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The Graistan Chronicles #1-5
The Seasons Series Box Set
From internationally best-selling author Denise Domning comes a boxed set of her acclaimed "SEASONS SERIES".
WINTER'S HEAT
1994 winner of Romantic Time's "Best First Historical"
SUMMER'S STORM
SPRING'S FURY
AUTUMN'S FLAME
A LOVE FOR ALL SEASONS
WINTER'S HEAT
1994 winner of Romantic Time's "Best First Historical"
SUMMER'S STORM
SPRING'S FURY
AUTUMN'S FLAME
A LOVE FOR ALL SEASONS
1527 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 31, 2012
154 people are currently reading
418 people want to read
About the author
Denise Domning
49 books268 followersWhat can I say? I’m single and over sixty, I write and I farm on eight acres of slowly improving red earth (it originally looked like Mars had exploded!) on Oak Creek in northern Arizona. I started with chickens, then there were turkeys and Jersey milk cows. But with livestock came the predators: coyotes, bald eagles, black hawks, mountain lions, and, worst of all, raccoons. Dang those nasty creatures! They kill just because they can; think dogs with opposable thumbs. (Five chickens in one night–they reached in through the chain link and killed the birds with no expectation of being able to eat them.) They are the reason I keep livestock guardian dogs. There's the massive Polar Bear, a 135 pound Hungarian Kuvasz, Radha, the svelte and sleek 90 pound Anatolian Shepherd and her new chew toy, Rupert who is some sort of terrier mix and small enough to walk under her belly.
As for what my dogs guard, it's my growing herd of Dorper Sheep, a South African breed that (supposedly) doesn’t need to be sheared and gains all their weight on grass alone. I've also fallen in love with pigs, which are just dogs with snouts. Oh, how those rapscallions make me laugh!
If you're interested in keeping up with my farm antics, you can visit my blog at denisedomning.com or thefarmonoakcreek.com
As for what my dogs guard, it's my growing herd of Dorper Sheep, a South African breed that (supposedly) doesn’t need to be sheared and gains all their weight on grass alone. I've also fallen in love with pigs, which are just dogs with snouts. Oh, how those rapscallions make me laugh!
If you're interested in keeping up with my farm antics, you can visit my blog at denisedomning.com or thefarmonoakcreek.com
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
October 4, 2015
Five Medieval novels, loosely related.
Winter's Heat 3 stars
A decent story about two people who don't know each other and are forced to marry. Some good scenes and it sets the stage for the other books pretty well.
Summer's Storm 4.5 stars
My favorite because I really like the MCs and there's no instant love here. They get to know each other's strengths and weaknesses as they fall in love. This story has a great fight scene and some fun, too.
Spring's Fury 4 stars
I usually dislike weaker heroines, but Phillipa is a survivor and you have to admire her for that. Love Temric, once he stops feeling so sorry for himself. :)
Autumn's Flame 2.5 stars
Geoff never really makes sense to me. Why was he estranged from his brothers? Why did he buy the sheriff's position? Also, I love Clare and hate how her story ends.
A Love for All Seasons 1.5 stars
Miserable people living at a miserable time and place; they were unhappy in the flashbacks and they're still unhappy in the present.
The characters don't speak and act like modern people, and I like that. I also appreciate the fact that not all of the stories are about knights and ladies, but they include merchants and sheriffs and such as heroes and heroines. But the books would have benefited from one more round of editing. There are occasional errors like saying two fireplaces are equidistant apart, that throw the reader off. And a few details don't make sense or are never explained. Beyond that, these ratings are probably just my personal preference for the characters.
Winter's Heat 3 stars
A decent story about two people who don't know each other and are forced to marry. Some good scenes and it sets the stage for the other books pretty well.
Summer's Storm 4.5 stars
My favorite because I really like the MCs and there's no instant love here. They get to know each other's strengths and weaknesses as they fall in love. This story has a great fight scene and some fun, too.
Spring's Fury 4 stars
I usually dislike weaker heroines, but Phillipa is a survivor and you have to admire her for that. Love Temric, once he stops feeling so sorry for himself. :)
Autumn's Flame 2.5 stars
Geoff never really makes sense to me. Why was he estranged from his brothers? Why did he buy the sheriff's position? Also, I love Clare and hate how her story ends.
A Love for All Seasons 1.5 stars
Miserable people living at a miserable time and place; they were unhappy in the flashbacks and they're still unhappy in the present.
The characters don't speak and act like modern people, and I like that. I also appreciate the fact that not all of the stories are about knights and ladies, but they include merchants and sheriffs and such as heroes and heroines. But the books would have benefited from one more round of editing. There are occasional errors like saying two fireplaces are equidistant apart, that throw the reader off. And a few details don't make sense or are never explained. Beyond that, these ratings are probably just my personal preference for the characters.
