Exiled Bjorn is the bastard of Vellefoldv son of a once powerful jarl, he’s made a name for himself, becoming a renowned fighter with his group of warriors called the Lost Sons. Ilsa lives with her guilt thinking she has failed her childhood friend Bjorn when he was exiled as a child. Bjorn goes home to save the father who exiled him and when he defeats his father’s enemies, the jarl’s torque will become his. Isla and Bjorn clash on many fronts, he doesn’t understand why Isla she’s yielding softly one moment then standing toe to toe with him the next. An excellent romance story with twists and turns and one I voluntarily read and reviewed.

I thoroughly enjoyed this Viking story, written as only Gina Conkle can! From page one I found myself immersed in the story and could just picture it all in my mind. I've always been fascinated with the Viking era and it's stories like this one that whet my appetite.

Book #2 of the Forgotten Sons series is Bjorn and Ilsa's story. They had been close as children and then torn apart when Bjorn was banished from their village at 12 years of age. Now, 18 years later, Ilsa goes in search of Bjorn who is now part of the Forgotten Sons warriors and brings him back to the village. His father, the jarl, is dying and the village needs him and his warriors to help them fight the enemy. Filled with bitterness and wanting revenge on his father, Bjorn soon realizes that he must help protect the people, no matter how he feels about his father. Ilsa hardly recognizes this hardened warrior but can't ignore the attraction she feels for him and it's a slow burn before they finally get together.

I was given an ARC of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

I am on the fence about this story. On one hand I loved all of the details of Viking life (I am not an expert but I know Gina spends lots of time researching). On the other hand I do not consider this a romance. Yes, there are some slightly romantic scenes but not enough for me to put it in the romance category. I wanted more time with Bjorn and Ilsa and their romantic relationship. I so loved Bjorn in the last book. I felt like their relationship was boom done at the end. I did like the epilogue. Very nice.

Illegitimate son of a once powerful jarl, Bjorn has been part of the brotherhood of the Forgotten Sons since his father exiled him from his home in Vellefold. Now because of his jarl's desire for profitable trade alliances, Bjorn must go home to save his invalid father from a powerful enemy. If Bjorn succeeds, the rich jarldom is his. He'd rather let the place fall as vengeance for the injustice done to him as a boy, but his childhood friend Ilsa is especially good at cracking his icy facade.

Ilsa has always preferred reading her scrolls to warfare, but she can hold her own on a boat. She remembers Bjorn as a boy and knows he is the only hope for her people, but she is unprepared for her reactions to his touch as a man. Bjorn is shocked to discover that he's been deceived and Vellefold is impoverished and things are much worse than he was told, and when he and his men learn her secret, that she's been hiding runaway thralls and helping them escape to freedom, things become even more complicated for everyone involved.

Bjorn is hurting from Ilsa's deceptions and his past rejection by the very people he's now charged with saving. Now Bjorn is torn between the expectations of Vellefold, the equally conflicting expectations of his brothers in the Forgotten Sons, and his capricious feelings for Ilsa.

Beware, there's a bit of a rant ahead, some may find it spoilery. I couldn't stand Ilsa. She manipulated and belittled Bjorn in one breath, while begging his assistance with the next. I found the hypocrisy annoying and it did not endear her to me. Yes, her reasons are relatively noble because she ultimately wants to help her people and free the thralls, but her methods leave something to be desired. She expected respect and cooperation from Bjorn and for her to treat him as an equal after she disrespected him, questioned his honor, and essentially said he was not a good man because he didn't immediately agree to blindly obey her. She almost immediately expects blind faith from Bjorn but is unwilling to give even an inch in return or think of the difficult position she's put him in.

All of this strife led to quite a slow pace and very little romance, but despite all this Ilsa did eventually redeem herself a bit by being honest with Bjorn. Bjorn was no peach himself, but he did exhibit a lot of character growth and I felt awful for him in such a situation. I'm never a fan of the "strong" woman portrayed as an unbending harpy who has to assert her authority by demanding respect and belittling everyone around her.

Overall, I kept at this story but was never really drawn in. It hit on a lot of the pet peeve that annoy me in a book. The pacing was a bit off and the ending wasn't really all that satisfying for me, in fact, it was rather anticlimactic and a bit depressing. I've had similar feelings about several of my recent reads so I'm starting to think I may just be a bit hard to please (?). This one wasn't bad, but I didn't love it either. The writing was good, however, and I will try other works from this author.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Her Viking Warrior is an interesting blend of old school romance ideals (home and hearth and the power of alpha manhood are celebrated) and new school ones (so is the power of female ingenuity, toughness and fitness for leadership in battle).  The book does a fairly good job balancing these two different points of view and wrapping them in a romance that makes sense for its ancient era, but I had some trouble believing in its romance and heroine.

