Virgin Slave, Barbarian King by Louise Allen

She just had no intention of clearing up after two hulking males.” “She had no objection to assisting this friendly woman with the clear blue eyes and the swelling belly. She’s been taken slave after narrowly escaping rape, and the very next morning she blithely decides not to do what she’s ordered to: Julia, on the other hand, is irritatingly feisty (over the years, I’ve grown to hate that word with a passion). And yet, it takes him until page 225 to realize that one of his main supporters, Hilderic, “… sees himself as a kingmaker … He sees his daughter as my queen and himself as the power at my elbow.” This is quite jarring because Wulfric is also described as one of the potential heirs-supposedly because he’s both intelligent and a leader of men. Instead of thinking about his people and their welfare, Wulfric chooses to follow and enforce Alaric’s commands regardless of the highly negative consequences he-and the reader-can predict. He is loyal to his dying king loyal to the point of stupidity. He is compassionate, honorable, controlled, and understanding of Julia’s reactions and cultural background. Within days they have fallen in love-but can’t tell each other because of what each perceives the other needs and deserves.įrom their first encounter, Wulfric is set as the perfect hero. She vows to cling to all her preconceived notions about these barbarians-and promptly outgrows them. Sadly, the novel itself, while competently written, soon falls into rather predictable and too often trod paths. Given the premise, I had hoped for something meatier, original, different perhaps better written character development and a more realistic conflict between the two main characters, but alas, it didn’t happen. The period and setting are fairly unusual for category romance novels, and that is already a positive for me. The story starts on the first day of the sack of Rome in AD 410 by the Visigoths. What future can there be for two people from such different worlds? But Wulfric could one day be king, and Julia is a Roman slave. It would be all too easy to succumb to Wulfric’s quiet strength, and Julia wants him more than she’s ever wanted anything. Soon, though, Julia realizes the she’s more free as a slave than she ever was as a sheltered Roman virgin.

But she doesn’t expect to be among the taken! As Wulfric’s woman, she’s ordered to keep house for the uncivilized marauders. Julia Livia Rufa is horrified when barbarians invade Rome and steal everything in sight. Perhaps because of Ms Allen’s very articulate response to Ms Bindel, my expectations for this book were a tad too high in the end I was rather disappointed with it.

Like many other regulars at different romance blogs, I decided to get this book after the little episode between its author and Julie Bindel, who put both her feet in her mouth with her contribution to this article at the Guardian. Virgin Slave, Barbarian King, by Louise Allen

Virgin Slave, Barbarian King by Louise Allen