Beguiling Her Enemy Warrior - Lucy Morris (HH #1705 - Feb 2023)

Series: Shieldmaiden Sisters (Book 3)
 
Kidnapped by the warrior
Tempted by the man…
 
Captured by the infamous Lord Rhys, a Welsh prince intent on revenge against her family, Viking healer Helga must keep her wits about her if she's to be freed. Easier said than done when she desires him rather than fears him! Helga senses there's good inside Rhys and feels compelled to reach his heart. But first, she must make him see there's more to her than just his enemy…
 
Fantastic conclusion to the series. This book mostly takes place at the same time as the previous book (Tempted by Her Outcast Warrior) but from the viewpoints of Helga and Rhys.
 
Helga is the youngest of the three sisters and the only one who is not a warrior. She has always felt like she is a disappointment and a burden to her family. Her talents lie in other directions - healing, organizing, and understanding human nature. All of those qualities become vital in this book.
 
Rhys is a Welsh noble whose sister was supposed to marry Halfdan (The Viking She Would Have Married) to cement an alliance with Halfdan's father, Ulf. The marriage fell through when Halfdan married Valda, and Rhys's sister eloped with her bodyguard. Rhys only knows that she has disappeared and blames Ulf and his family. He kidnaps Helga to force Ulf to return his sister. He thinks Helga is the weakest of the sisters and gets quite a surprise.
 
I enjoyed watching the relationship develop between Helga and Rhys. Many years earlier, Helga had a dream of a black dragon with blue eyes carrying her away and believed it was a sign of her marriage. Rhys is known as the Black Dragon in his homeland of Wales. When Helga first sees him, she is immediately drawn to him, though her initial fascination takes a bit of a hit when he kidnaps her. Rhys is attracted to Helga, but she is the enemy and his hostage, so she is off-limits.
 
The journey back to Rhys's lands was an exciting trip. Though she is a hostage, Helga is treated well, and it isn't long before her feelings for Rhys return and begins to grow. As she learns of his reasons for taking her, Helga's empathy leads to her desire to help him. Rhys is weighed down by his responsibilities to his people and his land. He was raised to put them first, before his desires and happiness. As a result, Rhys protects his heart by keeping everyone at a distance. I loved watching Helga get under his skin and stir up the emotions he's kept locked away.
 
I enjoyed the effects the journey had on Helga and Rhys. Helga is open about her feelings of inadequacy around her family. As he gets to know her, Rhys can't understand their attitude and becomes angry on her behalf. I love how he learned to listen to her insights and ideas and showed her the respect she deserved. His treatment of her boosted her self-esteem. I loved seeing her confidence grow. Rhys is intense and focused to the point of tunnel vision on his sister's rescue and his issues with Ulf. I loved seeing Helga's success at breaking through some of that intensity and getting him to look at the bigger picture.
 
I liked seeing Helga settle in as a "guest" in Rhys's home. It doesn't take her long to feel as though she belongs there. Rhys feels the same way but fights his feelings because of the events of his past. Helga's love and empathy for him enable her to finally get him to open up to her. I loved how she showed him that he deserves love and happiness, too. However, Rhys still has some major trust issues, and as the book reaches its climax, he has choices to make. Brynhild and Erik's arrival with news of his sister and his reaction to it put his newly committed relationship with Helga at risk. A heartbreaking scene between Helga and Rhys exposes his fears and drives Helga to call him out on his hypocrisy. The ending is intense as Helga takes a desperate chance to save the man she loves, and Rhys realizes his mistakes almost too late. I was glued to the pages as I read the intense battle scene. The post-battle scenes were terrific as Rhys faced Helga and her family. It was an eye-opening experience for him, and I laughed out loud at some of his encounters.
 
The epilogue was wonderful. I loved seeing how the couples from each book have progressed with their relationships. Each is consistent with their personalities but shows how they have grown and changed. I adored Rhys's surprise for Helga, showing the depth of his love and understanding of who she is.

Tempted by Her Outcast Viking - Lucy Morris (HH #1681 - Oct 2022)

Series: Shieldmaiden Sisters (Book 2)
 
Tempted by the warrior…
But she'll never wed!
 
Brynhild had once been close to Erik -- until he'd betrayed her, and she'd hoped never to see him again. Now the fiercely independent shieldmaiden needs Erik's skills to rescue her sister. Striking a truce with the tough, isolated loner, they reach a mutually beneficial deal: help her and, in return, she'll help him in his quest to find a wife -- by teaching him how to please a woman in bed!
 
Terrific book that caught my attention from the beginning and kept me hooked to the last page. The story picks up immediately after the end of the previous book (The Viking She Would Have Married). While this can be read as a standalone, I feel the reader gets a deeper understanding of these characters by reading the other book first.
 
Brynhild and Erik had once been friends until he betrayed her. Years later, she'd hoped never to see him again, but with his half-brother marrying her sister, that was a forlorn hope. Erik has been tasked with helping Brynhild, her mother, and her youngest sister, Helga, find land to purchase. But before he can do that, Helga is kidnapped, and Brynhild needs his help to rescue her sister.
 
I liked Brynhild and Erik. Brynhild is strong and capable, with a fierce reputation as a shieldmaiden; she sees herself as her family's protector. As a result, she doesn't plan to marry, though she occasionally finds herself wanting more. Though supremely confident in her fighting abilities, she is very self-conscious about her appearance. Tall and muscular, she's been teased and bullied about her looks since she was a child, and she feels unlovable and unattractive. But there is also a softness to her that she keeps well hidden.
 
Amazingly, Erik has turned out to be the good man he is. His mother was a Persian noblewoman captured and enslaved by his Viking father, making him a slave, too. He experienced humiliation and prejudice from both sides of his heritage and was accepted by neither one. His father was physically and emotionally abusive. Recently freed from his enslavement through the efforts of his half-brother Halfdan, Erik is ready for the next stage of his life. But he puts that on hold to help Brynhild rescue her sister. He also hopes to make amends for past mistakes he made with her.
 
I enjoyed watching the relationship between Brynhild and Erik develop. Several flashbacks show their past and the events that drew them together and drove them apart. Brynhild still harbors a great deal of anger over his actions years ago and is not happy about the attraction she feels toward him. At the same time, Erik knows he wants Brynhild in his life but has no confidence that she would ever feel the same way. Forced together on their search, their sparks continue to grow while they work through their past issues. In an interesting role reversal, Brynhild is the experienced one of the pair. Erik has held himself back for reasons that are both admirable and heartbreaking. I loved seeing his first experiences with tenderness and passion happen with the woman who has held his heart for so long. Ultimately, will Brynhild's need to protect Erik from her family's troubles cause her to deny her feelings for him? Or will Erik be able to convince her that they can overcome anything if they are together?
 
I liked the intensity of the plot. Helga is kidnapped as a hostage by Rhys, the Black Dragon, who blames Erik's father for the failed marriage bargain that would have married his sister to Halfdan. Erik and Brynhild must find the sister, who ran off with her bodyguard and return her to Rhys to free Helga. While hot on the heels of the runaway couple, Erik and Brynhild experience various situations calling for their cooperation and trust. An unexpected twist changes the dynamic of their mission, and the result is different from what they wanted. I ached for Brynhild and her fears for Helga's safety. The epilogue hints at Helga's story, and I'm glad I already have it to read next.
 
One of the things I enjoyed about this book was the richness of the descriptions. Whether it was the landscape, the people, or the action, the depth of detail made the scenes come alive. I was intrigued enough to look up the names of the towns to see what they are today and follow along on a map.