The Curse of Clansmen and Kings Series!
Travel Back In Time With Author Linnea Tanner.
Apollo’s Raven by Linnea Tanner.
Curse of Clansmen and Kings Book 1.
A Celtic warrior princess is torn between her forbidden love for the enemy and duty to her people.
5 Stars: Interesting story!
Travel back to a time in 24 AD where strong Celtic women find themselves influencing Clansmen, Kings and Queens. This ancient time is set in Rome and on the Southeast Coast of Britannia where fantasy, mythology, medieval practices, politics, religion, Celtic culture, the Roman Empire, and forbidden romance bring about this fictional tale tailored by well researched history, archaeological evidence supported with a cast of fictional and non-fictional characters artfully woven in by skilled writer Linnea Tanner.
The story begins with Princess Catrin, her horse and her raven spirit guide observing ships, possible war ships in the distance. Advice from her father “know your enemies better than your friends” along with her spirit guide and ancient powers will help Catrin through the perils that await.
I invite you into this epic tale where “Alone in Mor’s candlelit bedchamber, Catrin shifted restlessly under her blankets. Not having to share the bed with her sister, because Mor was gone most of the night with Belinus, she thought slumber would come easy. Yet an ominous fire lingered inside her and foreboding thoughts crackled through her mind about what her father had said at the family meeting during the festivities. When he announced that Mor must be prepared to wed Cunobelin’s son after he renegotiated a matrimonial agreement, she wilted like a flower denied water. The burden of keeping Mor’s secret about Belinus weighed heavily on Catrin’s conscience. If Cunobelin found out, it could unravel the tenuous negotiations for peace between the powerful tribal kingdoms.
More troubling, her father instructed her on ways she could beguile Marcellus into revealing Roman’s schemes for their kingdom. Her stomach tossed with conflicting emotions about the striking Roman. How could she carry out her father’s directive when this young man made her heart race every time, he gazed at her?”
Apollo’s Raven is a fast-paced, intriguing story with characters, situations and mystical threads sparked my interest and kept me turning the page of this award-winning book.
Editorial Review (Book Marketing Global Network).
Product Details:
Paperback: 392 Pages
Publisher: Apollo Raven Publisher, LLC (August 16, 2018)
Language: English
Fantasy (Arthurian)
Fantasy (Greek & Roman)
Fantasy (Myth & Legend)
Fantasy (Historical)
Soft-Cover Print:
https://www.amazon.com/Apollos-Raven-Linnea-Tanner/dp/0998230006/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Hard-Cover Print:
https://www.amazon.com/Apollos-Raven-Linnea-Tanner/dp/0998230014/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Audio Book
https://www.amazon.com/Apollos-Raven/dp/B0714JCD7T/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Customer Ratings:
https://www.amazon.com/Apollos-Raven-Curse-Clansmen-Kings/dp/194854329X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=#customerReviews
Dagger’s Destiny by Linnea Tanner.
Curse of Clansmen and Kings Book 2.
A Celtic warrior princess accused of treason for aiding her enemy lover must win back her father’s love and trust.
In the rich and vibrant tale, Author Linnea Tanner continues the story of Catrin and Marcellus that began with the awarding-winning novel APOLLO’S RAVEN in the Curse of Clansmen and Kings Series. Book 2: DAGGER’S DESTINY sweeps you into an epic tale of forbidden love, mythological adventure, and political intrigue in Ancient Rome and Britannia.
War looms over 24 AD Britannia where rival tribal rulers fight each other for power and the Romans threaten to invade to settle their political differences. King Amren accuses his daughter, Catrin, of treason for aiding the Roman enemy and her lover, Marcellus. The ultimate punishment is death unless she can redeem herself. She must prove loyalty to her father by forsaking Marcellus and defending their kingdom–even to the death. Forged into a warrior, she must overcome tribulations and make the right decisions on her quest to break the curse that foretells her banished half-brother and the Roman Empire will destroy their kingdom.
Yet, when Catrin again reunites with Marcellus, she is torn between her love for him and duty to King Amren. She must ultimately face her greatest challenger who could destroy her life, freedom, and humanity.
Will Catrin finally break the ancient prophecy that looms over her kingdom? Will she abandon her forbidden love for Marcellus to win back her father’s trust and love? Can King Amren balance his brutality to maintain power with the love he feels for Catrin?
5 Stars: Epic Tale!
I invite you to continue this epic tale as Dagger’s Destiny takes up where Apollo’s Raven left off. It is July AD in Southeast Britannia and main character Princess Catrin kneels by her father’s bloody and bruised body reassured that the King is still alive.
