Heart of Honor

by Kat Martin

Book Overview

Krista Hart, publisher of the weekly London ladies' gazette Heart to Heart, is not afraid to speak her mind. Even on such unpopular issues as social reform--risking her reputation and her very safety--Krista will not be intimidated, although she knows full well she is the target of angry opposition for her outspoken views. When she encounters a powerful Viking descendant imprisoned as a local sideshow attraction, Krista angrily demands his release...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0778323838
• ISBN13: 9780778323839
• Release Date: December 2006
• Publisher: Mira Books
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 0.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 6.6"

Customer Reviews

4 stars

The moment Krista Hart hears the star attraction at a freak show speak, she knows he is not a monster, but a man who speaks Old Norse and she manages to procure his freedom. Leif Draugr is the son of a chieftain of a lost tribe of Vikings who followed his heart to seek what was beyond his island home. He is sure that the gods have brought him and Krista together. As her father turns him into a gentleman, Krista begins to feel something for this warrior as well, but he is determined to return to his land. Though he promises to take her with him, she really does not want to go. She has duties to her family and to the magazine she produces, even if those could lock her in a loveless marriage or get her killed. **** This is a compelling take on "My Fair Lady" with a touch of "Brigadoon" thrown in, as well a a ton of passion to round things out nicely. Once again, Ms. Martin has a winning tale that is sure to please anyone who loves a good romance. **** Amanda Killgore

Kat Martin Does It Again!

Kat Martin's has never disappointed me, and "Heart of Honor" is no exception. Delicious and fun to read!

Excellent ,exciting & Truely Romantic

This was one of those quick read books that you just don't want to put down. I'm looking for the other two books of the triology. Does anyone know if they are out yet?

whimsical early Victorian romance

In 1842 Heart to Heart Weekly Ladies Gazette publisher Krista Hart attends the Circus Leopold traveling show. She and her friend reporter Coralee visit the star attraction billed as "The Last Barbarian". Krista feels sorry for the tall male locked inside a too small cage for his size until he speaks in his tongue to Alfinn the monkey that she is a "real woman". The extremely tall Krista speaks back to him in his language Old Norse, a language not used in at least three centuries, that he is in deed a barbarian to say such things about a woman. He begs for her forgiveness; she obtains his release and takes him with her. Son of a Viking chieftain, Leif Draugr left his home Draugr Island to explore the world beyond the horizon. He believes his Gods gave him the wanderlust in order to meet his true love, Krista. As her father "civilianizes" him to behave like a proper gentleman in polite society and her grandfather selects shrimps for her to marry, he and Krista fall in love. However, he must return to his people because he is the next chieftain while she believes she belongs right here. This is a fun whimsical early Victorian romance starring two individuals who do not quite fit in polite society. Leif believes the Fates left him shipwrecked six months ago and captured by a traveling circus so that he can meet his destiny, Krista. She loves her barbarian but feels she belongs with the magazine not his island though she likes the fact that he looks somewhat down at her eyes instead of her normal peering down at males. Though having Krista and her father speak his extinct language seems a stretch, readers will appreciate the Lady and the Barbarian as they fall in love. Harriet Klausner

Surprisingly Good

I was hesitant to read this book, as I had read a contemporary by Kat Martin that left me cold, but I'm glad I put aside my reservations. Miss Krista Hart is appalled when she attends the circus with her good friend Coralee and finds that as a sideshow the cruel owner has a caged man, the Last Barbarian - a man not of their time, but instead a relic from Sixteenth Century Norway. Leif is a Viking, who left his home of Draugr Island to find the world beyond the antiquated systems his people have held to since being driven from Greenland. Instead, he is the sole survivor of his quest, and sold into slavery to the circus. Krista, of course, rescues him (after he makes a very inappropriate comment about her, er, nether-regions in his own language, which Krista and her father both speak) and turns Leif over to her father, Professor Sir Praxton, who specializes in the Norse culture. Within months, Leif is a gentleman - on the outside - and Krista is reluctantly attracted. Though Leif brashly declares his desire for Krista in his bed and as his wife, Krista is having none of it, knowing that their two worlds cannot come together. From London to the mystical island of Draugr, this book leads the reader on a fast-paced, sensuous journey of love between to very interesting and bold characters. I loved Leif's bluntness and Krista's bemused response. The only downside, in my mind, is how little of the beginning of the book is spent purely on the physical attraction, and very little on the emotional growth of the characters, but overall, this is a book I will read again.