Raider (Norse Saga #1) by Jerry Cole

Raider (Norse Saga #1) Reviews

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  ~✡~Dαni(ela) ♥ ♂♂ love & semi-colons~✡~

  ~3.5~
  
  Confession time: I gave one of Jerry Cole's contemporary romance books 1 star and had no intention of ever reading anything else by this author.
  
  M/M Viking Historical Gay First Time Romance came across my feed, and since I'm a little okay, a lot obsessed with Vikings, I grabbed it via Kindle Unlimited. I didn't realize it was the same author whose book I had one-starred until I was halfway through.
  
  Imagine my surprise when I found myself enjoying this story. I am no expert on Viking lore, but much (although not all) of the story struck me as relatively historically accurate as far as customs and living conditions in 8th century Northumbria (what is now Northern England and Scotland) and Norse Viking lands (present-day Scandinavia).
  
  Aiden, an Englishman with flaming red hair, is captured as a thrall (slave) by blonde Viking Einarr. It turns out that being enslaved frees Aiden in ways he's never imagined.
  
  The plot is summed up in the blurb, so I won't go into it here, but there was a nice slow burn, a gay first time as promised in the title, a couple steamy scenes, a gripping battle, and a HEA (probably unrealistic, but I chose to ignore that).
  
  If you're looking for something raunchy, don't bother. The sexy scenes aren't particularly graphic or abundant, but the writing is nicely descriptive and the story quite engaging. I liked this one and may try another book by this author.
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  Denise H.

  ***** Jerry Cole gives us this refreshing and new series opener that is wonderful !
  It's a historical tale of thieves, and struggles, and survival in the time of the Vikings.
  Aiden, 23, is a 'bastard," living his simple life of tending sheep,
  
  and trying to find peace in a town run by prejudiced bible preaching phonies. When their village elders try to trick some traders, the traders come back to fight. Aiden is nearly killed, but Einarr spared him, and asked to be able to keep him for himself, a thrall/slave.
  Einarr treats Aiden better than his townsfolk ever did,
  
  
  and life isn't too bad. Einarr has feelings for Aiden, but Aiden had it beaten into him how wrong that was. Through their hard work and talks, and trying to fit in his new surroundings, Aiden became happy to be there. He and Einarr become closer, as Einarr teaches Aiden how to fight, and twice, Aiden has saved a life in the new village. Aiden gets his first times with love, and sex from Einarr, and they are great together. Threats come to the new settlement, and the people fight.
  The end has a terrific finish, but not a cliffhanger.
  It can stand alone, and it's a marvelous story ! ENJOY !
  
  
  ==========
• 
  Milica

  3.5 stars...
  
  Honestly, I wasn't expecting anything when I started reading Raider (actually I was a bit wary - first time reading this author), but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this one! Aiden was not one-dimensional character, I liked him as a narrator and his relationship with Einarr was quite sweet.
  
  If you love Vikings (and who doesn't) you know MM romance genre doesn't have much to offer in the way of Viking romantic stories, but if you're looking for one to read I absolutely recommend this one. Yes, there are some flaws to it, like the way they spoke which struck me as too modern. Or the way all the habitants of the Einarr's village were quite accepting of relationship between two men...they didn't see it as Einarr using Aiden for sex, but real relationship between them. Which struck me as a little odd, but who knows, maybe such accepting village really existed.
  
  Anyway,this is a fiction after all and enjoyable at that, so if you fancy Viking love stories, go ahead and read it!
  
  
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  Caipi

  Okay, I wasn't a fan of this week's Bingo category (Roman, Vikings and Celts oh my!) and had a hard time to decide which book to read. Honestly, I wasn't in the mood for long historical descriptions. So I just searched for a book with as fewest pages as possible and available on Kindle Unlimited and started reading it with little enthusiasm.
  Well, I was pleasantly surprised that I quite enjoyed it! :)
  Not that I actually have the knowledge but I think the historical setting regarding the living, working and fighting aspects were largely realistic. The whole situation with the thrall/slave on the other hand was totally unbelievable, but made it possible for the author to create here a lovely story.
  Aiden and Einarr were sweet characters! :)
  
  3.5 stars
  
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  Nemo ☠️ (pagesandprozac)

  uh, hmm, i don't have a lot to say about this (c'mon percy you say this about every 3 star book, it's getting old); it was pretty enjoyable but I don't think I'll be continuing with the next one. i just thought aidan's reactions to being a thrall were pretty unrealistic at times, and there wasn't enough ~angst~ considering the subject matter. but it was free on kindle unlimited and it was fun, so I don't really have any mega complaints!
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  Michael Jensen

