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Songs of the North #1
Maidensong
Let Diana Groe take you on an unforgettable journey in this epic novel of adventure and passion that will sweep you from the icy fjords of Scandinavia to the sun-drenched streets of Byzantium.
When Rika sang the Norse legends, her beautiful voice captivated all who listened, but after a raid on her homeland, she found herself the captive—a slave to the powerful Bjorn the Black. He was the one man who could destroy her life, yet the only man she could truly trust. The only man who had ever ignited the passion in her soul...and introduced her to the pleasures of the body. But Bjorn was duty-bound to bring her to wed another, and thus they begin a perilous journey to a foreign land, a voyage that will test their courage in countless ways and challenge the strength of the love that is their destiny.
When Rika sang the Norse legends, her beautiful voice captivated all who listened, but after a raid on her homeland, she found herself the captive—a slave to the powerful Bjorn the Black. He was the one man who could destroy her life, yet the only man she could truly trust. The only man who had ever ignited the passion in her soul...and introduced her to the pleasures of the body. But Bjorn was duty-bound to bring her to wed another, and thus they begin a perilous journey to a foreign land, a voyage that will test their courage in countless ways and challenge the strength of the love that is their destiny.
326 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 31, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 28, 2015
Maidensong, by Diana Groe, had all the elements to make it a super fun bodice ripper: Vikings, pillaging, slaves, harems, human sacrifice, trial by combat, etc. So why wasn't I blown away?
Despite a few chuckles, some interesting cultural and historical minutiae, and a bit of emotional investment in the tortured romance between Viking Bjorn and skald Rika, the story was just "meh" and I found myself skimming towards the end.
It probably didn't help that the historically brutal, bloodthirsty and ruthless Viking captor Bjorn was reduced to a sniveling love puppy who spoke, acted and worshipped the ground his lady walked on like one of those tepid characters in nineteenth century Romantic poems *gag*
Or that the European protags keep referring to their host as "the Arab" (He has a name, people!)
Or the eleventh hour, completely out of left field, conversion to Christianity that concluded with the LOLtastic statement by Bjorn that now that he is a Christian,he can no longer in good conscience commit cold blooded murder. Bwahahaha.
In the end, it was not silly enough to get completely and delightfully lost in, as in the whimsical novels of Bertrice Small, nor was it serious enough for me to really emotionally invest myself. It wasn't even bad enough to make it into the Diana Palmer/Virginia Henley "gloriously bad" hall of fame. I predict I will forget I even read this in a few weeks.
Despite a few chuckles, some interesting cultural and historical minutiae, and a bit of emotional investment in the tortured romance between Viking Bjorn and skald Rika, the story was just "meh" and I found myself skimming towards the end.
It probably didn't help that the historically brutal, bloodthirsty and ruthless Viking captor Bjorn was reduced to a sniveling love puppy who spoke, acted and worshipped the ground his lady walked on like one of those tepid characters in nineteenth century Romantic poems *gag*
Or that the European protags keep referring to their host as "the Arab" (He has a name, people!)
Or the eleventh hour, completely out of left field, conversion to Christianity that concluded with the LOLtastic statement by Bjorn that now that he is a Christian,he can no longer in good conscience commit cold blooded murder. Bwahahaha.
In the end, it was not silly enough to get completely and delightfully lost in, as in the whimsical novels of Bertrice Small, nor was it serious enough for me to really emotionally invest myself. It wasn't even bad enough to make it into the Diana Palmer/Virginia Henley "gloriously bad" hall of fame. I predict I will forget I even read this in a few weeks.
September 6, 2021
i’m so THRILLED to finally put this nightmare of a book behind me, holy cows this was an abomination to all historical romances out there
January 3, 2018
Intriguing Viking Romance set in Sweden and Constantinople
This was Mia Marlowe’s debut novel (originally published under the name of Diana Groe). No date is given but it mentions a character named Halfdan who lived in the late 5th-early 6th century but it could have been set in a later century. The location is Sweden and Constantinople.
Rika was rejected by her father, a jarl, at birth because of her mother died in childbed. Rika is set adrift on a slab of ice by the midwife, expected to die. Instead, she was found by the famous skald, Magnus, who raised her like a daughter and taught her his storytelling craft. When she is grown, a Viking raid ends in the death of Magnus and her capture by Bjorn the Black. Bjorn claims her as his bed slave but then falls in love with her and desires to marry her.
Meanwhile Bjorn’s twisted brother has another marriage in mind for Rika.