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June 30, 2017Rereading old favourites
December 16, 2022
Fantastic read
I purchased this series for some fluff reading and it was so much more! I felt like crying when I finished reading the last book in the series.
I purchased this series for some fluff reading and it was so much more! I felt like crying when I finished reading the last book in the series.
May 10, 2013
I loved reading these novels! I really enjoy historical fiction. However, one problem I find while reading this genre is many authors write their stories with modern day language and morals. It's like they take their main characters from the here and now and plop them back hundreds of years in the past. It just doesn't feel authentic. But with these books I didn't get any of that. The author really did her homework to make sure her books feel genuine and authentic. I loved reading the archaic language and exploring the various facets of medieval life through the brothers in the series.
The only downside to the books was the graphic sexual descriptions. But it was fairly easy to skip and didn't take anything away from the storyline when I did that.
I loved reading about these strong women in a day and age when women weren't supposed to be that way. Each woman was strong in a different way as well as learned important lessons needed In order to grow in her relationship. I found myself seeing qualities that I myself possess (both good and bad) in these women, and wishing that I might develop some more that they exemplified soon. Also I couldn't help but find myself loving the men of these books. I appreciated the men being able to courageously love these women who defied many of the norms expected of them. These men display a strength of character that was lacking in many because they embrace the strength of their women's personalities.
The only downside to the books was the graphic sexual descriptions. But it was fairly easy to skip and didn't take anything away from the storyline when I did that.
I loved reading about these strong women in a day and age when women weren't supposed to be that way. Each woman was strong in a different way as well as learned important lessons needed In order to grow in her relationship. I found myself seeing qualities that I myself possess (both good and bad) in these women, and wishing that I might develop some more that they exemplified soon. Also I couldn't help but find myself loving the men of these books. I appreciated the men being able to courageously love these women who defied many of the norms expected of them. These men display a strength of character that was lacking in many because they embrace the strength of their women's personalities.
February 6, 2017
Loved your books/stories. As you say, it's far more easier learning about
historical pasts through stories that factual nonfiction as you really get into the reasons of how things were done and the spirit of understanding why. You get to the very definition of those with characters that feel like family with windows for you to watch through on their day to day activities, despite their homes being without glass. More of a metaphor. I did not want them to end but also wanted them to come through their ordeals safe and happy, hence wanted to get to the end to discover their plight. Love your books and look forward to more of their stories in the future. I don't think they knew anything about Amazons seeing they knew nothing of the Americans but more of Roman Gladiators or Vikings. I am now on to your newer stories of Faucon after your excerpt of The Innocents and looking forward to reading more of these times. I am also on my own,mostly at home,due to illness. These stories get me through my days and stop me feeling lonely as my family go through their days. Great work.
historical pasts through stories that factual nonfiction as you really get into the reasons of how things were done and the spirit of understanding why. You get to the very definition of those with characters that feel like family with windows for you to watch through on their day to day activities, despite their homes being without glass. More of a metaphor. I did not want them to end but also wanted them to come through their ordeals safe and happy, hence wanted to get to the end to discover their plight. Love your books and look forward to more of their stories in the future. I don't think they knew anything about Amazons seeing they knew nothing of the Americans but more of Roman Gladiators or Vikings. I am now on to your newer stories of Faucon after your excerpt of The Innocents and looking forward to reading more of these times. I am also on my own,mostly at home,due to illness. These stories get me through my days and stop me feeling lonely as my family go through their days. Great work.
August 22, 2013
If I were rating each book separately, the first would get 5 stars, the next 3 would get 4 stars, and the last would get 3 stars. Overall, the series was absolutely enjoyable and that much more so because the author really tried to fit the romance into a believable medieval world. I liked watching them through their trials and tribulations and exploring all the roles of medieval English life (circa the 1190s, so not too long after the Norman conquest).
Thankfully we didn't have to explore flea-ridden filth in detail (I hate books that wallow in that sort of disgusting details), but got to enjoy the flavor of the times -- as well as many of their pitfalls -- along with the characters in the novels.
These are definitely romance genre with the accompanying explicit sex scenes, but done in a lot better detail and a lot more respect for time and place than one generally sees. Good stuff!
Thankfully we didn't have to explore flea-ridden filth in detail (I hate books that wallow in that sort of disgusting details), but got to enjoy the flavor of the times -- as well as many of their pitfalls -- along with the characters in the novels.
These are definitely romance genre with the accompanying explicit sex scenes, but done in a lot better detail and a lot more respect for time and place than one generally sees. Good stuff!
