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Sigrun's Secret

4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 · rating details · 77 ratings · 13 reviews

'Their garments are black as night. They carry torches in their hands, darkness and anger in their hearts. They are coming.' When a dark family secret is exposed, Sigrun's peaceful life is shattered. Forced to pay for her parents' misdeeds, she finds herself exiled from all she knows - and from the boy she loves - for three long years. Yet more secrets lie ahead; not least...more

Paperback, 307 pages

Published January 6th 2011 by OUP Oxford (first published December 22nd 2010)

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Mar 12, 2011 Sharon Goodwin rated it 5 of 5 stars

We first meet Sigrun as she is trying to break in a colt that so far, has resisted all attempts at domestication. Her father’s ship and her uncle’s have both arrived into the bay at the same time. Sigrun makes a spectacular arrival at that moment and it is here where we see her mother, Thora, have her first message from the goddess Freya. Still caught up in the first chapter we meet the returning childhood playmate, Ingvar, who Sigrun doesn’t recognise. The scene is set. Within the first chapter...more

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Apr 20, 2011 Stephanie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: i-own, ya-historical-fiction

Sigrun's Secret was everything that I expected it to be and more and stepping back into Marie Louise Jensen's wonderful writing whilst sunbathing in the garden was like eating my favourite chocolate-a real treat! Sigrun's Secret is the loose sequel to Daughter Of Fire and Ice and tells the story of the MC of the first book's daughter Sigrun as she is exiled from the only world she has ever known and discovers the truth about who her family really are.

I connected with the MC Sigrun just as much a...more Sigrun's Secret was everything that I expected it to be and more and stepping back into Marie Louise Jensen's wonderful writing whilst sunbathing in the garden was like eating my favourite chocolate-a real treat! Sigrun's Secret is the loose sequel to Daughter Of Fire and Ice and tells the story of the MC of the first book's daughter Sigrun as she is exiled from the only world she has ever known and discovers the truth about who her family really are.

I connected with the MC Sigrun just as much as her mother Thora and from the opening chapter, where Sigrun is riding a runaway and unbroken horse, because I was instantly hoping that the horse would stop before they reached the edge of the cliff. Sigrun feels that she is forever in the shadow of her mother for it is her great sadness that she has not inherited the gift of her mothers visions or her talent as a healer but she is similar to her in more ways than she thinks for she proves her courage and love in her own way. Throughout these doubts about herself, the trials of young love and the challenges of leaving her home to live in a unknown city where everything is strange and unfamiliar to her, I was able to relate to Sigrun really well. This was because of the way Marie Louise Jensen built up a consistent voice for her character that kept me in the heart of the action. Also, I really enjoyed seeing her develop from a naive young girl who has some insecurities in herself into a confident, honourable and thoughtful young women.

One of my favourite aspect of this book was Sigrun's relationship with her childhood friend Ingvar. When her father, brother and Ingvar come back from a year long trip, Ingvar seems changed and Sigrun develops feelings for him that she never knew she posessed. Just as their romance seems to begin blossoming, they are separated from each other and must live with the prospect of not seeing each other for three years-can their love last that long? Their romance was really sweet and it added a lot to my enjoyment of the story. Oh, and did I mention how handsome Ingvar was?

The secondary characters such as Sigrun's parents Bjorn and Thora, her mute friend Maria and Leif, the son of their host Thrang in Jorvik were all well written too and I cared about what happened to them too. I particularly liked finding out what happened to Bjorn and Thora after their struggle to be together in the first book.

As in Daughter Of Fire and Ice, the Icelandic setting was excellently described from the lush bay where Sigrun has grown up to the sights and smells of the bustling city of Jorvik. I found learning a bit of Norse myths and legends and the way of life back then from the slave trade to the different medicines that healers like Sigrun used really interesting.

Verdict: Sigrun's Secret is an adventuruous and emotional coming of age story complete with the trials of young love, loyalty and bravery set against the vivid backdrop of Iceland and the Norse city of Jorvik. Excellently written with lots of twists and turns in the plot and a lifelike heroine, I would reccommend it to anyone looking for something fresh and new in the YA historical fiction genre. Marie Louise Jensen is one of my favourite authors but she is not very well known at the moment and I hope that will change in the future!