Heavy lies responsibility upon the shoulders of mercenary Bjorn, who is involved in a war between his jarl-for-hire and the Breton Queen.  He and his brothers are told they must ask the Gods for direction as to their ultimate purpose, but Bjorn is more concerned with getting paid and moving on to the next battle.

Meeting Ilsa, Daughter of Odell, child of a merchant whom he met years before, Bjorn is startled to notice she’s grown into a stunning woman.  He’s also surprised when she reveals she’s quested to find him, hoping he’ll help her save Vellefold, the last place to which Bjorn wants to return. But Ilsa needs help. She needs men to teach her people how to fight  after Vellefold was invaded two times in a row by their neighbors, taking the lives of their best soldiers in the fight.

Ilsa would rather be alone with her scholarly pursuits, but since her people need help she’s willing to do anything to bring about their self-reliance.  She even offers Bjorn the Jarldom, but he’s not interested.  But ultimately, money wins out.  When they land in Vellefold, however, secret after secret emerges about Ilsa’s true motives – and problem after problem emerges as Bjorn tries to get the ragtag group of survivors whipped into shape with the help of his brotherhood of Forgotten Sons.  Is the stunning warrior he’s coming to respect, lust for and love all that Bjorn thinks she is – or is there some secret hiding behind those bright eyes?

Her Viking Warrior works amazingly well whenever its stunning action sequences or Bjorn’s angst about his abandonment stand at center stage.  You can see the spilling blood and smell the sweat as you read a too-infrequent battle scene.

The character work, though, sometimes feels a bit slapdash.  Bjorn is straightforwardly grumpy and resentful; a warrior who believes in hand-to-hand combat, and any and all sorts of breasts; a misogynist who doesn’t believe in female leadership, his opinion tainted by his quasi-stepmother’s behavior after his birth mother’s death.  Naturally, Ilsa wakes him up to the importance of the existence of capable and powerful women as he falls in love with her. To claim his future, he must swallow down the bitterness of the past – and it takes him the length of the book to do so.

Ilsa is a woman of multilayered mystery, and her complexity was something I enjoyed.  But she’s also the biggest problem with the novel.  Rushing about trying to abolish thralldom, trained – as are all female warriors in every single film set pre-1700s – in the ways of the bow and arrow versus hand to hand combat, part nursemaid, part warrior, she feels rather like an ‘insert-feminist-character-traits-here’ placard in her behavior versus someone who’s fully rounded out with genuine flaws and personality.   Note: it’s completely believable that such a warrior woman might have existed in her time period.  But that doesn’t automatically make her a full-blooded character.  Her abusive marriage has shaped her and her goals are understandable, but something in the execution gets lost and I never really got a feel for her as a person

So, too, does the central relationship lack something  - a sense of mutual tenderness or vulnerability when she and Bjorn are alone together.  They’re Vikings, true, but for the most part, the current that runs between them is sexual rather than one of romantic attachment.

Indeed, most of the book’s development surrounds Bjorn’s reacceptance into his family.  Some of its better parts feature Bjorn wrestling with his anger at the father and home town that abandoned him.  We are told – not shown – about the great sacrifices his father has made in remorse for the loss of his child, as Bjorn ascends the throne, Simba-like, after his prodigal separation from the family.

Conkle’s writing is decent, but sometimes bogged down with flat stretches or bits of unnecessary detail.  We’re told of a minor character: “she was knowing and proud, with a small straight nose.”  Why do I need to know what this woman’s nose looks like?  It doesn’t come up again.

Her Viking Warrior mainly works as a family story, with a romance that slips into the background under the heavier weight of its plot.  But when the rest of the plot works well, it’s hard to avoid giving it a qualified recommendation.

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<b>DIDN'T LOVE IT, DIDN'T HATE IT 🤷‍♀️</b>

<b>Actual rating: 2.5⭐️ </b>

When I was writing my thoughts about this book in my book journal I was really struggling to actually name a specific thing that I liked. Still, I don't actually hate this book. I mean, it did entertain me, it just didn't surprise me or capture me in any way...

<blockquote><i><b>"If you are too blind to see wealth, son of Vellefold, then I am too old to tell you what it is."
- Valgerd</b></i></blockquote>

<b>THE THINGS I LIKED</b>

<u>I didn't hate it</u>: Yeah, I really can't be more specific than this. Even though there were plenty of things I didn't like, I didn't feel like this book was actually bad... Must be that 'je ne sais quoi'.

<b>THE THINGS I DISLIKED</b>

<u>Relationship</u>: To me, the most important part of a historical romance is the relationship between the two MC's. Unfortunately, the relationship between Ilsa and Bjorn was annoyingly circular and lacked progress which really frustrated me.

<u>Characters</u>: Neither Ilsa nor Bjorn were really great characters, I had a hard time getting a sense of them and connecting with them.

