Customer Reviews

A Tale of Two Vikings

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I hated to give my favorite author four stars instead of five, but this story IMO was not like the others in that excellent respect. It was still great, but not excellent. What I mean by that is this.
It was two stories rolled into one book, told back and forth every few chapters she would switch. So in all, it was some 357 pages and each story got more of a 'short story' treatment. Each was about 178 pages or so. In all, it didn't seem like enough time to tell the stories of two Viking characters that belong in this long series.
These twins were introduced mainly in "The Blue Viking" and were fun and interesting, in their own stories, the only one I found interesting was Vagn. Toste was a little cold and aloof. For twins who would die for one another and felt each others pain and sadness, Vagn seemed the only one who was willing to try and find his brother and mourned his supposed death the entire book. Toste seemed more interested in sleeping with the nun who saved his life, lol.
Again, this is all my humble opinion. I almost wish Ms. Hill would've left them as secondary characters. This is the 7th book in this series and the series is still going strong with this entry being the least interesting. The great part? Playing catch-up to all the former main characters from previous books. The only missing ones were Rurik and Meg from "The Blue Viking," the 5th book.

Told each other was dead on the mangled and bloody battlefield, identical Viking twins Toste and Vagn each are saved separately and are in two different places and go on two completely opposite journeys to get home. Problem? They sense one another still, even though they are told the other is dead. Deep down they both must find out the truth before they can really live.
Toste is saved by a nun who seems to be in trouble with her father and brothers. He is so taken with her, he vows to help her no matter what it takes. The 'nun' isn't really a 'nun' in the sense, she has been at the Abby for nearly 15 years now and hasn't taken her vows. Her dilemma is that she tends to swear, break the commandments on occasion and has a desire for tall and gorgeous Vikings. So trying to dodge someone trying to kill her for her land and accepting help from said Viking, Esme is in trouble...
Vagn is taken in by Gorm, a powerful Viking who wants him to marry his daughter...Helga the Homely. Vagn is horrified. He is being held nearly prisoner unless he agrees. His problem? Helga is no longer 'homely.' She is tall and gorgeous. But a little on the independant side and thinks he is his big mouth brother who teased her as a child. Vagn is further perplexed when Helga tries to seduce him but wants no marriage, can he keep his wits?

Like I said, both great tales, but one was a little more interesting than the other. Vagn was a lot more warm and charming IMO and seemed to miss Toste a great deal. Helga was more fun to read with her insane schemes to seduce him. They had such passion and sympathy for one another, it was hard to miss, these two deserved an entire book to themselves.

Tracy Talley~@

I love Sandra's Viking books! This is no exception. Toste and Vagn have been some of my favorite characters all along.

The twins join the Jomvikings and in a battle both think the other is killed. They have never been apart for long and both are devestated.

Toste is saved by nuns, one of which is Lady Esme or (Eat me) as Toste hears her name.

Vagn is saved by Gorm who wants Toste (mistakenly thinking Vagn is Toste) to marry his daughter, Helga, the homely.

Bolthar is along to entertain us with his wonderful sagas.

To many details spoil the plot, but you will not be disappointed.

All of our favorite characters are back to aid the brothers to find true love at last. Not without a laugh or two, or more.

The twin bond is never more strong than between twin Viking brothers, Toste and Vagn Ivarsson. It is almost more tragic than death for them to be parted, but in a battle they are separated. Vagn finds himself in the care of Helga who his twin dissed and ditched, naming her Helga the Homely. For once, he disagrees with Toste, finding her anything but, and desperate to convince her he's not the other brother. Toste, though believed dead, is not, but in the care of a novice nun. Lady Esme finds she has a lot more to confess, if that's possible, since the virile Viking came into her care.

***** Broad, slapstick comedy rollics across the pages as these two brothers learn how to be individual men and win their ladies' hearts. Esme's story is a bit more intriguing than Helga's, but on the whole, the novel will remind you of one of Shakespeare's comedies. *****

Another good book to the Viking 1 series by my favorite author. I laughed a LOT!!! I don't usually like 2 different stories in 1 book, but with the twins Toste and Vagn, how could it be any other way? Bothor is my favorite character in any Sandra Hill novel and he didn't dissapoint. I was cracking up so much about the "dog sex" that when I tried to explain to my husband what I was snickering at he gave me a look like I was crazy. What I loved is that the two ladies in these novels were so different from each other and yet both so endearing. I love how Sandra can add great sometimes violent storylines and plots and somehow keep the book enjoyable funny and passionate. I couldn't sing enough praises for Sandra Hill!

I have to agree with another commenter here that Vagn and Helga's story is far more interesting than that of Toste and Esme's. For me, though, the reason was the two ladies. I tried hard, but I just could not like Esme. The incident where she tied up Toste in the woodcutter's hut clinched it for me. How selfish is that? As if her problem is the biggest in the world and his desire to want to find his brother's killer was just of no importance at all. Helga, on the other hand, was adorable. She was once homely, but now beautiful - at least to Vagn. Her ploys to get him to bed her were funny, and I liked the fact that while she did all she could to seduce him and get him to impregnate her, she did leave him a choice in the matter by compromising and agreeing to his terms.

Overall this is a wonderful book. I have owned it for a couple of years now and have re-read it over and again. But after I read the book the first time, I now usually skip pages on occasion in Toste & Esme's storyline and just follow along Vagn and Helga's storyline more thoroughly.

This was a good book. It was like reading two stories in one book, but they intwined with each other. I would liked to have given it a 3 1/2 star only because the stories were alittle slow starting I thought. Over-all I would reccomend this book to others for a good story to read. It did hold my attention and I couldn't put it down. Onto the next in the series...Wet and
Wild...

I thought this was written very differently, because of the two story lines in 1 book. I liked the twins Toste and Vagn they were pretty funny.I enjoyed this story a lot.

Except for three foolish months as nine year olds, identical twins Toste and Vagne Ivarsson might as well have been Siamese because they were never apart for the thirty-one years they have lived so far. In 964 in the Land of the Saxons, the brothers are in the midst of a berserker battle, but become separated; each thinks the other died.

Toste soon finds he is amidst the nuns of St. Anne's Abbey where he is immediately attracted to frequent "sinner" Lady Esme, a resident in hiding form her father for over a decade. Knowing it is time to confront dear old dad, Esme has the champion to do so as Toste agrees to help her obtain her rightful inheritance. He prays to Odin that will give him the time to obtain what he wants, Esme.

Gorm Sigurdsson has Vagne tied to a bed in his home. He has mistaken Vagne for Toste, who he expects to wed his daughter Helga. However, to his shock, Helga recognizes that the incarcerated male is Vagne who she wants to sire a child with; an arrangement that he finds lacking because he wants to sire several children with the woman he loves.

A TALE OF TWO VIKINGS is a 1930s screwball romantic comedy set in the tenth century as only the incomparable Sandra Hill could sensationally pull off. The entertaining story line combines action with humor as the twins find love once they are split. Historical romance fans who appreciate an offbeat some what whacky tale will want to read (in one sitting not leisurely) Ms. Hills's fabulous funny frolic.

Harriet Klausner