You do not have to have read Daughter of Fire and Ice to enjoy this sequel but keep in mind that if you like this book, then you will know the ending of DOFAI if you decide to read it after.
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Sep 02, 2012 Rebecca rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, favorites

This is another really gripping, thrilling, exciting and entertaining novel by Marie-Louise Jenson as well as proving to be a truly delightful sequel to Daughter of Fire and Ice.
The way she describes and immerses the reader in the treacherous and dangerous medieval world these fascinating characters live in is truly captivating and it what makes her writing so delightful to read. It's easy enough to understand for young teenage readers but presents real dangerous problems that even make that adu...more

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Aug 03, 2011 Leanne Bell rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: blue-green-grey, historical-fiction, read-2011, young-adult, kindle-read, general-romance

This is the fourth book I've read by Miss Jensen and once again she doesn't disappoint, if anything this is now my favourite of her novels and it blew me away with it's plot, mystery and romance. Set in a time when Vikings were exploring new places and with Norse legend throughout this is one book you don't want to miss. I will also mention that this is a loose sequel to Daughter of Fire and Ice as the main character is the daughter of the main characters of Daughter of Fire and Ice. You can rea...more This is the fourth book I've read by Miss Jensen and once again she doesn't disappoint, if anything this is now my favourite of her novels and it blew me away with it's plot, mystery and romance. Set in a time when Vikings were exploring new places and with Norse legend throughout this is one book you don't want to miss. I will also mention that this is a loose sequel to Daughter of Fire and Ice as the main character is the daughter of the main characters of Daughter of Fire and Ice. You can read this as a stand alone, but be wary of this if you plan to read Daughter of Fire and Ice.

Breaking in a young colt so that it can be ridden and helping out her mother in her healing duties, Sigrun is eagerly awaiting the return of her father from sea, along with her childhood friend Ingvar and his family. The joy of both families return, however, is short lived as because of a long kept secret by her father, Sigrun is forced to leave her home in Iceland along with her brother and father, leaving behind her mother and the blossoming relationship between her and Ingvar. As a parting gift, Sigrun is given an amulet which appears give her powerful gifts, but is it enough to help her and her father in their exile?

As far as story lines go this is one twisting and adventurous one as Sigrun and her group sail from Iceland to Jorvik with only a few supplies and some money. I loved how realistically this is written and it was very easy to picture the dangerous seas, cruel slave trade and the oh so stubborn pride of men.
Jorvik itself was busy and very different from the Iceland that Sigrun left and it was amusing to read about her outrage at certain practices (such as the use of toilet facilities lol) and I can relate in some way to that bewildering sense of being in a new place. To put it bluntly, it's scary, no matter how far you travel.
Having said that, this book is not just about different places but also about finding change within yourself, and that Sigrun clearly does. It was wonderful watching her grow in so many different ways and coming into herself in a way that would not have been possible had she stayed in Iceland.

As well as all that, there's also a lot of mystery and suspense, which I won't spoil in my review but it involves romance, a woman and a lot of intrigue. There's also a lot of plotting and scheming and I absolutely love that in a book, I like to guess who the bad person is, even if I do nearly always guess wrong.
Perhaps one of the issues I had the strongest opinion on was the whole argument about honour, shame and revenge and clearly Sigrun agrees with me, though I won't say anymore as it would spoil it, but you'll understand once you read it.
As for the slave trade? Well don't get me started on that, I could go on for hours!

In a nutshell. this is a brilliant and romantic book and if you don't love the ending then I'll be very surprised. I can't wait to read Marie's next book; The Girl in the Mask which is due for release in March 2012.
If you haven't read any of Marie's books yet and you love Historical fiction with some romance then give them a go.
On a personal note, I will confess to singing Leaves' Eyes songs in my head while reading this pretty much every time a Norse god was mentioned or the word Viking or, well, pretty much the whole book. What can I say? It's not a far stretch! If you listen to Leaves' Eyes, you'll get what I mean :-)(less)

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Feb 19, 2011 Rebecca rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, arc, 2011-ya-hist-fic-challenge

