The Seafarer’s Kiss by Julia Ember is a f/f retelling of The Little Mermaid wherein the little mermaid falls in love with a Viking shield maiden. I bet a whole bunch of you just one-clicked, didn’t you? It works really amazingly as a feminist retelling of a beloved fairytale, and it’s rich in detail about what mermaid life would be like, but purely as a romance, the heroines spend too much time apart to be … Continue reading The Seafarer’s Kiss by Julia Ember →
The Half-Drowned King is the first in a planned trilogy that is a heavily fictionalized retelling of the Saga of Harald Fairhair, which is one of the parts of the Heimskringla, an Icelandic Saga written in the 13th Century by Snorri Sturluson. The trilogy charts the rise of Harald and how he became the first king of Norway in the 9th century. It’s told from the point of view of one of Harald’s dudes, Ragnvald, … Continue reading The Half-Drowned King by Linnea Hartsuyker →
Beautiful Wreck by Larissa Brown is not a perfect book, but it was exactly the book I needed. It was this beautiful, restful story that transported me somewhere else and soothed my brain. It’s the literary equivalent to just floating in a warm pool, listening to soft noises. First of all, Beautiful Wreck is a time-travel historical, which is my shit. It opens in the near future, a time when people immerse themselves in sophisticated virtual … Continue reading Beautiful Wreck by Larissa Brown →
The Warlord’s Wife by Sandra Lake is a deliciously Old-Skooly historical romance set in 12th century Sweden. The hero was occasionally an alphahole, but like a lot of Old Skool heroes, it made his redemption all the more satisfying. The book opens with widow Lida being beaten and dragged in front of her father-in-law. Lida is very pregnant, which is a problem because she was only married a short time. Her mother-in-law accuses her of … Continue reading The Warlord’s Wife by Sandra Lake →
