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Visigoth Barbarians #1
Sweet Barbarian
Look what the Chihuahua dragged in.
When Karly wanders outside her mountain cabin into the snowstorm to see why her dog is going nuts, she’s expecting an injured animal, not a muscular mammoth of a man who’s unconscious and about to freeze to death if she doesn’t drag him inside and try to tend his wounds. He’s wearing only a few pieces of fur-and-leather armor—cosplayer or insane mountain man?—and his wild hair and beard haven’t seen a pair of scissors in a year or more. But when he wakes up and opens those amber-hazel eyes, Karly’s too caught off guard to protest his lack of appropriate clothing.
He doesn’t speak English, so Karly uses her skills as a foreign language teacher (and a lot of charades) to teach him. She needs to figure out who he is, why he’s dressed like a Skyrim character, what happened to him, and where he belongs so she can get him home.
That plan goes awry when his story starts coming out in broken English, and he claims to be a Visigoth from the year 483. Other than that little glitch, he doesn’t seem crazy, so Karly’s not sure whether to take him to the mental hospital or the homeless shelter. Or, just keep him around and drool over his hunky physique, his sweet smile, and his lion’s mane of hair. Plus, when her druggie ex-husband shows up high and hell-bent on manhandling Karly, it comes in handy to have a 6 foot 6 barbarian around to bounce him right on back to his Hummer with a bloody nose.
Valamir is condemned to execution, and the dungeon guards are on their way to his cell. So when his captor’s wife offers to use her Druidic powers to save his life in exchange for his undying pledge of love and loyalty, he sees no other way out. A quick blood-pact and hasty incantation later, he finds himself transported out of prison, trudging down a mountain in a blizzard and stumbling into the back yard of the most lovely guardian angel Wodin could have ever sent him. Karly is beautiful, smart, efficient, and caring—everything Valamir’s ever wanted in a woman. Only problem is, she suspects he’s either lying or delusional when he tells her where he’s from, a huge barrier to winning her trust and love. He has to find a way to prove himself to Karly while protecting her from her ex-husband and praying the Druidic priestess doesn’t make good on her promise to call him back to her side forever.
When Karly wanders outside her mountain cabin into the snowstorm to see why her dog is going nuts, she’s expecting an injured animal, not a muscular mammoth of a man who’s unconscious and about to freeze to death if she doesn’t drag him inside and try to tend his wounds. He’s wearing only a few pieces of fur-and-leather armor—cosplayer or insane mountain man?—and his wild hair and beard haven’t seen a pair of scissors in a year or more. But when he wakes up and opens those amber-hazel eyes, Karly’s too caught off guard to protest his lack of appropriate clothing.
He doesn’t speak English, so Karly uses her skills as a foreign language teacher (and a lot of charades) to teach him. She needs to figure out who he is, why he’s dressed like a Skyrim character, what happened to him, and where he belongs so she can get him home.
That plan goes awry when his story starts coming out in broken English, and he claims to be a Visigoth from the year 483. Other than that little glitch, he doesn’t seem crazy, so Karly’s not sure whether to take him to the mental hospital or the homeless shelter. Or, just keep him around and drool over his hunky physique, his sweet smile, and his lion’s mane of hair. Plus, when her druggie ex-husband shows up high and hell-bent on manhandling Karly, it comes in handy to have a 6 foot 6 barbarian around to bounce him right on back to his Hummer with a bloody nose.
Valamir is condemned to execution, and the dungeon guards are on their way to his cell. So when his captor’s wife offers to use her Druidic powers to save his life in exchange for his undying pledge of love and loyalty, he sees no other way out. A quick blood-pact and hasty incantation later, he finds himself transported out of prison, trudging down a mountain in a blizzard and stumbling into the back yard of the most lovely guardian angel Wodin could have ever sent him. Karly is beautiful, smart, efficient, and caring—everything Valamir’s ever wanted in a woman. Only problem is, she suspects he’s either lying or delusional when he tells her where he’s from, a huge barrier to winning her trust and love. He has to find a way to prove himself to Karly while protecting her from her ex-husband and praying the Druidic priestess doesn’t make good on her promise to call him back to her side forever.
394 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 23, 2016
348 people are currently reading
374 people want to read
About the author
Jayla Jasso
5 books25 followersJayla Jasso is a romance author and member of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. Her first novel, Caribbean Jewel, is currently #15 on the Amazon Kindle Top 100 Bestseller List for Historical Fiction-Caribbean and Latin America.
Jayla knew she wanted to be a novelist at age 15. Her “what do you want to be when you grow up” dream was to sell a novel by senior year, move to California, go to UCLA, and marry David Lee Roth. Unfortunately that career path didn’t pan out, so her first job was working as a secretary at an egg farm in East Texas, where she learned that there is a right place and a wrong place to have the song “Kiss You All Over” by Exile on constant repeat on a boom box. After high school, Jayla’s mother made her join the Army to help pay for college, and she made it through basic training by some freak luck of the draw, because she is way more interested in manicures than M-16s. With the dream of being a novelist still intact, Jayla majored in English at the University of Oklahoma, then embarked on the fantastic adventure of Finding Work With An English Degree. It made her tough. And creative. And good at surviving on very little money if need be.
Jayla speaks fluent Spanish and has been known to salsa dance with the hotel staff at Costa Rican resorts upon occasion. She is an expert vegan soup chef and avid Xbox role-playing gamer. Her current work, The Omaja Stone, was inspired by too much time spent playing Assassin’s Creed, Dragon Age Origins, and Oblivion. You can find her at www.jaylajasso.com.
Jayla knew she wanted to be a novelist at age 15. Her “what do you want to be when you grow up” dream was to sell a novel by senior year, move to California, go to UCLA, and marry David Lee Roth. Unfortunately that career path didn’t pan out, so her first job was working as a secretary at an egg farm in East Texas, where she learned that there is a right place and a wrong place to have the song “Kiss You All Over” by Exile on constant repeat on a boom box. After high school, Jayla’s mother made her join the Army to help pay for college, and she made it through basic training by some freak luck of the draw, because she is way more interested in manicures than M-16s. With the dream of being a novelist still intact, Jayla majored in English at the University of Oklahoma, then embarked on the fantastic adventure of Finding Work With An English Degree. It made her tough. And creative. And good at surviving on very little money if need be.
Jayla speaks fluent Spanish and has been known to salsa dance with the hotel staff at Costa Rican resorts upon occasion. She is an expert vegan soup chef and avid Xbox role-playing gamer. Her current work, The Omaja Stone, was inspired by too much time spent playing Assassin’s Creed, Dragon Age Origins, and Oblivion. You can find her at www.jaylajasso.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews
August 25, 2017
I'm rating this book 3.5 stars. I really enjoyed this read but i did have some issues also. The first thing is that there was no table of contents. I know this may seem like a small thing but it really bothered me. I like to know how many chapters i have left to read. So i'm going to say it since there is no information anywhere about how many chapters this book has. It has 20 chapters. And each chapter is quite long. I want to say that this book wasn't what i expected from the title and book description. The Hero aka Valamir is not a barbarian or uncivilized in any way. I also wouldn't call him a warrior alpha type because he was super sweet almost overly so. So that's different and really nice for the people out there who enjoy sweet MLI or male love interests. I was really into the book around the first 60% of the read. But slowly i became less and less interested in this book. This book became very repetitive; heroine not believing his story, cooking, language lessons, pushing him away. It just got kinda tiring to read and less enjoyable. My feelings about the Hero and Heroine are neutral. I didn't hate or love their characters. But it did bother me how the Heroine wouldn't expect the hero's i love you's. I want to end this review by saying that i enjoyed this read and the whole concept and plot of this book. The pace was slow but not overly drawn out.
