Customer Reviews

Danegeld (Love Spell historical romance)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Days after finishing this book, it lingers in my thoughts. The characters seemed real, not the cardboard cutouts that I so frequently encounter. This means that they had their faults as well as their beautiful strengths, making them so very memorable.

I loved how I could smell, see, hear, taste and touch the era of so long ago. I lived the story right along with the protagonists, thanks to the vivid writing and knowledge of the author.

Whatever Ms Squires writes in the future, I will buy and devour, no question. She is one of the brightest, most talented new authors out there.

Danegeld is a truly fine book, one I found myself unable to put down and thinking about long after I finished it. The setting comes alive with the author's use of authentic detail, and she manages to capture the "feel" of the Saxon era. The love story is genuinely moving, the action scenes gripping, and the story line in each and every chapter carries high interest. I haven't read a historical romance this good in a long, long time! Carolyn Woolston

During the Dark Ages in Dunford, Britain, Britta earned a reputation as a healer though followers of the new religion felt she was a disciple of the devil. Everyone feared her that is except for the Saxon warrior leader Offa. Five years ago he learned about Britta’s prowess and raped her to gain her powers. No one came to her aid and Britta fled to Devil's Island, a place everyone is afraid to step foot on. When Britta needs supplies, she visits Dunford to offer healing services in exchange for them.

On a trip to the village, Offa forces Britta to heal his wounded men having just fought against Viking raiders. Included among the injured is Karn, the Viking leader. Offa tortures Karn to obtain information, but Britta manages to free and take him to her island. Both have suffered at the hands of Offa, but that is not why love has sprung up between the healer and the Viking.

This Dark Ages romance needs to carry a label: not to be read by the faint of heart. The story line is loaded with action and a deep depiction of the era including that of torture and cruelty that will give readers the shivers. DANEGELD is graphically well written with strong characterizations representing a period of violence between Saxons and Viking, and Christians and Pagans. Skillful scribe Susan Squires shows her ability to paint a very interesting saga worth reading by those who relish a crimson Beowulf....

Britta lives a solitary existence, haunted by events that happened five years ago. She was raped and held for three days by her attackers. Britta just wants to be alone, but she has the magical gift of healing, and the call of the wounded is undeniable.

Karn, an invading Viking, is the only man left alive in his troop, but he's wounded and dying. Britta is called in to heal Karn--just enough to keep him alive for the forthcoming torture. Britta comes face to face with her past. The men who are holding the Viking captive are the same men who raped her years ago.

Britta steals away with the tortured and unconscious Karn, taking him to her island home where he starts to heal. They slowly begin to know and trust each other. Time is against them though, and soon they are fleeing the island. They end up going their separate ways, but fate has other plans for these two. They will meet up again, because love and destiny cannot be denied.

DANEGELD is an epic tale about the force that formed England.
Readers need to be aware that there are male and female rape scenes, remembered and alluded to. I thought that the story could have held up just as well with one rape, if any. Aside from the rape issue, DANEGELD is really well written. Ms. Squires has turned out a historically rich, well-paced novel.

"Danegeld" was a book that was pretty much unputdownable for me. The pacing was perfect and the story line was interesting, but at times a bit unnerving. There was a lot violence in this story and a part of me had trouble embracing the hero, Karn. The book opens to Karn and his Viking friends attacking a village. Some of the things that he not only participated in, but turned a blind eye to, put a bad taste in my mouth. However, there is a definite change in him as the story progresses and you can see him looking back on his past behavior with regret. In the end, I wanted him to have his beloved Britta. I was happy when they overcame their numerous obstacles to be together.All in all, this could have been a 5 star read, but I knocked off a star for some of my personal feelings towards Karn and the sometimes lengthly separtions of the central characters.

With so many of the writers in the romance field today opting for the lighter touch, a person that loves sweeping, gritty historical drama is finding it harder to discover such, strong realism. Susan Squires weaves a strong period drama about the Vikings and Danes that were in East Angelia, and since that is one of my homebases, I was thrilled to see someone writing about this period of history.

She writes with a passion unafraid to take on the dark history of that era, with detail and history so strong you will feel you lived it.

So if you like your historical with more 'meat to the bone', pay attention to this new writer in the field. You will definitely be hearing more for her (her next book Dominion comes out next month - so heads up Vampire fans...I have heard this one is a stunner!!)

