Customer Reviews

On Falcon's Wings

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

On Falcon's Wings was bewitching from the first words. Lisa J. Yarde beautifully combines history with a passionate love story to depict the events leading up to the Norman Conquest. The language is believable, the story compelling; the author paints a vivid picture. There are simultaneous plots and an impressive cast of characters, but it is paced artfully so that the heartbeat of the book is not overwhelmed with the details.

You will not soon forget Edric and Avicia! On Falcon's Wings is a great read!

In an enduring tale that spans decades, Lisa Yarde weaves a wonderfully complex medieval tale depicting the events that occurred before the Battle of Hastings. The historical accuracy of this novel brings to life its authentic characters and court intrigues. It is a story of power, life and death struggles, and the endurance of one woman who spurns society's restrictions to seek her one true love. I would recommend this book to anyone who wishes to be accurately swept back into a rich and exotic period in English history.

I enjoy historical fiction, especially when it relates to medieval England. When I saw this e-book offered in a giveaway I immediately entered. I was glad to receive a free copy in exchange for a review.

Lisa Yarde writes well and the places and characters really come alive. I found that I couldn't stop reading once I read the first couple of chapters. Good historical details of pre-1066 life, I could tell she'd done research. Even though there were many characters and several plot lines, nothing got tangled or messy. I was able to keep it all straight in my head. The characters are memorable and individuals, well developed.

My one complaint would be in regards to the sexual content. There were some passages I skipped because of how detailed the writing was in that regard. I don't personally enjoy reading about it, and that's why I can't give the book a 5. For me it took away from the enjoyment of the book. If that type of stuff doesn't bother you then you can ignore my personal bias. Other than that I really liked the rest of the book.

It started out decent enough. The action at the very beginning of the novel captivated me, and I wanted to read more about these star-crossed lovers who shared but a single kiss before being torn away to completely separate and different lives. It's a tragic tale of love denied and definitely had potential. But then we skip YEARS at a time. More than once. Sometimes the span is vast (I think 13 years was the longest, and then one or two 8 year spans). I started disliking both main characters, and I honestly only finished the book because I've never NOT finished one. There was so little actual romance that I'm not sure I'd place this in that category. Towards the end when one of the characters is feeling sorry for themselves and bemoaning their lives, I couldn't even summon anything related to empathy. That's it, I was ambivalent to all the characters by the conclusion. Don't look here for a happily ever after.

I started reading this ebook and with the many different characters, it quickly became too confusing to keep everyone organized. The book is too wordy in some scenes. At the begining the main characters fell in love after only meeting once, the only interaction between them is to spend a few moments together where she loses her hold on a falcon and it gets killed so she is whipped for this. He leaves and goes off to marry someone else and almost a year later she marries someone else. The book didn't allow the reader to view any dialogue between the two.

I usually don't give up on a book without completing it because I feel that I am going to miss something. But after only 24% complete, I decided to call it quits. The book was all over the place and really didn't stick to a common story line....

I'm not a fan of complex historical novels, but from the very first scene, Lisa Yarde pulls you into the lives of Avicia and Edric, making you want to know if true love will win out in the end.

Set in dangerous times preceding the Battle of Hastings, On Falcon's Wings is the ardent story of forbidden love between a Norman noblewoman and a Saxon Lord. Avicia and Edric know their love is impossible, but circumstances dictated by the fate of kings thrust them together and wrench them apart.

Avicia, wife of a knight under William, Duke of Normandy, accepts a hasty marriage, but cannot forget Edric, the tall, blue-eyed Saxon with whom, in her youth, she shared a kiss and a love of falcons.

Edric of Newington, bound by blood and shame to England's royal line, struggles with his identity and blames his ambitious kinsmen, the Earls of Godwin, for cursing his life. He sides with Edward, but when the king clashes with the nobles and aligns himself to the Norman Duke, Edric's family demands his loyalty. He is forced into a loveless marriage, which increases his ardour for the beautiful, wilful Avicia across the English Channel.

When their paths cross, in England and Normandy, Avicia and Edric come together in an explosion of desire and guilt. They face ridicule, betrayal and retribution from the Duke and Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, yet their love endures.

On Falcon's Wings spans two continents and a quarter of a century in which Lisa Yarde lays bare the human condition in love and war. Ms Yarde opens a widescreen view of history to reveal the relationship between 11th century England and Normandy. Then, cleverly, she moves the lens closer to focus on the conflicting factions within the realms and closer still into the everyday lives of these ancient families. Yet all the while, she trains the spotlight on the passionate Edric and Avicia. At times, the lovers' plight brought me to tears

In the horse rides along mud-soaked roads and the taste of food in the great halls, in the steamy love scenes, the torture and the horrific battle scene - one of the best I've read - this is more than a love story. On Falcon's Wings is an experience of medieval life on a grand scale, essential reading for history buffs and lovers of good books.

A lot of English and French history, most of which I enjoyed, but at times so many names it got a bit confusing. The romance between the main characters was tenuous because of the separations caused by conflicts of war. If you don't like a lot of history, you won't like this. Its a history with a minor love story---not the other way around.

This book is an excellent page turner. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical romance. It has a perfect mix of romance and historical events to keep the reader interested. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Good read if you like history, romance, joy/sadness, intrigue, and war. This is definitely a historical romance read and acurate to the times. The hero and herion really suffer great losses and well I won't give the end away. I am a hard to please reader but this book is good. Not what I expected from a freebie, which are usually short stories. The only con to this book is the number of primary characters and trying to keep them all straight.