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Beautiful Wreck

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An alternate cover edition can be found here and here.

In a bleak future built on virtual reality, Ginn is a romantic who yearns for something real. She designs environments for people who play at being Vikings. But when her project goes awry, she’s stranded in the actual 10th century, on a storybook farm in Viking Iceland.

Heirik is the young leader of his family, honored by the men and women who live on his land. But he is feared and isolated because of a terrible curse. Ginn and Heirik are two people who never thought they would find a home in someone else’s heart.

When forces rise against them to keep them apart, Ginn is called on to decide—will she give up the brutal and beautiful reality of the past? Or will she have the courage to traverse time and become more of a Viking than she ever imagined?

459 pages, Paperback

First published January 31, 2014

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About the author

Larissa Brown

10 books211 followers
Larissa writes epic love stories and creates dramatic designs for hand knitters.

Her first novel, Beautiful Wreck, is a time travel love story set in a fictional 10th century Iceland. So Wild A Dream is a two-book series, set in the same world, which will launch in 2016. Larissa is also the author of the novella Tress, a gothic horror fairytale love story.

She regularly posts photos of her #writingspot on Instagram to share the adventure of writing, and she is the proud owner of the addictive online generator What Does Your Hero Smell Like?

An eclectic reader, Larissa's favorite book this year was A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic. She reads speculative fiction, romance, historical fiction and craft books, and has a special love for knitting stitch dictionaries.

A two-time craft author with STC Craft, Larissa has published books, articles and designs with a variety of knitting-related publications. She independently publishes her hand knitting designs. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband Martin and son Sebastian, adorable loser-of-hand-made-hats.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 339 reviews
Profile Image for Anniebananie.
632 reviews473 followers
October 29, 2017
Hach war das ein schönes Wälzerchen! 😊 ich hatte zwar meine Probleme am Anfang reinzukommen, da mir die Beschreibungen der Zukunft doch etwas ungenau erschienen, aber als wir uns dann in der Vergangenheit befanden, wurde es toll! Der Schreibstil war angenehm und die Charaktere gut durchdacht und vielschichtig. Endlich mal ein Buch in dem die sich das Liebespaar vor ernsthaften und nachvollziehbaren Problemen wiederfindet. Und Ginn war eine reife Frau und kein nerviger, dramatischer Teenager mehr, was ich auch nur gutheißen konnte 😅 Fazit: toller historischer Roman im Jugendbuchgenre! 🙌🏻
Profile Image for Heather.
90 reviews28 followers
December 6, 2013
Beautiful Wreck is a book so imbued with stark beauty and raw emotive power that as you read it, your internal topography is rearranged - it's the kind of book that shifts everything you knew, or thought you knew, about writing and love. The world just looks different when you're done.

The first thing you must understand when beginning this book is that it has a lot going on. Time travel. Vikings. A yearning so strong you can actually feel it. Love. Betrayal. There are even ponies and MMA fights. It is important, I feel, for one to read this book in a place with as few distractions as possible. Take a page out of The Neverending Story and find an abandoned attic in your local school, light some candles, and immerse yourself in one of the most powerful books you've ever read.

Ginn lives in a futuristic Iceland. She is part of a team creating the "tank," an ultra-immersive virtual reality device that makes one feel as though they are really IN another time and place. Her specialty is Old Norse/Old Icelandic language and culture, and has been creating an accurate historical portrayal of just such a time and place. Everything is perfect - the dress, the language, the buildings. Until somehow, things become too real and Ginn is transported back to Iceland, circa 920 AD.

She wakes on a black sand beach, disoriented and semi-conscious. She is found there by Vikings - honest to God Vikings - who take her back to their farm and create a place for her. One of those vikings is the clan chieften, Heirik. Heirik is everything he should be: strong, beautiful, fierce... and cursed. Marked at birth by the "blood of the Gods," Heirik is destined never to touch or be touched - which is a problem, because Ginn wants very badly to touch.

What follows from there is possibly the most potent and powerful love stories I've ever read. The book is told from Ginn's perspective and Ginn's internal monologue is imbued with sparse but inspired language. One can really see the beauty of the landscape, one filled with color and texture, even though the words are never flowery or overdone. In places it is as though she disappears as the narrator and the reader is left to "see" things first-hand. Ginn's voice is incredibly well done. As she begins to fall for Heirik, one cannot help but do the same.

In addition to the gorgeous scenery there are a handful of secondary characters brought to life by Brown's talented mind. Betta (the woman assigned to help Ginn acclimate) is particularly well-written. It is impossible not to like her, to hope that she, too, can find a way to secure her heart's desire. The effect is that of a multifaceted world one wants to return to again and again, to become a part of this vibrant and complicated family.

