Mortal Scorn

De: A.V. Ray

Narrado por: Kat Riley, Byron Ormond

It all started with a bar fight.

Connor Huntsson had a plan: build a home, marry his best friend, and make lots of babies.

The house was easy—but the rest? Problematic.

Getting into a brawl alongside the chieftain’s daughter might have been forgivable, but kidnapping a drunken king would lead to war.

Armed with his inheritance and the truth of who he is, Connor still wants to live the life of a man.

But to do that, he must first seek the powers of a god.

©2024 A.V. Ray (P)2025 Royal Guard Publishing LLC

More than a harem novel. You NEED to read this book.

Okay, I hope you're ready for a detailed review, because there’s SO much to talk about!

This story recaptured a feeling I haven’t had since reading Harry Potter as a child. That sense of wonder, hope, and joy, never knowing what the next chapter will hold. And this has TONS in a romance novel of all places! The care and detail is on a level above anything else I've read in this genre, and it felt like a real book from a time when writers crafted their work over years.

The characters are vivid and full of life. I swear I was listening to real people, and nobody sounded the same! The narrators put in a lovely amount of effort into their performance, and the result is nothing less than magical. The accents are AMAZING, you’d think they were natives! I’ve heard a lot of bad impersonations, but this completely immersed me with little nuances between the tribes and characters. I don’t know if the performers took special speech classes, but you can hear the regional twangs clearly.

By the time Griselda shows up it was like the performances went up to eleven. Not to give anything away, but the language barrier is really fun and hilarious.

The magic system is unique and distinct from anything I’ve ever read, the romance is *chef’s kiss* and VERY satisfying, with each lady having her own goals and fully realized personalities. Did I mention the handfasting ceremonies? I won’t spoil the surprise, but they are beautifully written and touching, specific to each lover’s personalities.

Finally, an author who actually writes WOMEN, not cardboard cutouts whose only role in life is to make the protagonist look good! He does that on his own without taking away from the rest of the cast, who bring a lot of laughs in a tale full of witty banter.

It felt like I was reading more than a romance novel, it was like I’d been sent to another world, and the Kindle version has a nice map that helped me visualize where everything was, which wasn’t hard since the prose is both easily understood yet refreshing. Classic, even.

This is a story that knows what it wants to be and goes for the feels while keeping things light and laugh out loud funny at times. Griselda steals EVERY scene she’s in, Astreya is the perfect foil, and I wanted to hug Revna after I heard about her past. I can’t wait to see how her relationship with Connor develops because they make really cute friends.

The combat is descriptive and wonderfully brutal, with hidden references that had my heritage buzzing with joy. There is respect and information here, and the more you know about the Viking and Celtic ages, the more juicy references you’ll find. I learned more about runes from this book than actually studying it! It felt like I was reading the secret history of the dark ages and not a fantasy book.

Between the passionate voice acting and the engaging plot, I already picked up book 2. This is a rare gem of storytelling that stays with you when it’s over, and I encourage everyone to enjoy it.