I was initially drawn to The Viking Hostage by Tracey Warr because I’m really interested in Viking history. The stories of raiding and sailing around northern and central Europe are enchantingly wild and barbaric. I think this started when I began watching the show, Vikings, and I’ve been captivated ever since!

The story takes place in Wales and France during the 10^th century. The book focuses on three woman and their intertwining stories. One is a Norwegian woman of Viking descent who has been kidnapped and sold into slavery, another is an heiress to a French fortress, and the last woman is in love with her father’s prisoner. How their stories unfold is what really pulled me in and I really liked each of the them.

Despite liking the plot of the story, I had a hard time wrapping my head around the details of the extensive families and the relationships between them. I kept mixing up characters and the book spans a long time range so it was difficult to keep up with what was going on. By the second half of the book though I felt familiar enough with the characters to follow along easily.

I liked The Viking Hostage and thought that the story idea was really strong, but I wish
there had been more engagement early on. This was a slower read for me, but once I was engaged (about halfway through) it was really good.

Happy reading!