Review: A look into the past.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 28, 2013
This was my first Viking book.  I love Highlander romance novels, and I know that a lot of the Highlanders were descended from Vikings.  So, I thought I'd give it a shot.  I'm glad I did.  The author did a lot of research, and I learned a ton of cool things!Our Heroine, Helena was a feisty little thing.  She had been taken by slave traders, after her village was attacked.  She was beat and nearly starved, but she never lost her strength or her sharp tongue.  I loved Helena.  She was fun to read about, but I often wondered what would happen to a "real" Helena.  I think a female slave of that time would have been severely beaten, raped, and even murdered for having such an attitude.Our hero, Hakan was the perfect historical hero. He was a sexy as hell Viking warrior.  He was the strong and silent type of alpha male. He could be harsh at times, but he was also generous. Even the fact that he bought Helena was generous.  She was not at all what he wanted, but he could not make himself leave her with the slavers knowing she would be abused.I found myself a little bored in the beginning, but as soon as they got to Hakan's home I really got into the story.  I loved seeing day to day life of a Viking. We got to see how they made cloth and candles. We learned about the food they ate and how it was prepared.  I am sucker for that kind of stuff.  I just loved it.During this time, Hakan's attraction for Helena grows into something deeper.  He doesn't treat her like a slave "thrall". Helena also develops feelings for Hakan, but she  is determined get her freedom and go home.I had a problem with this.  Yes, we all want freedom.  However, Helena has more freedom with Hakan than she would have had anywhere else.  Plus, what did she really have at home waiting for her.  A destroyed village, a few survivors, is that really worth giving up a chance at love?Helena is so determined to return home that she makes a deal with Hakan.  If she can find a way to return someone that has taken from him, he will take her home.  If you want to know more, you will have to read the book.This could have been a five star read for me.  I love historical romance, and I adore historical warriors.  I can not get enough of seeing the day to day life of the past.  This book had all those things, but it was missing some very important stuff too.SEX...  These type of books need sex.  Not just one or two quick love scenes.  Nope!  These men are warriors.  They battle it out on the fields then bring that heat back to their bed. We did not get a lot of heat with this one.Also, there was an evil villain in this story.  I'm not going to talk about him much.  I will just say that he is a bad guy, and Haken hates him.  In most of these types of books, the hero defeats the villain in combat.  We did not get that here.  I have read that there is going to be another book.  So, maybe that will be wrapped up in the next one.  But, I felt this book needed it to make it feel complete.**  I also had an issue with formatting.  Some of the words were scrambled and spacing was off.  I have not read this is in any other review.  I received this from Netgalley.  So, I assume the formatting was a Netgalley issue.All in all, this was a good book.  This author can write.  I really hope she goes on to write some Highlander books.  I also hope she adds more sex to them;)Would I recommend this book?  Yes  It was interesting and informative.  Just don't go into looking for heat.