The book might be ok, although it wasn't fast paced enough for me to care what happens next -- I stopped listening because the reader decided to interpret the icelandic bard with a cockney accent. Too irritating to continue. ( )

The king's three children and a small group of warrior-protectors take refuge in a winter-bound steading on a northern fjord and discover there's a traitor in their midst. Beautiful Asa, the eldest princess, faces an arranged marriage, although she loves another. Harald, the youngest, will one day be king. ( )

4.5 stars. Excellent read. Facing a war with rival warlord Gunnlaug, the king sends his children (Asa, Solveig, and Harald) to a remote fjord with a group of the king’s most trusted warriors, where they become snowed in for the winter, with a traitor in their midst. The plain, shy, and overlooked daughter Solveig develops into a strong unifying character, helping the group overcome immense strife (both internal and external), while befriending Hake the chief protector and a beserker, and while learning to become a skald (storyteller) from Alric. Woven into the story are threads of Norse mythology, which was a nice touch. ( )

children's fiction; adventure with girl protagonist. couldn't get into this one, but that could just be because I've a lot on my mind these days. ( )

An intriguing, moving, and sweet story about the middle child of a royal family who finds her own place in life as a storyteller...all while trapped in a frozen fjord under attack from a mysterious traitor from within! A whodunnit with emotional depth, mythological background, cool setting....nice. ( )