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Heart's Ease
(Northwomen Sagas #2)
by
The follow-up to the bestselling Viking romance, God's Eye.
When raiders from the North land in Olga’s world and take it over, she is captured and made a slave. She and her people suffer at the hands of creatures that seem more beasts than men, and not even her talent and skill as a healer can help them.
But one barbarian, big and golden, seems different from the others. He ...more
When raiders from the North land in Olga’s world and take it over, she is captured and made a slave. She and her people suffer at the hands of creatures that seem more beasts than men, and not even her talent and skill as a healer can help them.
But one barbarian, big and golden, seems different from the others. He ...more
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Showing 1-30
★ 4.5 Stars ★
Heart's Ease is the second book in the Northwomen Sagas. Although this installment can be read as a stand-alone, I highly recommend reading God's Eye, the first book in the series, in order to grasp the full complexity of the plot and characters in this series. I have always been a fan of Susan Fanetti. After reading God's Eye, I became addicted for more!
"This is the last of us, my love. You must stay away from me."
Heart's Ease is the second book in the Northwomen Sagas. Although this installment can be read as a stand-alone, I highly recommend reading God's Eye, the first book in the series, in order to grasp the full complexity of the plot and characters in this series. I have always been a fan of Susan Fanetti. After reading God's Eye, I became addicted for more!
"He had given up the deepest love he'd ever known."Heart's Eas ...more
FOUR POINT FIVE STARS
"Loss and gain. Dark and light. Pain and joy. Such was life. It was the way of things. The world kept its balance."
Wow, Heart’s Ease really was an emotional read. The depths these characters endured made me glad I didn’t live back then. The opening scene where the village is raided and the women are being treated as casualties of war was a brutal representation to what it must have been like during that time period.
Heart’s Ease has so much loss and hardships balanced by the ...more
"Loss and gain. Dark and light. Pain and joy. Such was life. It was the way of things. The world kept its balance."
Wow, Heart’s Ease really was an emotional read. The depths these characters endured made me glad I didn’t live back then. The opening scene where the village is raided and the women are being treated as casualties of war was a brutal representation to what it must have been like during that time period.
Heart’s Ease has so much loss and hardships balanced by the ...more
5 "BRUTAL!! VIOLENT!! RESILIENT!! HOPEFUL!! Heart's Ease" Stars!
"Loss and gain. Dark and light. Pain and joy. Such was life. It was the way of things. The world kept its balance."
Wow! Let me star off by saying I struggled with my rating for this book. The short story of why is because it is brutal and violent and harsh and tragic and sad and I just never knew when the next blow would come. I was on edge the entire time I was reading. Just waiting for the next horribly tragic event to occur. Bu ...more
"Loss and gain. Dark and light. Pain and joy. Such was life. It was the way of things. The world kept its balance."
Wow! Let me star off by saying I struggled with my rating for this book. The short story of why is because it is brutal and violent and harsh and tragic and sad and I just never knew when the next blow would come. I was on edge the entire time I was reading. Just waiting for the next horribly tragic event to occur. Bu ...more
I guess you could say Heart's Ease is a retelling of God's Eye at least that's how it kinda starts. But the whole perception is different, that coming from a slave and no less explosive. The storyline dramatically changes, becoming more of Leif & Olga. How far would you go to protect a valued close friendship? Would you kill, betray loyalties, sacrifice those you love? Hmmmm any other questions as to why I love Susan Fanetti and her writing? Five battle axe stars, happy reading!
I started Heart's Ease rather nervously, not knowing what to expect from Susan Fanetti. What I got was the most amazing read set in a harsh and brutal world. Her writing is breathtaking and I felt Heart's Ease went above and beyond God's Eye which was a 5 star read.
