First off I just have to say I want to give Charlotte a great big hug for finally getting me to read this book. It's actually been in my possession for an embarrassing almost two years and it took this round of Tell Me What to Read to kick my butt into gear. I don't know what kept me from it, given that I originally purchased it based on Leila's review over at Bookshelves of Doom . And she never steers me wrong. But I did undergo a pregnancy in between buying Northlander and reading it and so maybe that had something to do with it. Those pregnancies. They can wreak havoc on your mental state. In any event, I was pleased to see it pop up as the selection for this last month, particularly as I had heard the sequel had been published in the intervening time and I was looking forward to being able to run right out and read the second book if I ended up loving Meg Burden 's first Tale of the Borderlands. That's the only good thing about waiting to read the first in ...