  Even though this book is a bit on the short side, it packs a lot of plot and character development into its pages. It also effectively evokes what lift must have felt like a lowly Englishman named Aiden and a Viking named Einarr during the 8th century as the two cultures violently collide. I especially enjoyed the evolution of the relationship between the two men. If you're a fan of historical fiction and/or M/M romance, check it out.
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  Ulysses Dietz

  Raider
  By Jerry Cole
  2016
  Four stars
  
  “Raider” is a sweet, straightforward m/m novella, given a very well-done historical setting by an author who knows his way around the English language. As implausible as the idea of a gay Viking might seem, Cole gives it an appropriate context and makes it plausible, and the authenticity of the historical setting made me appreciate, once again, how glad I am NOT to live during the dark ages on the Welsh coast of the British isles.
  
  Aiden is a redhead, a shepherd, and a bastard. Orphaned, he is lucky enough to own a house and a flock of sheep. Barely tolerated by the villagers for his illegitimate birth, he wiles away his days carving little ornamental pendants while watching his flock and pondering the endless gray vision of his life amongst these pinched, narrow, rigidly Christian people. Cole really captures the physical and cultural setting beautifully.
  
  Then one day a group of Viking traders come to town. They have silver. They have goods. On big blond named Einarr takes a shine to Aiden’s carving skills, and trades him a few pieces of fine carving wood for one.
  
  But the morally righteous villagers decide it is both wise and just to cheat the heathen Northmen and in the ensuing disaster, Aiden finds himself carried away by his blond Viking as a thrall. Thus unfolds a surprisingly nuanced story about life in the dark ages, and a love story that is as sweet-hearted as it is unexpected. The plot of “Raider” is as much about Aiden and his discovery of a world outside the limits of his experience as it is about Vikings and their way of life. Lots of nice details bring the plot to life and create a vivid setting against which our fairly forthright characters play their parts.
  
  Jerry Cole advertises this as an “M/M Viking Historical Gay First Time Romance” right on the cover…although from scanning his other books he seems to specialize in “straight to gay” first time romance. Huh. I didn’t know gay guys wrote that kind of story; thus proving “live and learn.” I may not go for those books, but I’ll keep my eye out for more of Cole’s well-crafted work.
  
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  MyzanM

  Let’s get one thing straight first.
  I generally don’t read historical M/M romance. I rarely enjoy books in this genre and it is therefore one of my dreaded tasks when it comes to challenges. Which is pretty much the only instance when I really do pick up a historical M/M romance. So for me to give one of these books a high rating is not common since my ratings are solely based on personal preference and enjoyment.
  
  THIS is one of few I’ve really enjoyed. I loved the plot, because YES! there is one, and it is a plot driven novella, not PWP! Shocking, I know, because when originally reading the blurb I thought this would be one of those books where a series of sexual encounters were divided by snippets of plot. Then I saw a couple of friends had reviewed it, one of them giving it 5 stars. That was the one that gave me the courage to actually pick it up. I’m glad I did! Thank you Michael and Andrea!
  
  This turned out to be near perfect. I loved the way the Viking community was portrayed. The scenery was also very nicely described in just enough detail to bring me a sense of being home in one of the small fishing and farming villages dotting the coast here. I really loved the way the relationship between Aiden and Einarr was allowed to develop before anything actually happened.
  
  There were just a few small things that annoyed me much enough to not give it a full 5 star rating. But those were mostly personal preferences and not real issues. The one thing I did want more of was the interactions within the family. You get a rather good sense of a few of the men in the village, but the three females in the household are just sketchy shadows. And then there’s the length... I actually wished it had been a bit longer to flesh out the day to day living a bit more, but it sure contained a lot for such a short book.
  
  I just found out that there is a sequel available. I might even brave it next (when I need to read a historical).
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  Juxian

  One thing, I seem to have a Vikings fetish. I suspected it for a while, now I know for sure :)
  Second, it was a very sweet book. With likable characters (Einarr is particularly... practically a teddy bear). Basically, everyone is a good guy (except for some bad guys who are quickly disposed of).
  And third... every time when I read about joys of slavery, I want to vomit. When in the middle of the book Aiden was going on and on about how wonderful his new life as a slave is, how he is valued in the village, I wanted to yell: ""But they don't think you're human, you idiot!" Why doesn't someone write a story about an African American man who is so happy being a slave because his life is so much better than in Africa and his master is so kind and caring? No, something's not right, huh? Why then do authors keep slipping this shit about "kind master + contented slave = HEA"?
  But - it worked in the end in the story. And the story was really nice. And I think I like Jerry Cole's books. So yeah, I'll keep reading them. Glomp!
• 
  Bookishcat

