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pegasuspages's review
3.0
Viking Quest is a fun WLW book about, well, Vikings and their quest. Lena, warrior princess, loses her husband via an assassin and vows to avenge his death. She later rescues Caitlin, a Celtic girl taken as a slave from her homeland. The two have fantastical adventures and meet many classic Viking monsters and heroes.
Unlike most other books about Vikings, Viking Quest takes place in the 1000s when Christianity is already established and raiding is not as much of a part of life. I really liked getting to read historical fiction set in this time period. I enjoyed also seeing the aspects that setting a book in this time period set up, like slavery, religion, honor vs. oaths, and the areas that women were allowed to inhabit in those times based on class. Viking women had more freedom than was typical for that time period and location and I enjoyed getting to see this explored. This book also had a Black and Muslim character, which is definitely historically accurate and I liked his character and the way that the book addressed his religion, race, and slave status and how it affected his life.
In general, I liked the characters and enjoyed how Lena and Caitlin's relationship proceeded. It was interesting to read about women falling in love during Viking times and what they could do about their feelings based on their society. I could have done with less of the internal monologues pining for each other for most of the book, but we do love conflicted feelings and slow burns!
The fighting in this book was also well written, I feel like it is so easy to say "they moved so fast that their bodies were a blur" and not actually describe anything. I usually scan through fight scenes but I felt like I could follow the fighting in this book. I thought the Macbeth and Lady Macbeth-like villains were fun despite their quite cliché dialogue. This book definitely isn't the most violent book about Vikings that I have read, but if you're sensitive to fighting and descriptions of gore, this may not be the book for you.
However, I thought that overall the writing in this book was very basic. I feel like the author moved back and forth from more formal language that is usually in books set in around this time period. The plot points were also very predictable which made the reveals much less exciting. I also felt like this book dragged a bit despite the fairly short length. I keep going back and forth on the fantastical element that appeared once in a while as I kind of wanted more of them but also thought that made the story a little strange to have sporadic things of myth happen in a fairly grounded book. The frequently restated warrior princess, charming girl, huge man, etc. descriptions also got to be a bit much for me and I would have appreciated a few more varied character attributes.
Overall, I enjoyed Viking Quest and would recommend it if you want a fun story in a unique time period. If you're expecting a more serious Viking book, I'd read some Bernard Cornwell instead. 3.35 stars rounded down to 3. Thank you to BookSirens and Past and Prologue Press for the electronic ARC! I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
TW: Violence, death of a partner, death
Unlike most other books about Vikings, Viking Quest takes place in the 1000s when Christianity is already established and raiding is not as much of a part of life. I really liked getting to read historical fiction set in this time period. I enjoyed also seeing the aspects that setting a book in this time period set up, like slavery, religion, honor vs. oaths, and the areas that women were allowed to inhabit in those times based on class. Viking women had more freedom than was typical for that time period and location and I enjoyed getting to see this explored. This book also had a Black and Muslim character, which is definitely historically accurate and I liked his character and the way that the book addressed his religion, race, and slave status and how it affected his life.
In general, I liked the characters and enjoyed how Lena and Caitlin's relationship proceeded. It was interesting to read about women falling in love during Viking times and what they could do about their feelings based on their society. I could have done with less of the internal monologues pining for each other for most of the book, but we do love conflicted feelings and slow burns!
The fighting in this book was also well written, I feel like it is so easy to say "they moved so fast that their bodies were a blur" and not actually describe anything. I usually scan through fight scenes but I felt like I could follow the fighting in this book. I thought the Macbeth and Lady Macbeth-like villains were fun despite their quite cliché dialogue. This book definitely isn't the most violent book about Vikings that I have read, but if you're sensitive to fighting and descriptions of gore, this may not be the book for you.
However, I thought that overall the writing in this book was very basic. I feel like the author moved back and forth from more formal language that is usually in books set in around this time period. The plot points were also very predictable which made the reveals much less exciting. I also felt like this book dragged a bit despite the fairly short length. I keep going back and forth on the fantastical element that appeared once in a while as I kind of wanted more of them but also thought that made the story a little strange to have sporadic things of myth happen in a fairly grounded book. The frequently restated warrior princess, charming girl, huge man, etc. descriptions also got to be a bit much for me and I would have appreciated a few more varied character attributes.
