There's a long, rich history in Romancelandia of heroines either raised in convents or attending convent schools, but not a lot of actual (you know) nuns. And sure enough, the heroine in A Nun for a Viking Warrior by Lucy Morris isn't a nun just yet. Amee Evreux is still a novice, but is determined to take her vows. The convent life is it for her. It's the only way she can see to get out from the under the thumb of her abusive, vile, no-good father. And having witnessed the tragedy that was her parents' marriage? Yeah, shackling herself to a husband is not an option. Marrying God - that's the ticket for her! Unfortunately a brooding, dangerously handsome Viking shows up to shatter her plans.
Jorund Jotunnson has fought valiantly along his chief's side and for his service is awarded land in what we now know is northern France (Normandy, specifically). It's Evreux land, and King Charles wants to form an alliance with Jorund's chief. The plan is that the Normans will settle in the area, marry, have children, prosper and ultimately be loyal and fight for Francia. The chief, Rollo, has married the Francian Princess Gisela, and she's the one who helps to arrange the match between Jorund and Amee. Now all Jorund has to do is go to the nunnery, pick up his betrothed, marry her, and get to work on rebuilding the Evreux holdings. Minor fly in the ointment, Amee isn't all that interested and a fuss is kicked up (uh, he probably shouldn't have threatened to burn down the nunnery...) but eventually she relents.
Besides the simple fact that he's a Viking and she's one step away from taking her vows, complications abound thanks to family baggage. Amee's father leaned on King Charles to put a very specific clause in the betrothal agreement, which states that if an heir is not produced after two winters, the land will revert back to him. Amee's mother had trouble conceiving, so the logic being that so will Amee.
Amee is afraid of her father, who physically abused both her and her mother (content warning spoiler: Amee's mother suffered from what we now know is bipolar disorder and commits suicide). All she wants is her freedom and marriage to a Viking isn't what she signed up for. She's, naturally, fearful of Jorund at first. He cannot read - so he has no idea what the agreement says. But Amee can read and begins to debate if this is her ticket out and back to the nunnery. But can her father be trusted and does she really want to do that when she's developing feelings for her new husband?
Jorund has his own family baggage; his shieldmaiden mother having died in battle and his father basically being a marauding psychopath. After his mother's death he joined his father, and let's just say Jorund witnessed things that haunt him to this day. He's ready to give up his warrior lifestyle. He wants a home, a wife, children - but he has a skittish new bride and it's going to take patience and time.
These are two well matched characters - both with terrible families that have left them emotionally stunted. They both, essentially, suffer from PTSD, which makes them both mistrustful and afraid. So much so that you can almost understand, as a reader, why they're not terribly forthcoming with each other. They both make assumptions, they both jump to conclusions - and after a while I did want to lock them into a room together and force them to open up to each other. However, I could also understand why they were slow to trust and slow to have these important conversations.
Amee's father basically serves as primary villain, with a secondary villain among Jorund's men (Jorund took him on as a favor to his chief). There's also Jorund's BFF, a shieldmaiden who he sees as a sister and provides some misunderstanding fodder for our romantic couple. I'll be honest and say I want to read her romance tomorrow and oh happy day! Morris is working on a trilogy about Valda and her sisters, with Valda's romance coming in May 2022.
I really liked this and even with my erratic reading of late, I stayed up past my bedtime to plow through the final 3/4 of this book. A slow burn romance, that pays off with some steam, featuring two characters with plenty of emotional baggage for the angst gristmill.
Final Grade = B
6 comments:
I wondered if you had finally read this one! So happy it worked for you. ::click::
AL: I thought about your comment when I featured this book in an Unusual Historicals post - that historically speaking women often joined the order for reasons other than devotion to God. To escape a life of poverty and/or abuse. And while Amee is a noblewoman who has spent time at court, her motivation is most definitely getting the hell away from her father. He remarried after her mother's death (surely an heir will be forthcoming!) and agrees to send her off to the nunnery to get her out from underfoot. Naturally when his plans don't come to fruition, Princess Grisela steps in wanting to protect her old friend.
There's an old medieval romance, with a young noblewoman who's life plan is, basically, become a nun > become an Abbess, who then has to contend with being married off to a warrior (there's some dispute whether he kidnaps her or some such), but what made it work for me is that it was never about 'faith'--it was absolutely a choice made to avoid becoming chattel: Abesses could be powerful women, if they managed their properties well.
God, I wish I remember the something more about it, or even if I own it, so I could try for a re-read--I'm sure I read it before the change of century!
I love the title, it has that Snakes on a Plane vibe to it. You know what you're going to get.
If I recall correctly, the old-school bodice ripper Tara's Song featured a heroine who was a full-fledged nun, not a novice or even a girl studying at a convent. She's captured by a Viking who woos her tenderly and they fall in love. Then he brings her home to meet his wives!
@Jacqueline: YIIIIIIIKES!!!!!
AL: If you remember the title let me know!
Jacqueline: Talk about a mood killer! LOL.
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