This was a good story that held my interest with great characters. It did slow a bit when they got to Constantinople where much happens. Also, our strong heroine seemed to change to a sometimes compliant woman. The story has a nice finish.
Songs of the North trilogy:
Maidensong
Erinsong
Dragonsong
This was Mia Marlowe’s debut novel (originally published under the name of Diana Groe). No date is given but it mentions a character named Halfdan who lived in the late 5th-early 6th century but it could have been set in a later century. The location is Sweden and Constantinople.
Rika was rejected by her father, a jarl, at birth because of her mother died in childbed. Rika is set adrift on a slab of ice by the midwife, expected to die. Instead, she was found by the famous skald, Magnus, who raised her like a daughter and taught her his storytelling craft. When she is grown, a Viking raid ends in the death of Magnus and her capture by Bjorn the Black. Bjorn claims her as his bed slave but then falls in love with her and desires to marry her.
Meanwhile Bjorn’s twisted brother has another marriage in mind for Rika.
This was a good story that held my interest with great characters. It did slow a bit when they got to Constantinople where much happens. Also, our strong heroine seemed to change to a sometimes compliant woman. The story has a nice finish.
Songs of the North trilogy:
Maidensong
Erinsong
Dragonsong
September 20, 2012
This is another Viking takes a captive story. Except there are a few differences. One the girl who is taken is NOT a saxon, she is Norse as well. I liked that. I like that she was familiar with their way of life. Another difference was this story did not stay in one place. Meaning the location.
This story moved and took the characters to many different settings and locations. Because of all the setting changes, I felt like I was on a journey. It felt like I experienced so much with the characters from beginning to end. When I got to the end, I thought back to where it all started and couldn't help thinking, 'wow that was a long time ago.'
Rika was a great character. When Bjorn took her she was so fierce and full of spunk I instantly fell in love with her. I loved that how protective she was of her brother and I loved that she would throw insults out when she got mad, because her insults were funny. She was protective, honorable, loyal and selfless almost to a fault. She had a lot of integrity. Despite wanting something so passionately, she stayed true to her word, until she realized that simply because she holds up her end of a bargain, does not necessarily mean the other person will. I loved how she was able to win Al-Amin's loyalty near the end.
Bjorn was great from the start. Other than the fact that he took her, he was always gentle and understanding and a pretty fair guy. I love watching a fierce viking fall in love. Rika was a skald and she captivated people with her words and stories, but it wasn't her stories that captivated Bjorn, it was her spirit. He couldn't take his eyes off of her almost from the moment he found her.
Their story is a bumpy ride. But they are so good together, you can't help routing for them. This book made me want to read more Viking books, so I immediately went out and bought another one. :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FAVORITE QUOTES
"Sometimes, when Ketil has a bad dream, it helps him to tell me about it," she rasped.
"That's all I need," Bjorn muttered. "Now you rank me with a half-wit."
Rika pulled away from him and sat up. "My brother is a kind and gentle person, a pure spirit who wouldn't hurt anyone. The day hasn't dawned when you're good enough to be 'ranked' with him." Her voice had a raw edge to it.
"I suspect you don't like me. You've been subtle about it, but it's beginning to sink in."
~Rika and Bjorn
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"[...] Before anyone could stop him, Ragnar stabbed it into his own heart and fell down, dying."
"I knew testing the man was not a good idea," Bjorn said with a small smile of vindication on his lips.
She rolled her eyes at him. "Do you want to hear the end of the story or not?"
"Ja, please."
"Swanhilde jumped up-"
"Knowing she'd done wrong," he said.
"Ja, knowing she'd done wrong," Rika mimicked, "but there was no help for it. Ragnar was already gone. She pulled the dagger from his chest, kissed his cold lips, and-"
"His lips wouldn't be cold yet," Bjorn interrupted.
"Would you like to tell the story?"
"No please go on."
~Rika and Bjorn
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Let me go, you worthless crust of lint from a beggar's navel," she railed at him. "Filth from Loki's un-wiped arse! Limp-sworded, pea-balled troll!"
~Rika
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"A brave man feels no fear."
"Nonesense. I don't care how daunting the act, unless you fear, you've done nothing brave. It takes no courage at all to face something you're not afraid of. Fear is a requirement for true bravery."
"You may be right about that."
~Bjorn and Rika
This story moved and took the characters to many different settings and locations. Because of all the setting changes, I felt like I was on a journey. It felt like I experienced so much with the characters from beginning to end. When I got to the end, I thought back to where it all started and couldn't help thinking, 'wow that was a long time ago.'
Rika was a great character. When Bjorn took her she was so fierce and full of spunk I instantly fell in love with her. I loved that how protective she was of her brother and I loved that she would throw insults out when she got mad, because her insults were funny. She was protective, honorable, loyal and selfless almost to a fault. She had a lot of integrity. Despite wanting something so passionately, she stayed true to her word, until she realized that simply because she holds up her end of a bargain, does not necessarily mean the other person will. I loved how she was able to win Al-Amin's loyalty near the end.
Bjorn was great from the start. Other than the fact that he took her, he was always gentle and understanding and a pretty fair guy. I love watching a fierce viking fall in love. Rika was a skald and she captivated people with her words and stories, but it wasn't her stories that captivated Bjorn, it was her spirit. He couldn't take his eyes off of her almost from the moment he found her.
Their story is a bumpy ride. But they are so good together, you can't help routing for them. This book made me want to read more Viking books, so I immediately went out and bought another one. :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FAVORITE QUOTES
"Sometimes, when Ketil has a bad dream, it helps him to tell me about it," she rasped.
"That's all I need," Bjorn muttered. "Now you rank me with a half-wit."
Rika pulled away from him and sat up. "My brother is a kind and gentle person, a pure spirit who wouldn't hurt anyone. The day hasn't dawned when you're good enough to be 'ranked' with him." Her voice had a raw edge to it.
"I suspect you don't like me. You've been subtle about it, but it's beginning to sink in."
~Rika and Bjorn
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"[...] Before anyone could stop him, Ragnar stabbed it into his own heart and fell down, dying."
"I knew testing the man was not a good idea," Bjorn said with a small smile of vindication on his lips.
She rolled her eyes at him. "Do you want to hear the end of the story or not?"
"Ja, please."
"Swanhilde jumped up-"
"Knowing she'd done wrong," he said.
"Ja, knowing she'd done wrong," Rika mimicked, "but there was no help for it. Ragnar was already gone. She pulled the dagger from his chest, kissed his cold lips, and-"
"His lips wouldn't be cold yet," Bjorn interrupted.
"Would you like to tell the story?"
"No please go on."
~Rika and Bjorn
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Let me go, you worthless crust of lint from a beggar's navel," she railed at him. "Filth from Loki's un-wiped arse! Limp-sworded, pea-balled troll!"
~Rika
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"A brave man feels no fear."
"Nonesense. I don't care how daunting the act, unless you fear, you've done nothing brave. It takes no courage at all to face something you're not afraid of. Fear is a requirement for true bravery."
"You may be right about that."
~Bjorn and Rika
February 16, 2022
I think I grabbed this book off the thrift store shelf because of the viking/captive story line.
The beginning was far better that the middle of the book and the end was rushed with eye roll worthy events to finish up. I like Bjorn as the fierce Viking. I liked Rika as the brave captive.
I guess it was a nice romance, epic love story. They traveled far after Bjorn was forced to deliver Rica to be married some far off Arab, eventhough they were already in love. Wicked Brother! Their travel party was an interesting mix. I still don't get how Rika's biological father and her childhood nurse (who also sent her to her expected death on an ice flow as a new born!) ended up with Bjorn and Rika. I was really hoping that the baby that Rika saw in the water could be saved....that image bothered me for awhile. But I guess the author put that in there for need of discussing Rika's birth and abondonement. Weird that Rika did not know he was her father for a while and when she found out it really was not talked about much. They just kept on with their journey. later things were resolved, but it was an akward thing!
I put this book aside for a while and really forgot much of what was going on. I thought it interesting that Bjorn, who could not swim, jumped into a raging river/waterfall to save Rika and alas there is happy outcome! How did he not drown? You don't just learn how to swim in the moment of water danger!
There are some great moments that had me visually in my head seeing everything and I loved Bjorn and Rika's tender, mutual romance and how she taught him to read runes, which came in handy later!
The last half of the book was more exciting. I was really surprised that the Arab, all powerful, man of many wives and concubines did not bed and wed Rika, instead kept her around for months and waited for her to make faith decision. Would that have stopped him in reality? But then went all beserk to get her back when she escaped? What?
I liked that the story was over many months and not just a few days.
The intimate scenes were nicely done, not too graphic and not to many! They didn't get much alone time!
I think the author tried to put too much into the book with so many characters if was hard to remember who was who and how they were all related.
