I liked the history and mostly enjoyed this story (although there are young teen "flaws" IMHO).

Sixteen-year-old Dan is home schooled by his professor father who has him studying all sorts of history. Dan has been sent out of the house so his father could have a private meeting at home. When Dan returns home a little earlier than expected, he finds his father in a physical sword fight. Dan stands in shock as his father tosses him a strange metal baton and tells him to “Run!” And then tells him to “say the rhyme” he has been taught since childhood. Dan doesn’t understand but will obey his father rather than give the device to this threatening man.

Dan is whisked off and finds himself in a strange land where his phone has no service. He is shouting for help when a young ‘Robin Hood’ steps out of the woods and tells him to be quiet. Sam tells Dan that he is in England in the year 1066. Sam explains that they are rare descendants of time jumpers. Sam had a brother trained for the task but Dan’s father didn’t tell him anything about the process and duties. Apparently, the time jumpers have to fix the time glitch and then can return home.

Dan isn’t physically trained but he has the historical knowledge to know the glitch when he realizes the situation. Now he has to step out and find a way to reach an Anglo Saxon king to give him battle advise. He doesn’t even have Sam to help although Sam will be hiding in the woods nearby.

I enjoyed the detailed setting and battle history and the adventures that Dan muddles through. I wasn’t crazy about the teen hormones acting up but I suppose that is realistic, especially for a boy who is probably considered a brainiac and has little social interaction at home. This also fits for the young teen target audience. On the other hand, I loved how Dan made friends along his journey and was loyal to fight for and with them. This is a fun listen and I recommend it to young teens and fans of history.

Audio Notes: Mark Sanderlin does a wonderful job with the narration. He is able to provide clear voices with distinct accents. I was glad to have the opportunity to listen to this in audio.

Source: 2022 NetGalley choice.

Published by Imbrifex Books in March of 2023.
Read by Mark Sanderlin.
Duration: 8 hours, 49 minutes.
Unabridged.

Synopsis:

Dan Renfrew is a self-described homeschooled nerd and his life has been turned upside down. He watched his father get stabbed by a stranger who invaded their house and he has no idea if he is even alive.

Now, thanks to a magical device, Dan is in Medieval England and caught up in an army on the move. He learns that his father is a "time jumper" - men tasked to fix glitches in time and make sure the timeline plays out the way it is supposed to.

The year is 1066 - just a few days before King Harold Godwinson meets and defeats one of the last Viking invasions of England at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. Even more importantly, King Harold will be forced to meet the forces of William, the Duke of Normandy in just a few days and will be defeated at the Battle of Hastings.

But, something is wrong and even though Dan has almost no idea what to do, he has to make sure that history isn't manipulated by sinister forces that can also travel in time...

My review:

I liked this book quite a bit. The history is gritty and full of gore thanks to Dan being plunked in the middle of (arguably) the two most important battles of the English medieval era. Limbs get hacked off, blood sprays in people's faces and intestines spill out onto the ground. None of this glorified in the book - in fact, Dan is horrified over and over again at the brutality of it all.

The addition of the evil "time jumpers" adds a level of danger and intensity to the experience, especially when the reader finds out more about them in the last part of the book. And, it turns out that Dan is not the only good "time jumper" back in 1066, which lets the reader learn more about what is going on bit by bit as Dan learns.

The epilogue at the end of the story fleshes out the history that Dan just went through a bit more to give the reader some additional context.

Since this book is the start of a series, the most important questions is "Would you read book 2 in the series?"

The answer is yes, I think this series looks like it could be quite strong.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5.

An interesting time traveling medieval times tale. I really wanted to like this more than I did... the narrator didn't fit the tone of the character he was reading for and it threw things off for me. A good book overall.

After coming home early from the mall Daniel finds his dad in a fight for his life when Daniel intervenes his dad throws him a metal rod and tells him to say the nighttime prayer and to fix what’s wrong. Daniel has no clue what his dad is talking about but that’s what he says and find himself in medieval England being held at the point of a Bow by someone Daniel thinks is a mad man, who says his name is Sam. He claims to be a time jumper as well and after a few tips in a quick change of clothes he says Daniel is free to go something he quickly takes advantage of and will soon learn to regret his hasty retreat. If he thought his encounter with Sam was life or death Daniel hasn’t seen anything yet he is in medieval England and is about to be in the Saxton army fighting against Vikings. If only he can figure out what he is supposed to fix and although when he reunites with Sam he finds out more about the Time jumpers he can’t help but to wonder why didn’t his dad tell him about this organization and even though he did teach him a lot about medieval England there’s still so much Daniel doesn’t know but medieval England isn’t the only thing Daniel will learn before he can make the jump back home. I love time travel stories and I think Daniel had the most authentic reaction to being put in a different time and place that I have never read in any time travel book. This is the first book in a Siri‘s and I will definitely be looking for the next book. I listen to the audio and thought the narrator did such a stellar job with the narration. He had great character distinction he did great speaking the Saxton language in the beginning I just think with the great narration in the awesome story it makes for a perfect audiobook listen.. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

The Last Saxon King is the first book in a historical fiction series following Dan, on his first jump through time. Dan slowly discovers that he is the descendent of a long line of 'Time Jumpers', who travel back in time to fix glitches in the time stream.

