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The Norsewomen #4
The Queen in the Mound
Raider Bride is headed to Tromøy, where Ragnhild hopes to gain Åsa's aid in taking Gausel. But the voyage takes them through perilous waters where enemies lie in wait, and Ragnhild carries a secret that could ruin everything. On Tromøy, an ancient evil wakes and a forgotten enemy gains strength, threatening to destroy all those Åsa loves.
Contains mature themes.
Contains mature themes.
274 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 20, 2022
198 people are currently reading
281 people want to read
About the author
Johanna Wittenberg
10 books131 followers Like her Viking forebears, Johanna Wittenberg has sailed to the far reaches of the world. She lives on a fjord in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, whom she met on a ship bound for Antarctica.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
February 27, 2022
Hated for it to end, but I loved the way it ended.
As the other three books, the writing is so descriptive and flows so well that I can visualize everything. Even some of the Norse names that are hard to pronounce become easier. I appreciate the writing style.
I always have to research after I read to learn more about the cities and the Gods of the Norse.
I suspect the next book will have a storyline that includes the daughter of Signy and Harold. maybe she will grow up and marry Halfdan, Son of Queen Asa.
As the other three books, the writing is so descriptive and flows so well that I can visualize everything. Even some of the Norse names that are hard to pronounce become easier. I appreciate the writing style.
I always have to research after I read to learn more about the cities and the Gods of the Norse.
I suspect the next book will have a storyline that includes the daughter of Signy and Harold. maybe she will grow up and marry Halfdan, Son of Queen Asa.
October 7, 2023
This book is rich with Norse mythology that’s captivating, however written a little too kiddish. I wish it had the sophistication of The Golden Wolf Saga, but alas you can’t win them all. Still a worthwhile fun read.
April 21, 2022
Sure hope to see more set in this world from this author in the future, especially after the predictions made for the youngest members of these families during this particular novel.
January 28, 2022
The Queen in the Mound by Johanna Wittenberg
🤩Overall: 8/10
🔥Romance: fade to black
😈Darkness: YA fantasy, light for a Viking tale
📖Pub date: February 20, 2022
𝐵𝑙𝑢𝑟𝑏:
𝑅𝑎𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝐵𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑇𝑟𝑜𝑚ø𝑦, 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑅𝑎𝑔𝑛ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛 Å𝑠𝑎'𝑠 𝑎𝑖𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐺𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑙. 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑣𝑜𝑦𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑙𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑅𝑎𝑔𝑛ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑎 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑟𝑢𝑖𝑛 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝑂𝑛 𝑇𝑟𝑜𝑚ø𝑦, 𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑙 𝑤𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑛 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑚𝑦 𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ, 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑦 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑒 Å𝑠𝑎 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑠.
Another great book by Wittenberg! If you’ve been around my page long enough, you know I have a love for the Norse/Viking tales. Johanna Wittenberg is one of my favorite authors in this genre because of all the research and authenticity she brings to the story. The Queen in the Mound is the fourth book in The Norsewomen series and I highly recommend reading them in order. I thoroughly enjoyed the many POVs and the new love interests and obstacles introduced this time around. I have a feeling this is not where the story ends so I eagerly await the next book!
🤩Overall: 8/10
🔥Romance: fade to black
😈Darkness: YA fantasy, light for a Viking tale
📖Pub date: February 20, 2022
𝐵𝑙𝑢𝑟𝑏:
𝑅𝑎𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝐵𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑇𝑟𝑜𝑚ø𝑦, 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑅𝑎𝑔𝑛ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛 Å𝑠𝑎'𝑠 𝑎𝑖𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐺𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑙. 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑣𝑜𝑦𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑙𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑅𝑎𝑔𝑛ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑎 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑟𝑢𝑖𝑛 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝑂𝑛 𝑇𝑟𝑜𝑚ø𝑦, 𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑙 𝑤𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑛 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑚𝑦 𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ, 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑦 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑒 Å𝑠𝑎 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑠.
Another great book by Wittenberg! If you’ve been around my page long enough, you know I have a love for the Norse/Viking tales. Johanna Wittenberg is one of my favorite authors in this genre because of all the research and authenticity she brings to the story. The Queen in the Mound is the fourth book in The Norsewomen series and I highly recommend reading them in order. I thoroughly enjoyed the many POVs and the new love interests and obstacles introduced this time around. I have a feeling this is not where the story ends so I eagerly await the next book!
June 6, 2022
Awesome
I just totally loved this final book in this fantastic series. It brings the conclusion of the stories of both Ragnhild and Asa and most satisfying too. This series has very strong females, love, war, a bit of fantasy and forgiveness. Truly worth the read. Looking forward to more books by this author.
