1263, ScotlandSimon MacCoinneach’s vengeance runs deep. The blade is the only way to end the blood-thirsty Nordmen’s reign upon Scottish soil. His soul might be lost, but the mystical Healer he kidnaps from the isles could be the answer for his ailing mother…and his heart.Isles-born Gwyn reluctantly agrees to a marriage alliance with this heathen Scot in return for the sanctuary of her younger … sanctuary of her younger brother from her abusive Norse father. Her brother’s condition is beyond the scope of her Ancient power, for larger healings steal breaths of life from her own body.
As Simon and Gwyn fight to outwit her madman father and a resentful Norse betrothed, Gwyn softens Simon’s heart with each merciful touch. Gwyn’s Seer sister foresees a bloody battle—and an end to the Nordmen—but Simon will also die. Will Gwyn save Simon on the battlefield even if it means losing her last breath?
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Gwyn is the daughter of a Viking father and an Isle-born mother as well as a healer. She must be careful, though, because every time she heals, a breath from her life is taken as payment for the healing. If she loses a hundred breaths, she dies. If only she can heal her brother and stop her father’s abusive treatment of him…
Simon’s hell-bent on revenge after the bloody Norsemen kill his brother when all they wanted was to trade goods. He kidnaps the healer, Gwyn, who healed his wounds after the skirmish and follows his father’s plan of forming an alliance with Gwyn’s father. She’s not keen on the idea but as time goes on, they fall in love. When Gwyn’s father and her betrothed (also a Viking) scheme a plan to take Gwyn back, a battle ensues. Can Gwyn save the man she loves, even if it means losing her last breath?
A Hundred Breaths is a heart stopping medieval romance with a bit of mystical magic thrown in. With a cast of characters reminiscent of Game of Thrones, evil lurks in the hearts of men and women must try to save their loved ones. There are some characters (Gwyn’s father and her betrothed to name two) which made me want to wretch all over my tablet. No redeeming qualities whatsoever. Simon, on the other hand, is a man caught between vengeance and honor. He’s lost his soul somewhere along the way and with Gwyn’s healing touch and her love, he has the chance to get it back.
Multi-faceted with action, intrigue and mystical magic, A Hundred Breaths is a must-read. Historically accurate with plenty of gore in the battle scenes to please any historical fiction reader while an undercurrent of love runs throughout. The romance is sweet but doesn’t overtake the story. Highly recommend, especially to fans of Game of Thrones and The Vikings.
My Rating: 4.5 stars
Scottish warrior Simon MacCoinneach goes with his father, brother, and their men to the Isles to trade with a clan of Nordmen, but the time for peace is over. His brother dies in the ensuing battle, and Simon is injured. The last thing he expected is a beautiful, guileless woman to offer him help, but he doesn’t trust easily.
Gwyn possesses magical abilities as a healer, and she helps anyone who needs it. Her father is a vicious man who has terrorized her community and subjected her family to much pain. After she heals Simon, he kidnaps her in order to force her father into peace.
Gwyn and Simon were interesting characters. She was kind, selfless, and determined to save her younger brother, but her desire to save everyone, even murderers and rapists, was aggravating. I couldn’t connect with Simon. He was bitter and war-hungry, especially in the beginning. After his back-story was revealed and he started to feel guilty about his actions, I finally understood him and began to like him.
I listened to the audio version. The narrator, Ms. Ashford, did a great job with the Scottish and Norse accents. Granted, I’m not sure what Vikings would’ve sounded like back in the day, but I liked her voices for them.
This is a fast-paced story that kept my attention, but the pacing slowed at times since the H/h kept arguing about the same things. Repetition tends to happen, however, when you have two stubborn characters that won’t agree or relent to the other’s will. I prefer this rather than having a wimpy heroine that kowtows to a man. Gwyn was definitely not weak!
I enjoyed all the references to book 1, A Hundred Kisses. The epilogue was the perfect ending for this story and a great preview for the last book in the trilogy.
This book is the prequel to A Hundred Kisses and should be read or listened to first, even though both books are standalones. I listened to Kisses first by mistake, so I learned some spoilers about the prequel. In my opinion, the main characters from one romance book should still be alive and in love in the following book. Killing off the hero or heroine is a big no-no for me, and it completely ruins the HEA. That’s just a pep peeve of mine. While Simon and Gwyn have a HEA at the end of their story, their life together is cut short long before the next book begins.
