The story is told over a dual timeline. The premise of the story was engaging. I felt that the romance element was weak. An enjoyable book

I am a big fan of Christina Courtenay's historical timeslip romances. She has an amazing ability to capture a past time without getting bogged down in too much detail. I love history but have never been that interested in Viking civilisation - but reading this made me want to find out more!

I have since gone on to read the rest of Christina's viking books and couldn't recommend them more.

Ever since reading Green Darkness by Anya Seton I’ve been a sucker for time slip novels so of course was going to read this one about 2 couples, one way back in the time of the Vikings and a modern duo connected by something which has been buried in the vicinity. Set in Scotland but I do wish, just for a change, that some other place would be used! As always with books of this genre there’s predictability and it’s never hard to guess who the baddie will be. There were some interesting snippets about history and traditions. Lovely writing style which made the book easy to get into and stick with, plenty of romance, if this is what you want so on the whole a pretty enjoyable book.

A good debut in the genre though with too many co-incidences for my liking to tie up the threads. I admit to struggling to complete this. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the reading copy.

Quick Summary: A time slip romance

My Review: Hidden in the Mists by Christina Courtenay is a dual-time novel. It goes back and forth from the past to the present connecting two couples by means of a valuable stash.

About the Book: Skye Logan and Rafe Carlisle, a modern-day couple, share a link with Óttarr and Ásta a couple from ancient Viking times. Through a series of mysterious visions and dreams, the two would be lovers uncover a historical case of intrigue.

My Final Say: There was a lot going on in this book. Readers who enjoy historical fiction with a sweeping temporal view of a contemporary romance will like this.

Other: This may be a bit of a niche read.

Rating: 3.5/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A
Status/Level:
Cover: +
Pacing: +/-

Thank you to the author and to the publisher for granting access to this title in exchange for an honest review.

Utterly enthralling.
I personally loved the dual timeline. An extremely engaging historical romance meets fantasy, I really enjoyed the time slip element and would love to read more books like this.
Highly recommend.

This was my first novel from Christina Courtenay, and now I know why her Viking-books are so popular. This is an entertaining timeslip historical fiction, with the right amount of excitement, romance and history to keep you glued to the pages. Both timelines were equally intriguing and created a nice balance between the old and the new.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Headline for an ARC.

I just love books that are about time travel and love, i feel like they are completely made for me. I read a book from the author before that I gave 5 stars and this one did not disappoint. If you want a love story, that defy time and will give you an amazing feeling in your stomach, I would recommend this one.

Loved this book-what’s not to love about a dual timeline historical romance? I was hooked from the beginning and adored the characters. This is definitely a book I plan on re-reading just to experience the overall ~vibes~ and romance.

A brilliant read and one I really enjoyed. The characters are loveable and varied, the plot is one that is engaging and medium paced. I found myself completely drawn into the story and enjoyed the writing style.

You know with a Christina Courtenay novel you will get a cracking story, authentic period detail from in-depth research and characters so beautifully drawn you feel you know them intimately. Hidden in the Mists has exceeded that.

The author’s strength is dual timeline stories and goodness, doesn’t she do it well! No muddle or confusion as the narrative switches between remote Scotland in the present and the ninth century. The core romances are indeed realistic – tentative, gradual, full of doubt and full of joy. Cleverly centred on the bracelet that binds the stories across centuries, the narrative keeps us in a ‘will she/won’t she?’ state of tension.

Whether you believe in ghosts/time veils/the sight or put it down to the mist that engulfs the landscape and the story, I challenge you not to shiver now and again and you consume this story. And I think you will find it very difficult to put it down, even at 2 a.m. in the morning…

Many thanks to the publishing team for my digital review copy
Even though this is a digital copy the cover of the book is just mesmerising to me!
It had been a while since I had a historical fiction and this was certainly one book to entice me back in and summarised why I adore reading them.
The author did a fantastic job in the continuing the timeslip through dual timelines but keeping you still attached to the book and not being lost.
The descriptions. felt like they ebbed and flowed off the pages and I really liked the mix of characters within the stories.

