Review: No Longer Hidden by M. C. Aquila

No Longer Hidden 

by M. C. Aquila

Linnea is a Swedish princess reluctantly settled into her role as the middle never as influential as the eldest and never as beloved as the youngest. With her fiancé missing in action for nearly a decade, her future is uncertain. But when the Norwegian king curses her younger sister, the fate of Sweden itself is at risk. As war breaks out, Linnea goes on a quest to meet the king and strike a deal that will save the lives of her family and her people — even if it means using her own life as a bargaining chip.

But quests rarely go as planned, especially as she uncovers the secrets of Norway's royal family and the hidden purpose of the war…

This loose retelling of the classic fairy tale "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" takes place near the end of the Viking Age when the old, fierce gods of myth and the new, omnipotent Christian God were both considered equally true and real.

 My Take:

Linnea Olofsdotter is the middle-born princess to the king of Sweden. Predicted to be ordinary and common by a witch's foretelling, she is fiance to the second-born prince of Norway, who went missing five years ago while on a hunt for a giant wolf in the north. 

When her father proclaims a contest for his third daughter's hand, many young princes from all over come to compete, including the sorcerer king of Norway. When King Ingvaldr does not win, in rage he casts a curse on her, placing her in a deep magic sleep only magic can raise her from. Then he and his fleet disappear in a moment.

King Olof makes ready to go to war with Norway, a war he cannot win. And the only one who can save both countries from destruction is Linnea, who must travel through forbidding monster-infested forests and mountains to plead with King Ingvaldr to take her to wife instead. But will the wizard listen at all? Will she even survive the treacherous journey, when she must travel alone?

Content:

Drug Content:
G – There is very little alcohol in this novel, and no substance abuse. 
 
Violence:
PG – A character is badly burned. There's a scene where men are coming back from a war, missing a limb or two.
 
Language:
G – Nada.
 
Adult Content:
G – There's a bit of kissing but nothing further. Good clean romance.
 
Christian content:
The main character goes up against several monsters of Scandinavian myth, and defeats them using icons of the Christian faith. (Crosses, prayers, that sort of thing.) Scripture is quoted in a few places, and faith plays a critical role in the characters as well as the countries they travel through. The book's setting historically is during the Christian conversion of these Scandinavian countries, and friars and bishops play a part in the plot. Faith, hope, self-sacrifice, and loyalty are critical components in this tale. 

  

Final Analysis:
Wow! Where to begin? This fantasy had me spellbound until 2AM; I could NOT put it down. From two chapters in I was unable to stop reading. It had it all - the fae folk, the frost giants, the hulders and the descendants of the wolf king Fenrir. From cover to cover, Aquila weaves a gripping tale of the struggle of faith against magic, of the dark against the light, of hope against hate. The contrasts between the forces of good and evil are not hard to discern here, and the stakes could not be higher. The fates of Sweden and Norway both hang in the balance. Masterful worldbuilding combines with believable and relatable characters, spiced up with a liberal dose of humor, banter, and a little romance to make an excellent, fast-paced fantasy. Perfect for lovers of historical fantasy and Scandinavian mythology.Five Stars!

About the Author:

M. C. Aquila, a Catholic and born and bred nerd, graduated from Winthrop University with a BA in English. She grew up in Pittsburgh, PA but currently resides in South Carolina. When she is not co-writing the Winter's Blight series, she tutors both native and ESL students in English, giving her a renewed love for the strange wonderfulness of the language. She also enjoys drawing daily, baking recklessly, hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains, searching for the best red wine in existence, and reading any story with a villain she loves to hate.

To learn more about her present and future books, visit her website: https://mc-aquila.com/