Pub Date: 1989
Illustrator: Pino
Imprint or Line: Zebra Lovegram
Published by: Kensington
Genres: Bodice Ripper, Historical Romance, Medieval Romance, Viking Romance
Pages: 480
Format: Paperback
More at: Goodreads
Purchase Book: Buy on Amazon
Reviewed by: Introvert Reader
Synopsis:
WAR HUNGRY VIKING
The crash of a wooden club and the howl of a Norse cur forever shattered innocent Edin’s dreams of marrying her childhood sweetheart. And when the svelte young beauty found herself in the grip of her betrothed’s killer, Edin vowed one day she’d give the devilish invader his due. But as she hardened her heart against him, the gorgeous captive’s body couldn’t shut out his nearness. His broad chest heated her, his strong hands molded her…and Edin was soon longing for the ruthless raider from the North to show her his uncivilized kind of love!
HIGH-BORN SAXON
Ever since his father had been murdered by a British bedthrall, fierce Thoryn Kirkynson had sworn vengeance on all the English dogs. The accursed land was for pillaging, its men meant for hard labor, and its women for illicit pleasures. Yet even as the bearded Nordic chieftain swung his axe in slaughter, he could not staunch the rush of tender feelings that flooded him when he saw the enemy princess. Loathing himself for his father’s weakness, Thoryn sought not only to dominate his captive…he yearned for her whispers of love and endless hours of ecstasy in Edin’s Embrace.
EDIN’S EMBRACE by NADINE CRENSHAW
SPOILER ALERT ⚠
The Book
Wow… What an experience! Edin’s Embrace by Nadine Crenshaw is a Zebra Lovegram romance published way back in 1989. With a shimmering Pino Daeni cover featuring a muscled guy who looks a lot like Fabio, embracing a blonde on a Viking ship (spot the horse on the cover!) this could just have been another ho-hum romance.
But it’s not.
The Set-Up
This is how the tale begins:
The world was a colder, darker place then. It was an axe age, a wind age, a time when men didn’t dare give mercy, and a time when the powerful exacted what they could and the weak granted what they must.
Ok, that definitely piqued my interest.
The ominous effect is spoiled a bit in the next paragraph with a glaring misspelling, thanks to the ever so diligent Zebra editors (who were so lackadaisical that even I could’ve easily found work there ;-). There are a lot of typos in this book, which is a shame, as such a good book deserved more cautious editing. For example, the word hardier is used instead of heartier.
On the other hand, Crenshaw diligently tries to portray the authenticity of the Viking era and sticks to lots of historical facts. This book also borrows heavily from the Icelandic sagas. That sets the stage for Vikings as pitiless warriors. The heroine is a lady, not the clichéd young girl trained by her father as a boy in the arts of war.
The Plot of Edin’s Embrace
The plot of Edin’s Embrace seems like your standard Viking fare. Warriors from the North come to the British Isles. They kill and pillage a castle. Edin, the heroine gets enslaved by the hero, and a love story ensues.
Sometimes he uses force. Usually, he’s a sensitive toned-down version of what should be a ferocious beast of a man.
Here, Thoryn is more of an in-between type. He starts out a brute and then steadily transforms into a man who’s willing to look into himself and change his ways.
The Gripes
For the most part, Edin’s Embrace was an authentic Viking romance. For example, it made sure to note which helmets were worn when, the importance of bathing, and the treatment of slaves. Slaves are to have their hair shorn and they are to be killed if they try to escape. So when Thoryn has neither of these things done to Edin, it is a cause of strife amongst his peoples.
Despite its authentic, violent, stark Viking feel, I do have to admit that there were a few anachronisms. The mentions of potatoes and squash threw me out of the realism for a moment.
When a Muslim trader mentions that Constantinople was founded in the year 300 AD (Anno Domino, In the Year of our Lord Jesus Christ), I wondered why he just didn’t say it was founded about 600 years ago, instead.
These are minor gripes, and I fault the editors for this. Crenshaw did try her best to make this as accurate as possible.
Edin’s Embrace: The Love Story
While the genuine Viking atmosphere is a major plus here, the real draw is the love story. Edin is Thoryn’s thrall, but he in turn is enslaved by her. I really appreciate that there is no other woman for Thoryn (except for a brief encounter with a prostitute), no other great love of his. He is a primal force of a man and love is not part of his mentality.
“What is love?” is a phrase often queried here. Sometimes this book gets quite philosophical about the nature of man and woman and their bonds together. Women are a biological need for Thoryn, but before Edin came along, they offered little in terms of mental stimulation and affection. With her, he becomes a better man and a better lover.
There is a scene where Thoryn approaches a Viking friend and asks him if women enjoy sex, and if they do, how can men go about pleasing them? Despite his friend’s poor advice, Thoryn learns how to please Edin and her and she, in turn, pleases him. Their passion however soon turns into what could be a doomed love.
There’s a lot of introspection than action here, far more than I usually enjoy; somehow in Edin’s Embrace, it works. Edin and Thoryn are two very deep individuals whose lives and souls are drawn together.
My Opinion
One thing I wasn’t crazy about was Edin’s failure to accept her place in the violent Viking world. In the end, Edin convinces Thoryn to basically say, “Hey, let’s eff this Viking pillaging stuff, and move to Constantinople to become merchants.”
That might seem contradictory, as I have no qualms when a gunslinger hangs up his guns and becomes a rancher or a pirate stops raiding to become a plantation owner. But when one of the most hardcore Viking heroes I’ve ever come upon hangs up his sword, it made me sad. Doing so would ensure Edin the stability she required, but it made the ending less perfect for me.
A Great Scene
This is the scene that won me over in Edin’s Embrace, and made me realize I was not reading another tame, ho-hum Viking book:
There he held her. She felt the sword point keenly. She became aware of her ribs beneath it, how delicate the bones were, how easily they could be pierced.
“I’m waiting thrall! What say you know?”
She whispered, “I-I am free, a nobleman’s daughter.”
“I’m challenging you—fight me, my lady!”
“I can’t fight you, Viking, as well you know.”
“Aye,” he said slowly, lowering his weapon at last, “as well I know.”
Her gaze lifted again, all the way to his face. “But I will never be your slave,” she said stubbornly.
This time he reacted with immediate anger, the most parlous kind of anger, the kind born of frustration. The jerk of his head told her of his ire, and her breath froze at the cold flare of temper in his eyes. In an instant, he became fearsome, furious mad. His mighty sword swung again, and he closed in. There was an ice storm rampaging in his eyes. The flat of his sword lifted her chin, until she was looking at him down its long gilt and silver length. All he said now was, “Slave or sword point?”
The flames snapped in the fire pit behind her. The cold, steel point pricking her throat never moved the slightest. For an immeasurable extent of time, she stood perfectly still, living in a state of strain. She searched for an answer. And impaled on his gaze, feeling all those wild and hungry eyes on her, something of her pride broke inside her. In the end, she could only whisper: “Slave.”
EDIN’S EMBRACE
Final Analysis of Edin’s Embrace
As a reader of historicals, I have always been searching for that great Viking romance. I still rate Johanna Lindsey’s Fires of Winter a 5 star read because, for that 13-year-old girl who read it, that was a 5 star read.
I’m not the kind of reader who looks back at books I enjoyed and says, “Well, I don’t like them now, so that erases the past.” However, 30 years later, I’ve changed as a person and a reader. I need something different. Something more hardcore. Edin’s Embrace comes close; it’s not perfect, nevertheless, I loved it.
Edin’s Embrace is a great Viking romance, a rarity for me to find and enjoy!
5 Stars