Fast moving drama with the characters, you came to love or hate in Apollo’s Raven finds Princess Catrin torn between loyalty to Marcellus and her father. “How could Catrin continue living if her heart was split between Marcellus and her father? Losing Vala was the fatal wound in her already bleeding heart. She trembled, recounting her father’s words. Would you bet your own life on the gamble that Marcellus will release Vala?
Catrin’s love for Marcellus and his failure to release Vala had condemned her as a traitor in her father’s eyes. She looked around the stark receiving chamber and stared at the skulls looking down on her in judgment. She remembered the dark tale that her father had told her when she was a child.
A mermaid, who had saved a sailor from a shipwreck, swam to shore, cradling his head above the water. Though she desperately wanted to stay with the sailor, she realized she was a sea creature and would die on land. Heartbroken, she stabbed herself in the breast with a knife and turned the water red with her blood. Grief-stricken, she floated on the waves until her body dissolved into its foam. As the sun’s rays radiated on the cold foam, delicate fairies sparkled over its surface.”
A test of loyalty that no daughter, father or romantic suitor would want to engage in. Find out what happens as this story continues from book one and prepares the reader for book 3 in this Celtic Tale. Like me, you will keep you turning the page as author Linnea Tanner skillfully weaves fantasy, romance, mythology, history, and the clash of Celtic culture and the Roman Empire into the Curse Of The Clansmen and Kings series.
Editorial Review (Book Marketing Global Network).
Product Details:
Paperback: 350 Pages
Publisher: Apollo Raven Publisher, LLC (September 26, 2018)
Language: English
Fantasy (Arthurian)
Fantasy (Greek & Roman)
Fantasy (Myth & Legend)
Fantasy (Historical)
Print
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0998230057/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07G3G4G55/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2
Customer Ratings:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0998230057/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0#customerReviews
Amulet’s Rapture by Linnea Tanner.
Curse of Clansmen and Kings Book 3.
Although Catrin is the rightful heir to the Celtic throne in Britannia, she is lucky to be alive. After witnessing the slaughter of her family at the hands of her half-brother, who was aided by the Romans, she is enslaved by a Roman commander. He disguises her as a boy in the Roman Legion with the belief that she is an oracle of Apollo and can foretell his future. The sole bright spot in her miserable new life is her forbidden lover Marcellus, the great-grandson of the famed Roman General Mark Antony.
But Marcellus has been wounded and his memories of Catrin and their secret marriage were erased by a dark Druidess. Though Marcellus reunites with Catrin in Gaul and becomes her ally as she struggles to survive the brutality of her Roman master, he questions the legitimacy of their marriage and hesitates to help her escape and retake her kingdom. If their forbidden love and alliance are discovered, her dreams of returning to her Celtic home with Marcellus will be shattered.
5 Stars: Epic Series Continues!
Those of us following The Curse of Clansmen and Kings series by Author Linnea Tanner continue this Celtic Tale in book three titled ‘Amulet’s Rapture’.
Books One and Two cover the (4 AD to 24 AD) war between tribal rulers and the Romans (over political differences) that put Britannia in peril. Revenge, accusations of treason, kidnapping, tests of loyalty, romance and even shapeshifting brings us to where we are now in the saga.
Amulet’s Revenge begins in Northern Gaul, Late Autumn, 24 AD as Catrin “Still, she held out hope. Her dead father had appeared in a dream and told her that a young raven would teach her how to gain more powers from the ancient Druids.”
Let me bring you into the story at Chapter 26, titled The Black Sphinx and set in Durocortorum, Gaul, August, 26 AD. I quote:
…Catrin’s world had been turned on its head. After a week of traveling inside a wagon, she couldn’t connect to her caged raven, though it was in close proximity next to the driver. Unlike before, she couldn’t travel to the Wall of Lives in the raven’s mind and visit Marcellus in his dreams. It was as if her second sight had vanished. For the first time in her life, she was blind, in darkness, desperate to find the light out of her dilemma. She had already made several attempts to latch onto the image of the white raven in her mind and shapeshift to its form. Her wits were in a whirlwind, trying to figure out what was blocking her magic. Was the stress of being a condemned gladiator taking a toll on her mystical abilities?
…The click of the opening door and Verus’s voice barking, “Get out,” jolted Catrin out of her grim contemplations. She and the other shackled prisoners shuffled out of the wagon onto a rampart. To her dismay, she recognized the slave quarters at Durocortorum, where Decimus had previously threatened to imprison her.
…Panic coursed through her veins as guards escorted her into the graystone building, where they passed rows of cages holding slaves. To the rear of the structure was a splintered wooden table on which a black cauldron had been set. Log benches lined the back wall. A disheveled female slave, whose front teeth were missing, scooped porridge into bowls, handing one to each of the prisoners.