Honestly, absolutely loved this book it had a great mix of history, mystery, and fantasy. It also gave me a wonderful wife of nostalgia, reading the Magic Tree House books as a kid.

Loved the characters, the plot, and the greater storyline. I'm really excited to read the next installment of this series.
Thank you to NetGalley, Imbrifex Books, and to Andrew Varga for letting me read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love historical fiction and a good time travel just hits the spot! The Last Saxon King: A Jump in Time Novel, Book One by Andrew Varga is well written, with an engaging plot. A homeschooled protagonist, a family of historian time travelers, rogue time jumpers and a plot to change history! It may start out slow but the pace grows and you won't be able to put it down!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review this audiobook!



This book follows Dan Renfrew, a sixteen year old boy who gets thrown into the world of time traveling without any preparation due to his father getting attacked. Unbeknownst to him, he comes from a family of time travelers whose job it is to fix any circumstances that could mess with the future. Dan is transported to 1066 where he runs into a fellow time traveler, Sam, who was also thrown into this without much prior knowledge. Dan learns through Sam that there is a dispute for how time traveling should be used and together they have to fix the timeline problem, avoid the bad guys and make it back home safe.

The Last Saxon King is an easy, fast paced and fun read. My biggest issue was that this book read very YA and being in the mind of a 16 year old boy is not something that grabbed me. The rules of time travel were simple, the side characters were fun, but there was nothing overly special about this book for me.

I think if you are or know a young reader who has any interest in time travel, they would adore this book!

The best thing that came out of this read is I'm a bit educated regarding the last era of anglo saxon rulers given I had no knowledge about the particular history before this at all. I believe the history related to the story should be accurate with the research interest that the author had. (But I'm not the best person to confirm it)

- What did I like about the story?

The story was a fast phase and had an intriguing promise to it with a time travelling element. That alone peak my interest. And the historical aspect was well laid out. And the ending of the cute love interest was adorable.

- Not a fan of,

The main issue I saw here was the law stakes and I didn't see any interesting efforts through struggle from the main character who was well-versed with all required skills prior to the events that changed the course and was so naive and cowardly, yet tried to place as the hero of the story. He didn't stand out to me more than a village peasant and every time I thought this might be an exciting incident, he got a free pass even from the highest authorities which made them look like fools.

- Time Travelling element

I have read some fascinating time travel books and compared to them there was no clear explanation of the mechanism of time travelling element neither in scientifically nor from a fantasy aspect. In my opinion, it was too simple and had the potential to add some history to itself.

- Continuation?

I am intrigued enough to continue the series at some point due to the cliffhanger at the end of the book. And I see some potential in the author that might improve the character development in the rest of the series. We saw history and the related event in the history enough in this first book. I am looking forward to diving into more character aspects and a thickening plot.

#TheLastSaxonKing #NetGalley #Audiobook

Interesting! Fun! Historical! Page tuner! Ready for the next book!
This book is a fun combination of fantasy and historical fiction.
The way the story and characters are developed in this book help you experience so many emotions - sadness, humor, suspense, regret, fear, celebration, hope. The main characters are young adults that are easy to relate to. I love the way the characters share what they are thinking and then say something totally different, because what they are feeling is an unacceptable response. You learn so much about them thru their thoughts. They think things that all of us have thought, whether young or old.
The action in the book has a nice pace and it seems like there is always something new going on. There is an epilogue that gently ends the book and sets you up for the next book. I listened to the audiobook and the first chapter of the next book was included. Just to make sure you got hooked. And I did. The narrator did a good job.

A fun story for younger readers/listeners. I did enjoy the fantasy elements despite feeling a little overplayed.

This was a fun ride. There was action, history, some romance. It kept me gripped all the way through. I can’t wait for the next book.

3.5, rounded down. This was a cool concept, but it felt very middle grade to me. It was simplistic and had very basic writing and characterization. I was entertained, but I was always aware of the deficits while I was reading. It got completely stuck in a loop of “I don’t want this responsibility, but I have no choice” and little to no action was happening during that part. Good for younger readers who need historical fiction, but like science fiction/suspense.

i really like time traveling books but this one is just different an open mind and a good imagination it has both love it!!

