Jolie Mathis The Sea King

The Sea King

Jolie Mathis

Berkley, Jun 2006, $6.99

ISBN: 0425210650

While riding her horse, Isabel is dumped into the river. A Danish warrior rescues her. However, her brother King Ranulf captures the Dane and punishes him. No one listens to Isabel when she insists he saved her life; eventually she is drugged. When she awakens she feels obligated to the Dane and helps him escape.

Two winters later Kol Thorleksson leads several hundred mercenaries on an assault of the stronghold of Norsexian King Ranulf out of revenge. He captures Ranulf's sisters Rowena and Isabel, but the monarch is gone. Isabel is stunned as she recognizes that Kol is the man she freed only to have him return and kill her Saxon kin. Kol catches Isabel as he meets her two years old son Godric. Though she cannot remember what happened she holds Kol culpable for raping her. Since Kol cannot sire children due to his mother's curse, he wonders if she freed him two years ago so she can accuse him of raping her in order to protect her lover. Kol knows he wants Isabel, but will not allow his desire to make any decisions for him. He also believes he is not good enough for any female's love whether it be his mother or Isabel, but especially one who holds him in disdain. Isabel feels like a traitor as she falls in love with the invader.

THE SEA KING is an interesting medieval romance with a superb twist involving who sired the lad. Kol is terrific as a courageous lead overcoming a doomed past starting with his birth when his mom dumped him to die on an icy river. He is one hero readers will deservedly sympathize with. A minor quibble is that though Godric is a toddler he acts much older. Still this is a superb historical romance that readers will appreciate.

Harriet Klausner