Tempted By The Runes is the latest instalment in Christina Courtenay’s fabulous time-slip series. I have been on every tour for the series and have loved every single one. I have been waiting for this book for a while, so I was so happy to actually be able to read it. All I can say is Christina Courtenay has again excelled herself with this new addition to the series.
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…
Everything I read by Christina Courtenay whisks me away from this modern day, and it feels like I am in the ninth century with whichever character has been transported too. Maddie goes back to the ninth century with the intention of a brief visit. Things happen that she hadn’t planned for, so she wakes up on a ship bound for Iceland with a man who saved her.
All of the Runes series can be read alone. There are some recurring characters, and there are things linked back to the other books, but none of these things really hamper you reading any as a single book.
This has to be one of my favourite timeslip series. I just know that I will be learning things while being entertained, too. This book takes us to Vik (Reykjavik in the modern day). A pretty new settlement of the time and Christina Courtenay has again told this story with her usual intricate details that it springs to life in your mind. Her extensive research and her love for history are so clear throughout this series.
This is not just a historical fiction story; there is also a sliver of romance running through it. The two main characters, Maddie and Geir, had me hoping against hope they would get their happy ending. I invested in these two as I do with every character the author has created in this series. Her characterisations are superb, so well fleshed out and believable.
It is a perfectly paced book with all the drama that I have come to expect from this series. As always, a superb storyline that has depth and humour, too. If you enjoy timeslip stories with history and romance, I recommend you pick up this book.
Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources and Christina Courtenay for my place on the tour and the copy of the book, too.
Purchase Links
Amazon UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tempted-Runes-stunning-evocative-adventure-ebook/dp/B08TTVCDLB/
Amazon US
https://www.amazon.com/tempted-runes-stunning-evocative-adventure-ebook/dp/B08TTVCDLB/
Author Bio
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).
Social Media Links
http://www.christinacourtenay.com
https://www.facebook.com/christinacourtenayauthor?fref=ts
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