A Viking for the Viscountess

A Viking for the Viscountess 

by Michelle Willingham
Series: A Most Peculiar Season
Paperback: 250 pages
Publisher: Michelle Willingham (November 13, 2014)

Language: English
ISBN-10: 0990634515

First I would like to say great job on the cover, it is beautiful. :)

Juliana Arthur, the Viscountess Hawthorne, has been thrown out of her husband’s estate and her marriage declared invalid. With a small son to care for, she desperately needs a strong hero to rescue them from poverty and suffering.

A Viking wasn’t quite what she had in mind.

Arik Thorgrim is caught between worlds. After dying from a battle wound, he expects to find the glory of Valhalla where he can dwell among the gods. Instead, he’s brought forward a thousand years in time, to a beautiful woman who tempts him beyond reason.

Juliana doesn't know what to do with this sinfully handsome Viking warrior who brings weapons into a ballroom and refuses to be tamed. But beneath his barbaric ways is a man of honor, a man who vows to face down her enemies and fight for her son’s future. But as Arik wages a battle against her heart, Juliana is afraid of loving a man whose time has already run out…

Juliana Arthur was a lovely character. She was emotionally strong, loyal and loving. I liked her well. 

Arik Thorgrim was very much the image that one gets in their mind when they think of a Viking. I enjoyed his character just as much, and really liked that he settled in easily as a father figure for Juliana's son. It brought a warmth in my heart. I also liked that the author shows us his curiosity in this strange new world, and has him interacting with his surroundings. It adds a bit of innocence to him which makes him that much more appealing.

As far as the plot goes, it is pretty good. It is enough to keep the reader interested, although I felt that some scenes really dragged on, and some of their thoughts were repeated over and over again. 

Also I would like to note that some of the sex scenes could have been better with less telling and more showing. I think the author was trying to build up anticipation, but it didn't deliver. 

The beginning of the book quickly pulled me, and this is a very important thing for me when I am picking out a book to read. If my attention is not gripped straight away, I do not buy the book. 

Toward the middle of the book I was certainly waiting for something to come along and pick up the pace, and was really relieved when it did! Some of the scenarios were predictable, but not all of them, which I give a thumbs up to. I also raise a wine glass to the fact that Arik stayed loyal to his Gods without a need to convert to Christianity. 

I thought it was a clever twist toward the end of the book, and was quite happy with it. 

I will look for other writings by this author, however, will not be purchasing any of the ones that she published with Harlequin just for the simple fact that I can't get past her using single apostrophes when using dialogue between characters. It seems unnatural, and I can't understand why entire books are written that way. It is a shame really, because the story-lines sound interesting.