Fires of Winter (Viking Haardrad Family Book 1)

Disappointed is an understatement... I truly regret buying this book... it's just horrible.
The hero is a rapist while the heroine is stubborn and just exasperating. I finished reading it just because I didn't want to throw $8 away...

Great read!. Johanna Lindsey draws you in with her vivid writing. You feel like you have been transported inside the scene to watch the story unfold! I just had to read all three books in this series!

I give it three stars because it is Johanna Lindsey and I love her, but this book not so much. I didn't like the main characters at all. The story was good and well written, but I just couldn't make myself like anyone involved. If you love Johanna and vikings then this book is for you.

I love anything by Johanna Lindsey. I am not sure, but I thing I have most of her Books. If there are any new ones, let me know. I have one or two of Dana James, I would like to see some of her books.

I actually read Hearts Aflame before I read this one. I'm glad I read them in this order. It made me appreciate the history that brought forth Kristen Hardraad more fully than the brief mentions in HA. If you like your women strong and your romance saucy, this is good escapist fare.

Fires of Winter was written in 1980 by Johanna Lindsey. It is a story of continual rape set in 850 in Norway. I realize that we all have different points of view on dominant-submissive relationships, and that is fine. Other people will have quite different points of view on this story, and that is fine too. I can only give my personal point of view, and how this story reads to me.

First, the good. Heroine Brenna has grown up wielding a sword and standing strong for herself. With no mother, and an antagonistic step-sister, she has had to fend for herself and think on her feet. She takes on villains with strength and honor. She has a strong internal code of right from wrong and is willing to fight rather than give in. I love sword-wielding heroines and heroines who stand up against wrong-doing. Brenna should be my ideal kind of heroine.

Next, the iffy. While a few other reviewers extol the "historical accuracy" of this story, most of those reviewers seem to do so in order to justify the continual rape. "Of course Vikings raped all their women in the 800s, so therefore you can't complain about the raping, because it was historically accurate". However, much of this story is NOT historically accurate. Most Vikings lived in large one-room homes, which stayed warm more easily. They didn't have lots of little rooms which would be inefficient and harder to heat. Lindsey invents a house with lots of rooms for one character, but even the other homes seem to be segmented. Stables also weren't separate buildings - why waste all that animal warmth! They were connected to the main building. Like in Briton, smoke went up a hole in the ceiling. It wouldn't go through a "door".

The whole family tended to live together in that one house. It was an extended community. They didn't break off into separate locations; it would be too risky. They stayed together and helped each other out. In our modern society we tend to think "kids move away" but that wasn't the mindset at all in Viking times. In Viking times it was natural and proper that you always stayed put to help out.

The book makes it seem odd that a woman would wield a sword - but in Viking tradition this was normal. They were a warrior culture. They had Valkyries, after all! This was a shining model to all. Female warriors were called "shieldgirls".

Brenna is shocked by the tradition of exposing imperfect babies to the elements - but this was practiced ALL over Europe including in the Britons. It was only far later in the middle ages that the traditions began to change. So Brenna would have known about this practice and thought of it as fairly normal.

She also would have known about sex! In the time period in question, sex was a normal, natural function in life, like eating and sleeping. People usually slept in one-room houses. They grew up watching their parents have sex. They knew all about sex. They lived around farm animals who had sex all the time. Sex was celebrated, fertility was celebrated. There is absolutely no way a woman in the 800s could have been in any way confused about sex.

There are all sorts of other minor issues. Honey mead is an alcoholic drink made from honey. There's no barley in it. There are long expositions that are stated as if we're reading a biography text, rather than naturally learning about the characters and their traits. There is a lot of head-hopping, sometimes without warning, so you have to go back to figure out who is thinking things. Sometimes the character thinking thoughts becomes omniscient and thinks things they couldn't possibly have known.

So I would NOT call this book historically accurate. I would call it a modern day fantasy about what Viking life might have been like, based on modern thoughts.

