NUMBER: 89TITLE: Come Back to Me
AUTHOR: Josie Litton
STARTED: November 25, 2006
FINISHED: November 27, 2006
PAGES: 371
GENRE: Romance
FIRST SENTENCE: A rim of fire rises at the edge of the world, searing away gentle night, setting the sky aflame.
SUMMARY: [From barnesandnoble.com] The most feared Viking to come out of the Northlands in a generation or more, Dragon Hakonson, brother to Lord Wolf and friend to Lord Hawk, hopes to steal a few days away by himself before entering into an arranged marriage with a Saxon bride.
But instead of tranquility, Dragon finds intrigue and passion when he has a chance encounter with a beguiling beauty disguised in boy’s garb. It is clear that the fiery-haired, fiercely willed Rycca is running away from something ... or someone.
Dragon is determined to uncover Rycca’s reasons for escape and see her safely to her destination. Yet rather than surrender herself to Dragon’s care, Rycca dares to defy him, disarm him, and even enchant him.
For Rycca has a secret gift that Dragon cannot see. Stalked by the tragic past, struggling to fulfill the promise of peace, only when it is too late does Dragon discover the truth: that the temptress who has stolen his heart is none other than the woman destined to become his reluctant bride....
REASON FOR READING: I bought the book because I want to read something involving Vikings.
THOUGHTS: More viking, less other stuff! Yea... I was looking for more metal helmets with horns, raiding, and the like. Maybe I should avoid the romance novels and start reading historical fiction - I think my expectations for a good romance are becoming WAY to high. This book was decent enough to make me curious about the other two in the series, but I still like the novel was lacking something - even though I cannot figure out exactly what.
Dragon (what sorta name is that?) and Rycca have no chemistry. Sure the lust after one another, but it does not leap off the page. This lack of chemistry means I fail to really connect to the characters. That being said, both characters are dynamic in their own ways. Rycca tries so hard to become a good mistress to Dragon's town that you can feel her pain when this go wrong. Dragon, unlike other romance novel heroes, does not automatically assume that his wife is guilty when his homestead comes up various forms of attack. I was surprised by that. Usually the husband believing the wife has wronged him is a major plot point. In this book, Dragon knew at the gut level Rycca was innocent and he set out to prove it without completely cutting her out. Dragon and Rycca's responsibility to one another is the main draw of the book. They may have been thrown together for political purposes, but they try to make it work, even when everything works against them.
MISCELLANEOUS: Seriously, more spiked helmets.
KEEP/SHARE/CRINGE(?): PBS
RATING: 5/10 [I didn't particularly like it or dislike it; mixed review]
CR: Love Slave by Mallory Rush
RN: The Sheik's Secret Bride by Susan Mallery
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