Charity (00:00.342)
So I decided to read a Danielle Jensen backlist reads. ["The Last Supper"]
Charity (00:11.394)
Hello readers, my name is Charity, the host of the Birchford Reader podcast. I'm introverted but willing to talk about fantasy books. On this podcast, I will do book reviews, author interviews, and fantasy book discussions. Come join me every week as I explore new realms and talk to amazing people.
Charity (00:38.886)
If you're new to this channel definitely like and subscribe. I would love to have you instantly know what is going on with my introverted world and definitely let's talk fantasy. So I decided to go into a Danielle Jensen backlist read just because I read the Bridge Kingdom this year. It was highly recommended. Everyone was constantly talking about that book and I was like, okay, okay. I'll try it. You know, please.
Please stop, okay? So I did that and I was instantly hooked on her writing style. I liked how she tells a story. I love how she creates her characters and I love everything about her plot twist and everything. So I decided to read everything that she's written so far, at least the first book of each series that she's written. So the first book is the...
obviously the bridge kingdom. So Laura is actually, she was born and raised to be literally a sassim with her sisters and the king, her father isolated them and now the time has come to give an arranged marriage to the bridge kingdom as the bride and through some crazy circumstances Laura was actually chosen and was sent over there and her mission was literally to figure out the secrets of this bridge.
this fortress that protects this kingdom that nobody can penetrate and her report back to her father or in assassinate the king but she got married to this guy and she started getting to know King Arren and everything that was told to her was actually kind of a lie and she's starting to learn actually the truth behind the bridge kingdom itself and she's kind of torn between the loyalties in which she's been told her whole life from her father her the king.
or from what she's discovering in this new world of these people that she's now sharing her life with. And I really liked this one because this really did have a few twists and turns in it that was very engaging, especially in the very beginning. There's like this major twist that I just like my jaw just dropped. I did not expect it to happen, especially that early on in the story and it just happened.
Charity (02:57.33)
Now I would say there was a slight lull in the, like I would say 60 to 80%. I was kind of like.
a little boring, but at the end it just, oh it came together so nicely. And I want to finish the series this year because it's such a good series and I know there's a lot more that happens and unfolds as the story goes on. So the next book that I was very fortunate to get an arc of was A Fate Inked in Blood. I also very fortunate to get a
Fairyloot copy of this. I was planning on buying the book anyways, and I'm so glad to get this in the Fairyloot edition. I don't only think I kind of wish there was a glossary of how to pronounce these Viking Nordic names because I remember hearing Danielle Jensen speak Born B-J-O-R-N
a few times and I'm having a hard time committing it to memory. So and there's Farrah, and you know there's a lot of different characters names that you have to kind of know distinguish who is who and I kind of wish there was a glossary to know how to really know how to pronounce these names. So with this one Farrah is it's like an arranged marriage. She she was already in a marriage that she didn't like and then it through crazy circumstances
I see you, Daniel. She was passed on from one arranged marriage that she hated to another arranged marriage that she hated. And she was carrying a secret for a very long time. And that was that she was a shield maiden and blessed from the gods to do this magic. Right. And there was like this big prophecy that whoever has.
Charity (04:49.846)
This shield maiden will be king of this like of the nation and this particular chief I want to call him chief. I know he's not but technically, he's a clansman and he decided to wed her even though he was already married and as a second wife and It's gonna use her to ascend to the throne of the Kings He's learning how to discover use her magic and through some crazy things guy that she's married to
through fate that his son will watch over her which is the love interest of the story.
and I just like this because it is unique. It has a lot of magical properties that you never thought to immerse yourself in. I'm not very versed in the Nordic mythology or culture or anything like that, but it definitely helps you dive into what it's like to be a Viking and I've noticed that I tend to like a lot of Viking stories because this is gruesome. It is the realities of what their wars were like and how they
beliefs and religion was and it was just so fascinating to read and to feel like I was a part of that storyline. So I really like that the main female main character fair did kind of irritate me at the end but I'm just looking for like some character development in the second book. It's a shame that I'm gonna have to wait.
a while for the second book, but I'm excited for anything that Danielle Jensen writes and I still have her two other series that I have to finish. Well, no, three other series that I have to finish before even the next one comes out. So, which brings me to...