  I went into this very intrigued, but weary of what this book would be like and ended up really enjoying it! The characters were interesting and while the story could have been longer and added more depth to the side characters it was pretty darn good. The main characters are well drawn out and thier romance was organic given the cultures and stigmas of the time period.
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  Sanne92

  Raider, though a bit short, is a fast-paced and enjoyable story. While the language barrier was too easily solved, I did like Aiden and Einarr's relationship as it felt very natural and real.
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  Paula´s Brief Review

  Este hombre vio Vikings y se dijo: Ya me lo sé todo!!
  Este libro carece de todo, se limita a recordar datos históricos y meter dos tíos en una historia que pretende ser romántica? histórica,? erótica? Pues no es nada de lo anterior.
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  Steph ☀️

  First Viking romance :)
  
  Well, I have to say I really enjoyed this book and I want more! I really liked how descriptive the author was. The only question I had was the use of the word mayor in the book. Other than that it was lovely. The story between the main characters was sweet; I just wished it was longer or maybe turned into a two part series. I definitely will see what more this author has to offer.
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  S.

  Very entertaining
  
  Needed a little more substance. If this had been a longer more in depth book it would have been five stars. Alas it was a little short and a lot of the characters were two dimensional
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  Walford

  If you ignore the ridiculous cover you get a sweet historical romance, well-written and satisfying. The period stuff benefits from good description and suffers from an awfully modern-sounding way of speaking. Made me want to read a contemporary by this author.
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  Lola N

  Love this so much!! EINARR I COULD JUST UGH!! I felt amazing chemistry between the MCs and I gush over the dynamics between all of the other character!!
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  Andrea AKA Catsos Person

  I expected PWP, but there is a plot here.
  
  Better than I expected.
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  Valeria DePaula

  ✔ Letto! Ho appena finito questo libro fan.tas.ti.co! Sono super felice di averlo letto e conosciuto Aiden e Einarr.
  Siamo nel medioevo, Aiden è il povero ragazzo del villaggio inglese dov'è nato e cresciuto. Vive in completa solitudine con le sue pecore, disprezzato dai suoi concittadini governati da un prete fanatico, bigotto e imbroglione. Lo definiscono come un il figlio bastardo di una donna pagana, pertanto tenuto alla larga. I suoi momenti più belli sono quelli in cui può fare magie con un pezzettino di legno trasformandolo in un opera d'arte. È un artigiano autodidatta ma un giovane uomo triste, orfano che purtroppo si è arreso al suo destino di solitudine e miseria.
  Einarr è un vichingo, sì ho detto proprio vichingo, anch'io l'ho sognato ad occhio aperto😍😍
  Va in giro dalle sue terre nordiche a fare affare con altre terre vicine, o si arricchivano depredando insediamenti costieri britannici, lui e il suo clan non sopportano solo una cosa la disonestà. E nel caso succeda, fanno pagare a tutti, saccheggiando e uccidendo tutti quanti o portando via qualquer esemplari come schiavi. È un barbaro. Un conquistatore. Un pagano, un guerriero.
  I personaggi, Aidan ed Einarr, si incontrano quando Einarr e altri vichinghi norvegese attaccano il villaggio di Aidan dopo che gli abitanti del villaggio li hanno ingannati in un accordo commerciale. Einarr reclama Aidan come suo schiavo, dopo aver uccisi quasi tutti, lo porta con sé nel suo villaggio.
  Li, Aiden scoprirà la lealtà di un popolo pagano, il loro credo, la loro politica e modo di vivere solidali uno con gli altri. Ma principalmente scoprirà che il barbaro in verità è un orsacchiotto dal cuore d'oro e l'unica cosa che vuole ed essere amato da lui. Scoprirà sé stesso, il suo valore come uomo, come guerriero, come amico e amante.
  Aiden nel villaggio vichingo avrà delle opportunità che nel suo villaggio cristiano non ne avrebbe mai avute, anche come uno schiavo riesce a crescere agli occhi dei guerrieri, dimostrando il suo coraggio e la sua fedeltà a quel popolo. Riesce così a conquistarsi la sua libertà e da uomo libero potrà scegliere se tornare a casa o restare.
  Ma la sua casa è dove si trova il suo cuore.
  Non vedo l'ora di leggere il seguito.
  Lettura veloce e divertente. L'autore ha saputo rendere un romanzo storico del secolo VIII abbastanza credibile dato la ricerca che ovviamente ha fatto e per chi ama i vichingo come me, sa che tra di loro l'omosessualità esisteva. Quindi
  Per me è ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ e💋
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  Liza

