Customer Reviews

Surrender My Love

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

On the back of the book: A Lady's Scorn. Wrongly branded a spy, the dark and handsome Viking lod Selig Haardrad suffered greatly in the dungeons of Lady Erika of Gronwood. And as he hung in chains, his magnificent body wracked with pain and fever, on thought sustained him: revenge! A Vikings Vengeance. Now Destiny's great wheel has turned-and Selig's exquisite, honey-haired tormentor has been delivered into the Norseman's hands. Now it is Selig who is the maste, bound and determined to break the proud spirit of his captive "ice queen" and to conquer her with passion's sword-never dreaming that his own heart will be vanquished by sensuous desire... and vicorious love..... My thoughts on the book: Selig is a character who first appears in "Heart Aflame" as the heroin Kirten's sister and manages to steal some of the limelight. A man much loved by women all his life this book deals with a presumed action by a woman agianst him. He is as much in shock as he is out for revenge and actually finds he has a hard time really carrying out his revenge but it makes for good tense reading at times as you don't know just what Selig might do. A great read, I loved the two lead character of Selig and Erika. She is in a tense kidnapping situation and is brave and strong without being overbearing or unbelievable [unlike Kirsten in Heart Aflame] given the situation. .....An exciting read.

The third in a trilogy, "Surrender My Love" lacks in the romance department. The story is about a Viking exacting vengeance on his beautiful Danish tormenter - oh yeah, and then they fall in love in the last 50 or so pages.

I have nothing against Selig, the angel-faced Viking hero. I loved him as the twice-blessed baby in "Fires of Winter" and as Kristen's returned-from-the-dead brother in "Hearts Aflame." He is so charming! But in "Surrender My Love," Selig doesn't get much opportunity to use that charm. Instead, he's wounded and beaten so badly in the beginning of the book that the whole story revolves around his pain, slow recovery, and revenge. I for one wished Selig hadn't suffered yet another wound, as his previous injuries in "Hearts Aflame" were bad enough. But Johanna Lindsey felt the need to hurt poor Selig once more - and screw up his much-anticipated love story in the process. Why?!?

Selig is paired up with Erika, a Danish Viking maid - and the girl who had him lashed. So, in Viking tradition, he takes her prisoner (only to fall in love). But, unlike the stories involving his mother and sister, Erika is no spirited vixen of a captive. She's not even witty. She accepts her chains and humiliation without a peep. Again, why does Selig fall in love?!?

I can't say this story was terrible. After all, lots of characters from the earlier books returned, so it was a fun family reunion. But, it was bogged down with back-story. Secondary characters like King Alfred and Meghan, who were so alive in the previous books, were carbon cutouts in "Surrender." New characters, like Turgeis the Shadow, were actually intriguing, but so little used, it was sad. Worse, there was no passion or hanky panky until about page 330 - the last 80 or so pages of a 400+ page book. And, on top of that, WHY were Kristen and Brenna - both ex-slaves - so cavalier about Erika's enslavement?

I'd much rather read "Fires of Winter" and "Hearts Aflame," the first two of the trilogy, then bother with "Surrender My Love." Maybe we'll be lucky and Johanna will redeem herself by writing Meghan's story, putting in a good dose of charming Selig and not wounded and vengeful Selig, which is all "Surrender" seems to be about.

While this third book in Ms. Lindsey's infamous Viking Trilogy takes a bit longer to pull the reader in than the previous books, it's still a wonderful read. Definitely not one to be missed if you love the Haardrad family.

Selig Haardrad has been blessed since the time of his birth when his father defied Viking law and brought him back to life. Now a grown man, Selig is, for lack of a better word, beautiful. With his beauty has come a lifetime of pampering from every woman he's ever come in contact with. All this doting has certainly gone to his head for he believes that all women will succumb to his charms and each of them can be wrapped around his little finger with no work whatsoever on his part. Add this conceit to the already overblown Viking arrogance and you're left with a man who could stand to be taken down a peg or two. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I dislike Selig -- quite the contrary, actually -- I just feel it wouldn't hurt him to have a woman who didn't immediately give in to his every little whim.

While on a mission for his brother-in-law's King, Selig is set upon by thieves who leave him gravely wounded assuming that he's dead. When he's finally able to pull himself together enough to search for help, he happens upon Gronwood castle and the lovely Lady Erika. Falsely branded a spy and sentenced to a lashing, he vows to seek revenge on the first woman who's ever caused him pain.

Even though Erika might not have been the heroine I'd had in mind for Selig, I came to accept her and yes, like her very much. While she's not as tough as Brenna, or even as over-the-top as Kristen, she has a gentle grace, a quiet strength and a strong possessive streak (which she'll definitely need with a husband like Selig). She's tough when she has to be, but often regrets her actions once they've been doled out. As is the case with her imprisonment of Selig. I'm really shocked at all the reviewers who seem to think Erika was in the wrong to treat Selig the way she did. She was only doing what anyone in her position at that time would have done -- protecting her keep in a time when the memories of war were still fresh in everyone's mind. She didn't overstep her bounds or even do anything that was remotely shocking.