I just totally loved this final book in this fantastic series. It brings the conclusion of the stories of both Ragnhild and Asa and most satisfying too. This series has very strong females, love, war, a bit of fantasy and forgiveness. Truly worth the read. Looking forward to more books by this author.
October 21, 2022
A lively and well paced read….
This series was hard to put down once picked up, I enjoyed it very much and hope to find out how all the characters fare in the years to come.
This series was hard to put down once picked up, I enjoyed it very much and hope to find out how all the characters fare in the years to come.
January 2, 2022
This was a fun book to beta read.
Well worth the time spent reading and offering feedback.
Well worth the time spent reading and offering feedback.
November 9, 2023
What a fascinating story!
I must say I am glad I wad not a Viking woman during these turbulent times! However, Johanna Wittenberg has interwoven an incredible tale mixing legends and amazingly detailed research in yet another story of Norsewomen. Thanks for the great read!
I must say I am glad I wad not a Viking woman during these turbulent times! However, Johanna Wittenberg has interwoven an incredible tale mixing legends and amazingly detailed research in yet another story of Norsewomen. Thanks for the great read!
April 1, 2022
I love these stories. This one continues the tales of Ragnhild the shield-maiden and Asa, the Norse warrior queen. We are treated to several longboat journeys, fierce battles, and a selection of Irish mythological stories. With her Irish husband by her side, Ragnhild and her ‘hird’ of warriors travel in their longboats to do battle with her brother, Harald, to reclaim her ancestral land.
As with all these books, this one is liberally sprinkled with strange Norse words like hnefatafl (a board game), hudfat (a sleeping bag), haugbui (a ghost), and hamingja (luck or fate). All are fully explained in the text, and the author provides us with a list of the characters and an extensive glossary at the end of the book.
A couple of comments: being unfamiliar with sailing terminology I found myself somewhat at sea at times. I picked out an example of the sort of thing that had me reaching for my dictionary: ‘Off to leeward the pursuing ship luffed up and spilled their wind to avoid a knockdown.’ I did find the storyline a bit threadbare in spots, but the queen in the mound – a ghostly walk-on part – does her best to tie the various strands of the story together.
That said, I love these stories. I can hear the clash of seax on wootz steel; I can see the longboats emerging from the mist in the fjord; I can taste the small beer in my drinking horn; and I can smell the Jól log crackling and spitting on the fire.
Originally Reviewed for Discovering Diamonds
As with all these books, this one is liberally sprinkled with strange Norse words like hnefatafl (a board game), hudfat (a sleeping bag), haugbui (a ghost), and hamingja (luck or fate). All are fully explained in the text, and the author provides us with a list of the characters and an extensive glossary at the end of the book.
A couple of comments: being unfamiliar with sailing terminology I found myself somewhat at sea at times. I picked out an example of the sort of thing that had me reaching for my dictionary: ‘Off to leeward the pursuing ship luffed up and spilled their wind to avoid a knockdown.’ I did find the storyline a bit threadbare in spots, but the queen in the mound – a ghostly walk-on part – does her best to tie the various strands of the story together.
That said, I love these stories. I can hear the clash of seax on wootz steel; I can see the longboats emerging from the mist in the fjord; I can taste the small beer in my drinking horn; and I can smell the Jól log crackling and spitting on the fire.
Originally Reviewed for Discovering Diamonds
February 27, 2022
I just love this series
Strong women. Equality and honor. This is one of those series that you can hardly wait until the next book. I hope that is the case here! Be prepared to lose sleep, desire to do anything but read this book. Do yourself a favor and read this series. Wonderful!
Strong women. Equality and honor. This is one of those series that you can hardly wait until the next book. I hope that is the case here! Be prepared to lose sleep, desire to do anything but read this book. Do yourself a favor and read this series. Wonderful!
March 11, 2022
More please!!
I enjoyed this book so very much. I will certainly recommend this awesome series to other readers. Hope that this authoress continues to write books of this quality.
I enjoyed this book so very much. I will certainly recommend this awesome series to other readers. Hope that this authoress continues to write books of this quality.
July 2, 2023
Loved this book!!!
I think of all the books which I have duly loved this is my favorite. I like good endings. Life doesn’t always work out like this so when I read it esmust have positive stories. The wars were needed at that time but they are finding that peace will be better. Families must learn to stay together and fight their battles together. These books blend romance, fantasy and some history. The stories of Asa and Olaf as well as
Ragenheld and Marchand are bittersweet and joyful. Hope their are more books.