And finally, there is Heirik. Brown has created in Heirik a romance hero worthy of the title. Strong, compassionate, mercurial, flawed, powerful, loving, tragic, honorable, intelligent ... the list goes on. Rarely have I read such a dynamic character. In truth, I cannot think of another I've loved as much as he. Heirik is the reason I will be purchasing a hard copy of this book and will be reading it again and again.

In the end, I give this book my highest recommendation. The beginning does take a bit of work to understand - the future Iceland is a confusing and abrupt place. But in no time at all I was sucked into Brown's world, rooting for Ginn and Heirik to overcome all obstacles and to find a way to be together. I fell in love with a land and people more than a thousand years gone - and cannot wait to go back there again.



Disclaimer: I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book far exceeded any and all expectations I had of it.
Profile Image for ExlibrisLisa.
65 reviews142 followers
November 8, 2016
Wenn ich könnte würde ich 1000000 Sterne vergeben, für mich ein absolutes Jahreshighlight!
Die Geschichte um Ginn und Heirik in Island ist so wunderschön geschrieben, obwohl es ein leichter, historischer Jugendroman ist kam für mich auf keine der 668 Seiten Langeweile auf.
Ich kann das Buch einfach absolut jedem empfehlen, ganz großes Kino!
Profile Image for Penny Reid.
Author 89 books22k followers
Read
March 24, 2014
3/24: I've slept on it. Here are my thoughts:
I don't know how to rate this book. If this were an indie book or a one of the big publishing houses, I would likely give it two stars (so, in other words, I wouldn't rate it on here at all). I'm sorry, I can't rate this book. I tried rating it at 2 stars for a few minutes, but didn't feel comfortable; therefore, I'm leaving it blank.

The good: The love story between the two main characters is beautiful and heart-wrenching. This writer can write (i.e. you feel like you're reading a book, not a high school after school special). The factual details are enthralling.

The sad: This book is a half-cut diamond. Meaning, someone cut part of the diamond, but didn't finish and certainly didn't polish.

A) LACK OF DIALOGUE
What can I say about this? Just... sad. Lots of telling and no showing. :-(

B) FORMATTING
There are no spelling errors (cut) or grammar issues (cut) but the formatting is-- by far-- the worst I've ever seen. It was so terrible, it made me raging angry and I almost didn't finish.

Every time I felt drawn into the story, the formatting yanked me out of it, like a crying baby on an airplane. Examples of bad formatting:
1) Scene breaks where the scene doesn't break
2) No scene breaks where the scene does break
3) No left indent at random times
4) Dialogue in the center of paragraphs
5) REALLY LONG PARAGRAPHS
6) Random italic text... maybe the text was supposed to be chapter headings? Not sure...
7) Inconsistent text used for chapter headings-- sometime it was capitalized, sometimes it was in the middle of a page with text above and below... I have no idea.
8) Also, table of contents was at the back of the book. That was amazingly unhelpful.
9) At the end of the book, there was no contact information for the author (or I couldn't find it). It's like the author was an after thought... sad.

C) CONTENT EDITING (PACING/FLOW)
The other issue (could have been fixed with a good content editor) is that the manuscript is repetitive. The author describes a scene (a field, meadow, the inside of the house, etc.); then, two pages later, the same field is described. This made me start skipping whole paragraphs (because I'd already read the description). Therefore, if new information had been present, I missed it.

Because of the formatting and the repetition, this book's pacing and flow suffered considerably.

D) MISC ISSUES
Also, when they came together in the end, it just ended. They didn't talk about anything!! I wanted to know what he thought of the oranges. I wanted to a sweet scene of TOUCHING. Maybe he wipes the juice of the orange off her lip. Let me be clear, I'm not interested in a sex scene. I wanted, while he's healing, a scene of them being together and how lovely and easy being together is once he accepts their destiny.

Also, something that drove me crazy was how the main character would describe a meadow then imagine doing something in the meadow for several pages. I don't know why the author did that. It slowed the story down, didn't add to character development, served no purpose. Yes, these sections were well written. However, why include these sections if they only slow everything down?

Also, the first part (when she's in future Iceland) I honestly was so lost, I thought about emailing the author and asking for directions. I had to ask other people who'd read it to explain what happened.

Also, (sorry, one more thing), even though this story was written from first person, I didn't know or really understand anything about Ginn other than she loved the hero. In fact, I felt I understood the hero's motivations, thoughts, and feelings better than Ginn's. :-\

The ugly: So... the cover, in my opinion, isn't ugly. It's just, in my opinion, a crime against humanity that it's being used for this book (or any book other than a 6th grade chapter book about Olga, the orphaned singing prodigy with a heart of gold). For shame.

In summary (not that anyone cares at this point) I can't recommend this book until it's cleaned up (formatted; edited for content, pacing, flow, and character development).



3/23: Finished on the plane. Maybe a review later...

2/27: I had a few minutes:


I'll redo it again after I read the book.

