Christina Courtenay
Auteur de Trade Winds
Séries
Œuvres de Christina Courtenay
Oeuvres associées
Étiqueté
Partage des connaissances
- Nom légal
- Fenton, Pia Christina Tapper
- Sexe
- female
- Nationalité
- UK
- Lieu de naissance
- England, UK
- Lieux de résidence
- England, UK
Sweden
Japan
London, England, UK
Herefordshire, England, UK - Professions
- writer
- Relations
- Word Wenches (writers collective)
- Organisations
- Romantic Novelists' Association
- Courte biographie
- Pia Christina Tapper was born in England, UK, daugther of Kenneth Tapper, an English, and a Swedish mother. She brought up in Sweden, until at sixteen her family moved to Japan, because her father had obtained a job in Tokyo. Married with Richard Fenton, had two children, she lives between London and Herefordshire.
She signs her novels as Christina Courtenay. She won the Elizabeth Goudge Trophy for a historical short story in 2001 and the Katie Fforde Bursary for a promising new writer in 2006. Her short story was published in ‘Solander’, the magazine of the Historical Novel Society. In 2011, her first published novel Trade Winds was short listed for the RNA's Award for Best Historical Fiction. Her second novel, The Scarlet Kimono, won the Big Red Reads Best Historical Fiction Award. In 2012 Highland Storms won the Best Historical Romantic Novel of the year award and her fourth novel, The Silent Touch of Shadows, won the Best Historical Read Award from the Festival of Romance.
Pia Fenton is a committee member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, and she was elected its twenty-sixth chairman (2013–2015). She is also a member of the Society of Genealogists and the Guild of One Name Studies. When she's not writing, she spends her time tracking down elusive ancestors for her family tree, and her other hobbies include archaeology (the armchair variety), listening to loud rock music and collecting things.
Membres
Critiques
This is a timeslip romance and historical fiction by Swedish English author Christina Courtenay. It is the second in the Runes series but could easily be read as a standalone story. It is set in the 9th century during the Viking era.
Linnea Berger, specialist in Old Norse at the University of York, is working on an archaeological dig with her uncle in Sweden, when she discovers an ancient brooch and finds herself suddenly transported to the 9th century. Here she finds herself captured by viking warrior Hrafn as a thrall, and accompanying him on an international sea voyage to Turkey to be sold in the slave markets. Despite all this she finds herself drawn to Hrafn, and he to her.
I wanted to love this book. In actual fact it is a great story: a rip-snorter adventure yarn with a great setting and well-researched historical details. Oh, but the writing! Don’t get me started on the main character Linnea. How can you be an intelligent university-educated woman, trained in ancient Viking language, and expert in this era and part of the world, and then so determinedly, inanely convinced, despite all logical evidence to the contrary, that this is all a game or a re-enactment? She blunders around wondering why every single person in the settlement speaks fluent Old Norse and not English, why all the women are engaged in medieval crafts, why everyone is wearing authentic viking garb and none of them have any grasp of modern concepts and still doesn’t even begin to consider she is in the 9th century. I don’t think you can play the smart, capable woman card as well as the ditzy dumbo with the same character, it has one or the other. She is also a smart-arse, rude to her captors, and completely oblivious to the danger she is in. It’s actually surprising she survived 24 hours there with her behaviour. And then of course she needs to be not only unfathomably beautiful but a virgin too, because, sigh…who even knows? Because good girls don’t have sex?? Or possibly only when they are being deflowered by uber-manly heroes.
The book has been likened to Outlander but Linnea Berger is definitely no Claire Fraser. In fact it would have been a far better yarn if Claire had gone to Sweden instead of Linnea. There would have actually been a little wit and humour. Sigh! Disappointing. 2.5 stars.… (plus d'informations)
Linnea Berger, specialist in Old Norse at the University of York, is working on an archaeological dig with her uncle in Sweden, when she discovers an ancient brooch and finds herself suddenly transported to the 9th century. Here she finds herself captured by viking warrior Hrafn as a thrall, and accompanying him on an international sea voyage to Turkey to be sold in the slave markets. Despite all this she finds herself drawn to Hrafn, and he to her.