Anyway, I enjoyed this story a lot, but I wish Simon and Gwyn would’ve had decades together, not just 13 years.
4 Stars
Power struggles in the Scottish Isles were a running game in the 12th century between Norsemen and Scots. In a Hundred Breaths, author Jean Grant skillfully creates two enemy warriors motivated to weaponize an island beauty named Gwyn. Blessed with the Ancient’s power of healing, Gwyn is generous with her gift, but at a physical price to herself. Choices with conflict and collateral damage make A Hundred Breaths a page turner to learn if Gwyn can save her family, her heritage and find true love in this well-researched historical romance.
A Hundred Breaths
Jean M. Grant
This is the first book I have read by this author, and while I am not normally a fan of historical romance, I totally enjoyed this one. This year I vowed to try reading some genre’s that I don’t normally lean toward, and it has opened my eyes and my reading. So I say even if this isn’t something you would typically buy, maybe you should give it a try. Gwyn is a Norsewoman and a healer. Simon is Scottish. They meet when Gwyn heals Simon after her brother and his brother were killed. Next he is sent to kidnap her to try to make a deal with her father. Gwyn’s dad is not a nice man and has not treated her family that well, especially her brother Kendrick. Gwyn asks Simon to get her brother to her because she is so worried about him. Soon Gwyn and Simon are married and much to their surprise, they fall in love. Gwyn is a strong and stubborn person and Simon is as stubborn as her. As a healer, Gwyn feels compelled to heal everyone who needs healing even knowing that each time she heals, she is taking breaths away from her own life. There was a lot of other interesting tidbits, but in the end, no matter what era a story is written in, love is love. This one I loved learning more about some things of history, but it wasn’t overwhelming. I do believe that I will read the rest of this series as I enjoyed this book so much. I also want to read some of the other genre’s from this author.
I was so excited for this book (and to find out that it was a series.). This book had everything I love. A complicated story with ancient powers, family drama and a depth of complicated interwoven plots that keep you on your toes and waiting for the next turn. Beautifully written and with a promise to become more than just a great book but a great series. Definitely make sure you read this book first and in order to fully follow.
This book was a little hard to get into at first because it started off so slow. But after the first fight that ended with so much loss for Gwyn people, it started to pick up a little as she went to heal Simon MacCoinneach. Then from there, things got interesting when he came along and kidnapped her. The relationship between them became something more and it kept me reading and I’m glad I did because it turns out to be a good book. I usually don’t read books so back in time but I love the fact that Gwyn and her mom and sister were connected to their Ancients and used their powers to try to help.
This was a compelling read and I enjoyed this one better than the first book One Hundred Kisses. Simon is determined to avenge his brother death at the Hans of Norseman. Gwyn is the daughter of a brutal norseman and a healer mother. Gwyn has inherited her mother’s healing powers, but they come at a cost to her. For each toes she heals, she loses a breath. Simon takes Gwyn, but is injured and she heals him. The moves through their relationship, her helping him heal from his bitterness, and the twists and turns that make this story a page turner. An overall solid read.
Healing his heart…with her last breath – 1263, Scotland – Jean M. Grant is a new author for me. The unusual aspect of this Historical Romance is the added element of mystical powers. The writing is so good that the mystical parts are just as believable as everything else going on during the time period. Simon has endured so much from his childhood and his only path is to fight for revenge. Gywn is from a family of healers with the exception of her ruthless father and she knows nothing else but kindness and compassion. I will say that it was not love at first sight for Simon & Gywn and the banter and slow burn just added to their frenetic chemistry and ultimate connection. As the story unfolds, so do truths and lies between Simon and Gywn, their families and clans and the uncertainty of what will happen to them. This is an angsty, very descriptive-detailed story of love and forgiveness.
Having read A Hundred Kisses previously I could read the language much easier and it made me enjoy the story that much more. Gywn is a healer but for every breath she uses, she loses of her own which makes her very valuable to Alroy. Simon is Alroy’s son who is tasked with kidnapping Gywn to marry and heal his mother but Gywn is betrothed to another and Leidolf will not let his gift be taken away. This story is fast paced but with battles, romance and magic.
