An ancient sword points the way to an ages-old conflict and eternal love.
Nika Graves was excited about the Viking exhibit at her museum.
She wasn’t counting on the star artifact, the Rune Sword, being stolen by a vampire. She certainly wasn’t counting on falling for the Swedish SOG agent who had been assigned to protect it.
With Erik Thorvald at her side and time running out, Nika has to take the Rune Sword back before the vampires – the Draugr – bring their king back to life. Her life is at risk, but when she finds out that Erik is keeping some secrets of his own, her heart just might end up being the biggest casualty of the fight.
*** BONUS novella: AWAKENED (A Paranormal Angel Romance) ***
** BONUS sample of next stand-alone novel in the Rune Series, Rune Master **
Amelia Wilson has dedicated her life to writing. She is a firm believer in the power of love to conquer all, and her works reflect this belief. Her paranormal romances are known for their love stories, action and suspense. She creates immersive worlds that are rich in detail and full of emotion. Writing has always been very close to her heart. When she is writing a novel, she travels into that world and attaches her emotions to the story. She expresses herself better in written words than she could ever do verbally. She believes in love, and that love can conquer all, which is the reason why she is a writer of romance. She wants all the people, who have been hurt in love, not lose hope as fate changes and soon enough you all will find your one true love. Her books are a great way to satisfy your craving for paranormal romance with action, love and suspense.
I went into this with no expectations, in fact I had thought I had gotten this for free but when I started reading it turned out to just be a preview for the book. Luckily it was on KU or I wouldn't have bothered. I'm having a hard time rating this one. It starts out alright, and the mythology in this book is great. It seems super detailed and well-researched. At least, I think it was, any word or name I didn't recognize, if I searched for it, there was a Wikipedia article on it. Between the lesser known gods and references to old places the world building and the setting was really good. It's the characters that drop the ball in this book. They're flat and kind of boring. For a vampire who has been around since the Viking age, you'd think Erik would be a little smarter. And Nika, she was dumb too, she'd believe anything you told her. I don't mind insta-love at all, but these two are almost too flat to even consider they had any kind of connection. It was an interesting story , and the mythology is great. Unfortunately, everything else pulls it down, the characters, the technical errors, it takes over any enjoyment I was having. I might try the next one though, mostly for more obscure Norse gods, and just maybe I won't hate Erik and Nika as much on the second go-around.
Purch Amazon Oct. 8, 2018 Rune Sword by Amelia Wilson Genres: Contemporary, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Suspense, Young Adult 3.75 Stars
The only real problem I had with this is it is YA. I don't read YA. I don't know how I ended up with a YA book on my shelf. I always check the various genres a book is in and read numerous reviews before I download it. So, somewhere, somehow, I was lead to believe it was Adult.
I will NOT continue with this series.
All that aside, it was relatively well written. There are a few typos/editing errors. The flow was pretty good until I ran into the 'Intimate Scene'. This is when I discovered it was YA. When a scene like that ends with them hugging then picks up with the deed done and NO details, yep, you got YA.
The basis of the storyline is centered around Old Norse Lore. It is interesting a different outlook on Vamps, etc.
There is quite a bit of action surrounding a sword that was dug up and placed in a museum.
So, if you like YA and paranormal/fantasy with plenty of action, you will like this series.
It all seemed a little too rushed. Not enough meat or depth to it that i could sink my mind into. It went by to fast not enough inform from the chapters, third pov between Erik and Nika. The lack of actual sex scenes also got on my nerves. I could see if they were younger like 16 but Erik is so old and Nika is adult between 22 to 30 years old. Graphic love marking scenes can be within the book. Not enough drama or personalities between some characters.
“Nika, I have looked for you across a hundred lifetimes. I have walked through a thousand years just to see your face. We are bound together, soul to soul.”
Rune Sword is the first book in the Rune Series by Amelia Wilson. It is a Paranormal romance with vampires, Vikings, Norse mythology, Viking legends, history, an ancient war, good vs evil, action, adventure, betrayal, and more. This was a different take on vampire lore, and I thought it was original and intriguing. Nika Graves is the assistant museum curator who is busy organising a new exhibit, on loan from Sweden. The artifacts are very rare and valuable, particularly the ancient sword with the runic details- so a security team have accompanied the exhibit to the United States. Nika has no idea that her life is about to change forever. As a world she never even knew existed is revealed, she learns that there is so much more to the sword, the artifacts, the security team, and the situation, than she could have ever imagined. She is drawn to the head of the security detail, like no one else ever before her. But danger has followed the sword and she is soon drawn into an ancient war- a battle of good vs evil- with the fate of humanity hanging in the balance. Why is the sword so important? Who wants it so badly and why? What part does Nika play in all this? Why is she so drawn to Erik? Will good prevail or will evil win out in the end? The story is told from a duel point of view, has a great pace and a smooth flow. I really enjoyed the story, with wonderful world building, vividly descriptive scene setting, and interesting historical and mythological additions- this story really came to life. I do wish it was a little longer so we could have gotten even more depth, backstory, and development. The romance and chemistry was built really well, but as it was one of the ‘main’ ingredients to the storyline, I really felt the story didn’t explore this attraction/connection as well as I would have liked- and Erik was just a little ‘flat’ and could have done with more ‘development’. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
I like the idea behind this book. Paranormal romance is one of my favorite genres. I really enjoy Nika's character, though I do think she could have been a bit less naive for a female living in modern times. That being said, I LOVED Erik. I also really enjoyed the Viking history and the mythology in this book.