2/26: So... despite the horrific cover, I've been told this is an exceptional book. Therefore, I'm going to read it.

That stated, I am begging the author to reconsider the cover. I will design one for you for free!! As in, charge you no dollars. Please. Think about it. For the love of Hiddleston, just... think about it.

Profile Image for Anna (Bobs Her Hair).
961 reviews206 followers
July 9, 2014
3.5 stars...Ja! I liked it. You'll probably like it too!

Now in the 22nd century, everyone lived—to some degree—in a world that had happened before. We studied and debated and reanimated the words and fashions of a hundred yesterdays and adopted them as though we’d run out of original things to be. In the aughts and teens, being part of an anachronistic culture had been unusual. Now it was the norm. Everyone had a place and time they loved, and they lived in it every moment they could.


Jen, a linguistic artist, lives in a stark future. People pay to submerse themselves in bygone eras, and Jen’s part of a programming team that creates authentic virtual realities or ‘sims.’ Her area of expertise is 10th century Viking times. Touching ancient artifacts and reading an early diary about the Viking people lives fills her with wonder and longing. It’s bliss escaping into a place where there's real green grass, a blue sky, an abundance of life, and real purposeful living. When Jen wakes up freezing cold on black sand beach after entering a Viking sim she can’t ‘tap out’ of the program. She wakes on the black sand of Iceland's freezing coast. Then, she is saved by Heirik, a Viking chief and becomes truly immersed into the people, land, and the ‘cursed’ man. To find a way back to the 22nd century or find a way to reach the lonely, disfigured chief becomes Jen’s dilemma.

 photo 313b36fa-60a0-4d31-a1f9-cd1169f634e0_zps58a903b9.png

I read this book based on my friend Jill's review. She loved it. She didn’t love it. I was very curious. The price was right - $2.99 at the time. I decided to try it. What the heck, right? I would put it down and move on if it was not my cup of tea. I read this book until 2 o'clock in the morning ON MY iPHONE!!! Waking up the next morning with a raging headache, I popped some tylenol and finished the last 6 % of the novel. This is why I'm rounding up the stars to 4.

Beautiful Wreck is compared to Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander. There are similarities (time travel, heroine’s first-person narrative, and love of panoramic setting or ‘exposition’) and notable differences, which I was hoping for and was relieved to find. Let’s start with the differences. First, this story has a clear conflict and resolution – no plot-oriented tangents and no cliffhanger! Second, the focus stays on the hero and heroine (perhaps, a bit too much attention to the heroine). Jen/Ginn’s friend Betta has page time, but she’s part of the plot (and she’s interesting too). Next, life is mostly peaceful in comparison to Oulander, which means no rapes, beatings or torture. Finally, Wreck is simply a love story – a love of Heirik, with an appreciation of nature and Iceland. There’s isn’t an over-achieving goal to alter history.

Anders Lindstr photo 1e04d35e-9ed1-4167-958f-491408ccebb7_zps5391a86d.png
Heirik


What was so addictive about the book was that I couldn’t get enough of Heirik. Born with a disfiguring birthmark over half his body doomed him as ‘cursed.’ Forbidden from taking a wife or feeling the touch from one his clan members from birth he has learned to adapt and survive. He protects his people and has earned their fearful respect. His life is what it is. Overall, Heirik’s loneliness was a tangible thing for me.

 photo Ginn_zps312fbe3c.png
Jen/Ginn

Jen, who became known as ‘Ginn,’ was lonely too, but it was never explained to my satisfaction. She’s a linguistics artist from the barren future (not sure why…it’s not explained). She can’t make connections to the people in her time…no backstory. Ginn travels through time…hazy.) And she reaches a time where she finds someone as lonely as her (and falls in love really fast). She finds a beautiful, lonely man who needs her as much as she’s compelled to need and connect with him. There was so much longing in Beautiful Wreck that I felt almost afraid for a sad ending. Be at ease; there’s a happy and clear ending.

There is beauty in the exposition. (There’s also a bit too much repetition.) What this book is lacking is a focus on meaningful interactions with dialogue, as other reviewers have commented upon. The way ‘untouchable’ Heirik and Ginn tip-toe around each other is nearly frustrating - too much angst with Heirik that didn’t seem quite in keeping to his character. There is so much build-up, but I could not stop reading!

I can live without graphic sex in my romances, but I do wish there would have been more detail in their lovemaking. Intimacy! I needed it because here is a man who hasn’t been touched by a woman since his mother cared for him and…I was hoping for a variety of poignant scenes involving touch - the face, the body …everything!

