loved this story
though it has some improbable elements and missed details. Even with these
detractions, however, I found the story absorbing and it kept me reading late
into the night. I recommend it.
Set in England and Norway in 973-984 AD, when King Edgar
ruled the Anglo-Saxons, it tells of two beautiful twin sisters who are captured
by a Norwegian Viking merchant’s men and taken back to his home in Norway. One
of the sisters, Anora, is betrothed to (and in love with) Wulfgar, a prince of
Danelaw—a marriage arranged by King Edgar. The other sister, Gwendolyn, is a
tomboy who wears her hair short and trained with their father’s men as a
warrior. Yet she is still the virtual double of her beautiful sister. Both
girls had many suitors in England.
Though the sisters were taken against Hakon’s orders, and he
recognized by their speech and mannerisms they were highborn, he tells them
they will be his slaves in Norway (“Norge”) and will not be returned to
England. In this, Hakon looked less than noble. He lusted after Anora and
wanted her for himself, so he also appeared selfish. His own actions were contrary
to his admonishment to his crew that they not become involved with the
Anglo-Saxons.
What Minger did well: an intriguing plot, wonderful
characters (Gwen was wonderful, particularly in the first half), excellent
reflection of the historical setting, good dialog, superb writing, great action
scenes and a fast-pace read (this stuff is hard to get right so it counts for
much!).
But there were things that detracted:
Minger tended to “head hop” from one character’s mind to
another (I counted 5 points of view changes in the first two chapters!). While
this doesn’t usually bother me, her changes came so rapidly and sometimes for
only a sentence or two that it distracted. Then, too, in more than ten instances,
while in Hakon’s point of view, he thinks “Gwendolyn” when he should have thought
“Garric”; and in at least other 5 instances he should have thought “Anora.” That
was confusing.
I was following the logic of the story, really hanging in
there, until halfway through the book when the brilliantly defiant Gwendolyn,
who’d been masquerading as the lad Garric and protecting her sister while
hating Hakon for what he’d subjected them to, takes her sister’s place when Anora
is summoned to Hakon’s bed. I saw Gwen’s action as noble and was cheering her
on, but after they had sex, all her anger, hate and resolve to escape just
dissipates into nothing. I expected her to be even angrier after that since
she, a noble-born Saxon, had been forced to become a Viking’s whore. But no…all
Hakon’s people think it’s “special” that she is now the chieftain’s “concubine”,
and Gwen apparently sees no problem with it. I couldn’t fathom that, not in an
era when a young woman’s purity was her greatest possession. This total
turnaround in Gwen’s emotions came too suddenly to be believed.
Other improbable elements:
--No one, not even Hakon, ever asked the two captives who
they were, nor did either of the sisters tell Hakon that they were the
daughters of the Earl of Cheshire or that Anora was betrothed to a prince of
the Danelaw. That seemed bizarre when it might have protected them if not
returned them home.
--When the head Jarl tells all the chieftains (including
Hakon) they are searching for two Anglo-Saxon sisters taken captive because if
the girls are not returned, it will mean war with Denmark and England, no
descriptions or names are given to the chieftains to help them find the
sisters, nor do any ask. That didn’t seem logical.
--Gwen (in disguise as Garric) was whipped with the lash and
while suffering welts on her woman’s skin, went to Hakon’s bed and he never
noticed her welts and she never winced as he embraced her. Even naked in her
bath none of the women noticed anything. How was that?
--During the whole story, no one noticed the difference in
muscles or callouses between the two sisters, yet Gwen had been rowing the boat
with the men for days and well as saddling horses. To me, this was an omission, especially
since Hakon was sleeping with Gwen thinking she was Anora. And very late in the
story, Hakon wonders how a brother and sister can look so much alike. He also
never considered she would be pregnant though he was bedding her each night, all
of which made him seem highly unobservant and a little dense.
Finally, which of the sisters did Hakon love? Anora, Gwen,
or both? It was Anora he came to know and desire on the boat ride to Norway, and
after they arrived he was obsessed with having her. But he has sex with Gwen when
she went to his bed pretending to be her sister. It was Anora that Hakon wanted
but he got Gwen. Yes, he tells Gwen he loves her after a night of passion, but
is it really Gwen he loves, or Anora—or both? Lastly, he never apologized to
Gwen for taking her honor though her father and Wulfgar would kill him for it.
What a cad!
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