Sail into a lusty Viking romance with Hungry Like a Wolf by Lily Harlem
Duran Duran appreciation made me look twice at the Rock ‘N Roll Viking historical romance Hungry Like a Wolf by Lily Harlem, and my overall appreciation for most titles I’ve read through Dragonblade made me decide to read it. Overall, I’m glad I embarked on the Viking version of lusty pirates as it’s a road previously untraveled.
The backstory of Hungry Like a Wolf by Lily Harlem
This is the third book in the Viking Rocks series by Harlem, and it boasts a pretty solid book description. It introduces Carmel as a lowly Christian slave/princess and establishes the appreciation of Viking King Ravn Rhalson. Ew. Yuck. She definitely doesn’t like him or his muscles. The book definitely features this plot for the first 50% of it pages. It doesn’t feature a ton of other plot points, and as soon as naughty bits make contact, this little plot fizzles out.
Read a full description here
Meet the Vikings who not only adventure, seduce, battle, and love hard, they also rock ‘n’ roll. That’s right, the Rhalsons of the Northlands are a different breed altogether. They’re tough and rough and make up their own rules. Why not? They can. No one can stop them.
Carmel of the Westlands is living as a lowly slave. Which is all wrong! She’s a princess, a warrior, and a good, Christian woman. So how come she’s found herself washing the feet of an entitled Viking in the kingdom of Tillicoulty?
She must pray for her mother’s army to rescue her and hope that her precious maidenhood is not taken against her will.
Yet everywhere she goes, her master’s tall, strong brother is watching her with his piercing, glacial-blue eyes. She can barely turn around without bumping into his broad, battle-scarred torso.
Ravn Rhalson, King of Drangar, is a broken man. His quest for power has blurred the path of his destiny and he must fight to step back on it.
His only choice is to throw himself at the mercy of Njord, the God of the Seas and Winds, and journey to find his siblings—a journey that lands him on the shores of a new kingdom as he sheds his old skin.
And the light that shows him the way? His brother’s slave, a thrall woman, the daughter of an enemy captured in battle. She’s delicate and beautiful, her eyes shine with intelligence and strength, and she moves with a regal grace that captivates him utterly.
So when the solution to a problem is for him to keep her at his side, he drops her onto his longboat and sails off into the sunset.
She doesn’t want to go with him. She doesn’t like him. He’s a big brute, a heathen monster. But can he persuade her otherwise? Can she see that he’s a changed man and she’s become his world? He’ll do anything to protect her, anything to ensure her happiness and, most importantly, her satisfaction.
Honestly, it didn’t bother me at all, because I found Carmel’s early Christian hand-wringing annoying. I have read and continue to read a lot of Christian fiction, and I’ve only found a handful of characters this over-the-top throughout the years. Fortunately, a magical O or two severely curtails the amount of testimony in the remainder of the volume. Much appreciated, and it’s actually kind of funny — trading one type of ecstasy for the other.
All of the above may sound critical, but I don’t really mean it that way. Romance novels are like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates — you never know what you are going to get. This book’s complete descent into sexual escapades was an intriguing counterbalance to fade-to-black reads. At the end of the day, I know I’m picking out a jaunty little romance book, and this one works on that front. It’s a very fast read.
The reason it’s four stars instead of five was Carmel’s diatribes in the first half. They were too over the top.
I’m 50/50 on if I will read the other books in this series. I probably will if I want a fast read one day, but they aren’t on my must list.
Tropes
- Enemies to lovers
- Widowed hero
- Kidnapped
- Alpha Male
- Viking
Viking Rocks books by Lily Harlem
Mandatory Musical Interlude
Please note this review is based on a Net Galley review copy provided via the publisher. This post contains affiliate links.
