Myths come alive in the Shapeshifter Sagas. Standalone stories to intrigue and excite. Five STRONG women.Five MYTHICAL beasts.Five EPIC love stories.Along the unforgiving coast of Snæland, Ásta’s ancestral farm is plagued with bad luck. The kinless maiden’s turf walls continue to be found damaged with claw marks, reviving old memories of the wolf attack that left her scarred, and she begins to … scarred, and she begins to fear the whispers are true—that Fenrir, son of Loki and king of the wolves, has come to claim her.
Torin often leaves his uncle’s farm in the southern hills to track and ensnare valuable gyrfalcons. His secret ability to turn into raptors means his falconry skills are unparalleled, earning him precious silver. If the memory of his sister’s death didn’t haunt him daily, pushing him to numb his senses with drink, Torin might have married by now—as his uncle often reminds him. But the time has finally come to find a wife and settle down.
With bad luck biting at their heels, the scars from their past may seal their fate and put them in an early grave.
CONTENT WARNING: Due to mature content, recommended for readers aged 18+
This book is for anyone who loves:
Ancient mythology and legends
Fantasy romance with mythical creatures
Historical fantasy, paranormal and shapeshifter romance
SHAPESHIFTER SAGAS
Widow
Scars
Tides
Outsider
Spark
more
4 & 1/2 stars.
This was a really good book (not a novella like another book- Widow, in the series). This held my interest, to the point of staying up to late on a work night to finish. It’s part of the Time of Myths series, but it is a stand-alone book, you do not need to read them in order or even together, as they are not connected in plot or anything, the only connection is the shifter part & the taking place very, very far back historically with the mythological basis to the plot.
This started a bit slow, but the flow picked up part of the way in. This was not a predictable book either, it left me guessing at what would happen next. The characters, Ásta & Torin, are likable. They have your sympathy right away for the tragic things that have happened in their lives. The trials & tribulations that they had to endure to finally get a HEA was part of what pulled them together. You could see the relationship develop & evolve, which is part of the charm to the story. The sex scenes were super tame, almost non-descriptive, so it’s definitely not an erotic book, if the few sex scenes were not there, it would have been a Y/A book. I’m not complaining, since I prefer to see a relationship develop/evolve than to have crazy descriptive sex scenes, because there’s more to a relationship than sex alone. There were a few places, that I had no idea of the words used, I’m assuming Icelandic or something, that had me confused for a bit.
***SPOILER***
-For some reason early on, I thought Torin could shift into other animals or at least other types of birds, not just the one type of bird. It took a little bit into the book to figure out it’s just the one type of bird.
-I also was slightly puzzled about the people’s reactions when the people found out the bad guy was a wolf shifter. I guess I was expecting more freaking out by them, about him being a wolf shifter, but they reacted like they had all seen shifters before, & were only concerned with the bad things he had done to Ásta & Torin & their property.
Ok I didn’t like this book, I absolutely loved it!
Set in a time steeped in Viking history in place called Snæland – which is better known to us as Iceland in modern times, we are transported back in time to the 10th century where we meet Astra – a strong woman who is left to care for her family’s farm after her father and brother died. She is going through a tough time trying to keep the farm going as well as keeping a Wolf at bay – a Wolf that scarred her face when a child, a wolf that many believe is called Fenrir, son of Loki and king of the wolves, who by all intents and purposed has claimed her by marking her.
Torin is a skilled hunter of gyrfalcons, the fact that he has the ability to turn into birds is to benefit for him as he traded the birds for silver allowing him to by mead/ale and drink his demons away. Haunted by demons of the past he has no desire to take a wife but when he sees the way Astra stands up the council at the yearly meeting festival he feels a need to protect he in a way.
Both of them have troubled pasts and both of them are thrust into marriage without the slightest idea what to do or expect. But what I loved is how their love grew and I loved how strong they both where when dealing with their demons. The whole Wolf story line I thought I had sussed out, but boy was I shocked when the truth was eventually revealed.
The mythology and lore that is in the book as well as the descriptions of life itself at this time is amazing and the attention to detail has been very carefully sought out when writing this is evident. There is a lot of world and character building which takes the story at a slow but steady pace but not too slow that you lose interest – far from it, it will have you hooked from the get go.
I hope this is not the last we read of Ásta & Torin. I need book 2 now!