I very much enjoyed this book, I was instantly thrown into Dan's world and was rooting for him the whole time. I was pleasantly surprised by the detail and the adherence to 1066 England. A delightful read and a successful series to come I hope!

This audiobook was fun to listen to although I did get tired of the snarky comments and attitude of the main character. The books historical references were accurate and the story held my interest. I would recommend this book to boys more than girls.

This my second ever time jump book and I have to say I enjoyed it far more than i expected.

I do love history and this is one of the main reasons why I applied for this ARC and I wasn't disappointed by the amount of information and accuracy.

It was a very easy book to listen to with nothing confusing or feeling the need to go back and listen something again. Though that brings the issue that not that many exciting things happen.

The writing was good and consistent with no needless information BUT I would definitely enjoy some more information about the main character as well as how and why those time glitches happen and how they have come to know how to fix them.

A thing that I did love was how the MC doesn't instantly becomes a hero and is okay with everything. He acts appropriately. He is scared, confused and extremely cautious.

Those are the reasons why it isn't a 5 star for me but still a 4 one.

Do I recommend it? If you wish an easy read with lots of history yes. If you are a fan of a lot of action the no.

Thank you to NetGalley, Imbrifex Books and Andrew Varga for providing me the ebook for my honest review.

(My review is up on Goodreads, will be posting on Instagram soon. Amazon.de doesn't allow me to write a review for the book but I shall try again after the publication)

I'll only review the narration here; I'll leave my comments about the actual story to my review of the ebook.
The narrator does a good job of accomplishing different voices/ tones, etc. for different characters; that made it easy to follow along with who was talking. The pronunciation of some names and cities could not have been easy, but he pulled it off brilliantly! He also performed with emotion and realism, helping immersion in the story.
The narrator sounded like a believable teenager, which may have been part of the reasoning behind choosing him. Something I didn't like was the overly-emotive reading of a lot of parts, like when they could have just been narrated flat but he brought urgency or emotion into it. I'm not sure if I"m describing it properly. It's something that irks me about some particular narrators, who do it in abundance and I can't stand to listen to their works. With this one, it was tolerable, especially listening at a faster pace. I wouldn't avoid listening to the audiobook because of it, but would have preferred the superfluously excited tones be calmed down a bit.
I read parts of the book, and listened to parts on audio, depending on whether I could hold my phone to stare at it or if listening was more practical at the time. Having both options available was fantastic, and I recommend it to all readers unless the narrator is awful (not the case here). I was able to get through the book faster, having the flexibility to either listen or read as it suited my day.

I really appreciated getting to listen to this and have the pronunciations that were not at all what I had in my mind from reading the words, and having the different character voices enhances the experience. I am grateful to the publisher for approving me for both the ebook and audiobook, and to the narrator for clearly defining each character's sound and bringing them to life.

Well, this was a fun novel! You've got a modern teen whose family has time traveling powers and he accidentally travels to Anglo-Saxon England. The novel is written for a YA (or even middle grade) audience but if you like a mix of fantasy and historical fiction (which has always been my jam) then I don't think you'll regret picking this up. I'd definitely recommend it to teens and younger who are looking for something similar in tone to Rick Riordan's novels.

I have no idea how historically accurate the book is, but I really liked Dan's adventure through Anglo-Saxon. The descriptions of village life vs. city life, Harold's large army with the different roles that people play (such as housecarls vs. mercenaries vs. servants, etc.), the types of weapons used by the Anglo-Saxons vs. Vikings, and the description of the Battle of Hastings was action-packed enough that I couldn't stop reading.

I liked Dan's relationships with the Anglo-Saxon warriors, especially the older warrior who takes him on as a servant boy. (I listened to the audiobook so I honestly have no idea how to spell his name.) It was the kind of tough love that Dan needed to help develop his character.

At times though, I wish it wasn't so YA. It would've been great for certain scenes and details to have been expanded on (like Sam's previous experiences with time traveling, actual interactions with Dan and his father so it'd make the relationship much more poignant, etc.)

But overall, this was a great and quick read/listen!

Thank you to Imbrifex Audio and NetGalley for this audio arc.

This is a great book. It pulls you in right away. I love time traveling books. I also love how the time traveling works. It's a different take on it and I really enjoyed it. I love the love interest and hope that in the next book, the relationship will be more developed. This honestly was an interesting book, and I like that this is based on real history. That is something I always enjoy. The ending was both really sad and very happy. I can't wait till the next book. I want to know what happens next. This book has history, war, murder, mystery, and time traveling.

This book gave me Outlander and Vikings vibes all the way through. The imagery was amazing, I could see every confrontation, every battlefield. The narration was great! I absolutely loved it. I can't wait for Book 2!

Thank you to NetGalley, Andrew Varga, and Imbrifex Audio for this advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review.