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War swept England, and the dark ages grew darker as Vikings put Saxon strongholds to the torch and promised new rule. The horde found Epona, Daughter of the Goddess, on the hill beneath the Sign of the White Horse. There she had lived, awaiting the man who was fated to give her a child. A truth was no evident.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 3, 2003
About the author
Susan Squires
41 books204 followersSusan Squires is a NYT bestselling author known for breaking the rules of romance. Whatever her time period or subject, some element of the paranormal creeps in. She has won multiple contests for published novels and reviewer's choice awards. Publisher's Weekly named Body Electric one of the ten most influential mass market books and One with the Shadows a Best Book. Time for Eternity received a starred review.
Susan has a Masters in English literature from UCLA and once toiled as an executive for a Fortune 500 company. Now she lives at the beach with her husband, Harry, a writer of supernatural thrillers, and three Belgian Sheepdogs, who like to help her write by putting their chins on the keyboardddddddddddd.
Susan has a Masters in English literature from UCLA and once toiled as an executive for a Fortune 500 company. Now she lives at the beach with her husband, Harry, a writer of supernatural thrillers, and three Belgian Sheepdogs, who like to help her write by putting their chins on the keyboardddddddddddd.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 13, 2019
Sometimes it's good to shake things up....
I saw this book mentioned by a blogger on IG. She had a pile of books that were set in the Dark Ages. Not really a genre I'm familiar with but I decided to take a chance. This one was on KU and the rest, as they say, is history. There were several times that I almost gave up. I wasn't sure this was the right story for me. It dragged a bit and Pony was irritating the snot out of me but I preserved and I'm glad I did because it was a really good story.
PSA: There is a beautiful love story in between the violence and the uncertainty but don't expect earth shattering sexy times.
I saw this book mentioned by a blogger on IG. She had a pile of books that were set in the Dark Ages. Not really a genre I'm familiar with but I decided to take a chance. This one was on KU and the rest, as they say, is history. There were several times that I almost gave up. I wasn't sure this was the right story for me. It dragged a bit and Pony was irritating the snot out of me but I preserved and I'm glad I did because it was a really good story.
PSA: There is a beautiful love story in between the violence and the uncertainty but don't expect earth shattering sexy times.
July 21, 2016
Read while in jail. Actual rating: 3
July 29, 2010
Squires wrote in a totally different writing style. I couldn’t get into the characters or the story. I couldn’t even get myself to skim it. It ACTUALLY put me to sleep and I DIDN’T fight to read further.
November 18, 2019
This book is magic - loved it so much!
January 16, 2025
Pony knows the time for her destiny is at hand. Her ability to communicate with the animals which surround her is abandoning her slowly each day that passes. As mother did before her and her mother’s mother, going back to the dawn of time, Pony must produce a daughter. As per her mothers’ instructions, this male who she will chose to father her daughter cannot hold a place in her heart. This male must mean nothing. So, one day, a stranger should happen upon her secluded home in the Vale. This stranger is to be King. The Saxon King. He’s as good as a candidate as any and after a brief sexual encounter, Pony knows she must be pregnant.
Then another male comes into her life and manages to turn everything she’s even known upside down.
Val is a man who’s seeking honour and a place once more among his people. His fellow Dane do not forget the stain on Val’s name, everything he does, every pain he suffers is the regain him fallen glory. So, when he encounters the ethereal and unworldly Horse Goddess, he knows she is the key to his success in this land. He takes her prisoner, although she is not mistreated. Val demands Epona to teach his brothers Saxon, and for her people to know his language. This will mean peace between the two cultures and if Epona succeeds, she will be free.
Neither intended for love to bloom between them. In fact, when Pony realizes the child she carries is not in fact the daughter of the Saxon King but instead the son of a man who should be her enemy, Pony is filled with horror. She has disobeyed her mother and her ancestors, she has scorned her destiny and destroyed everything she knows. How could she be so stupid? Yet what she thought her destiny was, may not be what her destiny is. She might be meant for greater things then to be a pawn in the Saxon-Viking war. She may indeed embody the spirit of the Horse Goddess.
I loved this book. My appreciation for this author’s attempt to write a historically accurate tale of the times of Viking is great indeed. It might not be 100% correct, for all I know, it might be completely wrong, but she tried and for that, she gets the applause. The language was spot on, the characters were not speaking in modern slang or anything like that.
Pony was a young girl who knew nothing outside the small world she lived in. All she knew was horses and her mother’s teachings but despite that, she made the best decisions she could with what she had. She didn’t suffer from stupidity or ignorance but rather innocence.
Val was the standout character though, by far. A tender-hearted Viking, different from his brethren because of horrors he experienced at the hands of his father. He was a defender of the weak and would go Beserkr only when fighting for others, never himself. He was honorable and he was completely in love with Pony. Despite her betrayal, despite being pregnant with another man’s child (or so he thinks).
It was a great book, not perfect, but still very very good.
Then another male comes into her life and manages to turn everything she’s even known upside down.
Val is a man who’s seeking honour and a place once more among his people. His fellow Dane do not forget the stain on Val’s name, everything he does, every pain he suffers is the regain him fallen glory. So, when he encounters the ethereal and unworldly Horse Goddess, he knows she is the key to his success in this land. He takes her prisoner, although she is not mistreated. Val demands Epona to teach his brothers Saxon, and for her people to know his language. This will mean peace between the two cultures and if Epona succeeds, she will be free.
Neither intended for love to bloom between them. In fact, when Pony realizes the child she carries is not in fact the daughter of the Saxon King but instead the son of a man who should be her enemy, Pony is filled with horror. She has disobeyed her mother and her ancestors, she has scorned her destiny and destroyed everything she knows. How could she be so stupid? Yet what she thought her destiny was, may not be what her destiny is. She might be meant for greater things then to be a pawn in the Saxon-Viking war. She may indeed embody the spirit of the Horse Goddess.
I loved this book. My appreciation for this author’s attempt to write a historically accurate tale of the times of Viking is great indeed. It might not be 100% correct, for all I know, it might be completely wrong, but she tried and for that, she gets the applause. The language was spot on, the characters were not speaking in modern slang or anything like that.
Pony was a young girl who knew nothing outside the small world she lived in. All she knew was horses and her mother’s teachings but despite that, she made the best decisions she could with what she had. She didn’t suffer from stupidity or ignorance but rather innocence.
Val was the standout character though, by far. A tender-hearted Viking, different from his brethren because of horrors he experienced at the hands of his father. He was a defender of the weak and would go Beserkr only when fighting for others, never himself. He was honorable and he was completely in love with Pony. Despite her betrayal, despite being pregnant with another man’s child (or so he thinks).
It was a great book, not perfect, but still very very good.
February 26, 2008
Makes my Top 10 list of very bad books. There is hardly any love story in this book. It's more about a girl who communes with nature and her horses. This is one weird heroine.
September 14, 2010
The author really captures the time and the people without unduly glorifying it. Really good!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews