Hearts Aflame

Kristen Haardrad met the icy fury in her captor's crystal-green gaze with defiance. She was the prisoner of Royce of Wyndhurst, but his slave she'd never be. This powerful Saxon lord had at last met his match in the Viking beauty - his equal in pride, in strength...and in the fierce, hot hunger of insatiable desire. But Kristen could not know the torment that divided his soul; how he ached to hold her soft, supple body, thirsted for the ringing joy of her laughter - yet hated her for an ancient crime that was not her own.
But her golden loveliness drives him mad with desire, her fiery eyes taunting him, compelling him to claim her. Until, in wordless surrender, they cast aside the shackles of doubt and distrust to unite forever in the show more searing promise of all-consuming love. show less

Kristen is a stowaway on a ship her brother commands, thus ending up on a Viking raid. The men's plans are thwarted when the Saxons spot them and ambush them in the woods. All are captured, including the beautiful Kristen. The men are chained and forced to do labor, while Kristen is taken into the house of the lord (Royce). The first time they meet, Kristen and Royce are attracted to each other. She is unusually tall, fair and beautiful, while Royce is strong, dark, and handsome. She becomes a slave in his household, and eventually he claims her as his mistress. Although thus far we have been told over and over again that Kristen is strong-willed and has refused every man's attentions to her, she welcomes Royce's advances and craves his show more attention. This seems out of character to me.

The chemistry was completely off for me. I love it when there is witty dialogue and sexual tension between the main characters. However, even after finishing the book, I am confused as to why these two supposedly fell in love. They don't do much talking, and it's particularly confusing how Royce could love a woman he doesn't trust, and how Kristen would love a man who was holding her prisoner. (Even after making love, he forced her to wear chains on her ankles.) Perhaps my modern sensibilities are unrealistic for the time period in this novel, but it just didn't ring true for me. It had all the makings of a good read, but without chemistry, it fell a little flat. show less

Surprisingly, 4.5. Similarly how Reality TV is not necessarily 'Great TV', or a movie you still love from childhood is not necessarily a 'masterpiece of cinema' but can still be fun and quite entertaining, I feel about this book. It doesn't particularly shine in the areas of story that often appeal to me, I wasn't in love with the characters, it was not exceptionally clever or poetically written, but *something* about it, made me not want to put it down. I like this book better than the one before it in the series, though it also had this same quality as well, they just held my interest in an engaging way that I can't explain. Like being told a story as a kid, and feeling eager to hear what comes next. ? Things I didn't like as much, show more it's not terribly realistic, and the characters were a little bit daft and their emotions ran very high (and swung every which way!), -things I did like, the heroine was strong and was honest with herself and stuck to who she was, the hero was protective (though of course he mostly passed it off as possessive...), and I enjoyed watching them take in new information from the other and adapt to it. And the side characters were pretty likable. show less

Δείτε επίσης και στο Chill and read

Η Μπρένα κι ο Γκάρικ που γνωρίσαμε στο “Φωτιά και πάγος” ζούνε πια αγαπημένοι και μονοιασμένοι. Έχουν τρεις γιους και μια κόρη και αγαπάνε όλα τα παιδιά τους εξίσου. Ο Γκάρικ θέλει να σταματήσει πια τα εμπορικά ταξίδια στην Ανατολή, οπότε και δίνει τα ηνία στο μεγάλο του γιο, ο οποίος αναλαμβάνει να οδηγήσει το γερό σκαρί μακριά από τον τόπο του. Όλα θα πάνε στραβά όταν show more ανακαλύψει την αδερφή του κρυμμένη στο αμπάρι του πλοίου και ακόμα χειρότερα όταν το ταξίδι δεν θα προχωρήσει όπως το είχε σχεδιάσει.

Η Κρίστεν Χάαρντραντ είναι άξια κόρη της Μπρένα και του Γκάρικ. Είναι μια Βίκινγκ που έχει μεγαλώσει με τις αξίες του λαού της και έχει γαλουχηθεί με τα εφόδια που χρειάζεται από τη μητέρα της. Δεν θα κάνει ποτέ πίσω σε κάτι που θέλει, ούτε όμως και στον κίνδυνο προκειμένου να σώσει αυτούς που αγαπά. Όταν όμως γνωρίσει τον Ρόις θα καταλάβει πως δεν μπορεί πάντα να ελέγχει τα συναισθήματά της.