<u>Plot</u>: The plot was sort of clumsy and oddly fragmented. Again, I had a hard time getting into it.

This is my second book to read by Gina Conkle. While I loved the first book I read, I found this book to be lacking in substance. It started out really well, but it just fizzled out. I never felt like the story was fully developed. I never felt as if I knew the characters and never really felt the connection between them. . I enjoyed the story, but I really would’ve liked for it to have gone a little more in depth!

Gina is a great storyteller no matter the time period or genre. She sweeps you away effortlessly into the time and setting with amazing characters.

Banned from his home as a child, Bjorn is confronted by Ilsa, a young woman from his past who tries to convince him to return to his childhood home, Velleford. When he refuses, even though the father he once loved is dying, Ilsa uses her leverage to force him to go.. There is a strong attraction between them, but her secrets may prevent them being together. It's a dangerous game she plays.
Twists and turns and an unexpected ending.
A good Viking read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

Can two childhood friends can overcome the betrayal and guilt which torn them apart and is now driving a wedge between them.

The beginning was a bit slow but so filled with informations, new words and customs, I felt like I was transported very far away, if not in distance but in time for sure.
I have read a few Vikings romances, but I do not remember them to be so detailed.
But I am glad this one came after or I would have been completely lost, with my basic knowledge, I was able to appreciate this magic tale and even more the awesome and gigantic work Mrs Gina Conkle did with this book.

Bjorn and Ilsa are people of few words, they take action, not the kind to parley.
First introduced is Bjorn, the rejected illegitimate son of a jarl, he made a name for himself, becoming a renowned fighter with his group of warriors, The Lost Sons.
Despite his allegation to not seeking revenge, he still hold with good reason a grudge for his banishment. Why so blinded by his own ire, he is unable to see past it and discern Isla own conflicts.
When Isla appeared, she was portrayed as an ambivalent woman, ready to use woman’s means if necessary or power pressure to make him surrender to her plea.
But as the story unfolds, each new step in the plot enlightens a new aspect of Isla’s personality. She is such a complex woman, she lives with her guilt thinking she has failed her friend Bjorn when he was exiled as a child, then she lived under her family pressure to assure them wealth and rank at the expense of her own happiness then living between rules and lawlessness and its weight.
Isla is the true warrior of this tale, she fight different grounds as are all the women who fight for their freedom and those under their care. She might be no soldier but she fights with her own weapons, cleverness, devotion and forgiveness.
Her relationship with Bjorn navigated between sizzling chemistry to longing for their lost friendship to defiance or acceptance, it was truly one with bends and holes, so much I wondered how will they be able to mend their road to another.

Once the action has truly started, it was impossible to put it down. This page-turned story had me entranced until its last word.
Why the big fat 5 stars for this thrilling tale.

My only complain is a glossary would have been a great addition, lucky me to have read it as an ebook as I could google some words but not all were findable.

I was granted an advance copy by the Publisher Carina Press for Harlequin through Netgalley and I purchased my own copy. Here is my true and unbiased opinion.

It’s been a while since I’ve picked up a Viking book, and I was really excited to see Gina Conkle’s Her Viking Warrior. While it’s part of a series, it stands alone just fine.

Bjorn and Ilsa used to be friends, but Bjorn, as the bastard son of the jarl, is cast out and they don’t see each other again until Ilsa comes to Bjorn with a proposition. They need warriors to train Ilsa and her people and if Bjorn comes back, he can even have the jarl seat. But Bjorn wants nothing to do with his old land.

Or the woman who makes him think about staying.

I enjoyed the beginning. Ilsa is pretty masterful in how she goes toe-to-toe with Bjorn, and I do love a good verbal spar! The chemistry, however, doesn’t continue to build. By halfway through the book, I realized that not much happens. The warrior training that has so much potential is discarded for Ilsa’s many secrets. As such, Ilsa and Bjorn can’t really build anything. The tension doesn’t have room to grow. And it’s a glacial burn so it was disappointing.

I also would have loved to see more of Bjorn and his found brotherhood.

Overall, I think if you’re looking for a Viking romance with a lot of action, this one probably won’t satisfy. However, Ilsa in and of herself really does drive the plot so if you're looking for a strong, heroine-centric plot you should give this one a try.

A lot of potential, but a romance that ultimately, doesn't coalesce into the happy feels.

3 stars.

Eighteen years ago, Bjorn was exiled from Vellefold. Honor-bound to return, he’ll fight for the settlement…then walk away. First, he must work with his childhood friend, now a beautiful, high-ranking Viking lady.When I started reading I couldn't put it down. Gina Conkle is magnifysent and amazing writer.I cannot wait to read more of there books.Keep up the great work.You should definitely read this book.Can't wait for the next book.