There's not doubt that SF doesn't pull any punches and says it like it is. She writes such fantastically strong characters, with such deep, raw and honest love for each other no matter what is thrown in their way and although I loved ...more
There's not doubt that SF doesn't pull any punches and says it like it is. She writes such fantastically strong characters, with such deep, raw and honest love for each other no matter what is thrown in their way and although I loved ...more
5 "I doubt you know how much." Stars
Having been looking forward to the second installment of the Northwoman Sagas since the end of book one, God's Eye, my excitement for Leif and Olga's story was way up. If you follow my reviews you know I'm a huge fan of Susan Fanetti's writing and story telling. I find her stories pure in a very natural way. She's not afraid to "go there" with her characters and she's definitely not afraid of the dark side of human nature. She consistently stays true to her wo ...more
3.5 to 4 stars. I ended up liking this book more than I expected to. I became more invested in Olga's convoluted story than I thought I would. Both Olga and Leif had very dramatic, horrifying experiences in their lives, both before and after they met each other. But they clearly belonged together. Olga was Leif's 'heart's ease', and for Olga, Leif kind of gave her back herself and her identity.
This is a book depicting brutal, difficult, devastating times in the lives of the Vikings. It's not a p ...more
This is a book depicting brutal, difficult, devastating times in the lives of the Vikings. It's not a p ...more
It's no secret that Susan Fanetti is my favorite author. She writes with such clear thought and deep meaning. It's hard to read one of her books and not see a bigger picture - the story beyond the story. Inevitably, I always fall in love.
I think Vikings may not be fully my cup of tea. But that's okay. Susan makes me care about the characters, all the same. This story is a little less bloody than the first, although still full of strife and struggle. I enjoyed seeing the world through the eyes of ...more
I think Vikings may not be fully my cup of tea. But that's okay. Susan makes me care about the characters, all the same. This story is a little less bloody than the first, although still full of strife and struggle. I enjoyed seeing the world through the eyes of ...more
Oct 06, 2016
Viollar
rated it
really liked it
Recommends it for:
Fans of Vikings!!/ or historical stories
4.5 Stars.
Fantastic read. Gritty, Gory, raw but oh so good!! The different characters, the relationships, the rivalry, the deaths, the violence, the love..it was really a full circle with this book.
Loved that i got to read more of Vali and Brenna of God's Eye as well.
I have to say however i enjoyed this book more than the book 1.
Side Note: Rape Triggers in this book.
Fantastic read. Gritty, Gory, raw but oh so good!! The different characters, the relationships, the rivalry, the deaths, the violence, the love..it was really a full circle with this book.
Loved that i got to read more of Vali and Brenna of God's Eye as well.
I have to say however i enjoyed this book more than the book 1.
Side Note: Rape Triggers in this book.
Another stellar book by Susan Fanetti. I'm addicted to this series, and Leif is one of my favorite fictional heroes ever.
6 + ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
So brutal, yet so honest. And that's the key to this series, staying true and honest to this time period, (which SF does perfectly by the way.)
I was so in love with the 1st book, God's Eye, so I was really hoping that book 2 would live up to that, which it did, and then some.
Leif & Olga...a match made in Valhalla.
Heart's Ease revisits the first part of God's eye. Retelling from both Olga & Leifs perspective. It was so much fun catching up with Brenna & Vali through th ...more
So brutal, yet so honest. And that's the key to this series, staying true and honest to this time period, (which SF does perfectly by the way.)
I was so in love with the 1st book, God's Eye, so I was really hoping that book 2 would live up to that, which it did, and then some.
Leif & Olga...a match made in Valhalla.
Heart's Ease revisits the first part of God's eye. Retelling from both Olga & Leifs perspective. It was so much fun catching up with Brenna & Vali through th ...more
Good second part
I liked the story. It did get a little draggy because we had a review of parts of the first book. I know it was necessary, but at times I was bored.
Olga was a darn strong woman, I thought the God's Eye was strong....heck no. She went through so much pain and loss, but kept surviving. I am glad she overcame her hatred to make a happy life.
