I received a free copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a while to get into this book and I'm not sure I completely liked Thorsvald even in the end.

Thorsvald follows the orders of his jarl because he must. This time those orders are to capture his enemy's daughter the princess.

Alodie is no princess but she pretends to be to protect the real princess.

I liked Alodie she was a strong character. Thorsvald on the other hand pissed me off most of the time. And there didn't seem to be anything between them other than insta-love.
This setting both location and time period set this book apart from others in the genre.

This was a fast-paced, swoon-worthy read, that I found I did not want to put down! The story was original and exciting with characters that were realistic and likable. It is everything you could want in a delightful stroll through the pages of a historical romance and more!

Thorvald Longsword can’t believe all he has to do is kidnap the daughter of his jarl’s enemy to get his land back. Easy. But when he finally snatches the princess up and tosses her over his shoulder, the beautiful spitfire makes him question his determination to get his land back at any cost. Alodie gladly agrees to impersonate the princess so the bloodthirsty Northmen will take her instead. While Alodie might be ready to die for her people, she wasn’t prepared for how her pulse races for the maddeningly noble captor whom she’d just as soon hate. But what happens when Thorvald finds out she’s not who she says she is…
This was a decent read. It was quick to read. The characters were decent and the overall plot was good. I recommend.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

This is a good romance with a few issues.

I found the heroes anger at her lie about being the princess almost unforgivable. He literally kidnapped her while threatening to burn down her village. He couldn't believe she would have lied to him?

Then again, the main heroine was way too bold and stubborn. She never reacted with much fear or hesitation especially for someone in her situation. She insisted from the get go that the viking was cowardly, but it's impossible that she could come close to understanding the pressures of his life. Then to be bold or dumb enough to insist that he behave in any certain way is ridiculous. Add to that, she had no idea he had to keep her alive.

The romance was good and compelled the story. The end fight scene was also very exciting and well written.

The cover proved that this book was as well presented, as the book was written. Perfect match! I love Viking and highlander books, so this one was just in my alley. Plot was fun to read. Ending was good. The author is new to me and I can tell you this I won't hesitate to read more books by her!

Ahhhhh this was just such a great read. I just didn't want this book to end and I was sad to turn the last page. I'm so excited to see what's next from this author.

I normally don’t read these types of books, but I must say this book kept my interest from beginning to end. When Thorvald goes to the land where he is to take the king’s daughter for his jarl. He is doing so in order to have his family land back. That was the only part of the mission no looting. When he catches when one of his men disobeying him at night, he also finds the princess by herself. He takes her and puts her over his shoulder and within hours they are off. Back in their boats to their land.
What he does not know is that the woman he has is not the princess, she has decided to go in order that her princess will be saved. The journey home though finds them talking. He is surprised that she knows their language. Then on a night when a storm comes and he tries to save his cousin, he is again surprised as she is holding on to him so he will not be lost into the ocean. He is confused as to what to make and do with her.
Alodie is also surprised that her body is telling her that she is to be with this man but he won’t be with her instead he thinks she must be turned over the jarl it is then when she calls him a coward that the story really begins to get intense. I for one could not put the book down until I finished, I had to find out what happened. The author had me all the way to the end. This is a very good book full of action and everything everyone wants. A very good read with good characters.

What a wonderful story of overturned expectations, truths revealed, and love found in the oddest of places and against all odds!

I appreciated the whimsical romance set within this time period. This book was pretty light compared to some Viking romances I have read. It was a great get away weekend read. This is the type of book I'd take to kill some time relaxing and just enjoying the journey. I would rate this a three out of five. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #NetGalley

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This was an interesting read. I hadn’t read about Viking’s in awhile and decided to get give it a shot. We have Alodie a servant who decides to sacrifice herself to save her people and Thorvald a Viking trying to reclaim his honor and his land. Thorvald was annoying for about 90% of the book. He just kept talking about a vow and was driving me crazy. I did like the love that finally grew between them. It was just for Thorvald that was driving me a little crazy.

Alodie is a loyal servant to her Princess. When Viking ships invade their village, Alodie offers to impersonate the princess to protect her from the Vikings’ ruthless plans. They believe it and their leader Thorvald kidnaps her to take back to the Jarl. Although Thorvald swore he would never kidnap anyone, delivering the princess is the only way he can buy his freedom and regain his family’s land. However, by the time Thorvald needs to deliver the “princess” he has fallen in love with her and is desperate to keep her for himself.
I have never read a Viking tale before and I found that I enjoyed the time period and would be interested in more titles in this type of setting. That said, this was a pretty dark tale with more battles than romance. So, for me, this book was just okay.

