Seeking the witch that left him with a streak of blue on his face, leads Rurik to Scotland. Good humor
( )

Extremely silly but entertaining. ( )

I reviewed this book for Romance Reader At Heart website.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:


I'm truly dreading to voice my thoughts on this book. I know that I'm going to offend a lot of Sandra Hill fans, but here it goes.

As I read this tale, I couldn't help but think of the movie `Robin Hood; Men in Tights'. That movie was a spoof on the Robin Hood legend, and this book, in my opinion, is a spoof on `Spartacus' in general, Vikings in particular.

The plot is simple. Rurik the Vein had a short liaison five years ago with Maire Campbell, or the Witch of the Campbell Clan as she's known. But instead of taking her for his wife or just taking her with him when he left, he rebuffed her and the little witch didn't like that so much. So, she marked him with a blue tattoo mark on his handsome face. From that point on, our Viking is in search of Maire so she can remove the tattoo and he can return to his homeland and marry another maiden.

Maire Campbell is a not-so-good-witch. She gets her spells all mixed up, and reminded me of Aunt Clara from `Bewitched'. After Rurik left Maire, she was forced by her brother to marry a Macnab, so the last five years were not so happy for our heroine. As our hero finally locates her, he's shocked to find her widowed and embroiled up to her neck in Macnab trouble. I didn't like her much.

This book was a slapstick comedy, both silly and humorous at times, but for some reason, I wasn't laughing that much. I just couldn't take it seriously, and in the end, I was disappointed in it.

I found the story unexceptional, and in all honesty, I can't recommend it. If you like slapstick comedy, by all means read this THE BLUE VIKING; I'm sure you'll like it. But if you're looking for a true Viking romance, a look into Viking life and the times in which they lived and loved, you'll probably be as disappointed in this book as I was.

Melanie ( )

I reviewed this book for Romance Reader At Heart website.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

I'm truly dreading to voice my thoughts on this book. I know that I'm going to offend a lot of Sandra Hill fans, but here it goes.

As I read this tale, I couldn't help but think of the movie `Robin Hood; Men in Tights'. That movie was a spoof on the Robin Hood legend, and this book, in my opinion, is a spoof on `Spartacus' in general, Vikings in particular.

The plot is simple. Rurik the Vein had a short liaison five years ago with Maire Campbell, or the Witch of the Campbell Clan as she's known. But instead of taking her for his wife or just taking her with him when he left, he rebuffed her and the little witch didn't like that so much. So, she marked him with a blue tattoo mark on his handsome face. From that point on, our Viking is in search of Maire so she can remove the tattoo and he can return to his homeland and marry another maiden.

Maire Campbell is a not-so-good-witch. She gets her spells all mixed up, and reminded me of Aunt Clara from `Bewitched'. After Rurik left Maire, she was forced by her brother to marry a Macnab, so the last five years were not so happy for our heroine. As our hero finally locates her, he's shocked to find her widowed and embroiled up to her neck in Macnab trouble. I didn't like her much.

This book was a slapstick comedy, both silly and humorous at times, but for some reason, I wasn't laughing that much. I just couldn't take it seriously, and in the end, I was disappointed in it.

I found the story unexceptional, and in all honesty, I can't recommend it. If you like slapstick comedy, by all means read this THE BLUE VIKING; I'm sure you'll like it. But if you're looking for a true Viking romance, a look into Viking life and the times in which they lived and loved, you'll probably be as disappointed in this book as I was. ( )

This is my first Sandra Hill novel. I can definitely see why her books have become so popular. I was prepared to be entertained by her reputed humorous writing style; but I was not prepared for all of the extreme silliness that occurred in her Viking fantasy world. It took some getting used to. Still, as my name implies, I love a Viking romance and this one is not only comical but sensual as well.

Rurik, the handsome Viking is on a mission. He must have a permanent blue zig zag mark that stretches from his forehead, down his nose and all the way to the end of his chin removed. A Scottish witch bestowed the mark upon his glorious face after he seduced and abandoned her five years earlier. Since then, the mark has made Rurik the butt of jokes and has now prevented his betrothed from marrying him. For Rurik, there is nothing worse than to be a source of constant ridicule and laughter, particularly if it is about ones appearance. He had enough of that through out his painful childhood. Rurik sets off with his amusing Viking buddies to find the witches lair.

Maire Campbell of the Moors has her own set of problems. First of all she is imprisoned in a cage that is suspended over a pit full of snakes by her brother-in-law, Duncan McNab. Maire is a witch, however she is the most inept witch ever and can’t possibly free herself from this debacle without making matters worse with one of her backfiring spells. Her husband is dead. Her clan has been decimated by war leaving only a few physically challenged males to defend the castle. Maire is at the mercy of the McNab who not only wants her land, but also wants to force her into a deadly marriage. Then there is her son, Wee Jamie, the most foul-mouthed tyke in all the Highlands and the young laird of Clan Campbell.

After three long years of searching for Maire, Rurik finds her, or rather her clan finds him. Rurik rescues Maire and agrees to help clan Campbell fight against clan McNab. As payment for Rurik’s services, Maire must remove the mark. Of course that is easier said than done, because her spells never turn out as expected. More often than not, her attempts at witchcraft fail miserably and result in the most outrageously silly happenings. Half the book is spent with Rurik trying to get Maire to remove the mark on his face or trying to get his “mark” on Marie. The latter was much more interesting. The other half of the book is filled with crude juvenile humor that became increasingly tiresome.

The love story itself was just okay. Rurik for all his gruff growling, was a tender soul. Maire had probably never stopped loving him for the 5 years they had been apart. The two did have the common thread of being the butt of everyone jokes and were unaware of their own true potential. Something vital seemed to be missing in their relationship. I did not like that Maire felt she had to seduce Rurik everytime he was upset with her. It took Rurik forever to see Maire as his soulmate. He was also equally dense in his failure to realize that his mirror image, Wee Jamie was his son. I will recommend this book for Bolthor, the poet and his awfully bad/good Viking sagas and my other favorite character, Lance! ( )