Anyway, I really enjoyed this book. The characters were compelling, the setting rich. The ending was satisfying. Although, I would have liked more happiness between the characters on the pages, I look forward to more of this author’s work, and also considering that this is a debut novel I am impressed. She does leave this world open for future books, and I’ve been told there will be an upcoming novella.
Profile Image for Amy.
752 reviews165 followers
December 31, 2018
Every now and then you encounter a book that you know will be an amazing book from the very first page. This is such a book.
A meadow would have been lovely. I’d come into the tank every day if I could feel lush, slippery grass between my toes, the gentle nudge of a breeze at my frothy hems. But the programmers couldn’t accomplish the immense reach and power of outdoor scenes. Not yet.

I keep trying to put my finger why I knew that this would be a 5-star book from the start, and I think that it’s the lyrical, personal nature of the book. The author’s writing is gorgeous and lush (to borrow from the quote). The settings of Future Iceland and Viking Iceland come alive in your mind as you read. Future Iceland is crowded, highly synthetic, and derives its pleasure from virtual reality. And this makes Viking Iceland, where Jen accidentally finds herself in the flesh rather than in a simulation, seem more real than the world from whence she came.

As another reviewer has said, I don’t normally read romance novels, but if they were all as well-written and researched as this one, I’d give them much more consideration. The fact that Jen/Ginn and the Viking she loves can never be together or even touch creates an extreme form of romantic tension for the story. Even more, the author has created quite a conundrum of a character for Jen to love. He’s fire and ice, water and sun. He smells intoxicatingly of fire, leather, furs, cinnamon. And he speaks with “[t]he sparsest poetry on his lips.” “Gods," Jen says, “what would it feel like to kiss?” Indeed. I wanted to know and hoped Lofn would truly clear the way for impossible unions, for these two who want nothing more than to care for each other in small daily moments. “It is hard, Litla,” he says to Jen. “To be so close, and stay away from you.” Always “[n]othing made sense,” she thought. “He wouldn’t touch me, but he couldn’t let me go. Even as he admitted his desire, he took it away.” Ah, forbidden love, how you do sting.

Even the trees are sexy in this book: “a thousand wisps of papery bark curled to reveal blush and orange and copper under the trees’ white skins.” ...And the eyelashes: “[w]hen I lowered my eyelashes I felt every one as a miniature icicle, melting into dew around my eyes.” ...And, of course, the thoughts: “I want forbidden things, thoughts with dark wings, bodies slick with sweat.” Já.

I’m curious to see how male readers will react to this novel. At it’s heart, it’s a historical time travel novel in a gorgeous setting. It’s not a heavy-breathing and constant quivering romance novel. After all, there’s a universal pain to be felt in forbidden love. And there’s plenty of sheep shearing and Vikings cutting off hands and such.

To start the year reading the best book I’ll probably read all year … maybe all decade … means that I can’t easily pick up the next book. It won’t be rolling green or fluffy white Iceland. It won’t be a gorgeously written book about forbidden love in an impossible past. It won’t be this book.

Do yourself a favor and read this book when it come out in early February. Just one warning: when you do, you'll find yourself still up reading at 3 a.m. And for breathtaking visuals that will leave you wanting more, visit http://www.pinterest.com/larissabrown....
Profile Image for Rachael Herron).
Author 36 books773 followers
December 4, 2013
With a plot as exciting as it is bold, and with characters as real and important as family, Larissa Brown’s BEAUTIFUL WRECK weaves an intensely gripping tale about the strength of women and the love they carry.

This is the story we’ve been waiting for.

I loved this book with all my heart. I can't wait for EVERYONE to fall in love with it (and them) the way I did.

Profile Image for Wilja Wiedenhöft.
157 reviews298 followers
Read
October 27, 2017
Auf Seite 117/468 hab ich es dann abgebrochen. Sie hat sich wieder in Sehnsüchten nach ihrem Chief verloren, gewaschen, gesponnen und exakt 3 einsilbige Gespräche mit ihm geführt. Bei mir kommen überhaupt keine Feelings auf. Es passiert einfach nichts. Im Sorry 😐
Profile Image for Skedatt.
326 reviews
November 25, 2014
I have actually been thinking a lot about this book, trying to work out how to write an honest review. On the one hand, I want to give it four stars for actually holding my attention and keeping me thinking about it for a while, but then it gets knocked down to one star for the ick feeling that I wasted so much time.


The Good:


1) Kept my interest in a time when few books do. (Big points there.)

2) Liked the research that went into it.

3) Some of the secondary characters I really liked.

4) There were some beautifully written scenes: i.e. when Heirik shows her the farm for the first time.


The Not So Good:


1) Pacing needed work: a full quarter (or more) of the book could have been cut out and made the story that much stronger.

2) I was more attached to the secondary romance than I was to the primary.

3) The tone change at the end of the book (Ginn went from lovesick spaniel to valkyrie without much time for adjustment)

5) The romance just failed for me. As noted before, Ginn was a lovesick spaniel that lusted after the chief. The chief lusted after Ginn, but then would toy with her for vague reasons of a curse. Then she would hold on to him and the process would start all over again. That got old really fast. I kept waiting for the "epicness" to kick in, but sadly, it never did. The relationship seemed based solely on the physical, of which there was enough description that I am not comfortable having it on my shelves from my pre-teen sons to pick up and read.