Now to the part that I find quite unhealthy. Again, I'll say that I understand completely the draw of the powerful, controlling, alpha male. I fully appreciate the allure of that type of a character. However, there is an enormous difference between that man and Garrick. With an alpha male, the woman WANTS him. She WANTS sex with him. It is her desire to have it happen. So even if she has to hold him off for societal reasons, she WANTS him to win. What we are seeing here is the diametrically opposed opposite. The heroine DOES NOT want him. She actively fights him because with all her heart, with her core of honor and strength, she desperately does NOT want him to touch her - and he forces her repeatedly. I don't know how to even put into words how opposite this is to an alpha male situation. Every woman I have spoken to who has been raped has been traumatized by the violation and has in many cases carried that trauma with her for years to decades. It harms not only the body but the emotions and the mental state. Brenna-Garrick is NOT a secret desire / alpha male scenario. It is absolutely a RAPE SCENARIO where she hates him and does not want him to touch her. For him to then repeatedly force himself on her would have traumatized her.

There is no way that she would have asked him to continue during the first rape!! That is beyond the scope of reality. No matter what one's body is feeling during a rape, one's emotions and mind are being brutalized and the only thought is for it to stop. And to get away from the violator.

Brenna is strong, intelligent, and has for her entire life been master of her own destiny. It is entirely incongruous for her, after being repeatedly and at times violently raped, to decide she wants to marry this guy. It goes against everything her character has been about up until this time. It is as if she's had a brain transplant. So even in terms of thinking of this story as a "fantasy adventure" about an abusive rapist, it makes no sense. Our heroine undergoes severe personality changes along the way in order to make this work.

Whether it is 850 or 2012, a strong, intelligent woman who is repeatedly, violently raped would fight to get away from that man. That would be an imperative for her whether she was an educated Briton noblewoman of 850 or an educated woman from Los Angeles in 2012. Yes, rapists existed in all eras. Women who fought against them also existed in all eras, and Brenna's actions make no sense at all. Our battered women's shelters are overflowing with women who can attest to that.

Johanna Lindsey novels are always such guilty pleasures. There's so much wrong with them, but I take them for exactly what they are: fiction.

There's just something about the way Lindsey writes, that takes me back into time with warrior heroes and strong, spitfire heroines. I don't read them for relationship advice nor do I look to her heroes for qualities I want in a man. I read them for the angst, love, and heartache. I also love the realistic approaches she takes, and how rape was such an indifferent topic back then and she isn't scared to breach it.

So again, these "bodice rippers" are not for everyone. The hero is almost irredeemable with his actions - rape included (more than once), and he does hit the heroine once. But Lindsey pairs her heroines with these terrible heroes so well. They aren't doormats, but strong independent women who always put up a good fight. And I love the way their relationship builds with conflict all the way through.

Brenna is a tomboy and the daughter of a lord. She's great with a sword, and good at hunting. And she has a pretty awful temper. She's betrothed to a Viking, although she hates the whole idea. When the vikings arrive, they pillage her village and kill someone she loves. The betrothal was only a ruse for Garrick's father to get revenge on the people who held his son kidnapped.

Brenna is taken as captive and given to Garrick, who hates women. He promised he wouldn't fall in love again after his first betrayed him. The conflicting relationship between them was great and I loved every minute of it. Another fantastic one by JL.

Fan of: bodice rippers, captive/captor, almost irredeemable heroes, strong heroines, and great plots?
Then check this one out.

Brenna was basically held captive, and all they did was argue. Just a depressing story. These are Kristen’s parents? Don’t even seem like the same people who were in HEART’S AFLAME. In that book, they were very strong, likable, accomplished, and competent. Brenna was all that and more, truthfully, but she’s nothing like that here. Glad I read Kristen & Royce’s story first!