…Warily glancing around, Catrin wondered if this was a temporary stop or would they be retained here. She sat on a log bench beside the other shackled men. Though queasy, she lifted the bowl into the palms of her hands and shook it to dislodge the porridge into her mouth. Most of the pasty cereal adhered to the surface of the rust-colored bowl. With shackles restricting her movement, she scraped the upper edge of the bowl with her fingers and licked the pasty substance off her fingertips. It tasted salty and a little sour. Her stomach clenched when she observed green tinge of mold on the porridge. She retched what little she had eaten. A dark-skinned, shackled prisoner scooted away from her with a look of disgust.
… “It’s moldy,” she explained, scrunching her face in disgust. The shackled prisoner shrugged and gobbled his glob of porridge down.
…Catrin then noticed Verus approaching with the caged raven. Next to him was the disgusting slave dealer, Rufus, whom she remembered from her previous visit to the site with Decimus. He was furiously scratching red sores on his neck—a tell-tale sign of lice infestation.
…Verus set the caged raven at Catrin’s feet. The bird, in obvious stress, shrieked and flapped its wings against the wooden bars. She leaned over the cage and said softly, “Calm down. No one will hurt you.”
…The raven quieted and gawked at her, opening its beak as if begging for food.
…Rufus handed Catrin a couple strips of bloody flesh. “Here. For the raven.”
…Not sure if the tissue was animal or human, Catrin pushed it between the wooden bars for the raven to eat. The creature clasped the tissue in its beak and gobbled it down. After that, it pressed its black-feathered body against the cage. Although she wanted to stroke the raven’s plumage, hoping she could connect with it, the metal shackles restrained her.
…Verus and Rufus then began talking about Catrin, as though she were not there. Their discourse disquieted her as she closely listened.
…Rufus remarked, “She would bring top coin as a personal slave to a politician in Rome. He would enjoy taming the wild creature in his bed.”
… “She’d slit his throat before that happened,” Verus retorted. “I watched her fight Centurion Priscus. She held her own.”
…Rufus’s eyebrow cocked. “Pity. Who will she fight in the arena? Another woman?”
…This book is a must read for those who love Historical Epic Fantasy. Enjoy each book in the series, as we wait for ‘Skull’s Vengeance (Book 4 of the Curse Of Clansmen and Kings series.
…Author Linnea Tanner researched this historical time period very well, and her excellent story telling brings this drama to life, keeping the readers engaged and turning and the pages. She includes maps of Britannia and Gaul along with a complete list of characters (even a downloadable PDF).
Editorial Review (Book Marketing Global Network).
Product Details:
Paperback: 347 Pages
Publisher: Apollo Raven Publisher, LLC (October 26, 2019)
Language: English
Fantasy (Arthurian)
Fantasy (Greek & Roman)
Fantasy (Myth & Legend)
Fantasy (Historical)
Amazon Print:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0998230073/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i3
Kindle:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Y8SS2B2/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2
Customer Ratings:
https://www.amazon.com/Amulets-Rapture-Curse-Clansmen-Kings/dp/0998230073/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=#customerReviews
Skull’s Vengeance by Linnea Tanner.
Curse of Clansmen and Kings Book 4.
“[An] epic tale of love, betrayal and political intrigue.” InD’tale Magazine.
“The requisite fantasy elements of magic and mystery abound…Tanner also does an admirable job weaving in the politics and mythology of a bygone people.” Kirkus
“Part fantasy, part historical fiction, Linnea Tanner has woven together a wonderful tale of romance, intrigue, mystery, and legend to create an entertaining and complex story.” The International Review of Books
“[A] captivating tale of triangles; love, lust and espionage, friend, foe, and spies., barbarians, civilized Rome and spiritual-supernatural beings.” 2019 Pencraft Book of the Year Award
A Celtic warrior queen must do the impossible—defeat her sorcerer half-brother and claim the throne. But to do so, she must learn how to strike vengeance from her father’s skull.
AS FORETOLD BY HER FATHER in a vision, Catrin has become a battle-hardened warrior after her trials in the Roman legion and gladiatorial games. She must return to Britannia and pull the cursed dagger out of the serpent’s stone to fulfill her destiny. Only then can she unleash the vengeance from the ancient druids to destroy her evil half-brother, the powerful sorcerer, King Marrock. Always two steps ahead and seemingly unstoppable, Marrock can summon destructive natural forces to crush any rival trying to stop him and has charged his deadliest assassin to bring back Catrin’s head.
To have the slightest chance of beating Marrock, Catrin must forge alliances with former enemies, but she needs someone she can trust. Her only option is to seek military aid from Marcellus—her secret Roman husband. They rekindle their burning passion, but he is playing a deadly game in the political firestorm of the Julio-Claudian dynasty to support Catrin’s cause.
