesources

Amazon UK

📖 Blog Tour ~ Tempted by the Runes by Christina Courtenay ( and Giveaway)

 

  Delighted to host one of the stops on this blog tour

Headline Review
9 December 2021

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book
and to Rachel's Random Resources for the invitation to the blog tour

Born centuries apart. Bound by a love that defied time.

She couldn’t believe her eyes. The runes were normally so reliable and she had never doubted them before.

Madison Berger is visiting Dublin with her family for a Viking re-enactment festival, when she chances upon a small knife embedded in the banks of the Liffey. Maddie recognises what the runes on the knife’s handle signify: the chance to have her own adventures in the past.

Maddie only intends to travel back in time briefly, but a skirmish in 9th century Dublin results in her waking up on a ship bound for Iceland, with the man who saved her from attack.

Geir Eskilsson has left his family in Sweden to boldly carve out a life of his own. He is immediately drawn to Maddie, but when he learns of her connection to his sisters-in-law, he begins to believe that Fate has played a part in bringing them together. Amidst the perils that await on their journey to a new land, the truest battle will be to win Maddie’s heart and convince her that the runes never lie.

📖 My thoughts..

I often think that if I were able to time travel I would make sure that I had all the skills necessary to survive and that's just what happens when Maddie Berger, no stranger to Viking re-enactments, finds herself transported back to 9th Century Dublin, where her skill in martial arts comes in useful when she threatened by a group of rough individuals. The story takes on an interesting twist when Maddie awakens on board a Viking ship bound for Iceland and a new life as settler.

Set against a harsh landscape this exciting Viking adventure takes us right into the heart of a new world. A place where cold and ice exist and where, after a day of work, the prospect of a warm soak in a sulfur infused geyser is the height of luxury. It must be said that that Maddie adjusts to this life of hardship really well, all of which is heightened by her growing friendship with the handsome Viking leader, Geir Eskilsson, whose  tender strength is particularly attractive to this modern day Valkyrie.

Tempted by the Runes is such a pleasure to read. I have thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Maddie, Geir and the rest of the settlers as they learn to live in their new surroundings and start to gel as a community. Maddie's burgeoning attraction to the handsome, and charismatic leader, is beautifully imagined, and even though there's an instant chemistry between her and Geir, their relationship, as we discover, is far from guaranteed. And that's where the joy of the story lies, in getting to know these wonderful characters, and experiencing all the joy and heartbreak of living in 9th Century Iceland.

This is now the third book in the series of time travel novels which take us back to the time of the Vikings and whilst they can each be read as standalone stories there is some overlap of characters which helps to keep a lovely sense of continuity amongst these fascinating time travellers. All the stories are beautifully written and meticulously researched and Tempted by the Runes certainly keeps the spirit of these lovely stories alive with this deliciously, romantic tale. 

About the Author

Christina Courtenay writes historical romance, time slip and time travel stories, and lives in Herefordshire (near the Welsh border) in the UK. Although born in England, she has a Swedish mother and was brought up in Sweden – hence her abiding interest in the Vikings. Christina is a former chairman of the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association and has won several awards, including the RoNA for Best Historical Romantic Novel twice with Highland Storms (2012) and The Gilded Fan (2014), and the RNA Fantasy Romantic Novel of the year 2021 with Echoes of the Runes. Tempted by the Runes (time travel published by Headline 9th December 2021) is her latest novel. Christina is a keen amateur genealogist and loves history and archaeology (the armchair variety).

Website

Facebook

Twitter @PiaCourtenay #TemptedByTheRunes

Instagram

@headlinepg

@Rararesources

**GIVEAWAY**

Giveaway to Win a signed paperback copy of Tempted By The Runes, a pair of silver Thor's hammer earrings and a Thor's hammer Christmas tree bauble (Open INT)

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