Customer Reviews

The Last Viking

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is the first Sandra Hill book I have read and it was absolutely brilliant. The storyline was different to most time-travel books. This one has the hero (ROLF) bought forward from the tenth to the twentieth century instead of having the heroine go back in time. The story is hilarious, I have never laughed so much as I did reading it, especially at some of Rolf's pronounciation of the words. Merry-death(Meredith) is a wonderful herione especially when Rolf is trying to put her in her place. He is a real chauvanist but very lovable with it. I can guarentee this book will have you in stitches and tears, a brilliant read. Well done Sandra. I do hope there is going to be a follow on to this book. I can't wait.

I had not read anything by Sandra Hill until this book. The write up on it intrigued me and so, I purchased it. It was a great purchase and one which I have re-read several times.

Rolf is a 10th century Viking who is transported through time to meet his match in Meredith, whom he calls, "Merry-Death"! Meredith, a college professor, needs his help in fulfilling her grandfather's dream of a college program which builds a Viking longship using only implements and materials which are historically accurate to the time in which these ships were built. Rolf is a master shipbuilder of his time. However, Rolf has an obligation to his family in his own century and so, seeks a way to return to his own time. The conflict - he has fallen in love with "Merry-Death" and is torn between his love for her and the obligation he has to his family and the people of his own time.

The quirks in the story, the play on words, the tension between the hero and heroine, the unique way in which Rolf sees the 20th century and how he communicates with those around him is a scream - as are his favorite food combinations! (you just have to read it to believe it!)

This book is one you will put on your keeper shelf and read again and again for the fun, the laughter and the romance.

If you haven't yet tried it, run out and find one. You'll be glad you did.

No one can honestly claim that Sandra Hill has not done her Viking research. I have read several of her books and found each one to be well-researched in the Viking culture.

There is a lot of humor throughout this book (I'll never look at a bottle of Breck shampoo the same way again), and Rolf & Merry-Death belong together!

I enjoyed the little twist on time travel here. Instead of the heroine traveling back through time and learning to live without electricity and indoor plumbing, the hero comes to the future! His struggles to acclimate himself in the here and now are fun to read about.

This book touches your heart. This was the best Viking book I have read by Sandra Hill. Keep them coming!

The story begins with Geirolf Ericsson going through a time portal in the year 997 and ending up in the year 1997. Dr. Meredith Foster, a very prim and stuffy professor comes home to the knife weilding Viking and soon takes pity on the very handsom wounded man. It just so happens that Meredith is recreating an authentic Viking longboat that her grandfather had started before his death. Meredith takes advantage of Rolf's expertise in this area and enlists his help. Rolf soon realizes that he has time traveled but Meredith has reserves about the story.

Now for my review:

I like my books to have a sort of timeless feel. That is why I generally read historicals. Contemporary books tend to have references to things that are popular in that year. In this case it was "Home Improvement" with Tim Allen. The show and actor must have been mentioned about 20 or more times. So now that it is 2008 and that show has been finished for a while now, the whole thing seemed very dated. I really don't want to hear about different clothing designers, brand names and music bands either. I guess I like a more generic feel to my stories.

While Rolf was basically perfect, Meredith left something to be desired. Never have I read a book with a bigger shrew. She constantly called him names that insinuated that he was less than intelligent, she dangled sex in front of him and never really gave him any and she refused to relinquish control of the longboat even though she had no clue what she was doing. Rolf continually defended her, protected her, gave gifts and boosted her confidence. There was no give and take in the relationship. It was just Meredith taking and taking and taking. I really, really disliked her.

There was a lot of humour in the book. Most of it was at Rolf's expense. The language barriere was used a lot for this purpose and the heroine did most of the laughing. The fact that Rolf learned the English language in two days was quite remarkable even if his talisman helped him somewhat.

The book was entertaining but nothing outstanding. I'll read more of Sandra Hill's novels but I won't be expecting a 5 star book the next time.

This book was a delightful surprise. To be honest, I wasn't expecting to enjoy this one as much as I did her other time travels because of the fact that I usually like it better when it's a modern day heroine going backward in time, rather than when the story's about a man from the far-away past coming forward to the future.

Typically in romance, whenever someone from the past comes forward, you get those kind of books that waste scene after scene watching the time traveler freak out the first time they see a lightbulb, and then a shower, and then a car, and god forbid if they see an airplane. Then, of course, we know what's coming next...the hero will feel obliged to take his sword to the offending modern conveniences. Microwaves will be rendered useless, cars will be taken apart, furniture will be used as kindling...<sigh> Scenes like these are funny *once*, then they become a dead bore.

Hill shies away from this overdone scenario nicely, yet in a way that still makes the hero come off as a believable time traveler. After all, any time traveler would be bound to be somewhat in awe of the gadgets of the future. Hill gives him the awe without hitting you over the head with it.

This book was hilarious from start to finish and quickly became one of my favorite Hills. Although I've enjoyed all of Hills novels at a 4-5 star level (except for "Love Me Tender" and "The Reluctant Viking"), the only other contender this book had with me is "The Love Potion". They are both irresistibly funny and sexy, making it hard for me to decide which was better...

"The Last Viking" is seriously charming. The story is silly and sexy ;it captures you immediately. The characters Rolf and "Merry-Death" were so endearing!!! It was such fun to witness Rolf's fascination over all of the modern inventions that he came across.....This is my first book by Sandra Hill..I'm so excited to have discovered her and I can't wait to read more of her stories. Don't deny yourself the pleasure!!! Read this book!!!!

Oh boy. I am sad to say that this story is a perfect example of a heroine that annoys the CRAP out of me. She's TOO stubborn, TOO rude, and got on my nerves on almost every page. I thought after 100 pages, she'd warm up to her man, but no. She fights him until the very last page. Don't get me wrong, there are some sweet moments, but I couldn't get the relationship between the two, one minute enemies, the next lovers. Many writers can make it work, she didn't, for me. This was my first Sandra Hill book, it won't be my last, but I'll only read one or two more before I can say I like or dislike her. Thank goodness for the humor, it carried me through.

This is not one of the 4 book Viking Series but I liked it just as well. No other author can hold a candle to Sandra Hill and her Viking stories. A worthy read.

This was not the first book of Ms. Hill's that I have read and it certainly won't be the last! The fact that the hero was a dead ringer for Kevin Sorbo was an added bonus! Ms Hill has a wonderful sense of humor that makes the charachters seem so much more real.I have thoroughly enjoyed all of her books and this one is my favorite.(I read it twice !) I eagerly await her next book and I know that I won't be dissappointed. I think that any true Romance fan will feel the the same way.Keep up the excellent work Sandra!

Too much mall shopping, talking about sweatpants, lame fight scenes and teasing. If you are looking for a GOOD viking romance chock full of sexual encounters I suggest Josie Litton's Dream Of Me. WOAH!