I probably have rated it higher than it should be but it was quite thought provoking. Not so much another dissection of the trial that seemed to never end as the rampant online fury that surrounded Amanda and Raffaele, people that not only were blatantly innocent but who these people couldn't have possibly known anything about other than what was fed to them via social networks, websites, and overtly biased media outlets. What possible stake could Jim Bob in Timbuktu have in the sad tale of one British student's brutal murder in Perugia, Italy and the quite obviously framed defendants? Why wish the innocent guilty, and so vehemently, or care at all with everything else that is going on in the world?

Preston, yes that Douglas Preston of Preston & Child, does a good job of distilling the workings and psychology of online mob hysteria and retribution and how it starts and spreads virally. He focuses not so much on the details of this actual event as on the meta-level workings of the frenzy and how literally thousands of individuals can make death threats against someone they don't know and don't have any stake in based purely on mob dynamics and biological and social evolution.

“Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant filled with odd little waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like.” - ― Lemony Snicket

“There will be a few times in your life when all your instincts will tell you to do something, something that defies logic, upsets your plans, and may seem crazy to others. When that happens, you do it. Listen to your instincts and ignore everything else. Ignore logic, ignore the odds, ignore the complications, and just go for it.” - ― Judith McNaught, Remember When

Ms. McNaught has it right. Sometimes, you just have to go for it and hope it works. And Scott Hawkins certainly reaches for the stars in The Library at Mount Char. Fantasy, mythology, horror, history, and a crud ton of weird. You can certainly call this book “unique”. And normally ‘unique’ is something I can get into. With this one, however . . . I don’t know. It just didn’t crawl into my mind and make itself at home. Perhaps because the fact that the book opens with a “blood-drenched and barefoot” Carolyn “walked alone down the two-lane stretch of blacktop that the Americans called Highway 79.” Segueing from blood to guacamole, an obsidian knife used to murder a detective for no reason that appears any time soon threw me out of being able to settle into the book. Or maybe, honestly, I am simply not the audience for the book – that could certainly be the case. All of the librarians are weirdness incarnate – from Margaret, who you meet as she sprints out from the shadowy shelves of the library, shrieking and blind with terror, only to be pulled back into the stacks by “Father”, flowing tears streaked with blood, urine running warm down her legs, to David, whose catalog is murder and war. Twelve lost, abused children, forced into viciousness almost beyond bearing.

Demigods, talking lions and barbarism, oh my. The book has lots of very well-written, very positive reviews, and looking at it from a strictly technical standpoint, I can see why. This is some very unique storytelling. It just didn’t grab me. If you like writers more toward the horror side, well, you would probably love this. Sometimes I like horror, sometimes not – this one, not so much.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a realistic review. The review is, of course, based upon my personal tastes. What I didn’t care for could be exactly what you are looking for in a book!

If you like my reviews, I would greatly appreciate it if you would see fit to click "I liked this review" or the equivalent on Amazon, or other book buying sites!

Some may not know this, but Emma MacKenzie is actually a pen name used by the fabulous Karina Halle.  I was ridiculously excited when I found out she had released this book.  As one of my favorite authors, I can’t get enough.  I am grateful (and amazed) that she writes as fast as she does.  And the subject of this one… Seriously, how hot are Vikings?  Eric Northman will always have a place in my heart, so the idea of another Viking Erik was intriguing. 

Savagery was not at all what I expected.  I did not apparently read the entire summary on Amazon, so I ended up coming across a major WTF that left me shocked.  Horrified, even.  As quoted "It IS sexy (M/M/F ménage) and emotional but if you need a rainbows and kittens HEA on your love story, this is NOT the book for you!"  READ THIS.  READ IT AGAIN.  I myself like the rainbows and kittens.  They give me fuzzies that feel so nice in the tum. 

I also had a difficult time connecting with the main character, Cherine, as much as I have with Karina’s other female leads.  As I have said many times, third person narrative is not my favorite.  It always leaves me feeling a little removed.  Cherine’s acceptance and enjoyment of some of the ways she was treated by Rolf bothered me.  I couldn’t relate at all.

Savagery is not a bad book.  It is well written, and the sex is for the most part pretty hot.  There is a sexual brutality that is seldom found in the types of books I read.   There is a lot of gore and battles, but a book about Vikings is bound to have some violence, so that part has to be expected and didn’t bother me.

All in all, Savagery is a decent book.  I did enjoy most of it, just not the HEA.  I’m all about the angst, but I like my HEA with a side of happy feelings.  There were also some questions that weren’t quite answered for me, and I hate loose endings.  I am curious to see if she writes another book under this alter ego. 

I am in LOVE with this story so far!

WARNING: This is a dark erotic romance that contains triggers for some people, inc scenes of violence, rape and abuse. It is NOT a standard HEA ending. It also isn't for historical buffs as liberties have been taken with the dialogue. It IS sexy (M/M/F menage) and emotional but if you need a rainbows and kittens HEA on your love story, this is NOT the book for you!

In 10th century France, 18-year old Cherine Cadet only knows one thing: that the life of a peasant isn’t a life at all. Tired of working in utter poverty for an unfeeling Lord, with only her indifferent family and love-struck best friend as company, Cherine dreams of the day she can run away from the future set-up for her, even if she knows there’s no real escape from her destiny.

Then, in one brutal instance, everything changes. A Viking fleet led by the powerful nobleman and warrior, Rolf the Walker and his right-hand man, Erik the Axe, arrive on the shores of the Lord’s estate. In minutes, the entire land is up in flames, Cherine’s family and fellow serfs are killed, and Cherine comes dangerously close to death herself. She is saved only by the fierce Erik – but a new lease on life comes with a cost.

Cherine becomes a slave to the Vikings, a fate she thinks is no better than the one she had before. But as she finds herself being shared between the two men, the savage and darkly handsome Rolf and the mysterious and sensual Erik, Cherine discovers that she too has a fiery warrior heart and that the flames that consumed her old life might burn them all to the ground.

Note: Emma MacKenzie is a pen name for USA Today bestselling author Karina Halle. Cat's out of the bag!

NB:  Review originally posted 6-Aug-2013 on GR.  Minor edits made.

★★★½ (rounded up for compact yet full story, decent realism and non-traditional ending)

Fast, hot read―but not your typical enemies-to-lovers romance. The path traveled in this love story is twisty & bittersweet, with the ending...

I admit that I got lulled and therefore, it came as a shock. I actually choked/teared up at the end. ME! (totally blame it on PMS)...

Genre: historical (Dark Ages)

Length:  novella (147 pgs)

Sexual content:  erotic (dub con, multiple partners, pony play)