5) The future descriptions were so pointless, sterile, and one-dimensional that she could have set it during the present with much more success. Then we would have had some of our own experience to fill in the ridiculous amount of blanks. (Where does the food come from? We get it from other food...(blink, blink) Oh! I wish I had kept the page number on that one).

6) The cover and the title combination. Either the title needed to change or the cover needed to change to explain more about the title. Something with a whale on it would have helped a lot.

Conclusion

The book evoked a strong emotional reaction, so she has a lot of talent as a writer. I wouldn't be opposed to reading another book by her and seeing how her writing matures.


Profile Image for Beverly.
450 reviews22 followers
November 27, 2013
Disclaimer: I edited this novel.

Review: My close association with this novel no doubt colors my review, but I hope you'll trust me despite that.

This should be the first book you read in 2014. Larissa Brown creates setting, develops character, crafts plot in fresh, delightful ways. I grew to care deeply about even minor characters. The novel, set in a bleak future world and a lush 10th century Iceland will engross you. The book surprises and satisfies, avoiding romance and fantasy cliches, creating one of the richest examinations of identity and community that I've read in a long, long time. You will not regret the time you spend in the intriguing world Brown offers in the pages of Beautiful Wreck!
Profile Image for Ari Reavis.
Author 20 books160 followers
September 7, 2016
What an utter disappointment. The romance was stupid and annoying... 'I love you, you can't touch me, I'm cursed, I'll never love him again, I need him, marry my brother (WHAT?)" blah blah blah. So many descriptions of things that contributed nothing to the story and had me skimming. It got 1 more star tacked on at the end for having a HEA.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Shannon Okey.
Author 35 books61 followers
November 26, 2013
The best novel I have read in years. Grabs you from the very first page and won't let you go -- everyone who's read the galleys hasn't been able to put it down. Beautiful Wreck has caused MANY (GOOD) sleepless nights!
Profile Image for Laura.
143 reviews11 followers
June 29, 2016
The only reason this book is on my TBR list is because it was chosen by a member of my book club that assures us that despite it's terrible cover it is actually a wonderful read. I am going to have to take her word for it because as I've said before, I do judge books by their covers and this one is truly awful. If it weren't for book club there is no way I would have ever chosen to read this.

Ok read it. Here's why I've rated it 3 starts when I feel like this book has 5 star potential. First star gets deducted because of that awful terrible cover. Seriously. The sad part? The author has a Pinterest board with TWO covers that are waaaaay better suited. TWO DIFFERENT COVERS!!

The second star deduction is for the serious lack of editing. This book needs work. If my fellow book club member hadn't insisted it got better there is NO WAY I would have read beyond the first chapter. Not happening. In fact, here's what you need to know: Ginn lives in futuristic Iceland and works at some sort of real life role play immersion thing called the "tank" and is obsessed with the 10th century Vikings and is some how transported to 920 Iceland to a Viking farm. There, now you can go read it starting on the second chapter.

Read it you should, because eventually you get used to the odd breaks and get so wholly sucked into the story you look past the editing flaws and are whisked away by the beautiful story. It really is. The way Ms. Brown describes the yearning to, well, not be lonely is something else.

For an $8 ebook published by a publishing house I expect it to be flawless. If I had read this book as a beta reader I would have had nothing but praise for Ms. Brown and would have expected her editor to help her finish the job. Honestly? Between the terrible cover and horrendous editing I can't help but feel like Cooperative Press doesn't have Ms. Brown's back and that's sad because this book has so much potential.
Profile Image for Jaimie.
385 reviews397 followers
October 21, 2019
What witchcraft is this novel, turning me into a grumpy introverted homebody, reluctant to leave my house and do anything other than finish this book right now dang it?? Good gracious. I attended an outside-of-work-hours event with coworkers that wasn't mandatory while in the middle of reading Beautiful Wreck and that says something about how much I like my coworkers. Because it was all I could do to put the book down and leave my house. I can't remember the last time I was so desperate to read a novel to its conclusion.

As I read Beautiful Wreck, I spent the time curled in a ball on the couch, compulsively "flipping" my ebook's digital pages, unable to to take even a short break. I had to know what would happen to our time traveling heroine Ginn and the scarred and unloveable chief Heirik. I absolutely lived for this couple and I don't know that I've ever experienced slow burn and unresolved tension more intense. It almost killed me.

This is independently published and the writing and (lack of) editing makes this apparent. There are long, long paragraphs of descriptive prose and a startling lack of dialogue. We spend 600+ pages firmly in the head and perspective of Ginn, which probably contributes to how desperate and entranced I was while reading. It was difficult to separate my feelings from those of the character. Brown is also repetetive at times and there were moments I fought off the temptation to brandish a red pen.

