Rate this book

Viking Heat (2009)

by Sandra Hill(Favorite Author)

3.96 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0425230678 (ISBN13: 9780425230671)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Berkley

series

Viking II

review 1: Note: The books in Sandra Hill’s Viking II Series have similar themes (i.e. a Navy Seal connection), but they are not directly connected and do not need to be read in order.Summary: Joy Nelson is a psychologist turned Navy Seal. She hadn’t originally planned for a military career, but she committed to the program during an impulsive moment following the death of her favorite brother in Iraq. Her first real mission to infiltrate a terrorist cell near Norway is thwarted, and in the after-math of an explosion, Joy awakens to find herself held captive. It isn’t the terrorists holding her however, she is in some sort of ancient Norse town and is being auctioned off as a slave. Not believing any of this to be real, Joy continues to deny the obvious truth that she has... more traveled through time – even while she is sailing in a Viking longboat further into the frigid Norselands. She has been purchased by two young men, and is intended as a gift for their Jarl, a Viking warlord.Jarl Brandr is certainly attracted to his new thrall, but he is completely unprepared for her hostility and independence. She refuses to follow any rules, to behave like the slave she is, or to treat him with respect…. what will he do with this irritating woman? He reasons that the best place for her to work off all her hostility is in his bed, so he offers her the opportunity to gain some freedoms in exchange for her willing attention to his needs.As Joy and Brandr continue their game of cat and mouse, they can’t deny the heat between them. But Brandr can’t marry a slave, and as a Jarl, he must marry and have children to continue his line. So is this intense love story doomed to be nothing more than a fling? That would be the worst possible scenario for Joy – not only has she lost her heart to him, but she has nowhere to go in this ancient land to escape him, nor does she have a way to return home. Review: I think my favorite thing about this story was how much I enjoyed the background stories for each of the main characters. Time-travel romances always have a way to set up the trip into the past, but Sandra Hill went further than just the basics. Joy and Brandr have both experienced horribly painful losses in their lives which resulted in major life changes. For Joy, this meant pushing herself to her physical and mental limits through the Seal program. In this environment, she was too exhausted to feel sorry for herself, and she had no time to nurse her depression. For Brandr, this meant assuming a leadership role for his family and clan that he was completely unprepared for. It was nice to get to know the characters individually before they were thrown together.The plot wasn’t the most creative concept I’ve ever read, but there were a few sections that stood out. For example, I thought the author came up with a very creative way to get around the obvious problem that a Jarl can’t marry a slave. Joy didn’t wake up one day to discover that she is suddenly royalty after all, nor did Brandr swoop in to rescue her or denounce his Jarldom (been there, read that.) This solution is much more complicated, and it falls almost entirely on Joy. The weaker parts of the book related to the way Joy got away with her belligerence and her defiance of Brandr. These were violent times in the world’s history, and a person who was in a place of authority (like a Jarl), couldn’t afford to show any signs of weakness to his people for good reason. How would you convince warriors to fight, risk their lives for you, and follow your every command if you can’t make a woman (who is considered property) obey you? In this case, Brandr practically folds to Joy’s every whim, and it just didn’t seem very realistic. It also became repetitive and predictable. This book had a strong start and a solid finish, but the middle needed a little more variety and believability. It was still a good read, I did enjoy the book, and I can definitely see myself reading more from Sandra Hill’s two Viking Series. I’m really interested to see how she will differentiate the characters in each book.
review 2: Sandra Hill has a way to make a chauvinistic male sexy and endearing. Joy finds herself in the mist of a bad nightmare trying to rebuild a Norse boat that her grandfather left in her charge after his passing. What she didn't expect was find a sexy Viking from the past with the skill to build her ship. Even though Bandr had his own agenda to help Joy neither of them ever thought they would fall in love with one another. With laughter and passion that will keep you smiling and picturing the sexy Viking walking through your own door. This story is for you and truly enjoyed it and recommend it to the fans of Viking books. less

Download links for: Viking Heat

Advertising