I absolutely adore Christina Courtenay books. I'm always completely immersed and find them utterly impossible to put down.
I have love the characters in this book. Linnea is a great main character and I have adored her from the beginning.
This book is so beautifully written that you can't help devour page after page. This is a book which I haven't been able to put down and I have to say, I cannot wait for more books by Courtenay.
The plot of this one is easy to follow but instantly pulls you in. Courtenay pulls you into a world that you don't want to come out of. The chemistry between the main characters is obvious from early on and the author really makes you wonder where the story will go.
I cannot say anything negative about this book. It has been a stunning read from start to finish and definitely a five star read for me.

In the Runes of Destiny, Christina Courtenay takes the reader on another riveting trip through time to the 9th century. This is an emotional and involving love story and an adventure all rolled into one. It's clear that Christina is passionate about the period, and her love for and knowledge of Viking history adds a depth and richness to the book that is fascinating. I loved the sense of comradeship that grew up amongst the travelling band and the way that both Linnea and Hrafn learned and grew as characters during their journey together. Romantic and richly satisfying!

When Linnea finds a brooch in an archeological dig, she is thrown into the past.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Linnea recently survived a car crash, but needs to recover from the mental scars. She signs up to her "Uncle" Lars archeological dig as a distraction, and gets more than she bargained for.
After finding a brooch, she is thrown into the 9th Century, where she is accused of stealing and captured by Hrafn.
Because of her beauty, they decide to sell her to the Turks to get the best price. Linnea is dragged along on a trading mission that will take several months. She has to learn how to survive in Viking times, and not fall for her Viking captor.

This really was a book of two halves.
I did not like the first half.
I found Linnea to be annoying and self-involved.
Yes, she survived a car crash that killed her friend's parents, and grievously injured her friend. Linnea has a right to has issues to deal with, but they seem to supercede those of the injured friend, and her Uncle Lars (who lost his son and daughter-in-law).
Despite the fact that she was injured, Sara is cast as the "supportive friend", to assuage Linnea's grief and gossip about Linnea's crush Daniel. I didn't even know that Sara was still in hospital, until later in the book.

Linnea very quickly gets dragged back in time, where she is convinced she's at a fair where people pretend to be viking, and are taking it way too far.
She's pig-headed, rude, and I'm surprised she survived her first few days.
For a supposed genius, she doesn't even try to think about other possibilities, that maybe she's in a coma or an alternate reality, or actually in the past. Despite how adamant she is it's all fake, Linnea allows everyone to push her around, tell her what to wear and what to do. When she's put into a boat to sail away, she just goes along with it.
For most of the journey, Linnea relies on the other women, to adjust to life in the 9th Century, and becomes friends with them. But the friendship only ever works one way, Linnea never thinks about how she can help them escape slavery.

The rest of the characters are without any nuance.
Hrafn is generic tough-guy-with-a-good-heart. He's a nice enough character, but I never understood why he was in the business of selling thralls. He's never done it before, but seems to have all the knowledge of how it works, and where they'll get the best offers.
Thure (Hrafn's older half-brother) is a villain. You know that the moment he enters the story, and he continues being villainous through-out. This guy has no subtlety.

The only part that I enjoyed was the in-depth knowledge of our narrator. It's clear that the author is as passionate and expert as Linnea in the field of Viking life.
Through Linnea, you get to learn every gritty detail of clothes, food, hygiene. Of social behaviour etc.
It could occasionally run a little dry and border on lecturing, but I still appreciated it.

The second half was like someone flipped a switch.
I was surprised by how much I was enjoying Linnea's story.
Her character improves - she doesn't drastically change, but it's like she softens and stops holding everyone at arm's length.
The "road-trip" becomes more interesting, as they tackle dangers of both man-made and natural kind.
I liked how subtle the romance was. It is definitely a sub-plot to the story of Linnea and Hrafn's journey together.

I liked how the supporting cast developed too, with the questionable loyalties for Hrafn's comrades - Hrafn may be in charge of the trade mission, but Thure is their Jarl (chief).
I especially liked the other women, who for the most part are lumped together as a crowd and indiscernible, but in the end, they all seem to get the happy ending they want. And no one is judged for wanting to be a free woman, or a wife, or a mistress to a fat rich man.

I thought it all got a little cheesy towards the end, but you know what, I kinda liked that too.

I think this was a 3.5 out of 5 for me.

Oh my gosh I devoured this book with all of its Viking history!

I have recently started enjoying time slip novels and was looking for more when I found this by an author I had not read before. I will be reading more of Christina’s books.

Linnea is on an archaeological dig in Sweden with her uncle when her metal detector start going crazy. She is not supposed to dig up artefacts when she is alone but curiosity gets the better of her and she digs up an old brooch. She gives it a wipe and reads the inscription on it out loud ..... and faints.

She wakes up with a group of men dressed as Vikings shouting at her in a strange language and believes they are a re-enactment group. She realises they are speaking Old Norse and luckily Linnea has been studying Old Norse as a PhD student at university and can speak their language.

They accuse her of stealing the brooch from their leader and take her prisoner. She goes along with the actors but as time goes on and the police do not arrive she comes to the realisation that she has time travelled.

She is taken on a journey by long boat with her new ‘owner’ to Istanbul as he intends to sell her along with the other girls, fur pelts, amber and jewellery.