Overall, this is good if you like viking stories and captive to lover stories.
The beginning was far better that the middle of the book and the end was rushed with eye roll worthy events to finish up. I like Bjorn as the fierce Viking. I liked Rika as the brave captive.
I guess it was a nice romance, epic love story. They traveled far after Bjorn was forced to deliver Rica to be married some far off Arab, eventhough they were already in love. Wicked Brother! Their travel party was an interesting mix. I still don't get how Rika's biological father and her childhood nurse (who also sent her to her expected death on an ice flow as a new born!) ended up with Bjorn and Rika. I was really hoping that the baby that Rika saw in the water could be saved....that image bothered me for awhile. But I guess the author put that in there for need of discussing Rika's birth and abondonement. Weird that Rika did not know he was her father for a while and when she found out it really was not talked about much. They just kept on with their journey. later things were resolved, but it was an akward thing!
I put this book aside for a while and really forgot much of what was going on. I thought it interesting that Bjorn, who could not swim, jumped into a raging river/waterfall to save Rika and alas there is happy outcome! How did he not drown? You don't just learn how to swim in the moment of water danger!
There are some great moments that had me visually in my head seeing everything and I loved Bjorn and Rika's tender, mutual romance and how she taught him to read runes, which came in handy later!
The last half of the book was more exciting. I was really surprised that the Arab, all powerful, man of many wives and concubines did not bed and wed Rika, instead kept her around for months and waited for her to make faith decision. Would that have stopped him in reality? But then went all beserk to get her back when she escaped? What?
I liked that the story was over many months and not just a few days.
The intimate scenes were nicely done, not too graphic and not to many! They didn't get much alone time!
I think the author tried to put too much into the book with so many characters if was hard to remember who was who and how they were all related.
Overall, this is good if you like viking stories and captive to lover stories.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 19, 2022
The background to this historical romance- life and culture of the Vikings- was rather interesting and off-putting , no wonder this culture disappeared. The two main characters easily converted to Christianity at the end.
The love-story itself was ok, but nothing outstanding. The heroine was rather strong, the hero supposedly an alpha male, turned quickly beta when he fell in love with the heroine. They had exiting adventures until the end.
An ok read.
The love-story itself was ok, but nothing outstanding. The heroine was rather strong, the hero supposedly an alpha male, turned quickly beta when he fell in love with the heroine. They had exiting adventures until the end.
An ok read.
Read
December 5, 2020You ever just put a book down and forget to pick it back up? DNF 204 pages.
December 10, 2021
I DON'T QUITE REMEMBER WHY I RATED THIS SO HIGHLY BEFORE BUT AFTER REVISITING IT, I FOUND THAT IT DID INDEED LACK EXCITEMENT AND TRUE PASSION IN THE ROMANCE. The hero was sweet but the heroine lacked presence even if she was no coward. As a Viking story it does hold an appeal but I admit I do prefer it with a little angst and dramatic flair. The story does hold intrigue but I find myself bored soon enough. What's a little romance without a little fight? This one was a little too smooth for my taste.
February 7, 2015
Pretty good story
I have to give credit to this author for a fine job of historical accuracy. It is not easy to write in the tradition of a particular era and keep the suspense and interest and romance intact. The characters were very strong and well written. I would definitely recommend this book.
I have to give credit to this author for a fine job of historical accuracy. It is not easy to write in the tradition of a particular era and keep the suspense and interest and romance intact. The characters were very strong and well written. I would definitely recommend this book.
Read
March 13, 2015Did not finish.
I did not know why I picked this up. Maybe something to do with having a good Viking romance read- these sorts of books haven't been popular since my school days. The book failed to captivate me- the character developments & their responses to situations are cliched.
I did not know why I picked this up. Maybe something to do with having a good Viking romance read- these sorts of books haven't been popular since my school days. The book failed to captivate me- the character developments & their responses to situations are cliched.
August 24, 2010
Set in viking times, its a pretty neat story. No real surprises at the end or anything but an enjoyable read.
August 5, 2016
Was just okay, didn't have that extra special something that left you feeling great about reading a book.
May 24, 2015
Did not finish, even though I wanted to. It is quite dragging already halfway.
August 21, 2015
I can't decide if it's 4 or 5 so i will leave it by 5
March 30, 2016
Well, not the best but a good read,....
Now I read Erinsong, maybe thats a better one,...
Now I read Erinsong, maybe thats a better one,...
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews