Reviewer: Holly Knight of Runes by Ruth A. Casie
Series: Druid Knights #1
Publisher: Carina Press
Publication Date: November 14th 2011
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Romance
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Series Rating:
England, 1605
When Lord Arik, a druid knight, finds Rebeka Tyler wandering his lands without protection, he swears to keep her safe. But Rebeka can take care of herself. When Arik sees her clash with a group of attackers using a strange fighting style, he’s intrigued.
Rebeka is no ordinary seventeenth-century woman—she’s traveled back from the year 2011, and she desperately wants to return home. She poses as a scholar sent by the king to find out what’s killing Arik’s land. But as she works to decode the ancient runes that are the key to solving this mystery and sending her home, she finds herself drawn to the charismatic and powerful Arik.
As Arik and Rebeka fall in love, someone in Arik’s household schemes to keep them apart, and a dark druid with a grudge prepares his revenge. To defeat him, Arik and Rebeka must combine their skills. Soon Rebeka will have to decide whether to return to the future or trust Arik with the secret of her time travel and her heart.
I’ve had this book in my TBR pile for awhile. I was in the mood for a fantasy-type book and finally decided to read it. I’m not a huge fan of time travel in general. I find the idea implausible and the actions of the characters often doesn’t make sense. Because the heroine was a scholar who studied this time period, her traveling back in time wasn’t as unbelievable as it may have been otherwise. Rebeka irritated me at times. There was nothing she couldn’t do. She was smart, conveniently studied the time period in which she ended up, she had a black belt in karate, ran 5 miles a day, etc, etc, etc. It was just a bit unrealistic. I think I would have enjoyed this more if she hadn’t been so perfect.
Arik was a typical knight; rude, arrogant and suspicious of Rebeka. I didn’t understand many of the things he did since he was supposed to be a druid and have magical powers. Though that was a large part of the story, it wasn’t well incorporated. It seemed more like a plot device than a way of life for him.
This was a bit too long in places. It was overly descriptive and had unnecessary info dumps.
I enjoyed the basic story arc and the romance. The mystery revolving around Arik’s family and why his land was dying was interesting. I also enjoyed the time period.
While this wasn’t a perfect novel, I am interested in trying more from the author.
3 out of 5
This book is available from Carina Press. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.