February 23, 2017
Decent time-travel story that initially really grabbed my attention. The writing was good but the romance was slow. All the language lessons the h gave the H started to get boring. The H was verrrry sweet, too sweet. I tend to like more dominant alpha guys and this H was definitely a beta.
July 17, 2019
2.5 disappointed stars
This book came off as overly repetitive and a little cheesy. Too much emphasis was put on vegetarian food and learning English. I found it difficult to believe that Valamir could learn English in less than a week. I know that Karly is a language teacher but still...
This book came off as overly repetitive and a little cheesy. Too much emphasis was put on vegetarian food and learning English. I found it difficult to believe that Valamir could learn English in less than a week. I know that Karly is a language teacher but still...
January 23, 2017
As part of my reading goal this year, I resolved to be a more active participant in a book review program I enrolled in last year. So I jumped at the chance for the first review of the year. And, of course, as soon as I see the title I bust out laughing because, honestly, at first glance, this was my nightmare scenario. I'm not a fan of romances and I think in my entire life I might have read a total of 4 romance novels. And that's if you consider 'We' something of a romance.
Oh yeah. Barbarian romance, time travel, portals and the obligatory abusive ex with a history of 80s level cocaine usage. Looking at the cover and summary I felt like I was in a game of Bad Book Bingo.
But a promise is a promise so I read it. Admittedly, I began the book expecting to roll my eyes at every mention of "his manhood", "her engorged love" and all the other cliched, gold-embossed euphemisms I associate with romance novels.
But I have to admit - I was pleasantly surprised. Jasso's far fetched tale was well written and entertaining to read for the most part. The story is completely unbelievable but if you're happy to go along with the idea of a 5th century barbarian flung through a time portal that transports him to the 21st century then you'll have a good time.
Val, our titular Barbarian, ends up getting dumped in the back yard of Karly, a schoolteacher with a house in the boonies. After being thrown through a time portal by a priestess at the tail end of a heated - but brief - debate that opens the book, Karly finds Val and brings him inside. She's willing to tell herself he's just a rather dedicated cosplay fan for the first day or so while she teaches him English and introduces him to indoor plumbing. Even Karly's friends and family are pretty receptive and often surprisingly accommodating throughout the story. Her brother gets Val a job under the table before hooking him up with falsified citizen papers and, eventually, a criminal attorney. So not only are the incredibly open minded - they're also pretty well connected with people in various shades of gray business. It's an interesting background for a woman who ends up being a school teacher and opting to live in a cabin out in the woods.
Jasso clearly has a passion for details and Val's introduction to the Real World and their budding romance are told with a surprising amount of detail. It occurred to me this level of detail-oriented story telling might be normal for romance novels but I'm not sure. It's worth mentioning, however, since there are sections where you feel you're living the story in real time. One example is when the two are snowbound in Karly's cabin and they spend the day learning English, cooking and talking. Just about every step of the day is recounted - from how they made breakfast to a note about Karly putting on her moisturizer that night. For readers with a lust for details, Sweet Barbarian fits the bill.
As far as the sex goes - there was less of it than I thought there would be and it took awhile for them to finally get there. This may also be a trend in romance novels since that's probably what separates the romance genre from straight up porn. Jasso didn't throw around a lot of flowery prose when it came to sex either, which was also a nice surprise. There was no talk of "soft, receptive orchids" or a "throbbing staff of lusting meat". A cock was a cock and, aside from an awkward exchange about the concept of 'cumming', the sex scenes were appropriately explicit.
Overall, Sweet Barbarian is a fun read and entertaining enough to distract readers with an open mind. It certainly hasn't turned me into a romance reading convert, but I'd imagine I'll be less likely to dismiss the novels as being 'all the same'. I liked the fact that it combined sci-fi elements like time travel with a heroine who ends up saving herself from the coked up ex (before being saved by the Barbarian because it's still a romance novel) and doesn't jump into bed the minute she meets a mysterious stranger in furry underpants. While the logic is thin and the plot somewhat formulaic, Jasso writes in an engaging, down-to-earth style that makes the book a pleasure to read. Some readers would be well advised to skim along certain sections but, even at a skim, it's a story worth reading if only to remind yourself that sometimes a book - and a genre - isn't always what it seems.
23 Word Review:
Crocodile Dundee meets Conan and Skinemax. A time-traveling Barbarian falls for a vegetarian schoolteacher with a crazy ex and a surprisingly accommodating family.
Oh yeah. Barbarian romance, time travel, portals and the obligatory abusive ex with a history of 80s level cocaine usage. Looking at the cover and summary I felt like I was in a game of Bad Book Bingo.
But a promise is a promise so I read it. Admittedly, I began the book expecting to roll my eyes at every mention of "his manhood", "her engorged love" and all the other cliched, gold-embossed euphemisms I associate with romance novels.
But I have to admit - I was pleasantly surprised. Jasso's far fetched tale was well written and entertaining to read for the most part. The story is completely unbelievable but if you're happy to go along with the idea of a 5th century barbarian flung through a time portal that transports him to the 21st century then you'll have a good time.
Val, our titular Barbarian, ends up getting dumped in the back yard of Karly, a schoolteacher with a house in the boonies. After being thrown through a time portal by a priestess at the tail end of a heated - but brief - debate that opens the book, Karly finds Val and brings him inside. She's willing to tell herself he's just a rather dedicated cosplay fan for the first day or so while she teaches him English and introduces him to indoor plumbing. Even Karly's friends and family are pretty receptive and often surprisingly accommodating throughout the story. Her brother gets Val a job under the table before hooking him up with falsified citizen papers and, eventually, a criminal attorney. So not only are the incredibly open minded - they're also pretty well connected with people in various shades of gray business. It's an interesting background for a woman who ends up being a school teacher and opting to live in a cabin out in the woods.
Jasso clearly has a passion for details and Val's introduction to the Real World and their budding romance are told with a surprising amount of detail. It occurred to me this level of detail-oriented story telling might be normal for romance novels but I'm not sure. It's worth mentioning, however, since there are sections where you feel you're living the story in real time. One example is when the two are snowbound in Karly's cabin and they spend the day learning English, cooking and talking. Just about every step of the day is recounted - from how they made breakfast to a note about Karly putting on her moisturizer that night. For readers with a lust for details, Sweet Barbarian fits the bill.
As far as the sex goes - there was less of it than I thought there would be and it took awhile for them to finally get there. This may also be a trend in romance novels since that's probably what separates the romance genre from straight up porn. Jasso didn't throw around a lot of flowery prose when it came to sex either, which was also a nice surprise. There was no talk of "soft, receptive orchids" or a "throbbing staff of lusting meat". A cock was a cock and, aside from an awkward exchange about the concept of 'cumming', the sex scenes were appropriately explicit.
Overall, Sweet Barbarian is a fun read and entertaining enough to distract readers with an open mind. It certainly hasn't turned me into a romance reading convert, but I'd imagine I'll be less likely to dismiss the novels as being 'all the same'. I liked the fact that it combined sci-fi elements like time travel with a heroine who ends up saving herself from the coked up ex (before being saved by the Barbarian because it's still a romance novel) and doesn't jump into bed the minute she meets a mysterious stranger in furry underpants. While the logic is thin and the plot somewhat formulaic, Jasso writes in an engaging, down-to-earth style that makes the book a pleasure to read. Some readers would be well advised to skim along certain sections but, even at a skim, it's a story worth reading if only to remind yourself that sometimes a book - and a genre - isn't always what it seems.
23 Word Review:
Crocodile Dundee meets Conan and Skinemax. A time-traveling Barbarian falls for a vegetarian schoolteacher with a crazy ex and a surprisingly accommodating family.
Want to read
July 3, 2019🎁 FREE on Amazon today (7/3/2019)! 🎁
March 9, 2017
It's been awhile since I've read any sort of time travel book and I have to say I enjoyed this one. I really loved how devoted both the hero and heroine were to one another. The characters had a genuine and realistic feel to them. The story was fast paced and well executed. I look forward to reading more of this writers work.
October 11, 2017
I had really high hopes for this book but it was kind of a flop.
I can only read so many details about Making Dinner and Rosetta Stone and Yoga and Wine and Sinew and Vegetarianism and My Horrible Ex and Chronic Pain and Being Holier-Than-Thou.
I can only read so many details about Making Dinner and Rosetta Stone and Yoga and Wine and Sinew and Vegetarianism and My Horrible Ex and Chronic Pain and Being Holier-Than-Thou.
April 22, 2017
Fun to read time travel love story. Fluffy and sweet. Guilty pleasure.
Read
June 9, 2017DNF after skimming ahead.
May 21, 2017
4-4.5 stars
This was a really good story. I liked both Karly and Valamir very much and thought their story was very well done. This is the first story I've read by this author and I liked it well enough that I'll definitely consider trying more of her work in the future.
Karly is a Spanish teacher that lives in the mountains of Colorado. Karly is half Japanese and half Dutch and was teased as a child due to her mixed heritage. Karly joined the military when she was younger and met a man, Shawn, that she ended up marrying. She didn't know he had had a cocaine addiction before their marriage and when it came back, she eventually had to divorce him (18 months ago) for her own safety.
Valamir is a warrior and clan leader from the year 483. He grew up in the an ancient part of France that used to be ruled by the Romans. Valamir's village was attacked by a neighboring village with more warriors. Valamir and his people were beaten and Valamir only escaped by accepting a deal with a Druid (who also happened to be the wife of his enemy) that promised him his life in exchange for his servitude.
To save Valamir's life, the Druid sent him to the future (without telling him where she was sending him), promising to bring him back when her husband was dead and Valamir could serve her. Valamir was not thrilled at all at the deal but it was accept her deal or die within minutes so he accepted. Valamir was shocked to find himself transported to what seemed to be a far away land. Stranded in an unknown place, wounded and getting hypothermia from the snow, Valamir had no choice but to strike forth and try to find help. He found a strange cabin right before he passed out from hypothermia. Karly happened to be the one living in the cabin Valamir found and was alerted to his presence by her dog barking at him. Karly was surprised and a bit worried at finding a strange man passed out in her backyard but she couldn't leave him to die in the snow so she managed to drag him inside.
Because of a snow storm, Karly ended up having to tend Valamir herself and couldn't call the authorities to help him. She's unsure of him but (when he wakes up) he seems nice and nonthreatening so she lets him stay. Valamir doesn't speak any English so Karly starts teaching him and they begin to communicate. The attraction is instantaneous and mutual but Karly has some definite qualms about Valamir when he admits to her that he's from the year 483. He doesn't seem to be lying but how can she actually believe he's from over 1,500 years in the past?!?! Karly does come to trust Valamir enough that she lets him stay with her and helps him get on his feet. Eventually this turns into something more but they take things rather slow because of Karly's inability to accept where Valamir came from. They have a few issues to deal with, namely Karly's psyco Ex and Valamir's deal with the druid, but they do get through things nicely and end the story starting a well deserved HEA together.
This was a really enjoyable story. I liked Karly very much. She was smart and level-headed and I think I would have liked being her friend if we knew each other in real-life. Valamir was a real sweety and I just wanted to hug him...a lot. The story was very good, with enough going on to keep the story interesting without going overboard on the complexity. Overall, I really liked the MCs and the storyline so I'd recommend this book. :)
This was a really good story. I liked both Karly and Valamir very much and thought their story was very well done. This is the first story I've read by this author and I liked it well enough that I'll definitely consider trying more of her work in the future.
Karly is a Spanish teacher that lives in the mountains of Colorado. Karly is half Japanese and half Dutch and was teased as a child due to her mixed heritage. Karly joined the military when she was younger and met a man, Shawn, that she ended up marrying. She didn't know he had had a cocaine addiction before their marriage and when it came back, she eventually had to divorce him (18 months ago) for her own safety.
Valamir is a warrior and clan leader from the year 483. He grew up in the an ancient part of France that used to be ruled by the Romans. Valamir's village was attacked by a neighboring village with more warriors. Valamir and his people were beaten and Valamir only escaped by accepting a deal with a Druid (who also happened to be the wife of his enemy) that promised him his life in exchange for his servitude.
To save Valamir's life, the Druid sent him to the future (without telling him where she was sending him), promising to bring him back when her husband was dead and Valamir could serve her. Valamir was not thrilled at all at the deal but it was accept her deal or die within minutes so he accepted. Valamir was shocked to find himself transported to what seemed to be a far away land. Stranded in an unknown place, wounded and getting hypothermia from the snow, Valamir had no choice but to strike forth and try to find help. He found a strange cabin right before he passed out from hypothermia. Karly happened to be the one living in the cabin Valamir found and was alerted to his presence by her dog barking at him. Karly was surprised and a bit worried at finding a strange man passed out in her backyard but she couldn't leave him to die in the snow so she managed to drag him inside.
Because of a snow storm, Karly ended up having to tend Valamir herself and couldn't call the authorities to help him. She's unsure of him but (when he wakes up) he seems nice and nonthreatening so she lets him stay. Valamir doesn't speak any English so Karly starts teaching him and they begin to communicate. The attraction is instantaneous and mutual but Karly has some definite qualms about Valamir when he admits to her that he's from the year 483. He doesn't seem to be lying but how can she actually believe he's from over 1,500 years in the past?!?! Karly does come to trust Valamir enough that she lets him stay with her and helps him get on his feet. Eventually this turns into something more but they take things rather slow because of Karly's inability to accept where Valamir came from. They have a few issues to deal with, namely Karly's psyco Ex and Valamir's deal with the druid, but they do get through things nicely and end the story starting a well deserved HEA together.
This was a really enjoyable story. I liked Karly very much. She was smart and level-headed and I think I would have liked being her friend if we knew each other in real-life. Valamir was a real sweety and I just wanted to hug him...a lot. The story was very good, with enough going on to keep the story interesting without going overboard on the complexity. Overall, I really liked the MCs and the storyline so I'd recommend this book. :)
May 10, 2020
Genre: Romance with fantasy elements, set in modern times with a time traveller from the past attempting to integrate into modern society. Some sex scenes and plenty of foreplay. Some violence/kidnapping.
September 22, 2017
Sweet Barbarian is a cute and quick read to pass the time. The pacing beae the end was a little rushed compared t9 the rest of the book which kind of moves along at an okay pace. My only real probably was that the female MC acted kind of immature and seeing as she was supposed to have been in the military she was pretty much helpless most of the time.
July 31, 2017
3.5 stars. Too much vegetarian cooking.
March 23, 2017
It started with so much potential though...
March 20, 2017
Jayla does it again. Perfect characters and scene setting. A romance like no other, where two characters over a thousand years apart find solace in each other. Wonderful.
January 13, 2020
I wasn't expecting much from this book, so saying it was better than expected is a misnomer. Because this book was good. We get the best of time travel with our heroine being a teacher, mad our hero willing to learn quickly how to adapt. The plot was good, nothing felt rushed or boring, and everyone had logical motivation and actions.
November 24, 2017
Over all, I've read worse books, it held my attention long enough to finish, though it left me bothered by many missed opportunities in the story to enhance it rather than mire it down with other unnecessary things. The story line itself had potential, but the author veered this into a different direction that actually hurt the story.
First, the title does not suit Val. He's definitely no Barbarian. Other than wanting to kill Karly's ex for hurting her, he was sweet, tame & mild mannered -IMO. I wanted more of a barbarian attitude from him somehow to go along with the title. I felt he was too good to be true sort of thing, & I wouldn't have expected that from somebody that time traveled from that far in the past. I needed him more like a man from his time period would have behaved. I can't imagine a man from that time period being so sweet & easy going. Karly was an odd character, I never could really get to like her for some reason. Also, her scoliosis was something I felt was thrown into the story like some authors try to use big words in books to sound smarter, or to try to build sympathy for the character. I would have rather she'd had her back injured in the military or by her ex, that would have felt more compelling then using a deformity of her spine that's so mild it can only be seen on x-rays, it almost makes it seem not real.
There definitely were some down sides to this book. Too much time spent on teaching Val the language. Except for a few random funny moments, it was too repetitive & boring. I understand the necessity of it for real life purposes, but I don't particularly want to read so much about it in a book about a sweet barbarian, this could have been whittled down to shorten the story & boringness by a whole lot. The other down side, I felt the veganism was being crammed down my throat, just like it was poor Val's. I'm all for people choosing a life style, but don't force me to endure someone else's choice. I felt the author had to be a vegan to be channeling so much into this story. It was very polarizing to me as a reader. I also hated so many vegan food descriptions. I almost felt too much time was focused on food & teaching him the language in order to communicate before the story got going. After all the time spent teaching him the language, they really didn't communicate much other than the very basics in getting to know each other. I wanted more communication & emotional connection.
The side characters from school, & the scene with them at the bars hitting on Val & Karly's brother were a total waste of space in this book. They didn't elevate the plot or add to the story in anyway that mattered. They could have been left out & never affected the story in the least. There were some things that were almost unbelievable or glossed over too much, that needed to be smoothed over (like Val just jumping in & driving her car in a high speed chase with never driving before, him just accepting the 1500 + years of modern innovations & advancements without seeming shocked or freaked out, stuff like this just made it feel off). There were some other things that bothered me, from her only wearing leggings, and the complete stop in all the sex scenes to do the descriptive condom application was a bit odd. I appreciate the safe sex, but really, I only needed the description the first time but not every time after that, it could have glossed over it just saying they paused to put the condom on. I also would have expected more reaction from Val over the having to put a condom on the first time than there was since he would not have been aware of something like this in his life before the time travel happened. Also, the sex, though not tame enough for a PG rating, seemed to extend more description to the condom application than the sex itself. A little steamier sex descriptions would have been a great addition.
First, the title does not suit Val. He's definitely no Barbarian. Other than wanting to kill Karly's ex for hurting her, he was sweet, tame & mild mannered -IMO. I wanted more of a barbarian attitude from him somehow to go along with the title. I felt he was too good to be true sort of thing, & I wouldn't have expected that from somebody that time traveled from that far in the past. I needed him more like a man from his time period would have behaved. I can't imagine a man from that time period being so sweet & easy going. Karly was an odd character, I never could really get to like her for some reason. Also, her scoliosis was something I felt was thrown into the story like some authors try to use big words in books to sound smarter, or to try to build sympathy for the character. I would have rather she'd had her back injured in the military or by her ex, that would have felt more compelling then using a deformity of her spine that's so mild it can only be seen on x-rays, it almost makes it seem not real.
There definitely were some down sides to this book. Too much time spent on teaching Val the language. Except for a few random funny moments, it was too repetitive & boring. I understand the necessity of it for real life purposes, but I don't particularly want to read so much about it in a book about a sweet barbarian, this could have been whittled down to shorten the story & boringness by a whole lot. The other down side, I felt the veganism was being crammed down my throat, just like it was poor Val's. I'm all for people choosing a life style, but don't force me to endure someone else's choice. I felt the author had to be a vegan to be channeling so much into this story. It was very polarizing to me as a reader. I also hated so many vegan food descriptions. I almost felt too much time was focused on food & teaching him the language in order to communicate before the story got going. After all the time spent teaching him the language, they really didn't communicate much other than the very basics in getting to know each other. I wanted more communication & emotional connection.
The side characters from school, & the scene with them at the bars hitting on Val & Karly's brother were a total waste of space in this book. They didn't elevate the plot or add to the story in anyway that mattered. They could have been left out & never affected the story in the least. There were some things that were almost unbelievable or glossed over too much, that needed to be smoothed over (like Val just jumping in & driving her car in a high speed chase with never driving before, him just accepting the 1500 + years of modern innovations & advancements without seeming shocked or freaked out, stuff like this just made it feel off). There were some other things that bothered me, from her only wearing leggings, and the complete stop in all the sex scenes to do the descriptive condom application was a bit odd. I appreciate the safe sex, but really, I only needed the description the first time but not every time after that, it could have glossed over it just saying they paused to put the condom on. I also would have expected more reaction from Val over the having to put a condom on the first time than there was since he would not have been aware of something like this in his life before the time travel happened. Also, the sex, though not tame enough for a PG rating, seemed to extend more description to the condom application than the sex itself. A little steamier sex descriptions would have been a great addition.
March 3, 2017
5 hot barbarian stars!
I came across Sweet Barbarian while randomly searching for books to read on Amazon and the premise of the book really got me. I'm a big fan of time-travel books and it's rare to come across a time-travel book with the hero coming from before the middle ages. It's my first time to read something that far back and not set in the Highlands (lol!). I so love Val, he might as well be the sweetest time-traveler ever. I love the slow burn romance and the pacing was just right. Usually in time-travel books, it was insta love but in this one, the readers knew there was initial attraction but the times and moments the two characters shared while learning and being very domestic was so precious. It didn't bore me at all. The writing is really good too and I would love to read more from this author.
I came across Sweet Barbarian while randomly searching for books to read on Amazon and the premise of the book really got me. I'm a big fan of time-travel books and it's rare to come across a time-travel book with the hero coming from before the middle ages. It's my first time to read something that far back and not set in the Highlands (lol!). I so love Val, he might as well be the sweetest time-traveler ever. I love the slow burn romance and the pacing was just right. Usually in time-travel books, it was insta love but in this one, the readers knew there was initial attraction but the times and moments the two characters shared while learning and being very domestic was so precious. It didn't bore me at all. The writing is really good too and I would love to read more from this author.
September 15, 2017
Usually when a book is this bad, I've learned to DNF it, but the guy on the cover was so hot I kept going. But there was no story here, just descriptions of meals and clothes, etc. Buyer beware! #coverlove
May 27, 2017
ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTFUL !!!
Title: Sweet Barbarian
Author: Jayla Jasso
Designation: Full-Length Standalone Time Travel Romance, NO Cliffhanger
Reading Platform: Kindle Edition
My Rating: Five Delightfully Entertaining Stars*****
Oh my! I loved, loved, loved this book! This was my first time reading the work of Jayla Jasso but it certainly won't be my last! I've been a fan of Time Travel Romance for years. There's just something about the concept that I've always highly romanticized but, most often, we find the woman traveling to the past and finding her knight in shining armor or chainmaille. lol... In this story, however, Jasso gives us a twenty-seven-year-old male Visigoth warrior traveling from 483 A.D. to current day Colorado by way of a spell cast by a powerful Druid priestess. Jasso grabbed my attention on the first page and I remained hopelessly enthralled until the very last line. But an intriguing and unique storyline is not the only extraordinary element of this powerful love story. Sweet Barbarian is a fast-paced, easy to follow, highly imaginative, exceptionally well crafted and written full-length standalone romance with a wonderful cast of fascinating, endearing and very engaging characters who completely stole my heart. The narrative is beautifully written in the third person with easily identifiable his and her perspectives from the two protagonists, handsome Visigoth warrior Valamir Braga and lovely kindhearted Spanish teacher Karly Draper. The dialogue is smart, well executed and flows effortlessly. Jasso has only three published novels listed on Amazon and a fourth due to be released in June 2017 but the comfortable, easy prose of this author is just extraordinary. I've read authors who have worked a lifetime to accomplish this level of skill but Jasso makes it look effortless. I was completely mesmerized, riveted to my ereader with my heart fluttering in my chest as the time flew as quickly as the pages. It was a wonderful experience. I giggled, snickered, snorted, snuffled, sniffed, and raged through the entire story but by the end, I was happy, satisfied and well entertained. Sweet Barbarian is the perfect combination of sweet romance, steamy passion, surprising humor, and heartbreaking angst. And make no mistake, this is definitely a very powerful and moving love story that transcends time and space. Sweet Barbarian truly makes me believe in the power of love again!
Did I like this book? No, I LOVED it! Would I recommend it? You bet and I am but only for adult readers since it does contain some steamy, dreamy love scenes which do include explicit but tastefully written love scenes! Swoon..... Will I read this author again? Absolutely! I raced to Amazon and decided to read Caribbean Jewel next! And finally, was I entertained? Completely! Fabulous entertainment and an awesome read!
For thirty-four-year-old divorced Karly Draper, it was just another cold winter night in the Colorado mountains. School was out for Christmas vacation and Karly planned to spend it at home alone. After finally gaining her freedom from her abusive, drug-addicted ex-husband Shawn, Karly had no desire for a social life and when not working, spent most of her time in her isolated mountain cabin with her little dog Lulu. And she was happy with her life... until Lulu alerted her to a large animal who had apparently succumbed to some sort of injuries as well as the cold and collapsed on her property. Only it wasn't an animal... it was a very large unconscious man with long hair and beard lying face down in the snow, wearing only a leather and fur skirt and fur boots. And no shirt... Yikes! And he was dying from hypothermia. So, Karly did what any kindhearted Christian would do, right? She dragged him inside and used her body heat to warm him. Oh my! She never planned on falling in love with him, especially since he had to be crazy. He might be handsome but there's no way he could really be from the year 483, right? Apparently, he could and Karly would eventually have to make a decision that would alter her life forever. Can a Visigoth warrior from the past find love and happiness with a modern day woman from Colorado? We'll see!
Title: Sweet Barbarian
Author: Jayla Jasso
Designation: Full-Length Standalone Time Travel Romance, NO Cliffhanger
Reading Platform: Kindle Edition
My Rating: Five Delightfully Entertaining Stars*****
Oh my! I loved, loved, loved this book! This was my first time reading the work of Jayla Jasso but it certainly won't be my last! I've been a fan of Time Travel Romance for years. There's just something about the concept that I've always highly romanticized but, most often, we find the woman traveling to the past and finding her knight in shining armor or chainmaille. lol... In this story, however, Jasso gives us a twenty-seven-year-old male Visigoth warrior traveling from 483 A.D. to current day Colorado by way of a spell cast by a powerful Druid priestess. Jasso grabbed my attention on the first page and I remained hopelessly enthralled until the very last line. But an intriguing and unique storyline is not the only extraordinary element of this powerful love story. Sweet Barbarian is a fast-paced, easy to follow, highly imaginative, exceptionally well crafted and written full-length standalone romance with a wonderful cast of fascinating, endearing and very engaging characters who completely stole my heart. The narrative is beautifully written in the third person with easily identifiable his and her perspectives from the two protagonists, handsome Visigoth warrior Valamir Braga and lovely kindhearted Spanish teacher Karly Draper. The dialogue is smart, well executed and flows effortlessly. Jasso has only three published novels listed on Amazon and a fourth due to be released in June 2017 but the comfortable, easy prose of this author is just extraordinary. I've read authors who have worked a lifetime to accomplish this level of skill but Jasso makes it look effortless. I was completely mesmerized, riveted to my ereader with my heart fluttering in my chest as the time flew as quickly as the pages. It was a wonderful experience. I giggled, snickered, snorted, snuffled, sniffed, and raged through the entire story but by the end, I was happy, satisfied and well entertained. Sweet Barbarian is the perfect combination of sweet romance, steamy passion, surprising humor, and heartbreaking angst. And make no mistake, this is definitely a very powerful and moving love story that transcends time and space. Sweet Barbarian truly makes me believe in the power of love again!
Did I like this book? No, I LOVED it! Would I recommend it? You bet and I am but only for adult readers since it does contain some steamy, dreamy love scenes which do include explicit but tastefully written love scenes! Swoon..... Will I read this author again? Absolutely! I raced to Amazon and decided to read Caribbean Jewel next! And finally, was I entertained? Completely! Fabulous entertainment and an awesome read!
For thirty-four-year-old divorced Karly Draper, it was just another cold winter night in the Colorado mountains. School was out for Christmas vacation and Karly planned to spend it at home alone. After finally gaining her freedom from her abusive, drug-addicted ex-husband Shawn, Karly had no desire for a social life and when not working, spent most of her time in her isolated mountain cabin with her little dog Lulu. And she was happy with her life... until Lulu alerted her to a large animal who had apparently succumbed to some sort of injuries as well as the cold and collapsed on her property. Only it wasn't an animal... it was a very large unconscious man with long hair and beard lying face down in the snow, wearing only a leather and fur skirt and fur boots. And no shirt... Yikes! And he was dying from hypothermia. So, Karly did what any kindhearted Christian would do, right? She dragged him inside and used her body heat to warm him. Oh my! She never planned on falling in love with him, especially since he had to be crazy. He might be handsome but there's no way he could really be from the year 483, right? Apparently, he could and Karly would eventually have to make a decision that would alter her life forever. Can a Visigoth warrior from the past find love and happiness with a modern day woman from Colorado? We'll see!
March 30, 2020
'Small victories, Valamir. Keep going. Your life was spared; there must be a reason Wodin wants you to live. ‘
Colorado author Jayla Jasso has at heart always been a writer and her latest novel (her third) SWEET BARBARIAN is proof that determination pays off. Jayla has been a secretary in East Texas, served n the Army, graduated with a degree in English from the University of Oklahoma and now teaches high school by day and writes by night. Of interest, Jayla speaks fluent Spanish, is an expert vegan soup chef and an avid Xbox role-playing game! Lots of food for inspiration for her romance/historical romance novels.
Jayla steps into a new dimension for this novel that passes easily from other times and places to the present. The opening is among the Visigoth Druids where our soon to be hero is being held- ‘Valamir strained against the chains binding him to the cold, clammy stone wall. Blood seeped from the wound above his left eye and oozed from the muscle in his right forearm where Jovinus’ sword had sliced open his flesh. The iron door grated open, and the guard moved aside to allow a tall, hooded woman to enter. Her white cloak floated along the disgusting wet dungeon floor, covered in centuries of mud and filth. “Leave us.” Glismoda threw back her hood and dismissed the guard with a wave of her slender hand. Her steely blue eyes glinted as she gazed at Valamir’s face… Valamir straightened his back against the wall, his hands curling into fists. His leg throbbed painfully with the movement; he’d been struck on the side of his calf with a Warhammer by one of Jovinus’ mercenaries. Glismoda’s gaze slid greedily over his body before she met his glare with a smile. “I mean you no harm, Valamir of the Braga clan.”
Now jump from there to contemporary Colorado and the story is summarized as follows: ‘When Karly wanders outside her mountain cabin into the snowstorm to see why her dog is going nuts, she’s expecting an injured animal, not a muscular mammoth of a man who’s unconscious and about to freeze to death if she doesn’t drag him inside and try to tend his wounds. He’s wearing only a few pieces of fur-and-leather armor—cosplayer or insane mountain man?—and his wild hair and beard haven’t seen a pair of scissors in a year or more. But when he wakes up and opens those amber-hazel eyes, Karly’s too caught off guard to protest his lack of appropriate clothing. He doesn’t speak English, so Karly uses her skills as a foreign language teacher (and a lot of charades) to teach him. She needs to figure out who he is, why he’s dressed like a Skyrim character, what happened to him, and where he belongs so she can get him home. That plan goes awry when his story starts coming out in broken English, and he claims to be a Visigoth from the year 483. Other than that little glitch, he doesn’t seem crazy, so Karly’s not sure whether to take him to the mental hospital or the homeless shelter. Or, just keep him around and drool over his hunky physique, his sweet smile, and his lion’s mane of hair. Plus, when her druggie ex-husband shows up high and hell-bent on manhandling Karly, it comes in handy to have a 6 foot 6 barbarian around to bounce him right on back to his Hummer with a bloody nose. Valamir is condemned to execution, and the dungeon guards are on their way to his cell. So when his captor’s wife offers to use her Druidic powers to save his life in exchange for his undying pledge of love and loyalty, he sees no other way out. A quick blood-pact and hasty incantation later, he finds himself transported out of prison, trudging down a mountain in a blizzard and stumbling into the back yard of the most lovely guardian angel Wodin could have ever sent him. Karly is beautiful, smart, efficient, and caring—everything Valamir’s ever wanted in a woman. Only problem is, she suspects he’s either lying or delusional when he tells her where he’s from, a huge barrier to winning her trust and love. He has to find a way to prove himself to Karly while protecting her from her ex-husband and praying the Druidic priestess doesn’t make good on her promise to call him back to her side forever.’
Pure fantasy mixed with steamy erotica and a profound respect for history and mythology – this is a fine novel by a lady who knows her craft.
Colorado author Jayla Jasso has at heart always been a writer and her latest novel (her third) SWEET BARBARIAN is proof that determination pays off. Jayla has been a secretary in East Texas, served n the Army, graduated with a degree in English from the University of Oklahoma and now teaches high school by day and writes by night. Of interest, Jayla speaks fluent Spanish, is an expert vegan soup chef and an avid Xbox role-playing game! Lots of food for inspiration for her romance/historical romance novels.
Jayla steps into a new dimension for this novel that passes easily from other times and places to the present. The opening is among the Visigoth Druids where our soon to be hero is being held- ‘Valamir strained against the chains binding him to the cold, clammy stone wall. Blood seeped from the wound above his left eye and oozed from the muscle in his right forearm where Jovinus’ sword had sliced open his flesh. The iron door grated open, and the guard moved aside to allow a tall, hooded woman to enter. Her white cloak floated along the disgusting wet dungeon floor, covered in centuries of mud and filth. “Leave us.” Glismoda threw back her hood and dismissed the guard with a wave of her slender hand. Her steely blue eyes glinted as she gazed at Valamir’s face… Valamir straightened his back against the wall, his hands curling into fists. His leg throbbed painfully with the movement; he’d been struck on the side of his calf with a Warhammer by one of Jovinus’ mercenaries. Glismoda’s gaze slid greedily over his body before she met his glare with a smile. “I mean you no harm, Valamir of the Braga clan.”
Now jump from there to contemporary Colorado and the story is summarized as follows: ‘When Karly wanders outside her mountain cabin into the snowstorm to see why her dog is going nuts, she’s expecting an injured animal, not a muscular mammoth of a man who’s unconscious and about to freeze to death if she doesn’t drag him inside and try to tend his wounds. He’s wearing only a few pieces of fur-and-leather armor—cosplayer or insane mountain man?—and his wild hair and beard haven’t seen a pair of scissors in a year or more. But when he wakes up and opens those amber-hazel eyes, Karly’s too caught off guard to protest his lack of appropriate clothing. He doesn’t speak English, so Karly uses her skills as a foreign language teacher (and a lot of charades) to teach him. She needs to figure out who he is, why he’s dressed like a Skyrim character, what happened to him, and where he belongs so she can get him home. That plan goes awry when his story starts coming out in broken English, and he claims to be a Visigoth from the year 483. Other than that little glitch, he doesn’t seem crazy, so Karly’s not sure whether to take him to the mental hospital or the homeless shelter. Or, just keep him around and drool over his hunky physique, his sweet smile, and his lion’s mane of hair. Plus, when her druggie ex-husband shows up high and hell-bent on manhandling Karly, it comes in handy to have a 6 foot 6 barbarian around to bounce him right on back to his Hummer with a bloody nose. Valamir is condemned to execution, and the dungeon guards are on their way to his cell. So when his captor’s wife offers to use her Druidic powers to save his life in exchange for his undying pledge of love and loyalty, he sees no other way out. A quick blood-pact and hasty incantation later, he finds himself transported out of prison, trudging down a mountain in a blizzard and stumbling into the back yard of the most lovely guardian angel Wodin could have ever sent him. Karly is beautiful, smart, efficient, and caring—everything Valamir’s ever wanted in a woman. Only problem is, she suspects he’s either lying or delusional when he tells her where he’s from, a huge barrier to winning her trust and love. He has to find a way to prove himself to Karly while protecting her from her ex-husband and praying the Druidic priestess doesn’t make good on her promise to call him back to her side forever.’
Pure fantasy mixed with steamy erotica and a profound respect for history and mythology – this is a fine novel by a lady who knows her craft.