Simon and Gwyn’s story revolves around Simon’s anger and mindset on revenge and Gwyn’s need to save her brother from an abusive father. These lost souls find themselves drawn together in a relationship that just might kill her. Wonderfully written and engrossing story.
Good writing and well round characters. Descriptions make you feel like you are right there with Simon & Gwyn. They belong together This is part of a trilogy and is a prequel.
This is book 1 in The Hundred Kisses series. Gwyn, her mother and her sisters have powers from the ancients. Gywn has the power to heal, but every time she uses her gifts she loses a part of herself. After she heals Simon he kidnaps her and wants her to heal his mother. This book has great suspense with great twist and turns. Sometimes it a bit hard to understand. This is a prequel to a hundred kisses about 30 years before. Great read
Gwyn is destined to use her healer abilities. Simon is destined to avenge his brother. When Gwyn agrees to marry Simon it puts many events into play.
This was a great story with history, romance, magic, deceit, illness, death and war. Each chapter was full of action. Simon is full of honor and Gwyn is full of passion. As the story plays out you see the good in each of them and it was great to see their HEA. There are also characters that will make you cringe as they lie, murder and deceive.
This is the first book I have ready by Jean M. Grant. This book is a prequel to A Hundred Kisses. I have never read a Historical Romance novel before. This book was very well written, but I have discovered historical romance is not my genre. This has nothing to do with the book itself, it is a personal taste issue.
The heroine of this story, Gwyn, is a healer who received this gift from her Mother and her Viking father’s bloodline. Gwyn ends up caught and held captive by the Scottish Highlanders after a very tentative truce between the Nord Vikings and Scottish Highlanders was broken in a deadly fight.
Gwyn finds herself married to Simon, the Scottish warden. This romance takes place during the last days of the Vikings hold over the Scottish people while a new war begins to brew with their southerly neighbors. Gwyn and Simon’s story is a beautiful but deep into the politics of the time.
I have not read a historical romance in forever but this book made me long for more. This was my first book by this author but it definitely won’t be my last. This was a wonderful read and highly recommend it.
Amazingly written, a beautiful story. I enjoyed it from the first page to the last. Romance and historical fiction readers will absolutely love this must read!
This book was a prequel to A Hundred Kisses and takes place before Deidre’s book. I enjoyed the action, the vengeful anger that drove Simon, Leidolf and others, and I actually liked this one more than the first book. Gwyn was a strong woman with a special healing gift, and I felt her pain every time she healed someone, knowing how it would affect her. There is much heartache and unfilled sexual tension in the story, and although I would prefer my romance books to have more heat to them, I still liked the characters and their story.
This was a prequel to A Hundred Kisses, and it was breathtakingly beautiful in every way, even when blood was being shed. I had to look things up a lot and found the history to be pretty accurate, besides the obvious added romance element. I don’t normally care for historical fiction because of the awkwardness of trying to get through the languages and keeping the groups separated in my mind. I still had some trouble with this, but it’s MY issue and had nothing to do with the quality writing. It was actually simplified in many ways, which made the pages just fly by. It was gripping and emotional, and I loved seeing the cameos from book one mentioned here. The Ancient people and their abilities mentioned were absolutely fascinating. And the brutality of the people then was insane, but the story made it make sense. The side story of Margaret was heartbreaking and I loved her character.
I really want a book about Venora. Pretty please?!
This is the first book I have read by this author and I really enjoyed it. I’ve not read historical romance in years and with the paranormal twist was a very intriguing story. The book grabbed you in, pulling you back to a time where faiths and battles seemed lost. I loved gwyn’s resolve to use her gift no matter the personal cost. Watching her grow into a woman from the somewhat naive girl she was was wondering to read. Simon seemed driven by regret and guilt but with gwyn at his side chose to let her essence bring his soul back to life. Amazing book.
When looking for something to read, I don’t usually gravitate to this era. That’s my loss!
The year,1263. Location, the western isles of Scotland. This story takes place during a time of magic, myth, fantasy, superstition and power struggles. I love it all! Don’t forget the beautiful and steamy romance.
I was enveloped in the aura of ancient Scotland and thoroughly enjoyed it! The women are incredibly strong even though it was a time of male dominance. The men, well they are warriors and that’s very appealing in this book.
The reason for the title left me breathless! This is just book one of the series. Book two is a must read!