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Of Flaw and Scorn

by Vera Bell

Genre: Christian Romance, Historical Romance

Publisher

Timebound Publishing

Series:

Gracefire

Book #

1

Point of View

Multiple Third Person POV (3 or more characters)
castlechristian themesenemies to loversfairy tale retellingforced proximityhe falls firsthidden identityhistorical settingmedievalopposites attractprotector heroredemptionrescueSecond Chanceslow burntouch her and dieforbidden romancefirst love

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Content Guide

This guide helps readers understand the content of this book.
Click the ⓘ icons to see how each level is defined.

Intimacy Level

Level 2: Non Descriptive Longer Kisses

Innuendo Level

None

Swearing Amount

Zero

Violence Level

Moderate

Age Recommendation

Adult

LGBTQ Content

None

Trigger Warnings

Death of Loved One, Grief, War, Injury, Blood, Death

Synopsis

For fans of Francine Rivers’ realistic Christian fiction comes a slow-burn Viking historical romance of enemies to lovers and second chances.

Irish coast, 795 A.D. Caught between two clashing worlds, a Christian slave and a Viking raider must crush their forbidden love before it imperils her faith and destroys his claim to the jarl’s seat—but God’s plan is greater than either can imagine.

While gathering wild strawberries near her fishing village, thirteen-year-old Brigit stumbles into the path of a young Viking warrior, Reidar. A night terror come alive, the heathen boy is part of a Norse horde descended on Ireland beneath the cover of night. Eager for conquest and glory on his first raid, Reidar takes Brigit captive. But when her terror stirs an overwhelming compassion, he defies his father and saves her from his own people as they raze her village. This unexpected act of mercy sears Brigit’s memory into his soul and becomes his Great Flaw.

Seven years later, the Vikings storm the Irish keep where Brigit is trapped in a loveless marriage. Amid the raid, their young warlord sets his sights on Brigit. Her faith, once her anchor, has withered under years of loss and hardship, and her Great Scorn for Norsemen and all who wronged her has become her only armor. Yet her defenses crumble as she wrestles with a dangerous attraction to her enemy. Bound to her captor’s will and surrounded by savagery, Brigit fights to preserve her dignity and fading faith as she clings to the memory of the boy who once spared her. But the man Reidar has become a hardened warrior, sworn to vengeance and shackled by blood feud.

Both are doomed to ruin unless they open their hearts to the one power greater than the Flaw and Scorn that bind them.

Perfect for readers who love slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance, forbidden love, second chances, and stories of faith, grace, and redemption.

Audiobook

Narrators

Narration Type

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Physical Intimacy Levels

Level 1

  • Holding hands or affectionate touching
  • Compliments or confessing love
  • Low-description kissing
  • Tender embraces or cuddling
  • Blushing and sighing
  • Non-descriptive discussions of sex
  • Established relationships
  • Fade to black if married
  • Any sexual encounters are only referred to from the past, not described or shown on page
 

Level 2

  • Touch that signals attraction
  • No touching in the underwear zone
  • Long kisses, lightly descriptive
  • Deeper kisses, tongue implied but not described
  • Feeling warm or flushed
  • Gasping, deep sighs, light growls or groans
  • Thinking or speaking about desire in a non-descriptive way
  • Fade to black for established relationships after a scene that matches this level, though this may be unpopular if they are not married
 

Level 3

 

  • Hands moving, still not in the underwear zone
  • French kissing with tongue described
  • Make-out sessions that still follow these guidelines
  • Feeling hot or sweaty
  • Heavier gasping, groaning, deep growls, or panting
  • More frantic moments and some loss of control
  • Male shirt may come off, but nothing else
  • Leg may straddle waist, but no mention of arousal
  • If characters lie down together, there should be little description of contact or movement
  • May happen in a bedroom or on a bed, but should be interrupted or end with a fade to black scene
  • Focus stays on the emotion
  • Fade to black should still happen between married couples or at the end of the book between engaged or committed couples

Innuendo Levels

Level 0 — None

  • No sexual innuendo
  • No suggestive humor
  • No crude or sexual jokes

Level 1 — Minimal

  • Minimal innuendo or double meanings
  • Light teasing
  • Mild crude or dad humor
  • Not frequent or strong

Level 2 — Moderate

  • Moderate suggestive humor
  • Double meanings
  • Sexual tension
  • May include crude or sexual jokes

Level 3 — Heavy

  • Heavy innuendo
  • Strong suggestive dialogue
  • Frequent crude or sexual humor

Swearing Levels

Zero

  • No swearing

Mild

  • Up to 10 uses of “hel*” or “dam*”

Moderate

  • 10+ uses of “hel*” or “dam*”
  • And/or use of bodily swear words like “shi*,” “as*,” etc.

Severe

  • 30+ swear words
  • And/or any use of the F-word one or more times

Violence Levels

Zero

  • No on-page violence

Mild

  • Violence is present without detail or only referenced vaguely
  • May briefly mention blood or injuries
  • Comparable to a G-rated movie

Moderate

  • Violence is more frequent and/or more detailed
  • Can be more intense
  • Injuries may be lightly described
  • Comparable to a PG-rated movie

Severe

  • Violence is more detailed and frequent
  • Blood may be mentioned and injuries may be described in detail
  • Comparable to a PG-13-rated movie

Intimacy Levels

Level 1

  • Holding hands/Affectionate touching
  • Compliments/confessing love
  • Low-description kissing
  • Tender embraces/cuddling
  • Blushing and sighing
  • Non-descriptive discussions of sex
  • Established relationships
  • Fade to black if married
  • Any sexual encounters from past only referred to, not described or on-screen

Level 2

  • Touch that signals attraction
  • No touching in underwear zone
  • Long kisses, lightly descriptive
  • Deeper kisses, tongue implied not described
  • Feel warm/flushed
  • Gasping, deep sighs, light growls and groans
  • Thinking/speaking about desire non-descriptive
  • Fade to black for established relationships after a scene that matches this level – but may be unpopular if not married

Level 3

  • Hands moving, still not in underwear zone
  • French kiss with tongue described
  • Make-out sessions still follow guidelines
  • Feel hot, sweating
  • Heavier gasping, groaning, deep growls, panting
  • More frantic and lose some control
  • Male shirt may come off, but nothing else
  • Leg may straddle waist, but no mention of arousal
  • If they lay down together anywhere, use little description of contact/moving
  • May happen in a bedroom or on a bed, but should be interrupted or end with fade to black scene. Keep focus on the emotion.
  • Fade to black should still happen between married couples or at the end of the book between engaged/committed couples.