What a different pair of romances this proved to be,
Involving one pair that are contemporary and the other back in history.
Skye Logan lives on the west coast of Scotland where she has a farm
Where Rafe Carlisle comes to offer to help as he needs some calm.

Both keep having very vivid dreams
Leaving them concerned about what it all seems.
The story is told from the dual timelines with the past impinging on the present so
Skye and Rafe are wondering where it will all go!

With secrets from the past currently concealed
What are they and how will they be revealed?
There are secrets in the present, too,
What will the reaction be when they're shared with you?

A fascinating and very different dual time line romance
With mysteries, secrets and folks wary to take a chance.
There are others who are out to cause trouble for them, too,
What are their purposes and what will they do?

A great read for anyone who enjoys stories involving mystery,
Romance and a look at different periods of history!
For my complementary copy, I say thank you,
As I share with you this, my honest review.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Award-winning author Christina Courtenay dazzles her readers yet again with a spellbinding new tale of passion, adventure, intrigue and emotion: Hidden in the Mists.

Life is tough for Skye Logan. After the breakdown of her marriage, Skye has struggled to single-handedly run her farm on Scotland’s west coast. The days are long, the work back-breaking and the challenges seem to get worse with each passing week. The arrival of a handsome stranger seems like the answer to all of her problems. At long last, Skye will have the help she so desperately needs to restore the farm’s ailing fortunes. However, little does Skye realise that Rafe Carlisle’s arrival on her farm in Scotland is going to change her life – and her destiny – beyond all recognition.

The last few years have also been tough on Rafe. In need of a second chance and a new beginning, Skye’s farm in Scotland represents an opportunity for him to lay old ghosts to rest and start over. Rafe is focused on the present and keen to draw a line under the past and forge forward. But that is not going to be easy – for him or for Skye. As Rafe discovers, old ghosts and past demons seem intent on consuming and overwhelming his fresh start. He begins to experience disturbing and very vivid dreams – and is shocked to his very core when it transpires that Skye is having the exact same problem.

Could the Viking jewellery they both wear be directly connected to the dreams they are both experiencing? Will Rafe and Skye manage to untangle the mysteries of the past? Or are their futures in jeopardy because of old secrets that refuse to stay hidden?

Christina Courtenay writes sumptuous romantic adventures that sweep readers off into another world where the stakes are high, the dangers are plentiful, the history vividly evoked and the love story positively swoon-worthy and she is on to another winner with Hidden in the Mists.

Christina Courtenay blends mystery, romance, jeopardy and tension in a gripping and compulsively readable novel that I was immediately engrossed by. Hidden in the Mists is a captivating, enchanting and powerful tale with a strong and resilient heroine and a gorgeous hero I couldn’t help falling in love with.

A first-rate page-turner from a superb storyteller, Hidden in the Mists is the latest enjoyable and enthralling novel by Christina Courtenay.

A dual timeline historical romantic mystery. Set between present day Scotland and a Viking setttlement, interesting characters and well researched detail kept my interest to the end.

I've so far read all of Ms Courtenay's recent timeslip/dual-timeline Viking novels, and Hidden in the Mists is one of her best. I loved it.

Not a timeslip, but a dual-timeline novel, Hidden in the Mists tells two parallel tales, one in the present day and another in AD 883 / 890. The location of this set of stories is on the west coast of Scotland, in rural Argyll.

In the present day, we have Skye, recently separated from her ogre of a husband, Craig, after they started a new life in the remote countryside, away from the hustle and bustle of Edinburgh. She loves her little haven, but it's hard work, and she is struggling. When handsome Rafe turns up in his battered old camper van, looking for work, she reluctantly accepts his offer as she realises she needs the help. Soon, they fall into a routine as he helps with the work on her extension to create a holiday let. She keeps the news of the separation from her husband from him, being careful. But Rafe has secrets of his own, and those unravel as the story progresses.
Unbeknownst to each other, both spot what must be ghosts on the shoreline, and their dreams merge a distant past with the present. Drawn to each other, their budding friendship, and then relationship, reveal the secrets ’hidden in the mists’...

