I enjoyed this story based back in Viking times. The three Characters were strong and well developed. The story world was vivid, and the author used our senses to bring it to life with scents and sound as well as vision.

The book starts of strong, when Elric a slave to a farmer in England, is led to believe that he is about to be freed, when in fact the farmer has sold him to a group of Vikings, and he is shipped away to their homeland to be a thrall. The scenes of him being taking to the ship and the voyage felt real.

But I felt that once they had returned to their homeland, apart from a couple of instances Elric was treated very well. I imagine that his life would have been much harsher that it is in the story.

I thought the idea of sexual / intimate relations was ignored if neither of them bottomed. I have a feeling that, that may not be fact in real life, but I felt it was a nice way for the author to explain Ari and Vidar’s relationship, as well as calling themselves blood brothers. So, I was happy to put that down to the author’s creative licence.

The minor problem I have with the story is, I believe that Elric soon accepted his new life, and his kidnapping and enslavement is almost forgotten. I felt that the story should have been longer, so we saw a more gradual change in Elric’s attitude towards Ari and Vidar.

I liked the way Vidar had trouble with his emotions and would storm off, I thought his character felt like a true Viking warrior, not so sure that Ari came across the same way.

Having said all of that, I think the overall plot and characters was strong and vivid. The sex scenes were hot, though I am not sure they would have dared to have forbidden sex in a spiritual place.

I enjoyed the story and was rooting for the three guys to find their happy ending. I just feel that a slower pace in their becoming a threesome to allow for Elrics anger to fade and their friendships to blossom slower, would have made the story even better.