Book Review - To Sin With A Viking, Michelle Willingham

To Sin With A Viking, Michelle Willingham

This is the first installment in Michelle Willingham’s the Forbidden Vikings series and it’s a winner!  The writing is so vivid in describing 875 a.d. Ireland, the countryside and the lifestyle that you easily transport yourself there.  The setting is during a famine and the people are dying.  Those left are weak.  Our heroine, a strong, outward woman in an era when that was taboo is engaging.  Caragh Ó Brannon defended herself when the Vikings landed.  She did what she had to to protect her 17 year old brother.  She captured the head Viking by striking him over the head, then, with the help of others, she chained him prisoner in her house.  Now she finds herself alone with one very angry Viking.... 

Styr Hardrata sailed to Ireland intending to trade, never expecting to find himself held captive in chains by a beautiful Irish maiden. 

The fiercely handsome warrior both terrifies and allures Caragh, but he is forbidden territory. He

The tribe was slowly starving to death.

Caragh O'Brannon stared at the grain sack, which was nearly empty. One handful of oats remained, hardly enough for anyone. ..Her older brothers, … had left a fortnight ago to trade for more food.

'Is there anything to eat, Caragh?' her younger brother Brendan asked. At seventeen, his appetite was three times her own, and she'd done her best to keep him from growing hungry. But it was now evident that they would run out of food sooner than she'd thought.

Instead of answering, she showed him what was left. He sobered, his thin face hollow from lack of food.

'We haven't caught any fish, either. I'll try again this morning.'

'I can make a pottage,' she offered. 'I'll go and look for wild onions or carrots.' Though she tried to interject a note of hope, both of them knew that the forests and fields had been stripped long ago. There was nothing left, except the dry summer grasses.

Brendan reached out and touched her shoulder. 'Our brothers will come back. And when they do, we'll have plenty to eat.'

In his face, she saw the need to believe it, and she braved a smile she didn't feel. 'I hope so.'

288 pages that I could not put down!!!  Loved it, looking forward to the next installment which is coming soon.

RITA ® Award Finalist Michelle Willingham has written over twenty historical romances, novellas, and short stories. Currently, she lives in southeastern Virginia with her husband and children. When she's not writing, Michelle enjoys reading, baking, and avoiding exercise at all costs. Visit her website at: www.michellewillingham.com.