In the past, young Ásta's dying father admits to having been responsible for the deaths of defenceless women and children during his raids along the coast. When, following his death, her cousin, Ketill, takes over the settlement contrary to the agreement with her father that she would be in charge, she lets him get away with it out of fear. But feeling responsible for the people, she decides not to turn to her mother's tribe for help. But help appears from unexpected quarters - the young blacksmith, Óttarr, a former thrall but now a freeman turns out to be on her side. But he also has a secret, one that involves his quest for revenge against Ásta's family.

The two stories overlap nicely, with both couples facing similar challenges, despite the difference in time. Tension builds up slowly and realistically, culminating in moments of grave danger in both stories. An error of judgment is revealed that affected Rafe's life, and explain his existence in his camper van. This brings danger to Skye's door, but everything is neatly tied up in the end.
In the past, Ásta and Óttarr have to face down scheming Ketill, which leads to events neither expected.

Hidden in the Mists is a fabulous tale of feeling left alone, dealing with unexpected challenges, finding someone equally as complicated, and forging a path together. The stories run nicely alongside each other, and it was easy to slip from the present into the past and back.

The characters were all realistic, with their worries, fears, and suppressed anger, and Ms Courtenay dealt with their issues sensitively but realistically. The location is, of course, breathtaking, and Ms Courtenay's research (from dyeing wool to forging weapons) is impeccable.

My only snag would be that Skye sounds too English when she speaks. Whilst the author has woven some lovely, everyday Scots words into Skye's dialogue, for me, they weren't enough to portray Skye as Scottish. (But I know that writing in dialect can go badly wrong for non-Native authors, and I'm glad Ms Courtenay did not try to go down that rabbit hole.) It won't be an issue for most readers, who will likely rather enjoy the odd Scots word thrown in.

The other point was that some modern words crept into the dialogue and narrative of the Viking past. It's easily done when you write two parallel stories, but a few words threw me a little. But these were minor points, and happened rarely. Ms Courtenay knows how to write gripping and realistic dual-timeline and timeslip stories very well.

Hidden in the Mists is one of my favourite novels in that series. It's gripping, engaging, fast-paced, and with scenes of very high tension. The love stories evolve naturally, and the challenges faced by all four main characters are set firmly in their own times.

A truly wonderful novel.

I love Christina Courtenay's Vikings books. The way she weaves together the dual storylines is cleverly plotted, This is perfect for readers who like historical and romantic fiction as it blends the two together perfectly and you get the best of both worlds. Recommended

Thank you to Netgalley & Publishers for providing me with this e-arc

The cover and the synopsis really caught my attention and i do not regret reading this at all, Hidden in the mists is a dual time line story, Viking to modern and was a very enjoyable read.

As always with these series the drama was awesome and the romance perfect.

We have the time travel on this one, very similar to the first book and I liked that it was nice an interesting.

I think our protagonist problems eere very relatable for all 4 of them if you asked me, however that only helped the plot and the immersion into the story.

Our villains were complex and I wanted to drown them fast after hearing their tantrums but they were a necessary evil for everything at the end and that was okay.

I really do enjoy this author stories, they're so well done and she investigates a lot so we have a quality romance so I appreciate that hard work too.

Perfect romance if you love history, time travel and spice.

This cover is amazing and drew me to this book! It's just beautiful and I can't say enough about it.

The premise of the story was engaging and while I'm not a huge fan of dual timelines, I thought it was very fitting in this story.

There were some hauntingly beautiful moments where the imagery jumped off the page and into my brain, where they will stay for some time to come.

The romance was just ok for me. I wanted to be swept away by it but there were just too many stops and stars, part of this because of the dual timeline but also because most of the book was about one thinking the other was hot or beautiful, etc.

It didn't feel romantic to me thus my feet stayed firmly on the ground. That's not to say that the romance storyline was bad, it just wasn't the grand sweeping love story that I expected.

The Viking storyline was pretty great and I may have even enjoyed that timeline a bit more as the characters were more romantically linked.

All in all, it's definitely worth a read for fans of dual timelines, historical romances and Viking historical fiction.