Overall, I enjoyed Viking Quest and would recommend it if you want a fun story in a unique time period. If you're expecting a more serious Viking book, I'd read some Bernard Cornwell instead. 3.35 stars rounded down to 3. Thank you to BookSirens and Past and Prologue Press for the electronic ARC! I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
TW: Violence, death of a partner, death
rahels_library's review
3.0
thank you to BookSirens and Edale Lane for this ARC
in this book, Lena, a viking warrior, has to go on a journey to find a healer for her king. all that soon after her husband is murdered and while the murderer grows his influence inside her city and home.
on the journey she encounters many dangers: catastrophes, sea serpents and enemies from within and without
but there are also a lot of lights like: companionships, discoveries and different cultures
first I want to state that this book has all the potential to be a 4
it has a gripping storyline and interesting characters
the thing is that it feels like it isn‘t the final version yet so a couple of times while reading I encountered things that felt weird like having the wrong order with little parts or weird word choices
sometimes i really wished for more NOW input and showing how the characters are feeling instead of telling it later
but now onto the good things
the plot was original and took interesting turns on typical tropes
the love story was great, I appreciated the slow-burn and Lena‘s decision towards the end (I cried but in a good way)
the thing I loved the most was the discussion of religion and what it means to different people. for discourse: it is the 11th century so Lena and lots of other vikings have converted to christianity but there‘s Lena‘s friend, Caspian, who‘s a muslim and another warrior who still believes in the old gods.
there is a lot of conflict between the vikings who converted and the ones still on the old path. I loved how the discussed their beliefs in a very peaceful manner while there was a lot of potential for conflict. this was the first time I have seen christianity represented in the way I follow it and not the „your beliefs are wrong and you‘ll go to hell“-type. as far as I know the muslim and pagan representation was also very good but since I do not follow these religions, I don‘t think I‘m the best informed person out there.
still, the author seemed to have lots of informations on the three religions and also represented the reasons for believing very well
after a few more corrections and rewritings of certain things through the whole publishing process, I believe this book has deserved success and I already want to thank the author because I know how hard it can be to write your own book and I‘m thankful that you had the courage to finish yours!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
in this book, Lena, a viking warrior, has to go on a journey to find a healer for her king. all that soon after her husband is murdered and while the murderer grows his influence inside her city and home.
on the journey she encounters many dangers: catastrophes, sea serpents and enemies from within and without
but there are also a lot of lights like: companionships, discoveries and different cultures
first I want to state that this book has all the potential to be a 4
it has a gripping storyline and interesting characters
the thing is that it feels like it isn‘t the final version yet so a couple of times while reading I encountered things that felt weird like having the wrong order with little parts or weird word choices
sometimes i really wished for more NOW input and showing how the characters are feeling instead of telling it later
but now onto the good things
the plot was original and took interesting turns on typical tropes
the love story was great, I appreciated the slow-burn and Lena‘s decision towards the end (I cried but in a good way)
the thing I loved the most was the discussion of religion and what it means to different people. for discourse: it is the 11th century so Lena and lots of other vikings have converted to christianity but there‘s Lena‘s friend, Caspian, who‘s a muslim and another warrior who still believes in the old gods.
there is a lot of conflict between the vikings who converted and the ones still on the old path. I loved how the discussed their beliefs in a very peaceful manner while there was a lot of potential for conflict. this was the first time I have seen christianity represented in the way I follow it and not the „your beliefs are wrong and you‘ll go to hell“-type. as far as I know the muslim and pagan representation was also very good but since I do not follow these religions, I don‘t think I‘m the best informed person out there.
still, the author seemed to have lots of informations on the three religions and also represented the reasons for believing very well
after a few more corrections and rewritings of certain things through the whole publishing process, I believe this book has deserved success and I already want to thank the author because I know how hard it can be to write your own book and I‘m thankful that you had the courage to finish yours!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
brennooth's review
5.0
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book. While this is usually not what I would run to read and drop everything else, the blurb intrigued me and I was not disappointed. The entire story made sense in how it was told, while you get the romance part, the book does not focus on that. It’s sneaks up on you while you’re busy following Lena’s quest. And rest assured, it will sneak up on you. I fell in love with Caitlin the moment Lena met her and I fell in love with Lena the moment we met her for the first time. There’s also a massive soft spot for her men. They’re a good bunch. And this has been a great adventure with a touch of romance that I really enjoyed a lot.
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