Regardless of the obvious downsides of self-publishing a 600 page tome with no professional editing, I was enraptured with this story and have since convinced a number of people to give it a go. I'm so impressed with Larissa Brown's knowledge of 10th century Icelandic culture. Every tiny detail feels real. Ending the novel made me homesick for a small woodland village in a country I've never visited. Truly impressive.

If you are a romance fan, a history fan, a speculative fiction fan (or an outlander fan- the parallels are there, obviously), I highly recommend this one.

4.5 stars
Profile Image for Laura.
Author 7 books43 followers
February 6, 2014
This stunning, sweeping epic of tenth century Iceland immerses readers in a spare, cold, beautiful landscape, while giving from-the-future Ginn plenty of challenges and a hot blaze of adoration for a man everyone fears. Larissa Brown's carefully researched Icelandic community crackles with life and realistic details, and we experience it as outsiders, watching Ginn try to make her way through a complicated society that's based on long-held customs, societal beliefs, and basic needs.

Beautiful Wreck, with its lovely prose and carefully chosen details, is engaging, transportive, and exquisite, the kind of book that makes you hold your breath and keep turning pages. Hard to believe this is a first novel.

Note: I received an advance copy in exchange for a fair review. All opinions are my own.
Profile Image for Insi Eule.
660 reviews59 followers
Read
May 25, 2017
Abgebrochen auf Seite 161... Der Schreibtil hat mir einiges abverlangt. Sehr anstrengend, ich bin einfach nicht in einen Lesefluss gekommen, obwohl die Geschichte an sich schon interessant ist. Mir fehlt wohl im Moment die Geduld für dieses Buch. Vielleicht versuche ich es zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt nochmal.
Profile Image for Beth Sponzilli.
295 reviews
June 1, 2019
This was an interesting book. Much more historical romance than I had thought, but still was a page turner for me. A girl from a future world is sucked back into 10th century Viking Iceland. There were parts where it was a bit too much of their sexual attraction and tension, but I still couldn’t wait to see how the story would unfold. I would for sure recommend for Outlander fans as it has the same timeslip romance and all.
Profile Image for Dagmar.
287 reviews44 followers
November 5, 2024
Emily Bronte said she had dreams that ran through her, like wine through water, and altered the colour of her mind. Well, this book went through and through me, and it felt unlike anything I have ever read...I feel somehow enlightened. The writing is so descriptive and exquisite I feel like I was literally transported. What a very unusual and unforgettable story.
Profile Image for Melanie.
395 reviews35 followers
June 9, 2014
"as though we'd run out of original things to be..."

Historic reenactments are no longer hobbies for the few in 22nd-century Iceland, where all now pursue their favorite eras in costume, interacting only in the recreated past. Jen, a young linguist, brings her expertise in Old Norse language and gestures to a bold, new, fully-realized Viking longhouse scenario in a full-sensory sim "tank," where participants will be immersed in their beloved era, "minus the messy beauty of a real farm, the stink of animals and work of many hands." After they leave the tank, they will re-enter the city, where the only birds left in this dystopia are crows, and the sky glimpsed only between tall, tall buildings.

Jen's translation of a Viking woman's diary has given her a glimpse into the reality of one farmer's wife, whose sensibility seems, to Jen, more modern than most of her time. "The sky was big today, all ice and violet," wrote this woman, who also penned a lullaby to "woods and whales and sea. Goodnight to the circle of young girls, their long braids lit by fire..."

Jen's familiarity with the language and lore gives her enough of an edge to survive when the sim tank malfunctions and flings her onto a black beach, half-in and half-out of a freezing sea, half-conscious and half-aware of the song of a whale. Rescued by two Viking men whose stinking breath shocks her ("a breakthrough in the design quality"), she begins to understand that she is not dreaming -- she truly is living the life that most of her countrymen long for. She has been transported through time.

Most of the novel takes place in that very real past, where Jen (now called Ginn) becomes a member of a clan in a longhouse ruled by a young chieftan, Heirik. His fearsome birthmark represents mystery and power to his people, but Ginn learns the facts behind the lore that has defined him. She falls deeply in love. Heirik's reluctance to love becomes clearer as Ginn's immersion in this new life becomes deeper and more dear.

The reader learns about the dynamics of the varied, gritty, loving clan members as their stories intertwine, clash, and mesh. Larissa Brown's scholarship is worn lightly. The Vikings feud, gather, and love against history and folklore, like the runes, cables, and braids of Viking design. Each character and plotline is deep and real, especially those of the the displaced, beached Ginn and the women she joins in the chores, sorrows, and dreams they share.