September 7, 2021
When i originally picked up this book it was because of the title, key word being Barbarian. Which for whatever reason in my head translated to "Caveman". So going into this book i was expecting a more... simplistic, single minded type of male character. That wasn't the case with the male lead, Val.
Val comes from a more... domesticated time period. The people live together, have stone Castles, and so forth. Closer to the medieval era but not exactly. Another thing I wasn't expecting, about Val, was his ability to learn English so quickly in the book. He was speaking basic phrases starting on day 2 of his arrival. Which to me seems highly unrealistic for how much he was learning. The author just seem to brush it off as him being an exceedingly well learner but I just find that improbable. Another inconsistency I found was Val's acceptance of the modern world. He seemed to take everything in with such poise and grace, not really shocked the way I expect someone to be from the past. That's not to say Val didn't have his moments of curiosity he definitely was still intrigued by things with his questions of "what is this?" but as for real immediate shock of how, I don't know, say the shower worked with water coming through pipes I didn't feel his disbelief.
I guess as a whole I was expecting this more to read like Transcendence by Shay Savage. Which is completely unfair of me to compare the two because they are so vastly different not only in character and world-building but of course in writing style and technique. Comparing the emotions in Transcendence to Sweet barbarians is an unfair comparison.
Overall though I did enjoy this simple read although I do not agree with all that happened in regards to pacing of the story or even just the intellectual response from our male lead I will say I enjoyed the book and I would recommend it to other readers who enjoy a more masculine male lead.
Trigger Warnings;
Drug use
Violence
Gun violence
Assualt
Mention of suicide
Kidnapping
Val comes from a more... domesticated time period. The people live together, have stone Castles, and so forth. Closer to the medieval era but not exactly. Another thing I wasn't expecting, about Val, was his ability to learn English so quickly in the book. He was speaking basic phrases starting on day 2 of his arrival. Which to me seems highly unrealistic for how much he was learning. The author just seem to brush it off as him being an exceedingly well learner but I just find that improbable. Another inconsistency I found was Val's acceptance of the modern world. He seemed to take everything in with such poise and grace, not really shocked the way I expect someone to be from the past. That's not to say Val didn't have his moments of curiosity he definitely was still intrigued by things with his questions of "what is this?" but as for real immediate shock of how, I don't know, say the shower worked with water coming through pipes I didn't feel his disbelief.
I guess as a whole I was expecting this more to read like Transcendence by Shay Savage. Which is completely unfair of me to compare the two because they are so vastly different not only in character and world-building but of course in writing style and technique. Comparing the emotions in Transcendence to Sweet barbarians is an unfair comparison.
Overall though I did enjoy this simple read although I do not agree with all that happened in regards to pacing of the story or even just the intellectual response from our male lead I will say I enjoyed the book and I would recommend it to other readers who enjoy a more masculine male lead.
Trigger Warnings;
Drug use
Violence
Gun violence
Assualt
Mention of suicide
Kidnapping
May 22, 2020
I found this book for free on Amazon via BookBub; this is my honest review.
-I loved the description of the book: someone gets saved by being pushed into the future (1500 years).
-I loved most of the first 50% of the book. I outright laughed several times, but it was repetitive (wake up, yoga, learn English, cook, lust, sleep).
-I found some errors, such as Valamir's birthday. First it was March 21st, then later it was August 17th... Karly is vegetarian but doesn't eat protein so I'm not sure how they didn't get feeble or sick.
-The unbelievable parts were 1. when Josh, the brother, took in Valamir, no questions asked. If Josh was my brother, Valamir would have been painfully grilled about his intentions, his past, his life. 2. Valamir who's from the 5th century who just knows how to drive a car and driving it at full pace at that. Sorry. No. 3. Where does it say on the box you have to lie down to put a cond*m on???? 4. "She held onto him and didn’t let him withdraw from her body for a long, long while." The cond*m would have slip out and left the content inside the woman...
-Then after the 50% mark, it was still repetitive but adding the fact that Karly still doesn't believe Valamir's story. (Too) many open door scenes, including stopping everything to put the cond*m on. There are many other ways to do that without stopping completely what you are doing. That lasted about 20%-25%.
-The author pretty much lost me by then and I was trying to find the rest of the story just to finish up. This is not the way a book should be. Either cut off some parts to make it shorter and interesting, or add something more to keep the reader going.
-Instead of writing an epilogue at the end, the author tells you what happened in their near future.
-I'm looking forward to read the next book which is about Andaric the brother who's supposed to be already dead so what is he doing being alive and looking for his brother?
-I loved the description of the book: someone gets saved by being pushed into the future (1500 years).
-I loved most of the first 50% of the book. I outright laughed several times, but it was repetitive (wake up, yoga, learn English, cook, lust, sleep).
-I found some errors, such as Valamir's birthday. First it was March 21st, then later it was August 17th... Karly is vegetarian but doesn't eat protein so I'm not sure how they didn't get feeble or sick.
-The unbelievable parts were 1. when Josh, the brother, took in Valamir, no questions asked. If Josh was my brother, Valamir would have been painfully grilled about his intentions, his past, his life. 2. Valamir who's from the 5th century who just knows how to drive a car and driving it at full pace at that. Sorry. No. 3. Where does it say on the box you have to lie down to put a cond*m on???? 4. "She held onto him and didn’t let him withdraw from her body for a long, long while." The cond*m would have slip out and left the content inside the woman...
-Then after the 50% mark, it was still repetitive but adding the fact that Karly still doesn't believe Valamir's story. (Too) many open door scenes, including stopping everything to put the cond*m on. There are many other ways to do that without stopping completely what you are doing. That lasted about 20%-25%.
-The author pretty much lost me by then and I was trying to find the rest of the story just to finish up. This is not the way a book should be. Either cut off some parts to make it shorter and interesting, or add something more to keep the reader going.
-Instead of writing an epilogue at the end, the author tells you what happened in their near future.
-I'm looking forward to read the next book which is about Andaric the brother who's supposed to be already dead so what is he doing being alive and looking for his brother?
April 9, 2020
Enjoyable, but COLUMBUS DID NOT "DISCOVER" "AMERICA
3.5 ☆'s. Enjoyable read. Other reviewers didn't like all the language lessons and scenes involving food prep and eating, but I saw them as a way for H&h to communicate.
However, I was sorely disappointed at the references to Columbus "discovering" what is now America. We need to reject that destructive myth that provides the basis for white supremacy by erasing the history of violence and genocide against Natives. People in this country, especially the European colonizers, need to face their history of genocide, slavery and brutality that enabled them to "succeed" and "thrive" on this land. If you're going to mention Columbus, please at least include his twelve years as a slave trader in Portugal, even if you don't mention the horror he inflicted when he arrived in this hemisphere.
I'm not saying the author needs to take all this on, necessarily. I'm sure she would feel that that's asking too much. But please, please reject this white-focused narrative that keeps white supremacy alive and well today.
3.5 ☆'s. Enjoyable read. Other reviewers didn't like all the language lessons and scenes involving food prep and eating, but I saw them as a way for H&h to communicate.
However, I was sorely disappointed at the references to Columbus "discovering" what is now America. We need to reject that destructive myth that provides the basis for white supremacy by erasing the history of violence and genocide against Natives. People in this country, especially the European colonizers, need to face their history of genocide, slavery and brutality that enabled them to "succeed" and "thrive" on this land. If you're going to mention Columbus, please at least include his twelve years as a slave trader in Portugal, even if you don't mention the horror he inflicted when he arrived in this hemisphere.
