Review – Lord of Fire and Ice by Connie Mason, Mia Marlowe

Description:
Duty is to Fulfill Her Every Desire…

Brandr the Far–Traveled has seen the world and a good many of the beautiful women in it. His bed skills are the stuff of steamy legend, his sword sings death, and he can call up fire from thin air. No one in a hundred years ever thought he could be enslaved through trickery and forced to wear the iron collar of a thrall—least of all him.

Until All She Desires is Him…

Katla the Black isn’t just called so for her dark, silky hair. His new mistress has a temper as fierce as a warrior’s and a heart as icy as the frozen North. But inch by delicious inch, Brandr means to make her melt…

 

 

Lord of Fire and Ice is a wonderfully well- written, sensual historic novel with adventure and excitement. I love being pulled into a story, especially when it involves a hot Viking warrior who stops at nothing to win the heart of a woman everyone deems “icy.” I felt as if I was taken back in time and easily pictured myself on a ship viewing the breath-taking scenery while I watched the story unfold right in front of my eyes.

The story begins with Brandr blowing off some much needed steam after being away on a 5-year quest for the emperor, only to be drugged, abducted, and taken some distance where he is now enslaved to Katla the Black. From the moment his naked body is dumped on her floor and collared as a slave, he is taken by her beauty and backbone. Katla is a widow in charge of her homestead where she makes sure everyone is safe and fed. She has too much responsibility on her shoulders to even think about being with a man, much less one that serves as her thrall (slave), or so she wants us to believe. But, the man is too fine and sexy for her not to notice and he slowly begins to wear her down.

I LOVED Brandr’s character. When you have a guy who decides what he wants, even though the subject of his affection is blocking his every move and seems to want nothing to do with him, but he continues to pursue her with kindness, direct and indirect, how can you NOT fall in love with someone like that? He was so charming the people in her village accepted him and got along with him as well as her brothers which definitely has meaning since he is a slave. Normally, thralls were looked down upon and people shied away from them because of their status. He felt bound by his word, didn’t escape even though he could have, worked hard and did not expect any special treatment because of his lineage, and therefore gained the respect of the people. In my opinion, there was nothing not to like about him. As much as she tried to hide her true self, after closely watching how she acted when he wasn’t around, he had her pegged long before she ever admitted to any feelings towards him.

Kata’s character was appealing as well. Yes, she treated Brandr like the slave he was and could be at times mean spirited, but then she would regret her treatment of him and we got a glimpse of her vulnerable side. Her husband took a bed slave because he wanted an heir and she was unsuccessful at conceiving, and because of this she suffered from low self-esteem. She also longed to have a very strong bonding with her mate, something called inn matki munr, where you are so close and connected with your mate you can hear each other’s thoughts, but has all but given up on the idea. I loved how her layers were peeled away, one by one, and you realize why she puts up all those defenses. From that point in the story it was easy to sympathize with her and begin to pull for her and them as a couple. Once she begins to lower her shields, it gets hot fast and the ice quickly turns to steam, if you know what I mean. Very steamy indeed!!

From experience, I know some romance readers are intimidated by stories in certain time periods. For me, after several chapters in something clicked, and I was pulling for them to become a couple, plus trying to figure out who and where the attack on their land was coming from, it became an exciting tale I couldn’t put down until I finished. So, for someone who was not familiar with Nordic history or any of the terminology involving this time period – this simple southern girl followed along just fine. I would say this book is for anyone who appreciates a really sweet, but passionate love story with strong characters and gripping action, no matter the time frame. I totally escaped into this mythical romantic story of love and trust and enjoyed every minute of it and I bet you will too.

Kimber gives Lord of Fire and Ice a solid 4 stars.