Alodie has always been the outsider in her village, taller than the other girls showing her shameful heritage of a demon father from the North. She gets on by working hard and doing her duty. When she spots the approach of the dreaded invaders on the horizon, she offers to stand in for her beloved Princess to save her from harm. Thrilling and fast paced, totally unpredictable. I’ve given this five book stars as it passed the ‘missed stop test’ meaning I missed my station on the tube as I was lost in the dim distant past. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this story. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I truly enjoyed this book, so different then your average Viking love story. I found humor in the Vikings known as demons, and this never actually was said they are Vikings, we assume by the title. It was sweet, humorous and action packed.

The Viking’s Captive by Ingrid Hahn is my first book by this author. As a first experience with this author’s work, I found the novel to be interesting.

Alodie, a servant, sees Viking ships approaching her island home. She sounds the alarm to her people hoping they have enough time to hide their valuables and save as many lives as possible. When the Vikings reveal that they have come to kidnap her princess, Alodie volunteers to impersonate her. She is instantly drawn to the Viking captain even though she views him as a savage.

Thorvald “Longsword” is the captain of the invading Vikings. He is working to fulfill a vow to his leader, Jarl Erlendr, in order to regain his freedom and lands. Thorvald is immediately drawn to Alodie, though he knows she is beyond his reach.

The Viking’s Captive has a great premise. It’s well-written and interesting. The characters are well-developed, but I personally found the main characters to be irritating. They both initiate the situations they find themselves in, but seem to forget that fact rather quickly. I did enjoy the story and rate it 3 out of 5 stars. I recommend it to those who enjoy Viking romance. There is some sexual content.

My thanks to Entangled Publishing, LLC and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. However, the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine and mine alone.

Thorvald is indebted to the jarl. He keeps a secret of Thorvald's that he would prefer never sees the light of day. Thorvald is his best warrior so when the jarl decides he needs his enemy's daughter for the perfect revenge, he sends Thorvald to take the princess.

Alodie loves and happily serves her princess. To protect her, she suggests impersonating her for negotiations, though she never dreams they would dare kidnap the princess.

I think you might like this story is you enjoy:
-You like enemies to lovers
-You like the kidnapping trope
-You enjoy the Viking time period (700s)

I thought this story was okay. It isn't anything that I wanted to stay up all night and read, but it wasn't bad. There were some funny parts. I think it was just missing something for me. Maybe a bit of that tension? I think I wanted more from Thorvald. Maybe I expect for from a Viking, I just wanted more...assertiveness? He came off rather weak through much of the book because of the jarl's power over him. It wasn't bad though. I also disliked that the heroine wasn't a virgin. Just a personal preference. I also didn't love that Alodie called them demons non stop. It's in there like 150 times, a bit much. This book just didn't make me feel much. I didn't feel Thorvald's big secret was enough to make him act the way he did.

Safety warning: sexual assault of heroine's mother

The time period for this book was fairly new for me as far as romance goes: it was a little rough getting into the headspace necessary for the period. All in all, the book is fairly well written, but the characters in particular didn't grab me. Things in general may be a bit too grim for me in this story, the heroine being the product of rape and essentially forced into multiple unwanted marriages is a lot. Also, I had a hard time feeling like her devotion to the princess was warranted, there was little to like in the way the heroine is treated in her home country, and the princess does not seem to have done anything to mitigate the situation. The hero was also fairly hard to like, as a man who's helped to commit slaughter, rape, and theft of raided villages, all because of blackmail from the jarl that feels fairly flimsy? I can say the plot doesn't want for battle, and if you're more accepting of the aforementioned sensitive material, you may like the book more! For me, it was a bit of a miss.

Review excerpted from my blog post over at FanSciHist Romance Reviews (https://fanscihist.wordpress.com/2019/12/17/the-vikings-captive-by-ingrid-hahn/)

My Rating: 3.5 stars

Library recommendation: Recommended for public library romance ebook collections.

Warning: Hereafter, you chance spoilers. I will try never to reveal major plot points, but to review any book, you must reveal some parts of the story.

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Number of titles I have read by this author: 1

Love story speed: Slow-Medium burn

Relationship dynamics: The Reluctant Viking Warrior (H) / The Orphaned Servant (h)

Sexual content: A smidge; “on-screen” and explicit; with an extended spanking scene.

