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…
Mia Lark is running out of options. There is only one way to change the score: the fantasy planet Revivium.
Armed with the powerful magic in the helm and the friendly AI, Hex that goes with it, Mia throws caution out the window. It’s time to find the main guildhall…
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.
Winner of the 2024 New Mexico - Arizona Book Award.
In this deeply researched novel of America's most celebrated outlaw, Mark Warren sheds light on the human side of Billy the Kid and reveals the intimate stories of the lesser-known players in his legendary life of crime. Warren's fictional composer…
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…
Nancy Marie Brown is the author of seven books about Iceland and the Viking Age, including The Real Valkyrie: The Hidden History of Viking Warrior Women, The Far Traveler: Voyages of a Viking Woman, and the award-winning Song of the Vikings: Snorri and the Making of Norse Myths. Her books combine extremes: medieval literature and modern archaeology, myths and facts. They ask, What have we overlooked? What have we forgotten? Whose story must not be lost? A former science writer and editor at a university magazine, she lives on a farm in northern Vermont and spends part of each summer in Iceland.
Why do the Vikings seem so modern? Tom Shippey thinks it’s their attitude toward losers. They “knew that in the real world, conditions aren’t fair.” Heroes are trapped, outnumbered. Their luck runs out. “That doesn’t make you what we call ‘a loser,’” he writes. “The only thing that would make you a loser would be giving up.”
The Vikings showed their spirit by refusing to take death seriously. “What was best was showing you could turn the tables, spoil your enemy’s victory, make a joke out of death,” Shippey writes, and in Laughing Shall I Die: Lives and Deaths of the Great Vikings he shares dozens of examples.
Viking death-jokes are “often marked by Bad Sense of Humour,” Shippey admits. But they explain a lot about why this culture continues to fascinate us.
In this robust new account of the Vikings, Tom Shippey explores their mindset, and in particular their fascination with scenes of heroic death. The book recounts many of the great bravura scenes of Old Norse literature, including the Fall of the House of the Skjoldungs, the clash between the two great longships Ironbeard and Long Serpent and the death of Thormod the skald. The most exciting book on Vikings for a generation, Laughing Shall I Die presents them for what they were: not peaceful explorers and traders, but bloodthirsty warriors and marauders.
I’ve always loved history, especially European history, and fell in love with the Vikings and their mythology after reading the first book of the Last Kingdom Series by Bernard Cornwell. One of the reasons I wanted to write Viking fiction is because I was keen to learn more about these amazing people who had such a large influence on European history, but had been stigmatized by the Christian religion. I really wanted to learn about who they were as a people and how they saw their world through their religion and their interactions with Christian nations around them.
This was my go-to book while I was writing my latest series and probably one of my favourite books for learning about the Vikings.
Vikings at War is exactly what the title says it is, and I found that it was a great source for learning about the strategies Vikings used in battle, from the general shield wall organization to the different formations they used. It also talks about the different weapons, armour, and training methods used by the Vikings which had made them a formidable fighting force during the Viking Age.
But what I love about this book even more is that it also explains the history and the complex relationships between the Vikings and the nations they were raiding.
Vikings at War is a sumptuous depiction of how the Vikings waged war: their weapons technology, offensive and defensive warfare, military traditions and tactics, their fortifications, ships and command structure. It also portrays the Viking raids and conquest campaigns that brought the Vikings to virtually every corner of Europe and even to America. Between the 9th and 11the century, Viking ships landed on almost every shore in the Western world. Viking ravages united the Spanish kingdoms and stopped Charlemagne and the Franks' advance in Europe. Wherever Viking ships roamed, enormous suffering followed in their wake, but the encounter between cultures…
Ramon Ramirez’s Dog is a collection of essays written over the years about the adventures and misadventures, mostly outside but occasionally inside the diplomatic career of a U.S. ambassador. Common threads weaving the stories together are a desire for a life well-lived, balancing career with family and friends, keeping physically…
History was one of my majors in college and it’s something that I’ve always gravitated back to despite venturing off into various non-history-related careers. When I chose to become an author, it was only natural that I would find myself writing in the military historical fiction genre. I found these works not only inspiring, but both time and money well spent. While they range widely outside of modern conflicts, they shine a light on the grim times and places of long ago. I believe my award-winning Northern Wolf Series will do the same for you as its cavalry-focused novels bring to life lesser-known engagements of the American Civil War.
While written in a similar vein as The Last Kingdom, Kristian has a knack for making his writing come to life in a very Anglo-Saxon epic poem kind of way. In this novel, we follow an orphan of sorts, Raven, as he joins a rapacious band of Norsemen embarking on a violent quest. Kristian is a relative newcomer compared to the others on this list, but he does not disappoint and will take the reader on a grand adventure.
For two years Osric has lived a simple life, apprentice to the mute old carpenter who took him in when others would have him cast out. But when Norsemen from across the sea burn his village they also destroy his new life, and Osric finds himself a prisoner of these warriors. Their chief, Sigurd the Lucky, believes the Norns have woven this strange boy's fate together with his own, and Osric begins to sense glorious purpose among this Fellowship of warriors.Immersed in the Norsemen's world and driven by their lust for adventure, Osric proves a natural warrior and forges a…
