Season of the Sun

I gave this thing 100 pages to stop being awful...no luck. Then I skimmed it in hopes it would get better...nope. I honestly do not understand why women write, let alone read, this kind of misogynistic tripe. Quite apart from the threatened rape from, like, every dude in the book and the competitive jealousies among all the women, you also have a hero who blames the heroine for his own faults. How is this sexy?!? Sigh. I own the other books in this series, and I just don't know if I have the internal fortitude to attempt to read any more of them....

Ugh. It may be partly me, and the mood I'm in - I've read and (as I recall) enjoyed Coulter before - but this read really bad. The characters, where they aren't cardboard, are modern people in fancy dress - everything from Magnus giving himself affirmations before he spoke to Zarabeth, to modesty in front of a child, is very out of period. The setting is reasonably accurate, which only made the attitudes jar more. There's also a heavy reliance on rape, by the hero on the heroine - even if she enjoys it, it's still rape if she's unwilling. A lot of stupid behavior, a lot of even stupider motivations for said behavior - honestly, I was wondering if Ingunn had a brain tumor or something (and if so, how they would find out). And a sweet show more little deus ex machina to devalue the biggest change in both their lives. I'm glad I read it, because now I don't ever have to read it again. I'll try a few more Coulters, particularly as I think this was an early one of hers, but if this is her level I won't be reading her any more. show less

This is one of those books that's tricky to review. It's an older bodice-ripper Viking story with sections that have certainly not aged well. But it's also a well-written, compelling story with mostly interesting characters.
Magnus is a Viking farmer and trader who spots Irish Zarabeth on a trip to York and decides to wed her (can I just say I hate the name Zarabeth, which is not Irish at all). There are complications because of her evil stepfather and some ick stuff going on, but later Magus is able to acquire her as a slave instead. He also gets her adorable deaf half-sister, Lotti.
I've been burning through Ms. Coulter's back catalog of historical romances, and she has a formula that works for her. The heroes are generally alpha males show more stuck in their beliefs that the male is the superior gender, while the females usually prove them wrong after much trial and tribulation. However, she makes the way that each couple gets there very different and she also writes well with good historical details, so I've mostly enjoyed the books. This one is not one of the best (I give it 3 1/2 stars) because the story veers off too much at times, but if you don't mind the old bodice-ripper books, this author is one of the best writers of them. show less

Synopsis: 'Zarabeth, with hair as red as an Irish sunset, is chosen by Magnus Haraldsson, a Viking on a trading visit to York, to be his wife. She is both stunned and fascinated by his bluntness, but is soon won over by this man who makes her laugh, brings her desire, and ultimately makes her trust him with her future and that of her little sister, Lotti. But her stepfather, Olav the Vain, has no intention of setting a bride price on Zarabeth.
Zarabeth does eventually return with Magnus to his farmstead in Norway, but as his slave, not as his wife. She wears the slave collar around her neck for all to see, but bears his distrust of her and her own pain deep within her.
It is the season of the sun in Norway, the clear midnight light of show more summer. Ut us a season of growth and flowering, of treachery and malice, of love and learning.' From the book cover.

Review: This is a very well written romance. The intrigue that fills Zarabeth's story keeps the reader up all night reading to find out what happens next. show less

This book disappointed me, well researched until Zarabeth was using potatoes. And now that I write it, all the viking names appeared to be well researched, but there is no Z in Irish and she is established as Irish. Her mother remarries a trader from York (not Yorvik, no, York), and the story features rape as seduction. Basically a few chapters in I was annoyed with the characters and wanted to watch some episodes of Vikings to wash the disappointment out.

Zarabeth is in York parenting her sister, Lotti, who is deaf, because her mother is dead, Olav the Vain was her mother's husband and he lusts after her.using Lotti as a tool to keep her in check. When she meets Magnus, a viking, who offers her a way out, but Olav blocks her joy, when show more Olav dies under mysterious circumstances Magnus takes his revenge on her rejection by taking her as his slave.

Because he wants her, none of her objections work for him, not even her tears. His needs triumph. His sister behaves like a complete bitch several times over. Some actual talking to each other might have gone a long way, I'm not sure that it would be a healthy long-term relationship.

And doesn't it have the ugliest cover ever, this was published in 2000.

Honestly it left a bad taste. show less

Pick this up for free from a swap and just LOVED it ... fell in love from the first few pages ... not sure why but the romance mixed with violence mixed with love mixed with all the misunderstandings that seems to haunt our everyday lives ... it just captured me. I couldn't put it down. Read it the first night !

Uhhhhh..... this made no sense. I seriously did not understand the heroine at all. Not romantic, just sad.