Readers who are fiber enthusiasts will be delighted as Ginn masters the art of the spindle from the accomplished Hildur: "she showed me how the thread was forming, how to feed the fiber, like spun sugar in my hands." Images of whiteness form the background of the story: white fleeces, like the clouds that the Norse goddess Grigg spins, the white snow that piles high outside the longhouse, the snowblooms that are harvested to make mouthwash, and the disorienting whiteout that nearly costs Ginn her life. Against this whiteness are golden vistas, green swaths, and the immense blue sky.

I was as immersed in this wonderful novel as a 22nd-century Icelander would have been in the sim tank. As a modern woman, I wanted to cut through the myths and hesitations so that the characters could live their dreams, love whom they wished, and thrive. As a modern reader, I was satisfied with the way the stories unfolded, and happy with the vivid, engrossing, well-written story. Larissa Brown has taken elements of romance, history, and science fiction, and blended them into something new, vivid, and wonderful.

(Note: I was given an ARC to review. I will definitely reread the published novel - it's that good!)
Profile Image for SmartBitches.
491 reviews632 followers
August 22, 2016
Full review at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

Beautiful Wreck by Larissa Brown is not a perfect book, but it was exactly the book I needed. It was this beautiful, restful story that transported me somewhere else and soothed my brain. It’s the literary equivalent to just floating in a warm pool, listening to soft noises.

First of all, Beautiful Wreck is a time-travel historical, which is my shit. It opens in the near future, a time when people immerse themselves in sophisticated virtual reality scenarios.

Basically, the SCA has taken over. I bow to my new overlords.

The courtship in this book takes place over the course of a year, and because the book is almost 500 pages long, it goes very, very slowly. It’s a looooooong ass time before these characters even touch, and because Heirik considers that touch so forbidden, as a reader I longed so badly for it to happen. The UST in this book is exquisite.

A lot of Beautiful Wreck is immersive detail into how daily living was conducted on a 10th century Icelandic farm. A big part of Ginn’s life is daily chores. She shows up in spring, so she has all of spring and summer to help prepare for a long winter. As a reader, I love this shit. My favorite scenes in Outlander were always, “Claire does shit around the castle.” I could read about Ginn spinning wool or making soap or washing her hair in a hot spring for hours and hours. Seeing how the seasons unfolded, how daily life was shaped around work that had to be done and traditions tied to that work, was just incredibly soothing.

If I’m being objective, the romance between Heirik and Ginn is too drawn out. A lot more happens in the last three-quarters of the book than in the beginning. I didn’t care though. I was cool with a year long “sigh and stare” courtship because I found the world I was reading about super fascinating.

If you like historical detail, slow burn romance, and virgin heroes, you need to click buy right now. Some readers will definitely find Beautiful Wreck too slow or dislike the futuristic element, but for me, this book was exactly what I needed.

- Elyse
Profile Image for Maryse.
89 reviews5 followers
March 29, 2014
SPOILER ALERT!!!!!



i gave this book 2 stars which kind of makes me sad. there were just so many problems with it.

what i liked about it? i really liked the characters. Ginn and Heirik's love story is lovely. i'm pretty sure i wouldn't go back 1,000 years for a man - i like indoor plumbing, non-dirt floors and ibuprofen. but i believed their story. that was the good part.

what i didn't like about it.

the beginning, when she's in the future was wackadoo. i kept having to reread those sections over and over again because i couldn't follow it. i'm still not entirely sure what was going on but it was between pushing through or giving up and i just pushed through. if someone can explain to me what the hell was going on, that would be great.

the formatting: what a mess. there were several times when it would have been nice to have some sort of section break. i'd be reading a scene and then the next paragraph, i'd be somewhere else THAT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE PREVIOUS SCENE. it was jarring and it pissed me off. and this wasn't an isolated incident.

there were inconsistencies. is she 5 foot 5? 5 foot 3? ultimately it doesn't really matter, so why mention it at all. if the formatting hadn't been such a problem, i probably wouldn't have noticed this.

finally, the ending reminded me of the papers i used to write in highschool i used to spend so much time on the introduction, and then the body of the paper, that by the time i got to the conclusion, i was so sick of the paper that i just rushed right through it because i just wanted to be done with it. well that's what the ending felt like here. what happened to the oranges? why bother mention that she brought them with her, if she isn't going to mention them again?

so there you have it. this book could have been so much better. it's very unfortunate that it is not.


Profile Image for Bookish Satty.
886 reviews29 followers
February 9, 2014
I got this book from the author, free of cost, in exchange of an honest review from my side.

Firstly I would like to thank the author for giving me this opportunity of reading and reviewing this book and I would also like to thank Lovers of Paranormal Group of Goodreads for giving me this copy under their Read to Review theme.

Well, to be honest this book is really awesome and I'm not exaggerating guys!!!

There is romance, passion, trust, struggle and a beautiful historic description of the plot that won my heart. I liked the story line very much and as this is my second Time-Travel novel that I read I would like to confess that this book totally changed my view point about this genre and from now on I'll be reading novels based on this genre.