Leif was very complicated and I did have lots of resentment towards him at the end of the first book. I always felt he could have done more. I ...more
I liked the story. It did get a little draggy because we had a review of parts of the first book. I know it was necessary, but at times I was bored.
Olga was a darn strong woman, I thought the God's Eye was strong....heck no. She went through so much pain and loss, but kept surviving. I am glad she overcame her hatred to make a happy life.
Leif was very complicated and I did have lots of resentment towards him at the end of the first book. I always felt he could have done more. I ...more
An epic love story set in such a brutal world. I love Susan's writing. She's one of my favorite authors. Loved it!
Book 1 of this series, Gos's Eye, is still my favorite book of 2016. I mention it here because you really would want to read book 1 before this one. I didn't love this book quite as much as the first one, but the writing and the way it draws me in to the story, makes it still a 5 star rating for me (maybe 4.5 stars). It's hard not to compare the two books. Brenna and Vali (book 1) have such an epic love story that not much can compare to that. But here is what was great about this book: the writ
...more
This book is pure escapism and I’ve not wanted to put it down.
I’ve truly travelled back to the time of the Vikings, glad I’ve watched some of the TV show as I can picture exactly what the time period is like. Susan Fanetti has written amazing characters, a fantastic series so far with the right amount of romance and adventure. To be fair I’d say this is the best book I’ve read by her so far, including her Bikers and those books are my favourite.
I’m definitely going to be trying some more histor ...more
I’ve truly travelled back to the time of the Vikings, glad I’ve watched some of the TV show as I can picture exactly what the time period is like. Susan Fanetti has written amazing characters, a fantastic series so far with the right amount of romance and adventure. To be fair I’d say this is the best book I’ve read by her so far, including her Bikers and those books are my favourite.
I’m definitely going to be trying some more histor ...more
Her heart was broken, but her spirit was not.
Everyone knows I adore the strong kickass lady, but sometimes the quite and unassuming heroines can be the most profound. Olga was phenomenal, and I never expected her to be the powerful woman she was. Like the first book, the story was brutal and difficult to read at times. However, I love these strong women. Yes, there's great romance, but this series is more about girl power than anything else.
This is my second book by Fanetti and my only compla ...more
Everyone knows I adore the strong kickass lady, but sometimes the quite and unassuming heroines can be the most profound. Olga was phenomenal, and I never expected her to be the powerful woman she was. Like the first book, the story was brutal and difficult to read at times. However, I love these strong women. Yes, there's great romance, but this series is more about girl power than anything else.
This is my second book by Fanetti and my only compla ...more
I absolutely love this series. I really enjoy reading about this time period - it was such a harsh and brutal time, so it seems weird that I am able to get so into a story filled with so much of what I hate - violence & cruelty - and yet I get so sucked into it because SF tells the story so well that I feel like I'm watching a movie in my mind, and I am able to just escape into it. This is because she weaves into her books various lessons in strength, passion, death, love, family, hate, forg
...more
Again very good work by Susan. The 3 stars are because I liked it but im used to reading her books with a certain amount of nerves because its exciting and you have no ideas whats going to happen.
In this book I didnt get those nerves. Maybe it was the calm character of Olga but I didnt get the fear while reading. And of course because a part of this story was already told in book one, so you know whats coming.
Early on in the book the h does something that I found very egocentric, it came across ...more
In this book I didnt get those nerves. Maybe it was the calm character of Olga but I didnt get the fear while reading. And of course because a part of this story was already told in book one, so you know whats coming.
Early on in the book the h does something that I found very egocentric, it came across ...more
3.5 stars.
In this book we get to see Olga and Leif's story. And I loved it just as much as the first book.
The first half of this book goes through the story of the first book but from Lief and Olga's pov rather than Brenna and Vali. Normally I hate back tracking like that, especially for an entire half book, but I loved it. Watching Brenna and Vali grow from an outside prospective was just as beautiful.