I think of all the books which I have duly loved this is my favorite. I like good endings. Life doesn’t always work out like this so when I read it esmust have positive stories. The wars were needed at that time but they are finding that peace will be better. Families must learn to stay together and fight their battles together. These books blend romance, fantasy and some history. The stories of Asa and Olaf as well as
Ragenheld and Marchand are bittersweet and joyful. Hope their are more books.
February 10, 2025
A Great Journey
You begin book 4 With the expectation of a great journey. The way that the carriers move around in this historical novel. They make it look so easy. Sailing around the North Sea like it was nothing. My Uncle served in the Navy during WW2 in the North Sea and he said that it was terrible. And that was on a big ship. Our cast and carriers are on a small Vikings ship.Once again this historical novel is well written with excellent story plot and a great deal of action. What a wonderful read.
You begin book 4 With the expectation of a great journey. The way that the carriers move around in this historical novel. They make it look so easy. Sailing around the North Sea like it was nothing. My Uncle served in the Navy during WW2 in the North Sea and he said that it was terrible. And that was on a big ship. Our cast and carriers are on a small Vikings ship.Once again this historical novel is well written with excellent story plot and a great deal of action. What a wonderful read.
May 3, 2025
several story lines makes for interesting reading!
I continue to enjoy this series, following both the lives of Åsa and Ragnhild through their quests to be recognized as rulers of their respective lands. This book was another amazing saga of their efforts to find their way in a male dominated world.
I continue to enjoy this series, following both the lives of Åsa and Ragnhild through their quests to be recognized as rulers of their respective lands. This book was another amazing saga of their efforts to find their way in a male dominated world.
March 29, 2022
Of the 4 this was the one I liked the least. The writing style and story did not have the depth of the other 3. I kept thinking it felt like a read for a younger person. The story line didn't feel developed. It was a pleasant enough read but not one of her best.
August 20, 2023
Enjoyed this one as much as the others, although it felt more like a part B to the previous novel than a standalone in itself. The author does a fantastic job of world-building in her mostly-historical-partly-fantastical Norse world.
February 4, 2022
I enjoyed the book. Interesting and detailed. Kept me intrigued.
March 5, 2022
Well, it is YA, but very lightweight, formulaic, and of course, the girls get their guys.
May 12, 2022
Queen in the mound
This was a pretty good series but it seems the books end abruptly with no real ending. i would like a little more closure
This was a pretty good series but it seems the books end abruptly with no real ending. i would like a little more closure
July 18, 2022
I am loving this series! Great historical fiction with a fantastical/ mystical element and great female characters.
August 13, 2022
great series
Johanna Wittenberg has great stories and history in the Norsewomen series. I would like to see the story continue with all of the characters.
Johanna Wittenberg has great stories and history in the Norsewomen series. I would like to see the story continue with all of the characters.
August 29, 2023
#4 in a series, this book is back on par with book #1. Fast paced, rich characters, a fun read.
January 2, 2024
Exciting
Good story, adventure and action. I like a story about strong women fighting for the right to lead their own lives.
Good story, adventure and action. I like a story about strong women fighting for the right to lead their own lives.
April 14, 2024
Loved the continuation of the Viking saga with Ragnhild, Murchad, Asa, Olaf, and Heid, among many other memorable characters. Highly recommend this series!
June 15, 2024
Compared to the first two books of the trilogy, this one is boring.
September 25, 2023
The Orkney Islands. September, AD 822. Johanna Wittenberg’s The Queen of the Mound (The Norsewomen, #4) is an exciting episode which has some unpredictable outcomes. I became so involved that I found myself reacting emotionally to warriors, female or male falling in battle. As the author expands the story by introducing new characters who seamlessly fit into the lives of the original characters. Seventeen year old Ragnhild and her husband, Murchad, a former Irish king and a Christian begin their journey back to Tromoy and to Asa, Ragnhild’s 19 year old Queen, on Ragnhild’s ship, Raider Bride. Conflicts occur thanks to Ragnhild’s traitorous older brother, but finally they reach Asa. The author includes aspects of the Norses’ belief system such as shapeshifting, a belief of some Native American Nations of the US, sacrificing animals at certain time of the year or for a special event, and the author illustrates a belief held that a deceased queen buried in a mound separated from other burials still has nefarious powers which plays havoc with Asa and her people. 4.5 stars
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews