Customer Reviews

The Enchantment

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

 

 

I love Ms Krahn's books. I've been reading her work over a period of about seven years. That being said,I'm disappointed and, I feel, with just cause. This is the second time I have purchased what I thought was a Betina Krahn "new" book just to find that I have read it years ago under another title. I think this a deceptive practice. If an author is going to have a book reprinted there should be a disclaimer somewhere in the advertising stating a title change. So, buyer beware.

This is a wonderful book, rich in history, passion, adventure, & love. I never wanted to put it down! The strength of the characters made me fall in love with them, and I cried more than once along the way. I would highly recommend this book.

I have come to appreciate Betina Krahn's attention to detail in her well told romances. She spends time with each description, each phrase...it is truly excellence in romance writing. At 400+ pages, you definitely get a well woven tale with this one that spends time with character development, and gives you a feel for the way they looked at the world and the customs of the time. I loved it.

This is a Viking romance that takes you back to the time in the late Viking period when the Swedish Vikings sailed all the way to Byzantium. It was also a time when the old Asa gods were being replaced by Christianity and the "White Christ." Krahn treats this subject with great care, showing us how the old often combined with the new in this story that begins with belief in myths and ends in very real action.

Since she was a young girl, Aaren, daughter of Serrick, understood she was unusually tall and strong, trained to be a warrior, a battle-maiden, and not a woman of the hearth, because her mother was a Valkyr, a daughter of the Viking gods. She is beautiful with a long, lean body, dark red hair, and golden eyes. Aaren had two beautiful sisters, also daughters of Serrick, and born from another, blond Valkyr. Serrick brings his three daughters to the village of Borger, a powerful jarl, and gives them in payment of a tax debt--but with conditions. No man may touch them or wed them until one man can defeat Aaren in sword fighting; then each may be given in marriage. Borger accepts the payment and the conditions with his eldest son, Jorund, in mind. Jorund is a huge, handsome Viking, who two years ago tired of battlelust and the "dew of wounds" (blood). Jorund has no intention of fighting any woman, but after Aaren defeats two of Borger's best warriors, Borger decrees that no man may fight Aaren save Jorund. Aaren wants to end the curse and the condition to her sisters' ability to marry, so she prods and taunts Jorund into fighting her, but he resists.

That's the basic storyline, and except for the myth underlying Aaren and her sisters' introduction to the village, which myth Jorund doesn't accept since he is a follower of the White Christ, the rest of the story is pure historical romance. It's an unusual courtship, to be sure, and there is more than one romance in this one. As Viking romances go, it's unusual, very detailed and well written, I highly recommend it. It's not a fast-paced light read, however. You need a good rain storm, a cup of tea and a fireplace to settle in for this one.

NOTE: THIS WAS FIRST RELEASED AS MY WARRIOR'S HEART. Here's her book list with those re-released under other titles:

The Convent of the Brides of Virtue Trilogy:

* The Husband Test (2001)
* The Wife Test (2003)
* The Marriage Test (2004)

Library of Alexandria/High-Victorian Romantic Adventures:

* The Book of the Seven Delights (2005)
* The Book of True Desires (2006, RITA winner 2007)

Tudor:

* Caught in the Act (1990)
* Behind Closed Doors (1991)

Mistress:

* The Last Bachelor (1994)
* The Perfect Mistress (1995)

Other Historical Novels:

* Rapture's Ransom (1983)
* Passion's Storm (1985)
* Rebel Passion (1987)
* Hidden Fires (1988)
* Passion's Treasure (1989 - re-released as Just Say Yes)
* Passion's Ransom (1989)
* Midnight Magic (1990 - re-released as Luck Be a Lady)
* Love's Brazen Fire (1990 - re-released as The Paradise Bargain, 2003)
* Passion's Romance
* Luck Be a Lady
* My Warrior's Heart (re-released as The Enchantment, 1992)
* The Princess and the Barbarian (1993)
* The Unlikely Angel (1996)
* The Mermaid (1997)
* The Soft Touch (1999)
* Sweet Talking Man (2000)
* Not Quite Married (2004)
* Make Me Yours (2009, nominated for the RITA, 2010)

Let's call this a SKeeper. OK, so it is a word that I made up. THE ENCHANTMENT aka MY WARRIOR'S HEART as stated on the front of the book in small print, is an almost-perfect example of how a romance should evolve. I don't usually read love stories about Vikings or Norsemen, there is just too much that is unknown about this period. But if a love could develop like what evolved between Aaren and Jorund I would have enjoyed having been there.

The world Aaren Serricksdotter and Jorund Borgenson live in is both savage and simple. Nothing is taken for granted; food can become scarce, disease and animals can kill, and fire can destroy a village in moments. Fighting is the norm and relationships can be brutal. Enriched with qualities of courage and honor our hero and heroine rise above the others.

I don't want to give away too much of the storyline. The product description under Editorial Reviews will give you the basics. It IS slow reading in some parts. Usually when I list a keeper it is a book I have read in a matter of hours, at the max, two days. THE ENRICHMENT took me a week to finish. I had to find those quiet moments when no one needed me so I could melt into the setting. I would have loved to befriend Aaren; both strong and naive, no wonder Jorund fell in love with her. And Jorund, ahhhhhh. Desirable but responsible, nurturing yet tenacious he is the consummate champion.

The side story of the White Christ was entertaining, too. Also, the stories about the secondary characters, Aaren's sisters and beaus, is diverting. You FEEL what it must have been like to be a woman in those times. Men were given preference but the backbone and indomitability was found in the women. Not so with Aaren and Jorund; together they complimented each others strengths and weaknesses. When they first met each other they thought they knew what they wanted from life. It was enjoyable to sit back and see how their connection developed. The sexual situations were sensuous and steamy. Too often authors write romantic fiction with the leads having sex within moments of meeting other. Not here. You sense two people scared of each other internally yet you'll feel their tension escalate. Outwardly, Jorund uses banter to entice Aaren and you get to watch her defer his advances. It is also fun to see her succumb to this.

To address some others' concerns it is important that when you read books written by popular authors that you touch base with their websites. It has become common practice for publishers to reissue books with new titles and/or combine two older stories into one book with a new name. It you do a little research you can save yourself both money and time. I am giving THE ENCHANTMENT four stars because it was a slower read but this book is headed for my keeper shelf. I know I will want to come back and visit Aaren and Jorund again.

Don't compromise yourself. You're all you've got. ~Janis Joplin

The beginning started off so good and then it went down from there. Too much bickering for me and it picked up at the end. It was all right but I did a little skipping around.

This is one of Ms. Krahn's best books; she is one of my favorite historical romance authors.

I have read 3 other books by this author (the TEST books) and I really enjoy her. This one is my favorite though. The characters have depth and I was really invested in their story by the end of the book. I laughed and cried and sighed when it came to an end. This one will stick with me for a long time!!