I'm not saying the author needs to take all this on, necessarily. I'm sure she would feel that that's asking too much. But please, please reject this white-focused narrative that keeps white supremacy alive and well today.
January 21, 2017
Have your own barbarian house pet
I really liked this idea of a modern girl finding a gorgeous hunk outside her door, who turns out to be a Visigoth, sent forward in time. Valamir is, of course, absolutely gorgeous, and as time passes, Kayla starts to fall for him. She has to teach him everything from scratch and she does this. This does strain belief – I wish I could learn a foreign language as quickly as Valamir picks up American! The sex scenes are extremely explicit and the author manages to stretch out the first session for as long as she can. I have to say there are unflattering names for girls like Kayla who lead a man to distraction and keep saying “no”, but in this case it is to enhance the eroticism for the reader. I think it a great shame that Kayla finds a glorious unstructured barbarian and turns him into a lap dog – I prefer my heroes to have more edge. If I want a pet, I’ll buy a dog!
Have your own barbarian house pet
I really liked this idea of a modern girl finding a gorgeous hunk outside her door, who turns out to be a Visigoth, sent forward in time. Valamir is, of course, absolutely gorgeous, and as time passes, Kayla starts to fall for him. She has to teach him everything from scratch and she does this. This does strain belief – I wish I could learn a foreign language as quickly as Valamir picks up American! The sex scenes are extremely explicit and the author manages to stretch out the first session for as long as she can. I have to say there are unflattering names for girls like Kayla who lead a man to distraction and keep saying “no”, but in this case it is to enhance the eroticism for the reader. I think it a great shame that Kayla finds a glorious unstructured barbarian and turns him into a lap dog – I prefer my heroes to have more edge. If I want a pet, I’ll buy a dog!
Have your own barbarian house pet
July 11, 2019
Val is in the dungeon, about to be executed, and a druid priestess offers to save his life if he promises to be hers forever. What choice does he have? She transports him from Europe to Colorado, and 1500 years into the future. He stumbles down the mountain. Karly's dog alerts her to something outside in the snow, and she rescues him from injuries and hypothermia. Karly teaches Val English. Her ex-husband keep sending threatening emails. This is their story.
The plot was really good, the romance was excellent, and the characters were well-developed. I felt Val adapted to this new era too quickly, and he didn't grieve the loss of his brother or the loss of everything he's known very much. I know he has no family left, but he's the leader of their group, so certainly he has friends.
Stand alone HEA.
Contains sex scenes, swear words, and violence (assault, kidnapping, threats, attempted rape, attempted murder).
The plot was really good, the romance was excellent, and the characters were well-developed. I felt Val adapted to this new era too quickly, and he didn't grieve the loss of his brother or the loss of everything he's known very much. I know he has no family left, but he's the leader of their group, so certainly he has friends.
Stand alone HEA.
Contains sex scenes, swear words, and violence (assault, kidnapping, threats, attempted rape, attempted murder).
August 20, 2019
Glad I took a chance!
This is a time travel romance, not something I would usually read. But the cover, with its little "blurb," captured my attention and I figured...why not?
As a scholar of history, religion and psychology, I was pleasantly surprised with the "foody" part, as food was an integral part of historical culture...sorry, no supermarkets on the corner so if they couldn't grow it or hunt it, they starved. Breaking bread with others meant far more in the past then it does now! Not sure if this was the intention of the author or if she really is a gung ho vegetarian, haha, but it worked for me.
Val was sweet but could be fierce when needed, and with a villian in the book...fierce was much needed.
Straight up, I stink at writing reviews but I really wanted to give this author kudos for her work.
I am going to be reading the 2nd book in the series as soon as I finish this review.
This is a time travel romance, not something I would usually read. But the cover, with its little "blurb," captured my attention and I figured...why not?
As a scholar of history, religion and psychology, I was pleasantly surprised with the "foody" part, as food was an integral part of historical culture...sorry, no supermarkets on the corner so if they couldn't grow it or hunt it, they starved. Breaking bread with others meant far more in the past then it does now! Not sure if this was the intention of the author or if she really is a gung ho vegetarian, haha, but it worked for me.
Val was sweet but could be fierce when needed, and with a villian in the book...fierce was much needed.
Straight up, I stink at writing reviews but I really wanted to give this author kudos for her work.
I am going to be reading the 2nd book in the series as soon as I finish this review.
July 8, 2019
I enjoyed this twist on a time travel novel. It’s interesting to see how Carly in the present was able to accept, understand and grow to like Val -a warrior transported by a druid sorceress/priestess from now 490’s. I think it’s hard to convey the challenges overcoming a language barrier in the short span of a novel - so I feel that the author did a fairly good job integrating this with the plot. The suspense created by the ex-husband and eventually the druid priestess all made the story worthwhile to read. The details of every day life felt realistic- even including some pretty tasty sounding vegetarian meals. While the romance was not your classic bodice ripper, it was sweet and seemed to match the personalities of the characters. Looking forward to book 2 as it follows Val’s younger brother.
March 18, 2022
So this is like 3.5 stars. I like the premise of the story, a guy gets sent to the future, etc. I liked how the manipulative ex was portrayed, and I liked how supportive her friend and brother were. But I feel like maybe there should have been a little more skepticism from the friend? The brother at least didn’t know the whole thing, but the friend did and I feel like she should have been a little more “Umm, what?” And I also would have liked to see if she ever told her family the truth? And then I would also like some world-building explanation of “how was that pact with her able to work?” And “What’s to stop that lady from calling him back again?” Lots of unanswered questions. And I wasn’t totally sure about the trajectory of his English language learning. And overall the writing was ok but not great.
February 7, 2017
How sweet it is!
Sweet Barbarian is a great modern story with a fantasy twist. Karly finds a man suffering from hypothermia outside her Colorado cabin. Valamir has no idea how the Druid got him from a dungeon in 5th century France to modern day USA, but he is grateful that Karly saved his life with care and comfort. I enjoyed the lessons and patience they have for each other. Not only does she take care of him, but he takes care of her. It has a great pace and it was never dull. In fact, there was plenty of humor, uncertainty, and super hot moments. There are back stories and secondary characters like Karly's brother Josh and her friend and colleague Macy. They are also a great fit to Karly's dilemma. I wasn't sure how it was going to end, but the climax was extra exciting and perfect to the end. The story certainly takes you away to with romance and makes you wish that you can find your own sweet barbarian in your backyard. Highly recommended.
Sweet Barbarian is a great modern story with a fantasy twist. Karly finds a man suffering from hypothermia outside her Colorado cabin. Valamir has no idea how the Druid got him from a dungeon in 5th century France to modern day USA, but he is grateful that Karly saved his life with care and comfort. I enjoyed the lessons and patience they have for each other. Not only does she take care of him, but he takes care of her. It has a great pace and it was never dull. In fact, there was plenty of humor, uncertainty, and super hot moments. There are back stories and secondary characters like Karly's brother Josh and her friend and colleague Macy. They are also a great fit to Karly's dilemma. I wasn't sure how it was going to end, but the climax was extra exciting and perfect to the end. The story certainly takes you away to with romance and makes you wish that you can find your own sweet barbarian in your backyard. Highly recommended.
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