Here are 100 books that Enslaved by the Viking fans have personally recommended if you like
Enslaved by the Viking.
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In 2005, the Bookseller declared the Viking romance to be officially dead and never, ever coming back. However, they hadn’t consulted Harlequin Historical editors who researched the actual sales and desires of their readers. When my senior editor asked me if could I write one, I duly obliged with Taken by the Viking. The book beat lofty expectations, and the revival began such that the Viking period now ranks up there with Regency in terms of popular time periods for the line. The following list is some of the Viking set romances that I have escaped into on mainly rainy afternoons.
An old school bodice ripper by the absolute mistress of them.
Fires of Winter features a feisty heroine in the Irish princess Breena and a strong hero bent on revenge in Garrick Haardrad. ‘Everyone loves a Lindsey’ was the slogan in the early 1980s and this book showcases her at her page-turning best.
Lovely and dauntless, abducted by invaders from across an icy sea, Lady Breena vowed vengeance swearing no Viking brute would be her master no barbarian would enslave her noble Celtic heart, but then came Garrick Haardrad, the proud and powerful son of a ruthless Viking chieftain.
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
In 2005, the Bookseller declared the Viking romance to be officially dead and never, ever coming back. However, they hadn’t consulted Harlequin Historical editors who researched the actual sales and desires of their readers. When my senior editor asked me if could I write one, I duly obliged with Taken by the Viking. The book beat lofty expectations, and the revival began such that the Viking period now ranks up there with Regency in terms of popular time periods for the line. The following list is some of the Viking set romances that I have escaped into on mainly rainy afternoons.
These seven actual sagas (really more adventure stories) from the Viking era have it all – famous warriors, thrilling adventures, and intrepid women.
My favorite of the seven is Halfdan Eysteinsson which has a great hero and an even better heroine – Ingigerd who swaps places with her maid and earns her place as a warrior and avenges her father’s death before finding true love. Not to be missed.
Combining traditional myth, oral history and re-worked European legend to depict an ancient realm of heroism and wonder, the seven tales collected here are among the most fantastical of all the Norse romances. Powerfully inspired works of Icelandic imagination, they relate intriguing, often comical tales of famous kings, difficult gods and women of great beauty, goodness or cunning. The tales plunder a wide range of earlier literature from Homer to the French romances - as in the tale of the wandering hero Arrow-Odd, which combines several older legends, or Egil and Asmund, where the story of Odysseus and the Cyclops…
Have you ever done something on a whim and fallen in love with it? That was how I found Old Norse literature. I was taught the Norse language by reading the prose and poetry of medieval Iceland. In reading their literature, I discovered a rich, vibrant society filled with complex, passionate people. Here were doomed romantics, poets, and philosophers–along with chieftains and priests facing complex political and religious change. I undertook a PhD to study their literary craft. I hope, if nothing else, that my novel might encourage readers to go off and read the sagas themselves. And, if I am really lucky, they may just enjoy my stories too.
Romantic in style, taste, and theme, this is a saga that culminates in that most human of narratives: the love triangle. Heavily inspired by the European romance genre, this saga has key themes of chivalry, history, and poetry. With its unusual focus on women and their desires, it has been suggested that this saga might even have been written by a woman, and for this reason alone, it is worth a read.
I believe there is no greater character in Icelandic literature than the tragic Guðrún. For those who wish to learn more about women in medieval Iceland beyond stereotypical accounts of shield maidens and queens, this is the book for you.
Written around 1245 by an unknown author, the Laxdaela Saga is an extraordinary tale of conflicting kinships and passionate love, and one of the most compelling works of Icelandic literature. Covering 150 years in the lives of the inhabitants of the community of Laxriverdale, the saga focuses primarily upon the story of Gudrun Osvif's-daughter: a proud, beautiful, vain and desirable figure, who is forced into an unhappy marriage and destroys the only man she has truly loved - her husband's best friend. A moving tale of murder and sacrifice, romance and regret, the Laxdaela Saga is also a fascinating insight…
A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.
Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…
In 2005, the Bookseller declared the Viking romance to be officially dead and never, ever coming back. However, they hadn’t consulted Harlequin Historical editors who researched the actual sales and desires of their readers. When my senior editor asked me if could I write one, I duly obliged with Taken by the Viking. The book beat lofty expectations, and the revival began such that the Viking period now ranks up there with Regency in terms of popular time periods for the line. The following list is some of the Viking set romances that I have escaped into on mainly rainy afternoons.
Willingham penned an absolute cracker of a revenge story for the first book in this five-book continuity about the Sons of Sigurd.
There is an overall mystery of who was responsible for murdering the warriors’ father. After losing his beloved, Alaar Sigurdson has vowed to take revenge and seeks to use captive Breanne O Callahan to get close enough to her foster father, but…the attraction overcomes them in this enemies-to-lovers tale.
