Finland is the first setting for this fine Viking age
adventure. Lida is only sixteen when her husband is killed,
and his family disowns her, leaving her to raise a baby
girl. A few years later, near the town of Turku she
encounters a troop of Swedish warriors, blond and muscled,
and learns that their leader is looking for a suitable
wife. Could she be THE WARLORD'S WIFE?
Jarl Magnus Knutson is impressed by Lida and believes she
would give him strong sons. She works hard on the land and
has already had one healthy child. As a widow, she needn't
bring a dowry, and he could settle land on her. But Lida
has had enough of men deciding her fate and distrusts the
Swedes, who fight against Finns from time to time. She
tells her family that she's not interested. Luckily for
her, the bishop has decreed that capturing women is wrong.
She has some bargaining power. And getting a name and farm
for her daughter Katia are part of her bargain.
I always enjoy reading historical detail. The date is
around 1200 AD when
Norse
settlements had arisen in many European countries, merging
trade and peoples. Lida's new title
is friherrinna of Norrland, or the queen of the Northlands,
and we learn a lot about life at this time. The jarl or
landowner has a copper bath brought on his trading ship,
amusing when contrasted with the iron shields and weaponry
of his men. Magnus has filled his
longship with grains, spices, fabrics, wine and gold. While
Magnus appears generous, and supports many people, at the
same time he is used to obedience, and to Lida he comes
across as someone we would now term a control freak. I have
to think her life would have been easier if she'd decided
to make the best of her new situation. It's not as though
she ever had much control over her circumstances, and the
vast majority of women are servants. Lida is determined to
protect her lovely daughter.
This fine adult romance by Sandra Lake asks questions about
the nature of love
and
loyalty, while showing us how people lived hundreds of
years ago. THE WARLORD'S WIFE is a rewarding read full of
danger, passion and attitude. Fans of Viking romances will
love it and demand more.
A stunning historical romance from debut author Sandra
Lake
transports readers to 12th century Sweden, where a
powerful
Viking lord will discover a fierce heart cannot be taken
by
mere force.
Lida was married to the love of her life for just two
months
when she became a widow. Pregnant and disowned by her
late
husband’s family for suspected infidelity, she was forced
to
return to her family in shame. Eight years later,
uninterested in the prospect of finding another husband,
she
finds herself the unwilling object of a marriage contract
with a powerful warlord. In a day, she is wed, bed, and
put
on a ship headed for Tronscar; an unknown icy stone and
steel fortress.
Jarl Magnus is pleased to have taken a strong wife who,
however stubborn she may be, will surely produce sons.
However, he is less pleased with his wife’s additional
baggage—a young daughter. But despite himself, Magnus
falls
for the daughter just as hard as the mother, and Lida’s
heart is warmed to see the cold, serious Jarl move
surprisingly fast into the role of stepfather.
When enemies attack Tronscar, Jarl Magnus’s nerves of
steel
waver, as the warrior fears his love for Lida will weaken
him. But when his family is threatened, he’ll go to war
to
protect them, discovering along the way that they have
the
strength to protect themselves.
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