Charity (06:36.858)
stolen songbird. Now this was I believe her first book series that she's ever written and I was a little hesitant about going into this one because it started off really funny, very rushed. So we have Cecilia who you know she is training to be an opera singer and she suddenly gets kidnapped by some another human being.
drags her down to the mountain and sells her to the trolls. And the trolls have this curse on them that is keeping them underneath the mountain and the only way to break it is by a magical bond marriage to a human that can set them free and Tristan is the prince and that's who she gets arranged marriage to. When I say it was confusing at the beginning it literally gave a background of
her family life and how she born and came to be, got kidnapped and was thrown in front of the trolls within like 30 pages, it almost seems like it was super rushed. But I think once we got 50% in, that's when the magic started happening and that's when I really recognized Danielle Jensen's writing style was when we finally got halfway through. I really like it because it's trolls. It's not a common mythical thing that you see nowadays. It's always the fey.
the hot thing in fantasy romance right now. Even though he doesn't look like a troll, like an actual troll troll, they have like troll magic. It's kind of similar to what the fae are, but you know, the trolls kind of mistreat humans and the humans are trying to fight for their freedom and all this stuff. And so I thought it was really good. I'm excited to continue on the series because obviously we were kind of left in the shadows of what's gonna happen next. And the second book will kind of answer some questions.
about the magic system and how to more break that curse. So the last of all least is Dark Shores and this oh my gosh so this has like Tires Caribbean meets Roman Empire so the main character
Charity (08:51.638)
and I wish I remembered her name, Tariana. She is the pirate daughter, and Marcus is the Roman Empire Legionnaire. He is basically the general of the Roman Legion soldiers, right? So, Tariana has access to this place called the Dark Shores that is only accessible by her, her culture, her people, and Marcus was tasked to not only connect all her people and her,
but to force her to bring them to dark shores to conquer those islands like the Roman Empire. So I guess in a way they also kind of learn to have to work together because her people are threatened to be killed if she didn't bring Marcus and his
Legion of soldiers into this world and it's not as what it appears to be and they're having to learn to work together I like these enemies to lover stories that actually draws a clear line as to why they're enemies and they did not become lovers 40% in the book they literally took
time and you don't really truly start seeing feelings for each other until like 60 to 75% of the book and there's a clear line as to why they shouldn't be together. obviously she's a pirate, he's a roman soldier basically and they don't call him roman soldiers but it's like a roman empire. he even tortured her people, you know threatened to kill her and threatening to take over her lands but you know they eventually fall for each other and that's what i really liked about this one and
unique perspective. I think I kind of really like anything that doesn't have to do with Faye right now just because I'm just really hungry for things that are different. So if you have any rec pirate...
Charity (10:42.294)
fantasy romance recs, definitely recommend them to me because I'm digging it. What I really love about these books is that they're kind of surrounded by this particular culture. Like, for example, Fate Inked at Blood is surrounding Nordic culture. Dark Shores is surrounded by the Romans. Bridge Kingdom is surrounded by Amazonian people. I wouldn't say the stolen songbird is surrounded by anything. Cave people, maybe. But I think I like just the way-
these books are written they're so different than the books that are being published these days. So I would say my rankings for my favorite books is the first one. I would say the Dark Shores is my ultimate favorite series so far out of Danielle Denson. The Bridge Kingdom is the second one. The third one is Don't Lend a Songbird and last.
faint inked in blood. not saying that the faint inked in blood was bad or anything but i just prefer other books in her series more than that one. so yeah that's just my little trip on her backlist. i cannot wait to continue her series for all these books because i started them all and now i need to finish them and hopefully i'll finish them this year. so yeah thank you for joining me catch you later readers bye
Charity (12:06.722)
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