Born in Vengeance / Born in Sin by Camelia Miron Skiba – a review
Born in Vengeance (formerly I was Here-Before You Came)
Dacian Legends #1
by Camelia Miron Skiba
Release Date: August 2012
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Born in Vengeance (previously released as I Was Here Before You Came)
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Legend has it … centuries after Spartacus another hero is born—Ilias, the bastard son of King Decebalus. Thirsty for revenge and eager to unshackle the Roman oppression, Ilias’ obsession to fulfill his oath has no bounds, even if that means kidnapping Nerva, the beloved daughter of Emperor Traianus. What he doesn’t know is his own heart threatens to betray his conscience.
What will prevail: his mind or his heart?
This story is set in ancient times, during the Roman conquest of the area between the Danube and the Carpathian Mountains. The author has written many battle scenes and depicts them well. This is the story of Ilias (bastard son of King Decebulus, but recognized as his heir), who has just watched the Romans under Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus destroy his city, kill his mother and sister and cause his father the king to take his own life rather than become a slave to the conquering romans. He and several companions escape and survive to pull together what remains of their army. This group has sworn oaths of brotherhood to each other, they are: Ilias, Zyraxes, Vipero, Galtys, Ursus and Bastiza.
Their mission, at the moment, is the kidnapping of Nerva, Traianus’ “niece” (known to be his bastard but beloved daughter). They want to use her to lure him to fight to get her back, and then kill her in front of him. She seems to find his love and devotion to his “father” amusing as she has heard much different opinions of King Decebulus. The issue arising is that the more Ilias is around her the more he doesn’t really feel like hurting her. As he spends more time with her and her feisty attitude the more he likes her and feels like he’s acting the way the romans did instead of the honorable man he wants to be. However, he has made promised to his men and they have all sworn to never lay with a roman woman.
Nerva’s heel has been injured and becomes infected causing her to be very ill. Medicine just seems not to be helping. Ilias remembers seeing his father treat someone with a fever by placing them in snow. Not having snow around he uses the next best thing and carries Nerva to the cold stream and holds her on his lap while deep in very cold water, but he thinks it’s too much for her and that she has died. Taking her back into the shelter to get her ready for burial, he holds her close and kisses her to say how sorry he is for how thing turned out…she begins to moan and opens her eyes. Needless to say, she’s not going to be killed by him or his men if he can help it!
I won’t give anymore away; this story is worth reading for yourself! I would have loved to see more hot and steamy romance and some really good dialog in here. The story seems to focus mainly on the strategies and battles. The romance left more to the declarations and adoring looks variety.
However, the battles and plans are very interesting, the situations well thought out and executed and the story in all is one I really enjoyed. In all, a very good beginning to an interesting series.
Copy supplied by the author
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Born in Sin
Dacian Legend #2
By Camelia Miron Skiba
Release Date: May 30, 2013
This story is a continuation of the story from end of the prequel BORN IN VENGEANCE but in case you haven’t read that one; it is set in ancient times, during the Roman conquest of the area between the Danube and the Carpathian Mountains. It has many battle strategies and battles and depicts them well.
The Romans under, Emperor Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus, killed their people, their king (King Decebulus) took his own life rather than become a slave. A small band of friends have made blood vows to be brothers and avenge their people against the Romans. This band of sworn brothers includes: Ilias, Zyraxes, Vipero, Galtys, Bastiza, and Ursus. Ilias (King Decuebulus’ bastard son) now leads them, and as at the end of the prequel to this story, Ilias now has Nerva (Traianus’ bastard daughter) as his woman. It helps to have read the prequel.
This book is Zyraxes’ story. Zyraxes’ father was King Decebulus’s healer and taught his son the art of medicine as well as fighting. He has saved many of the fighter’s lives including Ilias, now king. During a battle Bastiza is wounded and reveals to Zyraxes King Decebulus’s last secret imparted to him before dying…Zyraxes and Ilias are brothers. This, of course, means that he, Zyraxes should now be the king. However, he wants no part of this and now hates King Decebulus, so he doesn’t reveal this to anyone as yet, but it will be important.
Zyraxes love Oriana of Livonium was forced by her father to marry Kahn in order to secure a truce to protect her people. Kahn is a brutal and dishonorable man, his promises mean nothing to him and he brutalized Oriana until she miscarries and he calls the produced fetus a monster and has Oriana whipped beaten to within an inch of her life and thrown in the prison below his keep.
That’s where the story becomes even more truly interesting as Zyraxes is sent to her father to warn him of the Romans coming, he finds her servant and learns of her injuries and escape from Kahn. Can he save her; will they survive all the battles?
The rest is up to you to find out…I don’t do spoilers. This is a good story, romantic in the sense of men of action finding love with the women of their hearts. No really steamy love scenes…just good old fashioned promises. It has intrigue, adventure, history and battle – heroic action and brutal villains.
One note though, the copy I was given to review was very badly formatted, every couple of lines there were breaks at mid-sentence for no reason, it really hurt the flow and made it hard to follow. If I were paying for this book and got a copy like that, I wouldn’t have read it.
Copy supplied by the author.
Reviewed by Georgianna S.
EXCERPT: Born in Sin by Camelia Miron Skiba
Who am I? Before Bastisza spoke to me I knew. Now … not anymore. I was the son of Polpium per Flavius, mender for King Decebalus. My mother the beautiful Medina of who people spoke as if she were a goddess. We lived a simple life in King Decebalus’ fortress with Father helping the ill, Mother embroidering for the king’s family, and me playing with Ilias, Galtys, and Ursus, daydreaming of the warriors we were meant to become. Mother taught me how to sing. Father shared his knowledge of herbs and medicinal remedies. I lived a sheltered life and had no siblings. Or so I thought.
Until one ill-fated night when everything changed.
I think of all the beds I’ve shared, women without a name or place where I shan’t return. Never more than a fleeting night spent in their arms, never so much as a wandering thought. They desired someone to warm their beds and who was I to deny their pleasures? Compared to Oriana their memories wither as darkness yielding to a new day.
Who I was yesterday … I’m no longer today, nor will I be tomorrow. Each day I grow a little. I stumble, get up, and learn something. I wish and dream and want and look to the future.
Who I am is not important, but what I leave behind is.
Copyright © 2013 CAMELIA MIRON SKIBA
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Camelia is offering a giveaway to one lucky reader at The Reading Cafe. One person will win an ecopy (Kindle or B&N) of both books-BORN IN VENGEANCE and BORN IN SIN
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