Will Linnea retrieve the brooch and use it to travel back to her own time before she is sold?

We are taken on a journey in Viking times, their lives so very well researched and described by the author. I have learned so much about the vikings, how they lived, what they ate, how they travelled by longboat (and carried it overground when needed!) how they traded and what was seen as valuable to them.
I would have liked the main characters to have considered why this brooch had the powers it has as they just accept it. However it did not take anything away from the pure escapism of the story. Sometimes it’s best just to enjoy the story without thinking too much about the details.

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for an e-ARC of this book.

Publication date 10/12/20

Just brilliant.

Romantic time-travel novel. Set between the ninth century and the present day we follow the adventures of our heroine as she travels with her Viking captors to be sold. An enjoyable read.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 10%

Yes, I knew this sounded way too similar to Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, but I was in the mood for a romance, and it did sound like it was unique enough to have its own identity. I think this was more a not for me type of situation, but there were problems that really put me off.

The writing is bad. Any writer who has listened to any good writing advice has been told to show and not tell. Sometimes it’s hard to do that, but this book was all telling. All of it. There was no nuance to it, and I felt myself getting annoyed by it.

Also, I can’t stand the overly sarcastic tones in the narration. It’s like it was trying to sound witty and cool, but it comes off as clueless, especially considering that our main character has been forced back to the past, has been kidnapped and threatened to be sold off, and yet she kept making quips and chiding herself on finding the main love interest attractive. Like, take this seriously. You’re in a very dangerous situation.

This isn’t for me, but it might work for others. I’m not the demographic.

My second Christina Courtenay novel, trying to make up for lost time here! This novelist has the ability to make the reader believe they are back in the (I believe) 9th century and more so, wants me to look more into this period and it's people. I can think of no higher praise. My thanks to Netgalley and Headline for the copy.

The Runes of Destiny seals Christina Courtenay's crown as the Queen of Viking Romance. This sweeping tale takes us on Linnea's journey through the centuries, and will leave you wanting more. By Odin's crow I declare this is a 5 star that readers will love!

An ancient brooch connects a modern woman to a Viking warrior.

The Runes of Destiny by Christina Courtenay is a time-travel Viking historical romance full of adventure, traveling, and cultural information.

Linnea Berger was helping her uncle Lars in an excavation of a Viking ground in Sweden. She was a specialist in the Viking language (Old Norse) at the University of York.

Using the metal detector to identify new places for digging, Linnea came across an ancient brooch. While trying to read the brooch's scriptures, Linnea ended up hurting herself with the pin and was transported into Viking-age Sweden.

Captured as a thrall (slave), she was taken to the Middle East to be sold.

Hrafn, the village leader's half-brother, wanted independence from his cruel sibling and decided to go to the East to sell some merchandise, including a few slaves.

Hrafn was not counting on getting close to the slaves, especially Linnea, and to start caring for them.

The story was full of historical information about the Vikings and their way of living.

There was a lot of adventure, travel, and the intriguing situation faced by a modern woman trapped in ancient and barbaric times.

The Runes of Destiny is a fascinating Viking historical romance perfect for fans of time travel stories. I can't wait to read Hrafn's younger brother Rurik's book.

Disclosure: I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

*This review will be posted on https://lureviewsbooks.com on 12/10/2020 as part of the book's blog tour*

Absolutely marvellous romp through time to Viking Sweden and then on a journey across seas, along rivers and overland to what is now Istanbul. A love story and an adventure, all rolled up inside a huge amount of intricately-detailed, well-researched history.

I loved the way it tied loosely with the previous Runes book from this author, and very much look forward to more in this series.

Thoroughly enjoyable.

If you like Diana Gabaldon Barbara Erskine Susannah kearsley this is a book for you a time slip in the style of Diana gabaldon but with much less sex. A great read with a bit of a twist you feel you are back in the 9th century highly recommended a great weekend read to lose yourself in.

I was so happy to receive an early review copy of this book , I've been eagerly awaiting it since finishing the first book in the series. This doesn't disappoint either, if anything Christina Courtenay has outdone herself with this immersive, well researched offering.
The detail is extensive and I felt like I'd learnt something by the end of the book, while being totally caught up in the storyline. You literally feel like you are transported to another place through the vivid descriptive text..
Linnea is a wonderful , strong female character , who manages to slip through time after finding an artifact on an archaeological dig that transports her to the Viking era , where she awakens to find herself surrounded by a hoard of Viking warriors that she takes to be a 're enactment group . We then meet Hrafn, the leader of the group,who takes her as his thrall, with the intent to sell her at market. His half brother , Thure is the jarl of their community and the two men have a strained relationship. He takes an unhealthy interest in Linnea resulting in an increased sense of rivalry between the two men.
There are a host of wonderful supporting characters and you get swept up in the storyline. I literally read this in a day because I didn't want to put it down.
The rapport that builds up between Linnea and Hrafn is beguiling reading and their mutual attraction for each other becomes more difficult for them to deny as the storyline unfolds . Can she find a way to return home to her own time ? will she want to if the time comes?
Hrafn is an honourable hero and the characters will stay with you even after you've read the last page. I was sad to reach the end of the book but can't wait for the next book now !
I totally recommend this to anyone who enjoys reading Nicola Cornick or Barbara Erskine books.