Coming to the characters, well I couldn't express in words the excellence of their creation. I loved each and every character even the negative ones too because they played a major part of this story and made the read thrilling and entertaining.

The dialogues were crisp and straight forward and there wasn't any excessive bragging regarding a single scene or event. Moreover the events flowed smoothly from one to other without any big gaps that often makes the read meaningless and confusing.

The writing style of the author is fabulous and this is the first novel I read which is written by the author and I became a huge fan of her skill of writing. The detailed descriptions made me visualize the scenes while reading and that added to my excitement.

Over all a great read that I would definitely recommend to others and hope that you guys will love it too. Enjoy !!!
Profile Image for Holly.
202 reviews6 followers
December 31, 2013
This is not a lighthearted, quick romance. It took me a while to get into it (like, 100 pages). I almost put it down to pick something else up that's a little more lighthearted, more easy, but I'm glad I stuck it out because I would have missed out on a great read. I was laying in bed reading, knowing I needed to put it away if I was going to get good sleep, actually put it away, then thought about it for another 10 minutes and picked up to read again. Sleep is overrated, anyhow.

There are parts I enjoyed more than others. The futuristic world wasn't as neatly drawn as the past. But the past was drawn with such vivid detail. The land and buildings became their own characters. It was lovely.

Larissa Brown has a very distinctive writing style. Once I got used to it, the words flew off the page. Some of my favorite quotes:

"Life was quick. But single moments could open and flower, and bits of time that fit between breaths could expand or deepen endlessly."

"There was someone real for me somewhere. Someone I could really know, could really love, and some part of me admitted I would never find him here in my room, my eyes shuttered, heart in the past."


I received an ARC of this book for an honest review.
Profile Image for penny shima glanz.
459 reviews54 followers
December 17, 2013
Without a doubt, Beautiful Wreck is one of the best novels I've read recently. While on the surface it could be categorized under certain genres such as fantasy and romance, it dispenses with the usual clichés associated with these classifications and tosses them away to forge a new path. We are transported from a near-future, which is enthralled by visions of the past, to the imagined past of Iceland in the year 920 which full of beauty and hope for the future.

We watch Ginn discover a reality thought unattainable and beyond her wildest dreams. She has yearned for an immersion of indistinct boundaries where she could actually experience "art, magnificent in its fervent detail", what happens to her when the impossible arrives?

Brown's writing describes a world that makes me wish for the tank. Ginn’s experiences draw you in from the very start without any desire to tap out, so plan ahead and clear your schedule (or prepare for a sleepless night).

I highly recommend Beautiful Wreck.

Disclaimer: I have done work for the publisher and received an ARC in exchange for a review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
134 reviews1 follower
October 11, 2016
This book contains a futuristic sci-fi kickass norse language nerd time travelling to meet a cursed viking, and if that doesn't sell it, then this is not the book for you... This nutty plot beats The Time Traveller's Wife hands-down. It has all of Outlander's commitment to historical detail (imaginary or otherwise) without that problematic rapey-ness factor. Which really shouldn't earn a book bonus stars, but in this case I'm willing to pay them.

Along with more bonus stars for the author managing to wrangle the plot so that the time-travelling actually plays a necessary part in both the plot's introduction and conclusion. Which is obviously harder to achieve than people give credit for, given the other examples of the genre above. Also stars paid for heroine's growth from addle-pated idler to eventual kick-ass pwner of all. I was just here for the old viking endearments (imaginary or otherwise), and unexpectedly ended up cheering for Ginn. Well played Larissa Brown, well played.
Profile Image for Andrea Cooper.
Author 40 books329 followers
January 22, 2014
Beautiful Wreck is a treasure of history and love. The beginning was hard to follow and confusing for me. However, I kept reading and was glad I did. The story unfolds into an epic tale of love and timetravel.
Heirik believes he is cursed because of a mark, but Ginn is determined to show him the truth and love.

Larissa Brown paints this medieval world with such color and detail I could feel the bitter wind and taste the saltwater in the air. She captures the real life world of the Vikings and the daily struggles. The love between Heirik and Ginn is realist and unfolds with time, rather than rushed. Overall, a great read.
Profile Image for Em.
694 reviews4 followers
August 1, 2020
Like many other readers, I mostly enjoyed this story once Ginn traveled back in time. I loved learning about her family - not just the chief, about her home, and this way of life. Unfortunately this is a long story and our reward for waiting on the romance as it moved one minuscule step forward and three steps back was...I’m not going to say. Suffice it to say the payoff was abrupt, odd, and wholly unsatisfying. Also strange. I’m on the low B/high C with this one & its a huge bummer. Pining and lust and misunderstandings are part of every romance. But so is ROMANCE.

FFS, give us a few happy, loved up chapters. It’s like the author just got tired of writing.
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