It is an absolute page-turner which I inhaled in one sitting. There are reasons why the Sons of Sigurd is a global bestseller.
Part of Sons of Sigurd. Battle-scarred Viking Alarr is a broken warrior who expects to die carrying out his oath of blood vengeance. He saves maiden Breanne O Callahan from slavery only with the intention of getting close enough to kill her foster father. Until their spark of passion ignites a desire to keep her close...and presents Alarr with a gut-wrenching choice - his revenge or his heart?
I’m a former high school teacher and college professor of French who discovered a passion for medieval history while earning my MA in French Literature. When I spent a summer studying in Normandy, I was fascinated by the Viking influences and vestiges in that region of France. I researched tales of Valkyrie and Nordic shield maiden warriors who fought alongside their fearsome men, finding inspiration for my own medieval novel. Winter Solstice in the Crystal Castle features a fire-hearted French princess descended from Viking Valkyrie who wields a sword to defend her Breton kingdom and forge her own destiny.
I loved the compelling story of Moira, the fierce, sword-wielding oldest daughter of the recently slain Scottish clan chief who had to summon the strength to lead her people.
Her prisoner—the enemy—was the last man she should have fallen for, but her love for him went beyond all reason. He spoke to her in dreams and told her that she was his destiny.
Farlan, the mighty warrior captured during battle and tortured as a prisoner, fell for Moira, the fesity maid with a blade who was his equal in every respect.
With vivid characters, breathtaking descriptions of Scotland's savage beauty, and a gripping tale of love triumphing over hate, this powerful novel stirred my very soul.
Since time out of mind, two clans have contested for dominance in bonny glen Bronach, known as the glen of sorrows. But now, fierce young Rory MacLeod has taken over as chief of his lands and vowed to seize all rival MacBeith holdings. Moira MacBeith, the eldest of chief Iain MacBeith's three daughters, finds herself with her back to the wall and a sword in her hand. A born defender, she's not afraid to don armor and march out to fight. But if her enemies discover her secret, that her father has…
I’m a former high school teacher and college professor of French who discovered a passion for medieval history while earning my MA in French Literature. When I spent a summer studying in Normandy, I was fascinated by the Viking influences and vestiges in that region of France. I researched tales of Valkyrie and Nordic shield maiden warriors who fought alongside their fearsome men, finding inspiration for my own medieval novel. Winter Solstice in the Crystal Castle features a fire-hearted French princess descended from Viking Valkyrie who wields a sword to defend her Breton kingdom and forge her own destiny.
Rúna Isaksson is feisty, fiery Viking who, as the heir to her father’s jarldom, will soon replace him as the leader of their clan.
Since she must marry a warrior from another clan to form a powerful alliance, her father creates a contest to determine the strongest suitor. Determined to choose her own husband, Rúna demands to compete as well—and finds herself battling the man she once loved whose heart is as hardened as his warrior body.
I loved how Rúna was a fierce Viking, a shield maiden supremely skilled with a blade. And I adored the passionate romance between Jordan, the warrior who loved and respected Rúna as his equal.
Heir to her father's Jarldom, Rúna Isaksson will soon ascend to replace him as leader, but first she must marry a warrior from another clan to form a powerful alliance. When her father creates a contest to determine the strongest suitor, Rúna demands to compete as well--if she wins, she can choose her own husband. However, she's shocked to discover that her first love is amongst the competitors, the man who abandoned her without looking back. She must not let him win.
The Duke's Christmas Redemption
by
Arietta Richmond,
A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.
Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…
I’m a former high school teacher and college professor of French who discovered a passion for medieval history while earning my MA in French Literature. When I spent a summer studying in Normandy, I was fascinated by the Viking influences and vestiges in that region of France. I researched tales of Valkyrie and Nordic shield maiden warriors who fought alongside their fearsome men, finding inspiration for my own medieval novel. Winter Solstice in the Crystal Castle features a fire-hearted French princess descended from Viking Valkyrie who wields a sword to defend her Breton kingdom and forge her own destiny.
Helena of Rivenloch is a feisty, sword-wielding wench who refuses to be tamed by any man.
When an unsuitable suitor wishes to wed her younger sister, Helena attempts to slay the bridegroom, abducts his right-hand man, and demands her sister’s freedom. But her plans go awry when her captive captures her fiery, rebellious heart.
I loved how Helena was as fierce a fighter as any knight, capable of capturing Sir Colin du Lac. I loved her independent, fierce spirit, as she forged her own destiny. And I especially loved the passionate romance that bloomed between Helena and Colin, who respected her as his equal as she won his heart.