  This was a surprisingly delightful story. I tend to shy away from historical, especially shorts, unless they're from a series I'm familiar with. This is a new author and a new series and I was very happy with it!! It could have gone the bodice-ripper, cheesy route, but it had very rich world-building and didn't read like a short story. I would have loved more time with Aiden and Einarr! I will definitely be reading more from this author.
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  Lois - Who Reads

  There just is not much substance here. Aiden is rescued from his dreary existence when Einarr and his crew show up in Aiden's small village. All hell breaks loose when Aiden's fellow villagers try to swindle Einarr's people and Aiden is kidnapped and taken away. The whole thrall thing was odd and Aiden's easy acceptance of being thought of as less than human did not make a lot of sense. I don't think I will be continuing with this series.
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  Jane (PS)

  3.5 stars
  This is not a book I would have chosen to read except in a challenge situation. I have to say I quite enjoyed it. The times are pretty severe and the climate unforgiving, but the author pulled off two caring MCs committed to their Northland village (once MC Aiden accepted his inevitable captivity) with MC Aiden finally finds acceptance.
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  Coral Mitchell

  MM. An enjoyable story set in the time of the Vikings. Aiden and Einarr are wonderful together and their relationship deepens over time. A quick read with drama, danger, battles, and love. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book.
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  Denise GremoryKohta

  I was pleasantly surprised. I normally don't like to read historical fiction but, since I love the author, I would give it a try. So glad I did. Very good story and realistic to how things were in that time
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  David Wickham

  This was absolutely wonderful! The plot was great. Character development was outstanding. It sounds like a cliche but I felt like I was there. I knew what everything looked like.
  
  Can't wait to read the second book!
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  ❤Sharonica-Logic❤

  The book that started my love affair with J Cole's books.
  
  This story is about a young man who is pretty much an outcast in his own English village. Through a series of events that are out of the young man's control, he ends up becoming a slave to a Northman and forced to leave his country to live in a new land.
  
  As the story unfolds we see a young man rise to become a warrior who adapts to his circumstances, and learns that home is not a place, but rather the people who surround you.
  
  I loved this story so so much, and loved the second adventure, just as much as the first. Nothing beats good Viking battles and strong men.
• 
  Tammy

  Blog Post:
  http://lovebytesreviews.com/2016/05/2...
  The Raider is set in 8th century England when Norse Vikings are raiding the English coast. Aiden is a shepherd who lives in a devoutly Christian village. Because his mother was a pagan and he is a bastard by birth Aiden’s life is very miserable. Aiden spends his days tending his sheep and dreaming of a better life until one day a group of travellers wanting to trade come into the village. This is the day Aiden meets Einarr. Einarr wants to trade Aiden for the tokens Aiden has carved. Aiden agrees to the trade and when Einarr returns the next day with the rest of the traders he is inadvertently warned by Aiden that everything is not what it seems with the rations being traded. The travellers immediately turn on the townsfolk and slaughter everyone except for Aiden, Einarr saves him. Several days later and Aiden wakes up in a Vikings longboat with Einarr and the others who attacked his village.
  When they arrive back at Einarr’s village Aiden discovers that he is now what is called a thrall, basically a slave. Except, Einarr doesn’t treat Aiden like a thrall, he treats him more like a lover, he does all these little things for Aiden and Aiden doesn’t have a clue! Several times instead of running away Aiden does something to save either Einarr or his daughter Agna’s life.
  Aiden settles into Viking life, helping to harvest the crop and growing closer to Einarr every day. When Einarr kisses Aiden the first time, Aiden is very conflicted because the priest from his old village constantly drummed it in that homosexuality is a sin! As the weeks go by not only does Aiden and Einarr grow closer but Aiden gets close to Einarr’s daughter and develops friendships with the majority of the other villagers.
  I would definitely recommend that you get yourself a copy of Raider and delve into the world Vikings and shepherds and all that good stuff!!
  
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  Christine

  I loved this book. I found it to be quite enjoyable, i didnt really want it to end haha. It was quite interesting to read and I'd love to read more like this. 5 stars, 10/10. I recommend everyone read it. We meet Aiden, he isnt much liked by the people he is surrounded by because he likes me not women but when a group of Northmen come to town things get a little..heated... Aiden is soon on his way to his new life as a thrall for one of the northmen, soon Aiden comes to realize that not all people will treat him differently for what he prefers in his own time. In the end everything works out as it should. I loved it. Enjoy!
  *i received an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review*