Ο Ρόις είναι ένας περήφανος άντρας που όμως έχει υποφέρει πολύ στο παρελθόν. Διοικεί με πυγμή το κάστρο και τους ανθρώπους του και δεν θα επιτρέψει σε κανέναν και τίποτα να διακινδυνεύσει την ασφάλειά τους.

Πρόκειται για το δεύτερο βιβλίο της σειράς και αυτή τη φορά είναι μια γυναίκα Βίκινγκ που πρωταγωνιστεί. Η περιγραφή της είναι ακριβώς αυτή που θα περίμενε κανείς για κάποιον που ανήκει σε αυτό το λαό. Αν έχεις διαβάσει και το πρώτο βιβλίο της σειράς, θα δεις πολλές ομοιότητες ανάμεσα στην ηρωίδα και στους γονείς της. Είναι ένας συνδυασμός που της ταιριάζει πολύ αλλά και που οδηγεί σε ένα τελείως διαφορετικό χαρακτήρα. Μου άρεσε πολύ ο τρόπος που αντιμετώπισε τα συναισθήματά της και αγωνίστηκε για αυτά που ήθελε.

Ο ήρωας από την άλλη ήταν απλά απολαυστικός. Όσο κι αν δεν ήθελε να το παραδεχτεί, ερωτευόταν την αιχμάλωτή του μέρα με τη μέρα, λεπτό το λεπτό και μισούσε τον εαυτό του που της στερούσε την ελευθερία της. Από την άλλη όμως φαινόταν να σέβεται παράλληλα το γεγονός πως ήταν μια γυναίκα της φυλής της και πως αν ήθελε θα μπορούσε να φέρει τα πάνω κάτω στον πύργο του!

Με αυτά και με εκείνα, πρόκειται για μια πολύ ωραία ιστορία αγάπης. Δεν μένει παρά μόνο να διαβάσουμε το τρίτο και τελευταίο βιβλίο της τριλογίας, “Αιχμάλωτη του Βορά” που κυκλοφορεί τέλος του μήνα από τις Εκδόσεις Elxis. show less

She writes such enjoyable stories. You feel connected to her characters, and want to know what happens after the story has ended. (Luckily, most of her stories have more books in the series to update you.)

Kristen Haardrad, a beautiful Viking maiden, wants love, but not from anyone in her homeland. She wants adventure and romance like her mother, Brenna.
Royce of Wyndhurst lost his family and beloved in a Viking raid. So her hates so Vikings. Or does he? Kristen enters his life, and shortly thereafter also his soul.

This book was published years ago in paperback. I read the eBook edition. This is a strong historical romance. You can't help but enjoy reading this story.

Kristen Haardrad met the icy fury in her captor's crystal-green gaze with defiance. She was the prisoner of Royce of Wyndhurst, but his slave she'd never be. This powerful Saxon lord had at last met his match in the Viking beauty - his equal in pride, in strength...and in the fierce, hot hunger of insatiable desire. But Kristen could not know the torment that divided his soul; how he ached to hold her soft, supple body, thirsted for the ringing joy of her laughter - yet hated her for an ancient crime that was not her own.

But her golden loveliness drives him mad with desire, her fiery show more eyes taunting him, compelling him to claim her. Until, in wordless surrender, they cast aside the shackles of doubt and distrust to unite forever in the searing promise of all-consuming love. show less

Kristen, looking for adventure and a husband, decides to hide on the ship that her brother and his friends are sailing away on a trading expedition, only to find out they are going on a Viking raid instead. She and many of the crew are captured and held as slaves by Royce, a Saxon lord. At first Royce believes Kristen to be a boy and has her working with the other slaves building walls for the fortification around his manor. When he finds out she is a female, he has her transferred into the manor to work in the kitchen, but he does not trust her and so he keeps her in chains. Kristen falls in love with Royce, but it takes time for Royce to admit that he also loves Kristen because of his hatred of Vikings. Kristen's parents sail to find show more and rescue her, but what could end in disaster with Royce and Kristen's father fighting each other to the death, ends in a wedding instead. show less