WISE WRITERS and READERS Book of the Month for July 2001

This story is full of historical detail, which is excellent. Most "romances" sorely lack this quality. The characters actually do each have a story, and do not simply spend the book panting after each other in a state of perpetual hot and bothered. These are the good things.

Now for the rest. *Contains Spoilers* An earlier reviewer commented that this book was too bleak to be a romance. Precisely. The bad guys were numerous and E-V-I-L. It's one onslaught after another. First on the scene is the anti-christ, Offa - the personification of evil. Along the way there's the evil witch, the bad Vikings, the diabolical Abbess, the bad King Edmund...all of whom rape and/or torture/try to kill Britta and Karn. One very detailed rape scene horrified me to the point I found it difficult to keep reading. This was one book I couldn't wait til it was over, and toward the end I felt like I was about ready to slit my wrists from depression.

Again, I appreciate the historical detail and the presence of an actual story. However, this was just too dark. It might have worked as historical fiction, but I don't feel qualifies as romance.

And the ending - too fatal attraction. Offa, who is thought to be dead, appears for one last nasty act. Then, after everything they've gone through, Britta and Karn succumb to the formula romance "big misunderstanding" - he doesn't want me, she doesn't want me - when they both do actually want to be together. Finally, the epilogue was perfunctory, not really giving the reader any additional details about the characters' futures.

Susan Squires is known for her 'Companion' series of vampire stories set in the Regency period or earlier. However Danegeld was her first published novel and it's set in the time of the Vikings and with a rather different supernatural element.

Britta is a Saxon woman whose parents have been killed by local chieftain Offa. After her parents' deaths Britta was raped by Offa but eventually escaped and made her way to a local island where she lives with her dog, Fenris, and collects herbs for her healing medicines. Her mother was known as a witch and healer and it seems that Britta may have inherited those talents - she trades with the local villagers for food and other necessities by carrying out healings and wound dressings.

When the Vikings come to the Saxon village they are defeated and all but one of the group of raiders is killed. The leader of the group is taken by Offa and tortured. Britta finds herself rescuing this man, Karn, and tending his wounds back on her island. Initially Karn is afraid of Britta, assuming that he is being restored to some strength so that he can be tortured again, but as time moves on he realises that she is doing this on her own. As Offa tries to kill them Britta and Karn have to work together, to learn to trust each other and to try to find a place for themselves somewhere in Anglia. Britta needs to learn more about her magical skills and what causes them and Karn has to find a future for a man who isn't physically whole and who is a member of a race that the Saxons hate.

Susan Squires is always a good author and, like her other books, this one moves along with great pace and some good characters. The setting in this period of history, not one that I regularly come across in fiction, was fascinating and Squires has included many historical people and places in the story. I particularly liked the way in which she described Karn's feelings of despair over his situation as a injured foreigner in a hostile land. This isn't a particularly cheerful book - the times were too difficult for that - but there is a deep love story within it and the central characters are both very endearing. It's certainly a book to enjoy for those who like Squires' other work and who are interested in different periods in history.

When it comes to reading anything at all, i can honestly say that i am a snob. I have no patience for bad writing and two dimensional characters. I read this book without looking much into it, i didnt even realized that its relatively new until i was writing a review today and that is a good thing. Many new romance novels are written in a very shallow tradition compared to the oldest ones. They lack details and the relationship between the characters develop incredibly unrealistic. That was not the case with "Danegeld". I really enjoyed the writing, it reads like historical novels written decades ago instead of romance novels written almost yesterday. The prose was refreshing in its haunting storytelling voice and the characters were very realistic. The heroine was 20 years old but very realistically mature. It is rare to find a 20 year old among this genre who are not throwing idiotic tantrums everywhere. The author makes the characters very realistic, she gives them real reasons for everything they do and that creates a great bond between the readers and the characters. And lastly she does a phenomenal job bringing to life this world of vikings and saxons. Fans of well written viking novels will rejoice in picking this one up. Great job Ms. Squires.

I bought this book as it was recommended by a romance novel critique. I wasn't disappointed. This is a moving story that I will keep and re-read for a very long time. Those wanting to loose themselves in a well woven love story with the beliefs, superstitions and fear of the 'dark ages', this is the book for you.