Sandra Hill, Viking Heat

PH.D candidate, psychologist Joy Nelson knows it is the fault of her three older brothers as the tall female has been competing with them since she was twelve years old. She blames the "Three Muska-dopes" (Matt, Jerry and Tom) for her being in mud up to her eyeballs which is not easy to occur with her being just under six feet. Instead of going to Yale she is doing training in order to join the Navy SEALS as Matt was killed by Al-Qaeda while flying for the Air Force and the athletic amazon feels compelled to act.

She though her siblings were the king of testosterone, but she will soon learn they are not even royalty when it comes to male hormonal rages. Instead of SEALS training, somehow Joy finds herself back in 955 on the Norselands at a slave auction in which she is the product for sale. The Igorsson siblings Erland and Arniss buy her as a birthday present for their brother Brandr. Not used to a woman who can almost look him in the eyes, Brandr feels like a berserker when it comes to his new thrall who for Thor's sake is driving him crazy with her insane notions of finding his Valkyrie side; for Odin's sake he is a Viking warrior. However, as she brings a new "Hoo-yah" tradition to the Viking lore, they fall in love though she claims a woman belongs on top.

This is an entertaining entry in the Viking-SEAL time travel romance as the heroine brings joy to the world of Brandr the berserker in heat. The story line is lighthearted fun as Joy brings back modern day psychology theory to the tenth century Vikings. Although the plot is somewhat repetitious of previous entries, Penn State masters graduate Joy refreshes the tale with her beside manners as Sandra Hill provides an amusing entry to her delightful series.

Harriet Klausner