A Tale of Two Vikings

By Sandra Hill

Has an eye for the ladies, loves a good fight. Splits his sides over rude jokes. Won't ask directions no matter how lost he is . . . even in a longship, for the love of Odin! Sound like anyone you know? Maybe every man you know?

Toste and Vagn Ivarsson are all that and more—a lot more. Identical Viking twins, they came squalling into this world together, rode their first horses at the age of seven, their first maids during their thirteenth summer, and rode off on longships as untried fourteen-year-old warriors. And now, having seen only thirty and one winters, they are about to face Valhalla together. Or maybe something even more tragic: being separated. For even the most virile Viking must eventually leave his best buddy behind and do battle with that most fearsome of all opponents—the love of his life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Feb 11, 2014
• ISBN: 9780062343871

Sandra Hill

Sandra Hill is a graduate of Penn State and worked for more than ten years as a features writer and education editor for publications in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Writing about serious issues taught her the merits of seeking the lighter side of even the darkest stories.

Reviews for A Tale of Two Vikings

[rubya_32 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Why did I check this book out of the library and take the time to read it? A moment of insanity surely.

The book wasn't neccessarily baaaaad, it just wasn't really that good. I felt like I was reading a cartoonized romance novel, a parody of itself. Let's face it, the male characters in this book were little more than over-sexed buffoons. The women were shrewish, stupidly stubborn and in my opinion, totally selfish. At one point one of the female characters, Esme, takes Toste captive because she doesn't want him to avenge his twin brother's "death." Rather, she needs him to be by her side to help her with her cause and not abandon her. Really? Throughout the novel, she is afraid of losing her independence and power and yet sees no problem in taking it away from another? The plot was rather thin and dull in my opnion, too. One annoying thing was that each section in each chapter was introduced by the author's irritatingly anachronistic "witticisms" which destroyed any momentum that had been going.

Good concept, disastrous execution, in my opinion.

[addictofromance · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A Tale of Two Vikings is exactly what the title claims, its a story of two twin brother Vikings. Toste and Vagn were born at the same time, twins, they have done everything in their lives together. When they go into battle together, they are both injured and separated having to assume the other is dead, despite the strong connection they have for each other. Toste is taken away by some Nuns, including a Lady Esme, the most beautiful and stunning nun he has ever seen, and has yet to say her complete vows to the church, so of course for him she is available, however Esme is only looking for sanctuary from those that want her killed, not a handsome viking that stirs up her senses. Vagn is taken back to familiar surroundings, and back to Helga -his brothers betrothed. But now they his brother Toste is dead, he notices that Helga the Homely as she once was called, is now Helga the beautiful. So Vagn starts considering the idea of marrying Helga, however she is very high spirited and resistant to marrying him. However these Viking Twins never expected that their greatest battle would be for....LOVEI have to say that A Tale of Two Vikings is by far one of my favorites of Sandra Hill. I loved the whole aspect of twin Vikings, I mean who wouldn't right? It takes place back in 900 A.D., and it was definitely a witty yet sensual written story. In this story each chapter each trades off to each twins love story, which is neat yet can be a bit frustrating when the chapter leaves you hanging. This is a wonderful story of two twins that have never thought that they would ever settle down, but once they are separated, they start thinking outside the box, and find women of their own, and such a sweet reunion when they find each other once again. Definitely a story you dont want to miss out on, one that will surprise and intrigue you senseless.