Ultimately, in order to defeat Marrock, Catrin must align herself with a dark druidess and learn how to summon forces from skulls to exact vengeance. But can she and Marcellus outmaneuver political enemies from Rome and Britannia in their quest to vanquish Marrock?
5 Stars: Human skulls hung over King Marrock’s stallion, dangling from a rope like ornaments.
Travel back in time with award-winning Author Linnea Tanner to 26 AD where Skull’s Vengeance (book four) continues The Curse Of The Clansmen and Kings series. This series weaves a Celtic tale of forbidden love, magical adventure, and political intrigue in Ancient Rome and Britannia.
I am struck by the immense research and accuracy that went into this series. Linnea’s gift of storytelling will draw you into this historical time period drama. “Most of the fantastical elements are based on magical abilities of heroes and heroines from Irish and Welsh mythology and legends. The abilities of Catrin and Marrock to shape-shift and to harness the forces of nature. In Celtic mythology, the dragon is a gatekeeper to other worlds and was believed to influence the land. Areas frequented by dragons were believed to possess special power.
To get the most of the series, the author shares a link where you can download a PDF of all the Major Celtic Characters, Roman Characters, and Mythological Deity. She also includes a map of Britannia and Gaul.
Fast-paced drama, suspense, and magic will carry your thoughts into the life and times of Catrin (Cantiaci queen, druidess, warrior, and gladiator) and Marcellus Antonius—Roman military commander (ranks include tribune and praetor) and nobleman).
Catrin (warrior queen) must defeat her Marrock (sorcerer) in order to claim the throne. She must summon forces from skulls to exact vengeance strike vengeance from her father’s skull. Passion and lust burns between Marcellus (Roman military commander) and Catrin, even on the battlefields where they encounter enemies from Rome and Britannia.
Book Four begins at White Cliffs in Southeast Britannia, Eve of Samhain, 31 October, 26 AD where three human skulls hung over King Marrock’s stallion, dangling from a rope like ornaments.
Chapter 16: Theater of Marcellus Rome, 20 March, 28 AD. “The theater where Catrin was to meet Marcellus reminded her of the area around the gladiatorial coliseum where she had fought in Lugdunum. Sensing a slight charge in her fingertips, she felt a thread lacing around her fingers. She recalled last night’s dream, when she’d visited the Wall of Lives. There, she’d meticulously tied Marcellus’s crimson life thread with her raven-black strand, securing it into a knot so they could stay together forever.”
Chapter 37: Killing Fields: Antonii Villa, Gaul, 8 August, 28 AD. “Marcellus sat on the bed, reminiscing about the bittersweet moment when he’d been with Catrin the previous fall, before leaving for Rome. He picked up a cushion on which she’d laid her head while recovering from her wounds. The whiff of stale odor dispirited him. Before, he had always sensed her essence, even when they were far apart. But now, he felt empty, not knowing what had happened to her since she escaped Rome. It was as if the world, the fates, and the gods were against their love. Negasi’s advice for Marcellus to assuage his father’s anger and remove the threat on Catrin’s life weighed heavily on his mind.”
When the last page of book four is closed, you will wait with anticipation for book five “Dragon’s Anvil” to arrive.
Editorial Review (Book Marketing Global Network).
Product Details:
Paperback: 402 Pages
Publisher: Apollo Raven Publisher, LLC (August 12, 2022)
Language: English
Fantasy (Arthurian)
Fantasy (Greek & Roman)
Fantasy (Myth & Legend)
Fantasy (Historical)
Award-Winning Linnea Tanner, weaves Celtic tales of love, magical adventure, and political intrigue into the backdrop of Ancient Rome and Britannia. Since childhood, she has passionately read about ancient civilizations and mythology which held women in higher esteem. Of particular interest are the enigmatic Celts who were reputed as fierce warriors and mystical Druids.
Depending on the time of day and season of the year, you will find her exploring and researching ancient and medieval history, mythology and archaeology to support her writing. As the author of the CURSE OF CLANSMEN AND KINGS series, she has extensively researched and traveled to sites described within each book.
A native of Colorado, Linnea attended the University of Colorado and earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry. She lives in Windsor with her husband and has two children and six grandchildren.
Amazon Author’s Page
https://www.amazon.com/Linnea-Tanner/e/B01N6YEM04
Author’s Website
http://linneatanner.com
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/apollosraven
Twitter
https://twitter.com/linneatanner
Google+
https://plus.google.com/u/0/114576568667814788324
Author’s Page At Book Marketing Global Network:
https://bookmarketingglobalnetwork.com/book-marketing-global-network/linnea-tanner