Probably my favorite part of the book was the inclusion of characters from both the previous books. Unlike some authors who rarely keep consistency between books in a series, Ms. Lindsey is a master at keeping well-loved characters true to form. Brenna, Garrick, Kristen, Royce, Meghan and Alden all make an appearance, giving the book a sort of family reunion feel for the reader. As for new characters, Ms. Lindsey doesn't disappoint in that area either. From Erica's brother Ragnar (whose story I definitely wouldn't mind reading in the future!) to Erika's best friend Turgeis, the reader finds new characters to love who shine with the same vividness and color that any Lindsey fan has come to expect from her work. Also, keep a look out for Kristen's children!

Unlike most of the reviewers, I wasn't at all upset with the way the scenes of the book were laid down. In fact, after the slow start, I felt the book really picked up and turned out to be one of the best reads I've had in a long time. The scene towards the end at the lake is priceless and had me laughing out loud for quite some time.

As a long-time fan of Ms. Lindsey's work I wasn't disappointed in _Surrender My Love_. In fact, the only thing that disappoints me about the book is that so far it's the last of the series. I hate to say goodbye to the Haardrad clan and fervently hope Ms. Lindsey plans to revisit this amazing family sometime in the near future.

Selig is not even the same guy in this book! JL totally changed his character! When did he get so mean and callous? When did he become an abuser of women? Well, not all women, just the heroine. She's not at all what I would have picked for Selig! The only reason this book gets the one star is because of Royce! What little he was in it, that is. I'm sorry to admit that I found myself wanting to read more about him than Selig, especially after reading HEARTS AFLAME. If you want to preserve your good opinion of the handsome and once-sweet, yet tough, Selig, skip this book altogether.

The first two books of this trilogy are wonderful. I've read them several times since getting them. I always wanted to hear Selig's story, and feel it probably should have been told before Kristen's. This book seems to center around dialogues between Selig, Kristen, and Brenna, instead of focusing on the relationship between Selig and Erika. I don't like weak female characters, but not all women are strong so it makes since that not all characters will be. Of course, Erika started out that way and then seemed to sort of die in her enthusiasm to be free of Selig. Though it's not one of the best stories Ms. Lindsey has told, it's not as bad as Captive Bride. I would recommend this book, though it does seem a little chopped up in places. If you can get passed Kristen's temper, it's a good read.

This is the book about Selig The Bless, son of Garrick and Brenna from "Fires of Winter" and brother of Kristen from "Hearts Aflame".

The storyline of this book is similiar to those of the previous two books that I have mentioned above. Selig was captured by Lady Erika's men when he was wrongy accused of being a spy. He was treated with cruelty that he vowed revenge to the lady. When Selig was saved by his sister, Kristen, he wanted to bring Erika back with him, not as a lady but as a slave, to repay what she had done to him.

I feel that this story has lack of chemistry and passion between Selig and Erika. There was even a lack of trust between the two parties. I didn't see love blossom between the two as in the other two books. I must say that the previous two books are superb! "Surrender My Love" is a story that can be told in fewer pages than the full 403 pages.

Quite disappointing...

THIS BOOK HAD ME INTRIGUED. I WAS SO ANGRY FOR SELIG THAT I WAS ALMOST WISHING HE HAD BEEN MUCH MORE HARSH ON ERIKA. BUT OF COURSE JL KNEW EXACTLY HOW TO KEEP THIS BOOK ON COURSE. IT WAS HARD FOR ME TO PICK A SIDE, SELIGS' OR ERIKAS'. I HAVE OWNED THIS BOOK FOR TWO DAYS AND HAVE READ IT TWICE IT IS SO GOOD. DEFINITE NEED TO READ.

I was given this book at the beach by my friend and had not read the previous two. In fact didn't know there even were other stories until a few chapters into this one. Maybe if I'd read the previous two I would've cared more about Selig and Erika.
However, if you are a big J.L. fan make sure you read the previous two before this one. If you don't you may find it as I did. Sloooooooowwwww and a bit dull. I didn't care for either of the characters and although all romance fans are guarunteed a happy ending Selig and Erika's personalities made their actions and motivations in the book so foregone that it was a trial to finish it out.
Seems like Selig was a bit of a fan fav. for this trilogy and it's a shame that more wasn't made of his story.

I could not wait to read Selig's story but what a disappointment it was. The book was more of a family reunion than a story about Selig and Erika. Although I enjoyed hearing about the rest of the family his story did not stand alone. I thought a couple of chapters could have been eliminated. The first two books in the Viking series I highly recommend they are excellent reads. Find this one at your local library.

You can read the editorial reviews for the book description. I did not care for this book at all. When I read a romance novel, I need some actual romance in the novel. Romance to me is very important IN a romance novel {Just incase I didn't make myself clear}. This book has NO romance in it at all. The two main characters peppered each other with insults constantly. By the end of the book they discover that they are completely in love with one another, which is fine but the books is 403 pages long. Their first real romantic encounter {and I have to say it this way for the review to make it on but I mean the act it self} did not happen until 320 pages of the book {I could be wrong on the actual page number but I do know it was after page 300}. In other words it took just do darn long to get to the GOOD PART. Which in my opinion, that too was seriously lacking. Having read the author before and knowing full well of what she is capable of writing, this will in no way stop me from purchasing her books in the future but I was really disappoint in this particular read.