Desert Isle Keeper

Tempted by Her Outcast Viking is the second book in Lucy Morris’ Shieldmaiden Sisters series and features shieldmaiden Brynhild and former thrall Erik. Long ago Erik and Brynhild were friends, until Erik viciously rejected Brynhild in order to protect her from his father and owner, Ulf. When Brynhild’s younger sister, Helga, is kidnapped, Erik, now free, vows to help Brynhild save her. Along the way, they soon realize they need each other more than they could have ever imagined.

Brynhild’s story takes off right where her sister Valda’s left off, with Valda and her new husband Halfdan leaving following their recent marriage. Brynhild is annoyed by the continued presence of Halfdan’s half-brother, Erik, and worried about how much longer she will be able to take care of her aging former shieldmaiden mother and her very delicate younger sister, Helga. Brynhild and Erik get into an argument while he is accompanying her and Helga home, and only realise, once they’ve run out of steam, that Helga is gone. They eventually learn that Lord Rhys Draig ddu Gwynedd has kidnapped Helga in order to force Brynhild and Erik to retrieve his own sister, Lady Alswn, who was supposed to marry Halfdan but instead ran away with her lover. Rhys informs Brynhild and her mother he will release Helga as soon as Alswn is returned to him.

Brynhild and Erik set off to follow the lovers and bring Rhys’s sister back to him, stopping at various villages to inquire as to their whereabouts. Along the way, Brynhild begins to realize that her declaration to never marry might have been made in haste and Erik tries to show Brynhild that she deserves to be loved. Much of the traveling is dedicated to the two getting to know each other again and revelations about their pasts. Along with that, Erik convinces Brynhild to teach him how to please a woman as he is a virgin.

I was hooked from the beginning of this one, by Erik’s dark brooding and Brynhild’s strength. Morris manages to show her as a woman who is self-conscious about her body – she’s tall and strong and thinks she lacks feminiity – without making her sound downright unattractive. Neither of them feels they deserve to be loved thanks to the way they were treated as children: as a thrall, Erik was treated horribly as was Brynhild, a girl taller than most of the boys. This made it so much harder for either of them to trust people and I loved watching them learn to trust each other as they proceed on their journey. That, and their attraction is hot. Sparks fly from the moment they set off on their quest and that attraction holds up throughout.

Erik is one of my favorite things about the book, because I happen to love virgin heroes. But there is so much more to love about Erik than that. He is such a sweet guy, willing to fight for Brynhild in more ways than one. I adore it when the hero falls first, and he also has such a calming effect on Brynhild, reminding her to slow down and that rushing into things isn’t always the best plan.

Road trip romances are almost always fun to read because there is always something going on in them, and that is certainly true of this one. It was impossible to get bored while Erik and Brynhild were traveling around trying to find Alswn.

Tempted by Her Outcast Viking boasts a wonderful hero and heroine with strong chemistry together with a great plot that keeps the story moving along. The storyline of the next installment in the series is hinted at throughout this one, and I cannot wait to read it. Lucy Morris is definitely an author to try!

Buy it at: Amazon or your local bookshop

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