Promises of the Runes

Christina Courtenay

April 13, 2023
April 17, 2023

Runes

Sci-Fi Romance, Time Travel

He travelled through time to capture her heart. The amulet was still in the palm of his hand. Was it some sort of conduit to the past? The image of the anguished woman in his vision was seared into his mind. Perhaps it could help him find her? Ivar Thoresson is desperate for adventure. As an archaeologist specialising in Viking times, he wants nothing more than to travel back to the ninth century as his loved ones have done, to learn everything he can about the era which fascinates him. And whilst his adopted family have always made him feel loved, the chance to meet a true ancestor, the warrior Thorald, is a temptation he cannot resist. But while Ivar is preparing to go, he uncovers an amulet which shows him a vision of an arresting woman with red-gold hair. Clearly in distress, she is pleading for help. Convinced of the power of the charm and its message, Ivar’s journey takes on a new purpose. He steps back in time determined to follow his destiny – and find the woman who has called to his heart.

This book contains:

Kidnapping
Attempted rape.

Ivar is the older foster brother to those that have time travelled before. With no living blood relatives, he’s desperate to find out about his own heritage and find out where his family comes from.

Ellisif is a Viking woman whose land and holdings are under threat. Despite everything she’s going through, she’s strong, she’s determined and she’s willing to fight for what she deserves.

Ivar finds a way to travel back in time to meet his ancestors with the aim of learning about his heritage and Viking culture. Before he can travel back in time, he has a vision of a woman he doesn’t know that appears to be from the Viking era.

Once he travels back in time, Ivar finds himself experiencing an adventure he didn’t expect, including finding the woman from his vision.

I was really looking forward to this coming out and I wasn’t disappointed.

Christina has such an amazing way of fully absorbing you into her world. The detail she’s able to give to little things like the clothing, the way boats, tools and weapons are made are what pulls you into her world and what makes it real.

I think one of the best bits is how it ends. How Ivar and Ellisif choose to live their lives together in the way that makes sense to them. While it was a bit of surprise, I was happy with how it ended and it makes me wonder how the next one will go (there is a next one right? I know I need another one!).

Continue to read further down to find out about the author.

Author Bio

Christina Courtenay writes historical romance, time slip and time travel stories, and lives in Herefordshire (near the Welsh border) in the UK. Although born in England, she has a Swedish mother and was brought up in Sweden – hence her abiding interest in the Vikings. Christina is a former chairman of the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association and has won several awards, including the RoNA for Best Historical Romantic Novel twice with Highland Storms (2012) and The Gilded Fan (2014) and the RNA Fantasy Romantic Novel of the year 2021 with Echoes of the Runes. Promises of the Runes (time travel romance published by Headline Review 13th April 2023) is her latest novel. Christina is a keen amateur genealogist and loves history and archaeology (the armchair variety).