Lee Swanson

Set in early 14th Century Europe, Her Dangerous Journey Home by Lee Swanson revolves around Christina Kohl, a Hanseatic merchant from Lubeck, Germany, who has acquired quite the reputation for her bravery and courage earning her Knighthood, not as Christina but as Frederick, her deceased brother whom she has been impersonating for the last two years. An important member of the Hansa merchant community in London, Christina’s truth is known by only a few trusted confidantes among who is the married young noblewoman with whom she falls in love– feelings that are reciprocated. Given Frederick’s courageous exploits in the past, the alderman, whose wife holds a personal grudge against Frederick (Christina), decides to send her on an expedition to the Baltic Sea to hunt down the pirates who threaten maritime trade on that route.

We follow Christina as she navigates the demands of merchant trade, enemies with personal grudges, politics of the time, the threat of discovery and her romantic feelings for Lady Cecily as she embarks on a journey from England to the Baltic Sea to her hometown of Lubeck and back facing threats, fighting pirates and exacting revenge for the death of her father and brother, merchants who were killed by pirates who attacked their ship.

With its vividly described medieval setting, superb characterizations and immersive narrative, Her Dangerous Journey Home by Lee Swanson is an engaging read. Christina is an admirable protagonist – determined and brave, shouldering responsibilities that one would not expect a woman in that era to take on. The author pays great attention to detail and I thought that all characters were well-drawn. I thoroughly enjoyed the scenes from the Baltic, the camaraderie among the crew, the swordfights, and the retaliatory quest for pirates. The first half of the novel is set in England and is relatively slower paced but serves the purpose of introducing us to Christina, giving us a glimpse into significant events from her past and the life and times in medieval England and Christina’s life as a member of the Hansa merchant community. The ending is satisfying and also indicates that Christina's adventures are far from over.

Do read the Historical Notes at the end of the story wherein the author discusses the historical context of the novel, providing sufficient background information on the era in which the story is set as well as a glimpse into maritime trade, the perils involved, the threat of piracy and much more.

This is the third book in the Author’s No Man Is Her Master series and though I haven’t read the preceding books, I did not find the story difficult to follow.

Many thanks to Merchant's Largesse Books and Stephanie Barko for the digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Rating: 3.75⭐… (altro)