Fifteen-year-old Sigrun lives a peaceful life with her family on their farm in Iceland in the 9th century. All she knows about her family's history is that her father was once a chieftain in Norway and he and her mother moved to Iceland twenty years ago to start a settlement. Sigrun is happy because her brother and her best friend, Ingvar, have just returned from a year spent traveling to Ireland to trade. At first she barely recognizes Ingvar, who has grown into a young man during the past year...more Fifteen-year-old Sigrun lives a peaceful life with her family on their farm in Iceland in the 9th century. All she knows about her family's history is that her father was once a chieftain in Norway and he and her mother moved to Iceland twenty years ago to start a settlement. Sigrun is happy because her brother and her best friend, Ingvar, have just returned from a year spent traveling to Ireland to trade. At first she barely recognizes Ingvar, who has grown into a young man during the past year. Sigrun is confused by the new feelings she has for her childhood friend.

Just as Sigrun begins to realize how she truly feels about Ingvar, her world falls apart. Her father is accused of being a murderer and an imposter and is banished from Iceland for three years, and Sigrun and her brother must go into exile with him while their mother stays behind to look after their farm. Sigrun is heartbroken at leaving behind her home, her friends, and Ingvar, when she has only just realized that she has fallen in love with him. After leaving Iceland, Sigrun, her brother, and their father travel to the city of Jorvik (now York, England), which was ruled by Scandanavians in the late 9th and early 10th centuries. Jorvik is very different from Sigrun's peaceful countryside home in Iceland, and she doesn't like living in a noisy and dirty city. I found this part of the story particularly interesting as I always had thought of the Vikings as just being raiders who attacked and then left and I didn't know they had controlled such a large part of what is now England.

I have loved everything I have read by Marie-Louise Jensen and Sigrun's Secret is no exception. All of her books have wonderful main characters and interesting and unusual historical settings. This book is a sequel of sorts to her previous book Daughter of Fire and Ice, which told the story of Sigrun's parents and their journey to Iceland. However you do not need to have read the previous book to enjoy or understand this one. If you enjoy historical fiction and historical romance I highly recommend this book and others by the author, and I can't wait to read her next book.

Disclosure: Review copy provided by publisher. (less)

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May 19, 2013 Gillian rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the kind of YA book I love to read and think this is a great example of a good sequel that can also be a stand alone read. Jensen's characters are realistic, their development well plotted and the story fast paced and entertaining. Love the Icelandic and English settings and it has a lovely folkloric feel to it. Would definitely recommend this.

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Apr 23, 2012 Sophia rated it 5 of 5 stars

I seriously loved this book! I love anything that's historical and romantic so this was perfect.
Marie Louise Jensen is the ultimate author for me and I just love her books.
There are seriously so many good things about this book I can't list them and the only bad thing was...... it ended!

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Jul 20, 2012 Trishia Apostol rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a really good book and very well written. It kept me interested from the start until the end. However, i expected the ending to have more details on Sigrun's future.

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Oct 15, 2011 Rebecca marked it as wishlist

Shelves: maybes

I've enjoyed her other three books; Daughter of Fire and Ice, The Lady in the Tower and Between Two Seas, but I don't know if I fancy this one. Has anybody read it?

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Jan 21, 2012 Emily rated it 4 of 5 stars

Yer good book, liked the ending, hooking and gripping could not put it down, so read it for 4 hours in one go and finished it!!!

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Apr 28, 2013 Simran Rawat added it

i loved the book and now it's my favourite one.
just love it...!

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Aug 14, 2011 Clodagh rated it 4 of 5 stars

i love the ending - it's so cute!

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Jul 15, 2011 Jenny rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

Sequel to Daughter of Fire and Ice, but can also be read as a stand-alone.
Bottom line: Well done historical fiction, but not as good as the rest of the author's works.

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About Marie-Louise Jensen

Born Marie-Louise Chalcraft in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire on September 22nd 1964.

I attended a string of state schools, including Chiltern Edge in Oxfordshire. Once my family moved down to Bath in 1979, I attended Fitzmaurice and St Laurence schools in Bradford on Avon. Throughout my primary school years I was constantly told off for reading secretly and writing long stories instead of completi...more

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