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Taken By
The Viking
by
Michelle Styles
A Medieval Viking
romance that easily transports the reader!
Viken
Haakon Haroldson comes to Lindisfarne, Northumbria with his felag
to do business and more importantly to get the money lawfully owed him.
In a flash of a second mayhem breaks out. A monk kills his man Erik and
a blood lust drives Bjorn into a frenzy. Annis and her maidservant
Mildred fled to hiding but no one is safe from the maddened beserker or
the secret of what really happened in that room. As a business deal
with the church turns into a raid, this strange handsome Viken protects
Annis and then absconds with her, taking her to his homeland planning
to ransom her and the captive monks. Haakon delivers the high born
Annis of Birdoswald into the hands of his stepmother Gudrun and her
maidservant Tove. Removed from all that she held dear, Annis must work
with the other Viken women as she waits for the ransom that she knows
may never come. Forced to work at demanding tasks, can she find joy in
her captivity as she forms friendships and tries to maneuver among the
internal household politics especially when her Lindisfarne home is so
far away? As a Christian women whose uncle was Abbot of Lindisfarne,
duty and faith compels her to protect the captive monks but her trust
might just endanger herself and the monks! As the truth of the raid
events comes to light can Haakon prevent a blood feud and protect the
captive woman who has claimed his heart? Will one kiss lead to love?
In Taken By The Viking,
Michelle Styles has an exquisite sense for
detail that transports the reader into the landscape scenes and the
community. Michelle Styles grabs the reader's heart with her portrayal
of Annis's faith and her commitment to the monks. At the same time, Taken By The Viking creates an
intriguing contrast between Annis and
the Lindisfarne Abbot and the monk Aelfric showing the political and
less idealistic sides of religious life in the Middle Ages. Through her
secondary characters and her detailed settings, Michelle Styles creates
a wonderfully felt contrast between the two cultures of the Viking
world and Lindisfarne, including their economic differences and the
resulting differences in their daily lives and concerns.
With its subplots, community portrait and descriptive detail, Taken By The Viking reads like
fiction without sacrificing the romance
because Michelle Styles makes the reader feel and understand the Viking
community. Secondary characters and the inside view of home politics
among the men and women adds depth of character and exciting, dramatic
subplots. All those elements give a rich depth to Taken By The Viking,
making the hero and heroine more real, more memorable to me. I cared
for them and I did not want this book to end. Taken By The Viking is a
good example of what medieval romance can be for people who love
Medieval literature/history and romance. Michelle Styles allows the
reader to see domestic scenes that are less available to readers of Old
Norse literature. Michelle Styles combines impeccable research into the
time period with her experience of writing romance in other periods to
bring the story and the Medieval time period more alive in the
imagination and heart.
Visit Michelle Styles' web site!
See an interview with
Judy York, book cover artist for Taken By The
Viking!
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Book Description:
A
Viking raid
They claimed they came in peace, but soon Lindisfarne was aflame. Annis
of Birdoswald fled in fear, but she could not escape the Norse warriors.
An honorable captor
One man protected her—Haakon Haroldson. The dark, arrogant Viking swept
Annis back to his homeland, taking her away from all she held dear.
A new life—as his mistress!
Now Annis must choose between the lowly work that befits a captive, or
a life of sinful pleasure in the Viking's arms!
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