Helena of Rivenloch refuses to allow a Norman, Pagan Cameliard, to force her little sister into marriage. But when she tries to slay the bridegroom, she's apprehended by his right-hnd man, Colin du Lac. Clever Helena manages to turn the tables, taking Colin hostage and spirits him away to a secluded cottage while she waits for a reply to her ransom demand. But Colin knows there will be no reply. Indeed, his abduction - by a woman - will likely amuse Pagan. So Colin passes the days with Helena, growing curiously beguiled by his beautiful, brazer captor. Despite the growing…
I've been writing poetry since second grade, although oddly it took me until after college (where I was Class Poet) to start writing poetry that *gasp* didn't rhyme. (Did I mention I grew up on Ogden Nash and Shel Silverstein?) I started attending local poetry slams and then poetry festivals like WordXWord, and listening and performing there showed me what poetry could be. Poems can crystalize in a few lines a universal truth you've felt for years but been unable to express. I think that's amazing. (I also think it's better with a dash of humor mixed in, because I'm a humor columnist and I'm biased.)
There's a good chance you're familiar with his poem “What Teachers Make”, from his other book. But this is the book that has his most poignant and human poems, including “Tony Steinberg: Brave Seventh Grade Viking Warrior”, which has long been one of my partner's favorite poems, and accomplishes in a few minutes of words what many Hollywood movies try and fail to accomplish with a full cast, two hours, and hundreds of millions of dollars: It alternately makes you laugh and cry. Which I say as someone who has seen it performed many times, and it still makes me laugh every time, and still makes me cry every time.
You don't need a classroom to be a teacher, and you don't need to be a teacher to help someone learn a lesson. Taylor Mali's poetry explores this truth in entertaining and plainspoken ways because "the last thing this world needs is another poem" ("The Call to What We Know"). Whether discussing the language of love or the love of language, the poems contained in The Last Time As We Are prove that "He who dares to teach must never cease to learn." Not since Taylor Mali has there been a poet the likes of Taylor Mali-he is a man…
I’ve been a lifelong student of history. Even as a child I would devour history books or watch documentaries on TV telling tales of past wars of heroic battles. This passion eventually turned into a degree in History from the University of Toronto. I have also visited countless museums, castles, ruins, and historic sites throughout Europe and North America. My particular interest in Anglo-Saxon history came during my university years when I took some Old English language courses. Poems like the Battle of Maldon and Beowulf were my gateway to the rich tapestry of lives and events that made up the Anglo-Saxon era.
I've read Anglo-Saxon history. I've read Viking Age history. But this is the first book I've read that combined them together to make a clear picture of the forces that drove these two people against each other.
This book covers the alliances, battles, and the people who were constantly shifting from one person's orbit to another. Although its main focus was England, the book also provides a view of the conflicts going on in Norway and Denmark, to give a holistic view of Northern Europe and what happened when huge armies of Danes and Norwegians came to England, leaving a power vacuum behind them in the north.
In the eleventh century, the rulers of the lands surrounding the North Sea are all hungry for power. To get power they need soldiers, to get soldiers they need silver, and to get silver there is no better way than war and plunder. This vicious cycle draws all the lands of the north into a brutal struggle for supremacy and survival that will shatter kingdoms and forge an empire.
The Wolf Age takes the reader on a thrilling journey through the bloody shared history of England and Scandinavia, and on across early medieval Europe, from the wild Norwegian fjords to…
This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.
In these and other intimate conversations, the book…
Mostly, I’m a writer of (hopefully) humorous books and articles largely focused on Vikings and Norse mythology, but I also write non-fiction articles about Scandinavian history, art, and culture. I’ve always been fascinated with the Viking Age, and read as much fiction and non-fiction on the subject as I am able. I’ve discovered many great novels dealing with the “whole Northern thing” (W.H. Auden’s term for Tolkien’s fascination) ranging from realistic historic fiction to highly original urban fantasy that utilizes the standard Norse tropes, but truly imaginative retellings that remain faithfully grounded in the plot points of the ancient stories are rarer. These are my favorites.
Klas Östergren is one of Sweden’s foremost literary novelists and The Hurricane Party was his contribution to Canongate’s early 21st-century Myth Series (although it was apparently subsequently removed from it). The Hurricane Party is the most imaginative retelling of Norse mythology that I’ve read. It focuses on events that precede Ragnarök and takes place in a futuristic, climate-ravaged, dystopian Stockholm. The plot centers around the Flyting of Loki, a pivotal scene from The Poetic Edda in which Loki turns against the gods and kills one of their servants. Östergren’s novel follows the journey of the father (his own invented character) of this servant as he searches for answers to his son’s death against this unique backdrop. The setting and premise are among the most original I’ve ever encountered.
Hanck Orn's son is dead. When they come to the door they tell him it was a heart attack, but he knows they are lying.
So he travels to the outermost reaches of the land to find out what really happened. When he lands on the island he is met by a young woman, hair streaked with blood, raving like a lunatic. She is one of the sisters, who tell him the story of how his son died in the great hall of the Clan, the Norse gods, who were holding a party. But the festivities soon got out of…
