Surrender My Love

Rating:
Summary: Why Was Selig's Story Ruined?
Review: 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 "Heart's 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. Sub-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.

Rating:
Summary: SELIG THE BLESSED
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Where has the passion gone to?!
Review: 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...

Rating:
Summary: Where has the passion gone to?!
Review: 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...

Rating:
Summary: The Third in a Trilology
Review: This is the final book in the Viking Haardrad clan saga. The other books are better, and this is the weakest of the three. Yet, it is a delight to read about the characters from the previous books as their lives progress. The heroine in this book, Erika, is a Dane, and is weakly drawn. The dashing eldest son of Lady Breena and Garrick from book one, Selig, is disappointing. Other than his supposed good looks, he seems capable of real cruelty. Yet, reading the other books first, one understands the genesis of it, that this is expected behavior of Vikings and part of his heritage, resembling his grandfather and father. This is not a bad book, but it is not brillant either and lacks her exciting plotlines and excellent character development. But even when Ms. Lindey is not up to 5 stars, her books are worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: Not as good as the first two, but still entertaining
Review: This is the story of Garrick and Brenna's first child, Selig the Blessed, who we remember as the stillborn child who was "raised" from the dead in Fires of Winter and as the brother who also came back from the dead in Hearts Aflame. Now in this book, Johanna Lindsey has decided to put his life in danger once more, when he was ambushed on the way to East Anglia on a mission for King Alfred. Although he survives this, he ends up being mistaken for a spy and taken as a prisoner by Lady Erika of Gronwood, where he was nearly lashed to death. When his sister Kristen comes to his rescue, he asks her to take Erika as a hostage in order to exact his revenge.

Once again, we see the closeness of the family. We are also reminded of how dangerous Kristen could be when Erika incurs the wrath of her anger. If there is one family you wouldn't want to mess with, they're one of them - if you mess with one of them, you have to face the rest of the family.

Now unlike the heroines of the first two books, Erika came across as too timid. Although I didn't expect her to be as spirited as Brenna and Kristen, I wish that she had a bit more fire in her. Sure she felt guilty, but she didn't even try her hardest to defend herself when she was chained. As for Selig, too much emphasis was given on his unbelievably good looks, his pain and recovery, yet not much depth was given to his character. And in comparison with the first two books, the romance between Erika and Selig isn't as well developed. I didn't find the interaction as exciting. The author could have fleshed out the romance part a bit more in my opinion.

But if you have read the first two books, this would still be an entertaining read. For me, the highlight of the book is not so much the romance, but the involvement of Garrick and Brenna, Royce and Kristen and their friends and family.


Rating:
Summary: Delicious Read..
Review: Well I won't go into the plot because it's already been done. All I will do is describe how I felt about the book. It was quiet gripping,I hardly could put it down. Although the approach wasn't anywhere near new or unique,'Surrender My Love' succedes in gripping your senses by sweetness and special charm. What I liked also, was the strong sense of family and friendship floating around. It was clear that every member of the family cared dearly about the other and would die willingly to spare the other any pain. So, you can't help but care yourself about them and love every one of them. Selig, the hero, is a woman's fantasy come true <sighhh>. Brave, pleasant,and well,handsome beyond words. Erika, on the other hand I believe to lack spirit and enough fire. WEll there are lots of elements I like in this book including: family love, the hero gets hurt and comfort, love story,slight humour and more. It lacks enough adventure but to me every story does, but still, it would've helped alot if the story was bumped with some more action and adventure to keep me happier. This book is the third in the series. The first deals with the parents love story, and the second with the daughter's. 'Surrender my love' is the third of the Viking series and it deals with Selig, the oldest son. I haven't read the other books so I can't compare but all in all, if you want an entertaining book, don't miss this one. It's a keeper.

Rating:
Summary: A lady's scorn provokes a Viking's vengeance . . .
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Not what I was expecting:
Review: 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.