A rescue with unexpected consequences.

Synopsis

A challenging wife

For a warrior Viking

When Thorstein Bergson rescues a beautiful woman from a storm-tossed longship he little expects to broker a powerful marriage alliance with her. This high-status ice queen is not the comfortable wife this warrior chief is seeking, but maybe the bittersweet pain in Gyda’s eyes hides another woman beneath? The one he tasted that first night, when she kissed him with such pent-up longing…

My review

Thorstein Bergson is a Viking Chief who finds himself rescuing a beautiful woman from a storm – tossed longship.
He cannot wait until Gyda  just leaves again, because the only thing he sees is an ice queen focused on her possessions and not wanting to offer a helping hand.
Yet Gyda has her own demons from the past chasing her and she hopes that she can find help with her brother – in – law. She needs to rely on the help of Thorstein to reach her brother – in – law.
But the required help does not come in form the Gyda expected, nor what Thorstein needed.
An alliance is made and with two such strong characters, clashing is inevitable. Will they be able to find a common ground when there are so many differences between them? And will they be able to see the real person behind the masks?

If you need an example of how wrong first impressions and prejudices can be, read this book.

It’s obvious from the start that there is a right cause for Gyda wanting to leave the place she should be calling her home. Her marriage wasn’t one made of love but she made the necessary sacrifice to make sure her sisters would be able to marry out of love.
Not only has her marriage been a reason of distress, but also the way her husband’s son behaves was something I found repulsive.
And she has endured several losses, making her feel like she is alone on the world.
After so many disillusions it’s obvious she wants to find some kind of happiness elsewhere.

Even if not all the details of Gyda her past are known from the very beginning, I truly felt pity for her. Of course, in the past it was known that marriages were not of love, but for an own advantage. Yet there is very often just a kind of affection. But Gyda didn’t even that, on the contrary…
And when she thought she could find help in Thorstein, again she is facing prejudices and her true nature is not seen.

Even if Thorstein behaviour towards Gyda is all but warm, he keeps the best interest of his people at mind. He may not understand Gyda, but he helps her reaching her brother – in – law. And even his marriage is made out of need for his people. And this shows that he has his heart at the right place. But because it has been broken once, he doesn’t open up that easy for such feelings.

I loved reading how these two strong yet fragile characters are ‘forced’ to be together. And slowly they start to see how wrong with their opinions and start to see how the other person really is. Of course the clashing is always there, making me smile because I knew that in the end…
The evolution of the characters was a positive note, because not always this is very obvious in stories.
We see Gyda go from a bit a naïve girl in the past, to a determined woman that won’t let a man dictate her anymore. She is a woman with unconditional love and does whatever she can to protect her loved ones, even if that means sacrificing herself.

And Thorstein goes from a bitter man, disappointed in love, to a man ready to literally fight for his woman. And he is ready to admit his mistakes and also is able to see who he has in front of him. And when Gyda’s secret is out, he sees beyond what happened in the past.
Thorstein in the final chapters shows this lighter version of himself, demonstrating that broken hearts can be mended when the right person is found.

This was an entertaining story, bringing me to the times where Vikings were ruling the world. The author wrote about strong characters, not wanting to rely on each other, but finding common ground and learning that there is always more to a person than we initially think.