Lady Brenna Carmarham, a Celtic beauty raised with the fighting skills of a boy, is taken captive by the Vikings, when Anselm Haardrad, who tricked her father by offering his second son to marriage, raided her home. Captured and enslaved, Brenna vows vengeance for her people and promised never to be owned by anyone, most especially Garrick Haardrad, to whom she was given.

As a powerful chieftain's son, Garrick is used to commanding people. After a long voyage trading overseas, he comes home to find Brenna in his bed and learns that she is a gift from his father's. Trouble starts as he finds himself incapable of getting her to submit to his will and this is where the battle starts to see who enslaves whom.

I found this story very engaging and the characters interesting. Brenna's continuous refusal to accept her status of a slave causes the many clashes between her and Garrick. It is exciting to read as you get to see a real battle of wills. While some may be put off by Brenna's constant anger and Garrick's cold-heartedness, we are given good reasons for these - Brenna has known freedom all her life and found it hard to adjust to her new life, while Garrick was hurt by a woman who left him for a wealthy man, which also explains why he has sought wealth for himself at such a young age and why he feels such hate for women in general. It is also this hate that makes the story interesting, as you find yourself fascinated by his actions while he continues to deny his feelings. The way he could be so gentle towards Brenna is a treasure to read. And towards the end, you will appreciate him more as you learn how deeply he cares for her and how much he loves his son.

Some readers commented on the brutality in the book such as the treatment of women, murder, pillaging, but I think you have to keep an open mind and consider the period that this was based on. Such things were normal occurrence in those times. Men ruled over women. And the fact that they did is all the more reason why it's good to see tough heroes soften towards women and eventually fall in love.

You will not be bored with this book and will fall in love with Garrick and Brenna. You can read more of them on Hearts Aflame and Surrender My Love.

Brenna was raised as the son her father never had. She could fight with a sword as well as any of the other men and preferred this life to being a female. Unfortunately, as she got older her body betrayed her, turning her into a beautiful woman that she preferred to ignore. When her father arranged a marriage for her with a Viking Chieftain's son, she was enraged. Her father's only purpose was to keep peace between his people and the Vikings who were plundering other lands. Unfortunately, the Viking had no intention of wedding his son to the Celtic people because he had a grudge to settle with them. Instead, Brenna's friends and family are murdered by the attacking Vikings and she is taken captive along with several other women. Instead of going to Garrick Haardrad as his bride, she is given to him as his slave. The proud Brenna lets him and everybody else know she will be slave to no man. This begins the match of wits between a bitter, hate filled Brenna and an equally bitter Garrick who hates women.
The book has elements that I don't like, such as rape. It's hard to have any feelings for the hero when he rapes the heroine, regardless of the time period. It is a sign of Lindsey's writing ability that she did just this without making the reader hate the hero. However, I found myself hating the Viking men and their customs. They treated women very badly and used them as they saw fit. Had Brenna belonged to any of the other men,I'm certain she would have been killed or severely beaten because of her temper and pride. This being a romance book, we see a change in Brenna and Garick's relationship, which is always stormy. I won't ruin the book for you by giving away too much. Suffice to say it was interesting enough to keep me turning pages.
I stayed up until 4 a. m. finishing this book. It's been a long time since I have liked a book well enough to do this. I highly recommend it but only if you can get past the rape scenes.

This is one of the BEST from Johanna Lindsey! Lady Brenna was captured by the Vikings, the Haardrad Clan. She was promised to Garrick Haardrad as a bride by both fathers. Garrick's father was the leader of the Haardrad clan, Anselm. When Brenna was promised to Garrick, he was trading somewhere. When he came back, Brenna was already captured and presented to him as a gift from Anselm, not as a bride but as a slave.
There is a warning for readers who cannot stand rapes and violence as there are some parts of this book whick consist of these. I think that all these were part of the Vikings' way of life then. Despite this, the story is wonderful, with developed characters, especially Brenna. Brenna was a headstrong lass who believed that she could better most men and this was one thing that was most charming about her. Garrick was a bit of a blockhead when it came to the matters of Brenna.
You can find sparks flying between the two as they struggled with the feelings of love and hate for each other. This is the story that touched me again and again throughout the book, especially near the end. I find that Johanna Lindsey's other Viking book, "Hearts Aflame" is a great book too. I have not read the last Viking book, "Surrender My Love".