I wanted to love this book. In actual fact it is a great story: a rip-snorter adventure yarn with a great setting and well-researched historical details. Oh, but the writing! Don’t get me started on the main character Linnea. How can you be an intelligent university-educated woman, trained in ancient Viking language, and expert in this era and part of the world, and then so determinedly, inanely convinced, despite all logical evidence to the contrary, that this is all a game or a re-enactment? She blunders around wondering why every single person in the settlement speaks fluent Old Norse and not English, why all the women are engaged in medieval crafts, why everyone is wearing authentic viking garb and none of them have any grasp of modern concepts and still doesn’t even begin to consider she is in the 9th century. I don’t think you can play the smart, capable woman card as well as the ditzy dumbo with the same character, it has one or the other. She is also a smart-arse, rude to her captors, and completely oblivious to the danger she is in. It’s actually surprising she survived 24 hours there with her behaviour. And then of course she needs to be not only unfathomably beautiful but a virgin too, because, sigh…who even knows? Because good girls don’t have sex?? Or possibly only when they are being deflowered by uber-manly heroes.
The book has been likened to Outlander but Linnea Berger is definitely no Claire Fraser. In fact it would have been a far better yarn if Claire had gone to Sweden instead of Linnea. There would have actually been a little wit and humour. Sigh! Disappointing. 2.5 stars.… (plus d'informations)
DNF'ed at 15% - I tried so hard, so many times, to read this over the last few years. It sounds like it would be right up my alley, with everything needed to be a book (and series) I'd enjoy...but I just couldn't get into it.
Purchased from Audible as an audiobook, narrator Julia Franklin does a decent turn, managing to get voices that are different enough, especially for the men, as well as pronouncing (correctly I hope) the Japanese words in the text.
This book is broken up into several parts: the teenage Hannah, brought up in a privileged city atmosphere, head strong but understanding little of the world of men. Attracted by the apparently romantic sea faring men, she is horrified by her parents arranging her betrothal to a man who fondles her during a town party.
The second portion of the book tells of when she escapes on a boat, spending the next 18 months travelling to the newly opened Japan. Having thought the boat she sneaked onto was captained by her brother, she is shocked to find that the captain is some one else, who is less than the romantic ideal she thought he was. She keeps herself hidden in the bowels of the ship, along with the Japanese cook, learning more about Japanese culture and how to speak Japanese.
Trapped in a marriage she didnt want (to protect her reputation), she finds herself in Japan, kidnapped by a man who is fascinated by her thick red hair whose Sensei had predicted her arrival.
The next part of the book is dedicated to their developing relationship as she learns more about Japanese culture and the strength behind a Shogun and his daiymo. Their relationship is threatened on several occasions, particularly by Taro's sister-in-law, who wishes to be Taro's next wife, to the point where she is prepared to kill Hannah to get what she wants.
Finally, the disconnect between the western and eastern worlds comes to a head and both Hannah and Taro need to decide what's important to them.
Ultimately this is a standard romance story, in the standard format. There is the usual "threat to split the couple up" near the end, but the couple are finally reunited with all impediments neatly dealt with to make it easier for the couple to remain together. Once Hannah is on the ship, she spares no thought for her family (apart from her brother who she thinks is on the ship). Her parents and her siblings are never given a second thought, with no concerns as to what her disappearance could mean to the people back in England.There is an assumption that the reader knows the basics about Japanese culture so, for example, tatami mats covering the floors are not explained. The narrative switches between intense detail during a particular scene and "meanwhile, 3 weeks later.....this happens".
Reading back the above implies that I didnt like the book. Whilst I didnt hate it, I didnt adore it either. It was a nice book to listen to, it was a setting different to normal historical romances, and the author didnt treat the reader like a complete idiot. There's some adult situations, but described appropriately, so only the most sensitive will be offended.… (plus d'informations)
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Statistiques
- Œuvres
- 25
- Aussi par
- 1
- Membres
- 397
- Popularité
- #61,078
- Évaluation
- 3.6
- Critiques
- 35
- ISBN
- 96
- Langues
- 2
- Favoris
- 1
This is a dual-timeline historical romance that moves between contemporary Sweden and the 9th Century viking era. The author was born in England and brought up in Sweden by a Swedish mother.
The contemporary story is about Mia Maddox, a conservator working for the British museum, who returns to Sweden after her grandmother’s death as she has inherited her beloved cottage, Birch Thorpe, on the South shore of Lake Mälaren. She meets archaeologist Haakon Berger who challenges her about the ownership of her ancient snake ring. Together they begin to excavate around the cottage looking for traces of a viking settlement. They come across the story of Ceridwen, captured from a celtic Welsh family in 869 by viking invaders and taken to Sweden by “White Hawk” Haukr Erlendrsson. As the attraction between Ceri and Haukr simmers, Ceridwen faces dangerous consequences from Haukr’s wife Ragnhild.
This book has all my favourite tropes for an easy pleasure-read: historical setting, dual timeline genealogical or archaeological mystery to solve, and celts or vikings (in this case both!). There is of course a degree of predictability and improbability but this was an enjoyable read.… (plus d'informations)