A review by nerdybookster
Brothers of the Wild North Sea by Harper Fox

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Holy...I was not sure at first what to expect when I first went into this. A friend suggested it, knowing I enjoyed historical fiction novels. They did not warn me about the spicy content. 

So this book follows Caius, a monk on the coast of Britannia in the 7th century. He left his father Brockus's hill fort to take vows as a Christian and monk on the island of Fara. I was excited to read that. 

The cover then befuddled me for a second. If this is a historical fiction about a monastery in the late 7th century...why are there two men on the cover? Of which one is clothed in a cassock and the other is for all intents and purposes, naked. Oh. It's that kind of book. Okay. I am down. 

I listened to this on audio and boy am I glad I did. They did not warn me that it was immediately spicy. The book opens with Caius, who often goes by Brother Cai, coming back from trading in the local village. He meets with an old woman on the mud flats and trades her jewelry for medicinal herbs. She warns him that Vikings are coming. He does not believe her and goes back to his monastery. 

Then they get invaded. Cai rescues a dying Vikingr man and brings him back to the their monastery where he nurses him back to health.

 

I really loved the story and how we see both Cai and Fen (the Dane) grow and become the men they were destined to be the entire time. You really never know what you have in you until everything you know and love is on the line. 

I would definitely suggest this for anyone who likes historical romances of the LGBT+ variety.