I read romance books and true crime and some history books. Something I learn about the viking and the saxxons. This how they lived their lives. They do go raid other land killed men, and took their women and children. A lot readers complained about the rape and things, they have understand this was way with a lot family's back then.I guess Johanna might done some reading on the vikings and the saxxons and sort. I even watch the vikings on the history channel it is a series. maybe if you going to read books like this maybe you need read up on them. this was the way of life back then. They also had their god they did believed in. They did not believe in our god or Jesus.

I noticed that some readers have a problem with the violent scenes portrayed in this novel. I personally don't think it's up to Johanna Lindsey to portray "politically correct" novels just for the sake of not offending some of her readers. If writers did that then books would be unchallenging.
I was wonderfully shocked with this story and very few novels can shock me in today's time. "Fires of Winter" makes you feel emotions for the characters from the start all the way through till the end. The story is compelling and always keeps you interested.
The terrible truth is women were really treated this way throughout history. I love Johanna Lindsey for not treating us as one dimensional readers who can only handle story lines if they are shown with "politically correct" characters in a "politacally correct" society. I respect a writer who accurately portrays just how far women have come in the last century. Unlike some other novelist, Johanna shows us the harsh reality of what some of our female anscestors were forced to go through and sadly what some women today are still going through.
This novel does a wonderful job keeping the readers wondering what will happen next. The violence may be extreme at times but it does not overshadow the interest of the story. The characters are well developed and thought provoking even if they may not be the greatest role models. This book is a real page turner and if you just "love a Lindsey", then I highly recommend "Fires of Winter"!

As always, Johanna Lindsey's characters take you into their world and give you an experience of another lifetime. This was one of the first books I ever read of Johanna's and, while I agree there was the violence that I see people have complained about or rated this book negatively because of, I found her world believable even in the darkness. Vikings were not their captives best friends and most of the captives in this book were lower born females who didn't have the best of lives to begin with (not that many females in any situation of life back then would have). They wouldn't be like females today and I think it is important to keep that in mind when you are reading. Side note, Brenna was raised as her father's son so she had a lot of pride (that a typical woman would not have had) which set her apart from her other family members.

Thank you Johanna for all your wonderful books!!

Really wasn't that impressed with this book. Unlike alot of these reviewers, I don't mind the rape and brutality. Afterall its just a book and written about a long ago history. That was not the problem. The problem was that nothing really stood out or me. It's weird because I read "Hearts Aflame" first and that was awesome book with two of the most unforgettable characters ever written about in Royce and Kristen. But this book is about Kristen's parents Garret and Brenna who I read about in Hearts Aflame and was pretty interesting in that story. So I buy the book and I am reading, patiently waiting for that something to hit me and/or wow me and it just didn't happen. It's kind of confusing because I am not sure what really makes a hero come to life and hold an attraction for me. Garret is described as a big strong Viking with glorious blond hair who invades the heroine's home and steals her away. This is basically the same description and concept as Guaard from Dawnfire and yet Guaard is one of my all-time favorite heroes and Dawnfire is in my top five books all time. Garrett is not even that memorable and thinking back I really don't even remember anything about the story because it really was just mediocre. I think this may have been the case because beyond the typical Viking raids and steals the heroine concept there really wasn't much of a story line. I mean they argued and Brenna was feisty and all but not much else stood out. I do think Brenna's character was a bit more developed than Garrett's because she's described as although beautiful, a bit rough around the edges. Even so, I keep thinking of her as Kristen's mother and not a heroine in her own right. Hearts Aflame was a much better read. And even Surrender my love which is Selig's story was better than this one. All in all, three stars...