Both Lief and Olga lives very hard and trying lives, everything both of them went through, both in the ...more
The first half of this book goes through the story of the first book but from Lief and Olga's pov rather than Brenna and Vali. Normally I hate back tracking like that, especially for an entire half book, but I loved it. Watching Brenna and Vali grow from an outside prospective was just as beautiful.
Both Lief and Olga lives very hard and trying lives, everything both of them went through, both in the ...more
**3.5 stars**
I love the author's writing style, immersive storytelling and her characters, and overall I'm loving this series. While the first book was a five star read for me, this fell a little short for me.
This won't bother everyone, but I personally don't like when parts of a story are retold from a different perspective. This went on here for about a third of the book. Also, while I loved Olga and Lief, they lacked the intense chemistry of Brenna and Vali. But to be fair, their chemistry w ...more
I love the author's writing style, immersive storytelling and her characters, and overall I'm loving this series. While the first book was a five star read for me, this fell a little short for me.
This won't bother everyone, but I personally don't like when parts of a story are retold from a different perspective. This went on here for about a third of the book. Also, while I loved Olga and Lief, they lacked the intense chemistry of Brenna and Vali. But to be fair, their chemistry w ...more
4.5 stars!!
This is Leif and Olga's story and although the first half or so follows the same events from Vali and Brenna's story (book 1), it is told from Leif and Olga's perspective which I appreciated. I'd been wanting more information and more of their story since getting snippets here and there from the first book. And I was glad I wasn't disappointed.
Like the first one, this book is just bloody brutal! Especially the beginning. There are parts when I had to put my kindle down and breathe (be ...more
This is Leif and Olga's story and although the first half or so follows the same events from Vali and Brenna's story (book 1), it is told from Leif and Olga's perspective which I appreciated. I'd been wanting more information and more of their story since getting snippets here and there from the first book. And I was glad I wasn't disappointed.
Like the first one, this book is just bloody brutal! Especially the beginning. There are parts when I had to put my kindle down and breathe (be ...more
3.8 stars
Lief and Olga's story renewed my interest in this series. I'd tried the first one, and though I knew I'd like the legendary Vali and Brenna, I didn't finish the first book with my normal Fanetti fixation. I got distracted.
I've deduced that I have to be in a certain reading mood for Fanetti even though I am still infatuated with her storytelling. I mean, who better than to carry over my Vikings show addiction to the romance genre? Fanetti's Viking world is as rich with the rawness of u ...more
Lief and Olga's story renewed my interest in this series. I'd tried the first one, and though I knew I'd like the legendary Vali and Brenna, I didn't finish the first book with my normal Fanetti fixation. I got distracted.
I've deduced that I have to be in a certain reading mood for Fanetti even though I am still infatuated with her storytelling. I mean, who better than to carry over my Vikings show addiction to the romance genre? Fanetti's Viking world is as rich with the rawness of u ...more
5+* Loved it! Review to follow
GENERAL INFO : Heart's Ease
=======================================
Year Pub/Re Pub:10/1/2016
Indie/Publisher:indie
Page Length:395
Genre: Historical fiction
Sub-Genre/Age:18+
Book's Price: 3.99/KU
Price I'd Value: same
Standalone/Cliffhanger: standalone
Standalone /Part of a Series/Installment: Bk 2 Northwomen Sagas
Epilogue Included: yes
=======================================
POV (1st/2nd/3rd Person): 2nd
Character(s)POV Spoken: H and h
=======================================
BOOK DESCRIPTION
============ ...more
=======================================
Year Pub/Re Pub:10/1/2016
Indie/Publisher:indie
Page Length:395
Genre: Historical fiction
Sub-Genre/Age:18+
Book's Price: 3.99/KU
Price I'd Value: same
Standalone/Cliffhanger: standalone
Standalone /Part of a Series/Installment: Bk 2 Northwomen Sagas
Epilogue Included: yes
=======================================
POV (1st/2nd/3rd Person): 2nd
Character(s)POV Spoken: H and h
=======================================
BOOK DESCRIPTION
============ ...more
Romance:3.5
Steaminess:4
Action/suspense:2
Overall:3.5
So not as great as the first novel but pretty good.
