Sandra Hill is a great romance writer who writes books with excellent stories and great characters. Many of her books are time travel romances, but this one is not. I recommend that you read Bewitched Viking which is about Tykir the friend of Rurik (hero of this book) before reading The Blue Viking. It gives you some background into Rurik and it is also the best one of Hill's that I have read so far.

This book fits into a series that currently includes The Tarnished Lady, The Outlaw Viking, The Reluctant Viking, and The Bewitched Viking. The series deals with the same Viking family--A father and 2 sons and some of their friends. You can read each individually without reading the others. Hills story for each is very well written, there is always some conflict, that is not trivial, to overcome. Her novels are always well researched. Her characters are well written and believable.

The story consists of Rurik, the hero, searching for a witch that he had had relations with five years ago. When he left in the morning, she branded him with a blue mark down the center of his face. Rurik is very vain and wishes the mark gone, besides his betrothed Norse Princess will not marry him unless he has the mark removed. Since Rurik has no family background, marrying this princess is very important to him socially, but there is no love in the relationship.

When Rurik finds the witch, Maire, she is hanging in a wood cage above a pit of snakes. It seems a neighboring tribe of Scots want her land and are trying to force her to marry their laird. It also seems that she is not such a good witch and her spells go astray and she cannot even get of the cage. She strikes a bargain with Rurik--if he will help her defend her land, she will remove the mark. But they each find more than they bargained for.

Hill's books always have humor in them. I usually find myself laughing out loud when reading them. She really is a very good writer. All of the novels of hers I have read are very good. This one is not her personal best, but it is still better than most romance novels and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good historical romance.

Recommended: Yes