Triggers: death and mourning of a supporting character; frank descriptions of nudity; upsetting descriptions of orphaned childhood; potential interpretation of relationship as Stockholm syndrome; significant religious rhetoric; forced marriage (of h, not to H); recounted rape (not of h, not by H); forced conversion (of H by h).

Grammar/Editing: My ARC had some awkward phrasing, verb tense issues, word choice issues, a few typos, and repetitive phrasing.

Review: This quick-paced novel is set in 788 CE and begins with a historical caveat from the author explaining her artistic license with historical fact, which was nice to have up-front for those readers who are sticklers for historical accuracy. The world building in this story is done to a degree that the reader gets a general sense of the time period and landscape, but not so much that one could draw a map.

Alodie is a bit of a fish out of water because she is of mixed Anglo-Saxon and Norse ancestry. Thorvald is a man who is strictly bound by, and beholden to, his honour. Their relationship begins as that of captor and captive, and develops into something deeper on the voyage to Thorvald’s homeland. Because Alodie pretended to be someone else for so much of the novel, I didn’t feel entirely certain that we ever truly saw who she was as a character. I also found it unfortunate that Thorvald, while he has scruples, does not fight for them earlier in the novel. The supporting characters in this story are moderately developed, with Birna – Thorvald’s aunt – being who we learn the most about (although that is not saying an awful lot). I found Sigurd and Ozrik – two of Thorvald’s closest comrades – to be nearly interchangeable, with only a couple of differentiating characteristics, which was somewhat disappointing.

Noble Virtues Checklist version:

Courage – check
Truth – negatory
Honour – mostly
Fidelity – check
Discipline – check
Hospitality – a bit
Self-reliance – er, well…
Industriousness – sure
Perseverance – check



Full disclosure: I received a free advance review copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thorvald has been told that he will get his family's land back if he completes a task for his jarl. All he has to do is bring back the daughter of the jarl's enemy. He mets the princess and is intrigued. Later he finds the princess alone and a much as he doesn't like the idea, ends up kidnapping her. He doesn't count on falling for her on the return trip home.

Alodie is just a servant to the princess. But when their enemy comes ashore, she convinces everyone that she should stand in for princess to protect her. She didn't count on being kidnapped and taken from her home. As much as she wants to despise her kidnapper, she is falling for him. But she knows that he plans to give her to the jarl when they reach his home.

What will happen when they arrive back to Thorvald's home? Will he be able to give her up to gain his lost land?

I really enjoyed Thorvald and Alodie's story. I really liked Alodie! She was committed to her princess and would do anything for her. This really tells us a lot about her character. I also enjoyed watching these two fall in love. It was a sort of enemies to lovers trope, although Thorvald didn't consider Alodie an enemy. I definitely look forward to reading more viking stories from Hahn!

This book was received from the Author, and Publisher, in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own

The Viking's Captive by Ingrid Hahn is the story of Alodie and Thorvald.

The Viking's Captive by Ingrid Hahn, is a pulse racing historical romance.
When Alodie agrees to protect her Mistress, by taking the persona of the Princess, when the “Demon” Vikings arrive on their shore. Brave and Fiesty, Alodie will have to keep her wits about her, taking things into to her own hands, she is willing to sacrifice her life for her people.
Thorvald Longsword is a somewhat honorable Norsemen, who is indebted to the Jarl. The Jarl holds a weighty secret over Thorvald, and the only way he can retrieve his lands back he must win his favor from the Jarl. Thorvald is tasked with invading and kidnapping a princess of a small kingdom.
I really enjoyed how the romance unfolded, along with secrets they are unwilling to share. Facing difficulties, Alodie is not prepared for how she is to falling for the not so typical Norseman.
A riveting fast paced drama with secrets and tragedy, and a swoon worthy Viking.
Ingrid Hahn, provides an entertaining read to readers with heart pounding romance,

Alodie is a servant to the princess of the small kingdom. When she sees the demons coming from the sea, she quickly runs to warn her. She will do anything to save the princess who has been so good to her.

Thorvald Longsword has been sent by his Jarl for just one purpose, so there will be no treasure for the men this time. He hates having to serve the Jarl but the man is holding a terrible secret over him.

A fabulous Viking adventure full of battles and secrets. The characters have much more in common than they could ever believe .

I loved it.