A CELTIC YULETIDE CAROL by Jennifer Ivy Walker

Fiction, Historical Romance

5*****

Blurb: Once a royal Breton knight, Sir Cardin de Landuc is now infamously known as Basati, the Basque Wolf. Savage and sullen, he drowns his guilt in raucous taverns, accruing enormous debt and acquiring vengeful enemies. Ulla, widowed daughter of a Viking chieftain, is a skilled archer who lives as a recluse in a secluded woodland cottage. Rendered mute by trauma, she avoids humans, preferring the company of her wild wolf and falcon as she hunts in the Forest of Brocéliande. When his mother’s dying wish calls Basati home, he finally meets the son he abandoned at birth and Ulla, the enigmatic priestess who is teaching the boy to hunt. As the holidays approach, Basati finds himself smitten with the beguiling beauty as he bonds with his once forsaken child. But past enemies plot against him, and Basati is ensnared in darkness. Can music lure the savage wolf into the light of love?

Thoughts: The imagery alone in this book is worth the read. The author puts you right there, smelling the pine forest, feeling the stiff hairs on the wolf’s coat over the soft undercoat, the sounds of battle… The prose is very descriptive. This is a strong story with great characters who definitely have flaws and issues and they grow and change through the story – at least, the two main characters do, as they should.

Cardin, aka Basati, is a fallen knight who—after losing his beloved wife in childbirth— spends his days drinking, gambling, and fighting and wants nothing to do with his 6 year old son. His brother, also a knight, spends a lot of his time hauling his drunken brother back to their quarters. Ulla has also suffered great loss, and the horror of losing her husband and son has rendered her mute. But she is a healer who is bound to help those she can. When the two meet, a bond begins to grow and some of their hurts begin to heal.

The author’s research into the medieval time period is obvious, but not overdone. The story is well-written and there’s a HEA ending that satisfies.

Recommended.