April 11, 2014
I enjoyed the first book in the series "Winter's Heat" quite a bit but not all of the books were to my liking. In my opinion, some were better than others. Below I list them in order of how much I like them.
Winter's Heat
Spring's Fury
Autumn's Flame
Summer's Storm
A Love for All Seasons
Any dislike I had for these books was character and plot related. I generally like Denise's Historical Romances because she goes into great historical detail, and it is obvious that she has done her research. I only found that some of these characters were too hard to relate too/too weak in conviction and honesty, and some of the plot points were not very realistic b/c of weak character development.
Winter's Heat
Spring's Fury
Autumn's Flame
Summer's Storm
A Love for All Seasons
Any dislike I had for these books was character and plot related. I generally like Denise's Historical Romances because she goes into great historical detail, and it is obvious that she has done her research. I only found that some of these characters were too hard to relate too/too weak in conviction and honesty, and some of the plot points were not very realistic b/c of weak character development.
February 25, 2015
I could spend my life reading these books!!!
Oh my God there are just no words! This has to be like the greatest series I've ever read and I've been reading historical romances since for like 9 years! I've followed authors from Christina Dodd to Victoria Alexander. I mean I mess with the best. And Denise just sooooo surpasses them!!! She had me believing that no one could one person produce so many Amazing stories back to Back!!!! I mean like there are no words. I LOVED this series! If there were a 1000 books about this family I would buy them all!!! Just amazing!!!! Amazing!!!!
Oh my God there are just no words! This has to be like the greatest series I've ever read and I've been reading historical romances since for like 9 years! I've followed authors from Christina Dodd to Victoria Alexander. I mean I mess with the best. And Denise just sooooo surpasses them!!! She had me believing that no one could one person produce so many Amazing stories back to Back!!!! I mean like there are no words. I LOVED this series! If there were a 1000 books about this family I would buy them all!!! Just amazing!!!! Amazing!!!!
August 31, 2014
Rather than review each book, suffice to say, they were all terrific books. Personally, I felt the last one, A Love For All Seasons was the best of the lot. I've come to enjoy Domning's style of writing and will read her books whenever I get a chance.
She knows how to write a romance scene and draw the reader in to the time period. Her characters are well developed and the descriptions of their lives is very accurate.
She knows how to write a romance scene and draw the reader in to the time period. Her characters are well developed and the descriptions of their lives is very accurate.
February 3, 2013
Great series. Well written with a great insight into life in the late 1100's. I loved 4 of the 5 books completely and the 5th book I only enjoyed from Chapter 19 onward. The 5th book spent too much time jumping back and forth between time frames in the first 18 chapters which was a huge departure from the writing styles of the previous 4 books. But over all, the entire series was great.
May 17, 2013
This series is competently written and enjoyable to read. The sex was racier than I would ordinarily expect from Medieval Romance, but in most of the books, the plotline was also stronger than I expected.
April 26, 2019
Fabulous read
Great read .. couldn’t put it down . I’m an avid reader and once gripped it’s difficult to stop and put the book down . Loved every page . It’s was great reading and the way the family’s were woven together. Also he historical facts . Loved the books .
Great read .. couldn’t put it down . I’m an avid reader and once gripped it’s difficult to stop and put the book down . Loved every page . It’s was great reading and the way the family’s were woven together. Also he historical facts . Loved the books .
January 1, 2013
Book 1 was great. Book 2 bombed. I never made it to book 4. Bummer. Save your money and dont waste the time
February 13, 2013
Medieval series. Each novel is about a different brother. I liked it.
May 31, 2013
One of my free books from Amazon Prime. Phillipa Gregory-style historical fiction, a bit soap-opera-ish, but very quick reading!
June 11, 2014
This series is a must read for all those ladies who love a fantastic, romantic series!
March 30, 2017
Very strong lovely characters. Interesting medieval medical and herb lore.
February 26, 2016
Great read
Taking the series as a whole made for a good read of medieval times. I enjoyed the complex characters and their stories.
Taking the series as a whole made for a good read of medieval times. I enjoyed the complex characters and their stories.
January 11, 2019
Excellent series of historical fiction, giving an interesting insight into the everyday lives of 12th century Britons. Gripping plots, really enjoyable.
July 25, 2018
Loved these stories!
Love, wrong men and stronger women! Knights and ladies and the stories that being excitement and always waiting for the next events!
Love, wrong men and stronger women! Knights and ladies and the stories that being excitement and always waiting for the next events!
March 17, 2013
3.5-4 if you enjoy 1100 medieval it might appeal to you.
August 1, 2014
I loved this whole series and getting them as e-books all in a package was great.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews