Taken by the Viking

Reviewed by VincePlato on May 27th, 2008, 7:58pm

by Michelle Styles

Format: eBook

Series: Harlequin Historical

Book  Sixty-five: “Taken by the Viking”,  Michelle Styles, Harlequin Historical, June, 2007,  eBook, Adobe format

Highest Rating!  Strong History – Compelling Romance!  Best Heroine!

      I have been fascinated by Vikings ever since my Norwegian grandmother told me I was half-Viking.  I’ve read about Vikings, traveled to Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, visited the Viking Village and the Viking museum. I’ve seen an actual Viking long boat that might have been the one used in the famous raid Michelle Styles writes about  in “Taken by the Viking”. For years I was a member of the Scandinavian-American Association and read each year’s Scandinavian books that were being translated into English.  Naturally I just had to read “Taken by the Viking”.

       The story begins with the famous Viking raid on a monastery in 793 AD. This is often given as the start of the Viking era. I once had a college course on the Vikings in which the professor began by saying, “Everything you know about the Vikings is wrong. Starting with the fact they did not wear horned helmets, he went through a whole list of Viking misconceptions.         

      As I read “Taken by the Viking,”  I looked for historical problems and was very pleased that Michelle Styles again has done excellent research. (I loved her two books on ancient Rome.)  I found all the descriptions of customs, ships, clothes, settlements, cooking and food, to ring true. I was jarred a little when she used the modern word for the Viking assembly instead of the old Norse word “Thing” (ting) . This is  because when I was in elementary school the teacher mentioned the Icelandic “Thing”  and all the boys laughed because “The Thing” was a monster movie popular at the time. I never forgot that and I missed the “thing”  in this story; however, if the author used the word “thing”   (which is also an unrelated  English word) it might not make any sense to the reader. (Michelle Styles actually covers her choice not to use “thing” in an afterward.)       

     I found the history in “Taken by the Viking” to be very good. The plot also makes a very interesting and complex action story-- even without the romance component. I also found that the motivations of the characters were driven by forces in place at the time and not necessarily what we would be motivated by today. For example, today the heroine would probably be outraged at the thought of being the hero’s concubine whereas back then it was a logical choice to make.  

         Annis is an alpha-female heroine who fights men, women, and wolves. She is highborn and speaks Latin. She is adducted by the Viking hero after she saves his life. She is worth a big ransom as a hostage and she is also desired by the hero. There are lots of conflicts in the story which make it refreshingly unpredictable.

      The hero is a tribal leader with large land holdings. There is a great deal of politics going on in the story as tribal leaders try to take control of  each other’s estates. This is a dangerous world and the action is full of perils.

       The romance is the central focus of “Taken by the Viking”.   The hero and heroine are ideally drawn to match each other’s passions and needs. Each has found a “once-in-a-lifetime” lasting love in the other. This is “classic romance” at its best. Annis  is one of strongest, most worthy, and admirable heroines I’ve encountered in a long time.

     “Taken by the Viking” is my fourth Michelle Styles romance and I liked this one the best. Very strong story.  

Excellent Viking Historical with Exceptional Alpha-Female Heroine

 Thanks,

Vince

“Romances are the emotional vitamins of the soul.” Vince