I liked Olga and Lief. They were old souls and gentle with each other. They both knew pain and I’d have liked a little more insight into that. But the major thing that I didn’t like about this novel was the fact that a good first half of the book was a recap of the first. And I get why but it felt more repetitive than necessary and I was bored. In that first half, it also felt like Brenna and Va ...more
Steaminess:4
Action/suspense:2
Overall:3.5
So not as great as the first novel but pretty good.
I liked Olga and Lief. They were old souls and gentle with each other. They both knew pain and I’d have liked a little more insight into that. But the major thing that I didn’t like about this novel was the fact that a good first half of the book was a recap of the first. And I get why but it felt more repetitive than necessary and I was bored. In that first half, it also felt like Brenna and Va ...more
3.5 Stars
First off, I LOVEDDDDD catching up with Vali and Brenna and seeing what was going on in their lives.
The first half of the book was so-so for me. There was a lot of rehashing events from book 1, and although I definitely saw the purpose of seeing things from Olga and Leif's eyes, I already knew the way things turned out so....
But the second half got better. Seeing Leif try to redeem himself, but also reaching a point where he felt he'd apologized enough and was ready to move on. But see ...more
First off, I LOVEDDDDD catching up with Vali and Brenna and seeing what was going on in their lives.
The first half of the book was so-so for me. There was a lot of rehashing events from book 1, and although I definitely saw the purpose of seeing things from Olga and Leif's eyes, I already knew the way things turned out so....
But the second half got better. Seeing Leif try to redeem himself, but also reaching a point where he felt he'd apologized enough and was ready to move on. But see ...more
Susan Fanetti is such a wonderful storyteller. Eventhough her Viking world is full of brutal violence and harsh conditions, she's still able to convey beauty and love. Her characters are strong and the relationships are complex and interesting. Each time I pick up one of her books, I know that I will not be disappointed. I'm still amazed that so few people seem to have read her works. They are certainly missing out on a brilliant author.
Olga and Leif....they had quite a lot to battle through and their path was difficult. I love the women in these stories; they're strong and resilient. They know their hearts and minds and follow them without regret. They also listen to their heart and mind even as it causes inner turmoil. Olga was a fantastic heroine and I liked how Leif handled their situation. Overall, a great second book and I can't wait to jump I to the third.
![Michelle [Helen Geek]](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1448463806p2/5557851.jpg)
August 2018 -- 1 Star
I thought the writing good, but the story didn't flow well and keep my attention. I love a viking tale. I don't find many opportunities and saved this for a good time to read it, where I'd have the time and patience to get into it, but it didn't work. The story bounced ahead too much without me being able to easily put the pieces together to determine their import to the story. I may try it again at some point.
Happy Reading!
I thought the writing good, but the story didn't flow well and keep my attention. I love a viking tale. I don't find many opportunities and saved this for a good time to read it, where I'd have the time and patience to get into it, but it didn't work. The story bounced ahead too much without me being able to easily put the pieces together to determine their import to the story. I may try it again at some point.
Happy Reading!
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I was born and raised in the Midwest. A few years ago, I was transplanted into the dusty soil of Northern California and have apparently taken root there. An inveterate geek and gamer, I am a fan of many things considered pop culture and maybe even lowbrow.
As a reader, my favorite genres are science fiction and fantasy, but as a writer, I've found my home in romance--or perhaps it's better to say ...more
As a reader, my favorite genres are science fiction and fantasy, but as a writer, I've found my home in romance--or perhaps it's better to say ...more
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Northwomen Sagas
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