Monday, March 4, 2013

River of Destiny by Barbara Erskine


About the Book:

An Anglo-Saxon Burial ground that must not be disturbed.....

A Victorian tragedy of forbidden love.....

And an ancient curse whose power grows ever stronger.....

From the bestselling author of Time's Legacy and Lady of Hay comes a thrilling new novel, River of Destiny, whose epic story spans Anglo Saxon Britain, Victorian Suffolk and the present day.



My thoughts:

I love Barbara Erskine books! They are a unique blend of the supernatural,  history, and mystery and they never fail to give me the chills!   She has a way of developing a chilling atmosphere in her books with cold mists and ghostly echoes from the past.

The novel centers on a modern day couple who have moved to Suffolk to enjoy a more leisure way of life by sailing on the River Deben and settling in to a development of restored historical barns. It doesn't take long for strange events to start frightening the couple.......a ghostly Viking ship that appears in the mists of the river while they're sailing......echoes of horses clopping on cobblestones in the night....

The contemporary setting is the stage for the two historical stories from the past to unfold. The ancient  Anglo Saxon tale of a powerful sword and a violent and tragic Victorian tale of forbidden passions came to life and I could not put it down! Awesome!

Why only four stars then? I thought way too much time was spent on unnecessary and uninteresting modern day relationships. The wow factor in this novel were definitely the historical threads and made this a great read.

4/5 stars

Title: River of Destiny
Author: Barbara Erskine
kindle edition
2013

*This book is from my personal library.

7 comments:

Gerbera Daisy Diaries said...

I never read anything by her -- maybe I need too!

Melissa @ Confessions of an Avid Reader said...

I can't wait to get my hands on this one! Great review, Joanne.

Lucy said...

Hey, that sounds like a great book:)

Come on over to my site...You won the Giveaway!!

http://enchantedbyjosephine.blogspot.ca/2013/03/winner-of-shadows-and-strongholds-is.html

Lucy

Staci said...

4 stars is still good!! I like her stories and the way she weaves present day with the past!

Book of Secrets said...

I've never read her before, but I think I should! I love eerie tales.

Susan said...

I'm going to have to add this author to my list. I haven't read her before, but this sounds like a good book to start with!

Teddyree said...

I adore Barbara Erskine, one of my all time fave authors. Lady of Hay and Kingdom of Shadows all time favourite novels. I can't wait to read this one even if it's not quite up there with her best lol

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