I did feel like the story was a bit rushed. Things were explained only AFTER the characters had gotten together. And there could have been more explained at times. There was some twists and turns that I couldn't have predicted, which is wonderful for keeping you on the edge of your seat wondering what's going to happen next.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book. I'm excited to continue on with the series. It is a quick read, that keeps your attention with all of the action. Yes, it's a romance, but it's not the entirety of the story, which is fantastic!
I received this book for free and am giving my honest and voluntary review.
I loved this story of Vikings and vampires. This is a story of love everlasting and the mistakes that kept a vampire miserable for a millennium. The love Eric (a vessel for a god) and Nika (the vessel for the god’s mate) was unbound and until the host body for the goddess that Nika finally held was strong enough to hold the goddess, Thor waited and lived a miserable life, wishing he’d done something different when he could. Fighting evil and keeping the world safe from evil vampires was something Eric swore to uphold. The warring between the vampire factions left numerous people dead and caused considerable anguish for Eric.
This book is just bad. The writing is bad. The character development is nonexistent. The plot just plain sucks.
Don’t waste your time, reading this is like reading a long list of events written by a fifteen year old for a school assignment.
Books like this are what’s wrong with platforms that allow anyone to publish their half-assed attempts at writing and shouldn’t even be allowed to share the “indie” classification with actual indie authors.
Interesting series opener about a museum curator who finds herself involved in a spectacular robbery that will change her life forever. Nika will discover that vampires do exist, and some of them are evil and some are not so bad. She is not in the crosshairs of an ancient evil and she only has one person, er not-evil vampire, on her side. When she learns how deep their connection really is she will have a choice to make that will change the course of her existence.
I listened to the audio version of this book which was given to me by the author. I own the ebook.
There was just a lot of background/ information dump crammed into this short piece and it was a bit challenging to keep up with all of the historic info and characters. The names of the different vampire/nordic factions are very similar so it lends to confusion. It felt like things were happening that we were supposed to understand, but we weren't actually in on the secret. I would say there is potential here - I might read the next one now that I sort of have an understanding of where the characters stand at this point.
Engaging storyline with great, realistic characters and lots of action that kept my interest from beginning to end. We first meet Nika and Erik, our main characters, in a museum where they are both interested in the rare artefact ‘The Rune Sword’. When the artefact is stolen, we follow their journey to retrieve it. I didn’t want to put this one down and I couldn’t wait to read the next book. I purchased the box set of this series and decided to leave a review for the single books as well.
Excellent storyline, characters, development and action but it's somewhat lacking in the sex department. The authors appear to shy away from properly describing the sex scenes, prefering on a poetic summary of the event, making the novel less appealing. The lack steamy scenes disappointed me to the point it was hard to finish the book but I did because the storyline was interesting.
A strong start to a new vampire series. I love how this has tied together Norse mythology with the vampire legends. These are two mythos that I don't often see linked and really enjoy how they work together. The connection between Nika and Erik is strong and undeniable. I look forward to seeing how their relationship progresses throughout the series.
The synopsis made this novel sound interesting but I am calling it quits near the end of chapter 13 due to not being interesting. This was my second read by this author and I am going to try a third novel(Awakening, Phoenix Rising #1)but if it reads like the first two I have read, it will be my last.
It started a little confusing but then I got a handle on the book, don't get me wrong it is a great read. I think it might have a prequel to it that I am not aware, because of the way it started in which I would like to more it first. The story develop to quickly for my taste it would of been nice a little longer but that not stopping me from reading the next book of the series, we will see.
I was going to start this review out by saying I felt like I was reading YA...then I looked, I WAS reading YA, so now I have to reconsider. For YA, it was ok, nothing earth-shattering, but a decent story. I kept waiting for MORE though. I have the whole set, but probably won't read the last three.
I absolutely loved this book!!! Not only did it have the one book it had multiple books inside. Totally amazing! I especially loved the final collection!! I want to read it AGAIN!
Poor Nika was thrown into a Viking vampire world. As a museum curator it is her job to protect the Viking artifacts present at her museum, but she never expected to be dealing with the supernatural
I hate grammatical errors, especially when they appear more editing errors. Switching from present tense to past tense within the same paragraph, much less the same sentence, is ridiculous.
This is a great read! I’ve read many books about the Danish gods, Vikings and vampires but this well written story is the best so far. Recommend this to everyone who likes different types of vampires and how the ancient gods and goddesses still survive. Enjoy!
I liked the modern take on Norse mythology and incorporating vampires as a way for the gods to continue. This was a very fast paced story filled with action, some romance, and secrets.
Slightly predictable paranormal romance. Simpering female curator, dhampirs and buff Swede search for stolen sword that will resurrect bad ass vampire.