He will have his queen…
For better or worse!
Viking Agnar has had many names: Usurper. Warlord. Wolf
Slayer. Still, there's one role he's hell-bent on claiming -- Skadi
Friggsdottir's husband! Rejected by Skadi years ago, he'll be denied no longer.
Storming her hall is easy. Taming his warrior queen will be much harder…
Young Skadi chose survival by marrying another over
honoring her promise to Agnar. Now, believing Agnar has killed her husband,
she'll surrender her hand but never submit! Yet behind Agnar's fury lies a man
deeply wronged…one she can't help but want. Is her enemy husband her doom, or
her greatest desire?
Good enemies-to-lovers/age gap story. When she was
fifteen, Princess Skadi's father betrothed her to Agnar, a five-year-old boy,
half-brother to a Viking king. When she was twenty-one, her father died. To
protect her kingdom, Skadi broke her betrothal to Agnar and married a grown
man. Twenty years later, her husband is killed in a raid, leaving her and her
ten-year-old daughter, Astra, vulnerable. Agnar never gave up his claim to
Skadi and her kingdom. Now a full-grown and feared warrior, he is determined to
claim both.
This was an action-packed and emotional story. It opens
shortly after Skadi's husband's death, as she prepares to defend her castle.
Her efforts are no match for Agnar's determination, and she quickly finds
herself at his mercy. To protect her daughter and her people, she agrees to
marry him, though trusting him is another matter entirely. Agnar is a smart man
who knows that earning Skadi's trust and cooperation is essential to his plan.
I loved his respect for her abilities as queen, and how that respect melded
with his desire to do the right thing for her people. Some clashes occur when
their opinions about "allies" conflict. When Skadi's daughter
disappears, they must work together to save her and end the threat to their
kingdom. The final confrontation was intense and exciting, keeping me glued to
the pages.
I enjoyed the development of Skadi and Agnar's
relationship. Sparks of attraction flew between them from the start, but Skadi
hesitated to believe them. Her first marriage left her wary of trusting those
feelings. Agnar's feelings are mixed. He still resents that she reneged on
their betrothal, though he reluctantly acknowledges her reasons. He doesn't
deny his desire for her. And the more time he spends with her, the more he
respects her. I liked his patience as he waited for her to return his feelings.
It takes some time for her to let go of her fears, but when she does, the
future looks bright. I liked the epilogue and seeing their success and
happiness.
I also appreciated the realistic look at life and politics of the time period - the conflicts between petty kings, the betrayals, and what it took to keep what was yours.
