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Title: Convenient Vows with a Viking
Author: Lucy Morris, Sarah Rodi
Published: January 2024
Rate: 5 of 5
Genre: Marriage-of-Convenience, Viking age, Historical Romance, Harlequin Historical, Mills & Boon Historical

Blurb:

Two spicy Viking romances in one volume!

Two Viking short stories

Two alliances at the altar!

In Her Bought Viking Husband by Lucy Morris, Orla strikes a deal with enslaved Jarl Hakon to protect her land. She’ll buy his freedom if the handsome warrior marries her! in Chosen as the Warrior’s Wife by Sarah Rodi, at the emperor’s bride show, Viking Fiske must choose noblewoman Kassia to save from an unhappy fate. But his new bride holds a secret that threatens their newfound desire...

 

My Review:

Looking for the most anticipated books of 2024? Why not start the new year with these hot stories?

I was so grateful to have had the chance to read these short stories by two of my favourite authors! The stories aren’t related, but each has a possessive Viking hero. I’m a sucker for this type of hero.

The first story is by Lucy Morris tells of Orla, who needs a husband to save her inheritance. When she visits the trading centre, she comes across Hakon, a very big, grumpy Viking Jarl, who is being sold as a slave. Orla impulsively buys him to be her husband and Hakon swears that he will help and protect her, but in return she has to set him free because he has to go back to his land to avenge his enemy. I loved Orla, she is such a kind, cheerful and innocent lady. She understands what it is like to be a slave because she was one. She’s not afraid of the grumpy Hakon. They are a perfect match. What I loved the most was the way Lucy Morris weaves the history of Iceland and enslavement into a beautiful romance.

The second story is from Sarah Rodi tells of a Viking warrior, Fiske, a loyal warrior of an emperor from Constantinople. When Fiske gets the silver he needs to regain his right in Denmark, he is offered to choose a wife instead. Kassia needs to get away from Constantinople, away from both her parents and the emperor. On their journey to Denmark, Fiske and Kassia keep their secrets which are so surprising, full of anguish and uncertainty but Sarah Rodi doesn’t let the steamy scene go.

I couldn’t tell you how much I enjoyed both stories. The history of the Viking Age in Iceland and Denmark were well-researched and drawn despite it being short. Her Bought Viking Husband is entertaining with a compelling plot and characters meanwhile Chosen as the Warrior’s Wife is an emotionally strong yet spicy page turner. I’m just hoping that Lucy Morris will write the stories of the minor characters in them because one of the characters deserves to have one. Thank you, Lucy Morris and Sarah Rodi for the e-arc which I volunteered to review.

About the author

Lucy Morris lives in Essex, UK, with her husband, two young children and two cats. She has a massively sweet tooth and loves gin, bubbly and Irn-Bru. She is a member of the UK Romantic Novelists’ Association and is delighted to begin her publishing journey with Harlequin Historical in 2021 with her first release ‘The Viking Chief’s Marriage Alliance’.

She adores writing strong, passionate women and the brave honourable men who fall in love with them. Weaving her fascination with the dark age of medieval Europe with her compulsion to give her characters a happily ever after. But only after they’ve had an adventure along the way. Follow her on twitter https://twitter.com/LMorris_Author

Sarah Rodi has always been a hopeless romantic. She grew up watching old, romantic movies recommended by her granddad, or devouring love stories from local library. Sarah lives in the village of Cookham in Barkshire, where she enjoys walking along the River Thames with her husband, two daughters and their dog. She has been a magazine journalist for over twenty years, but it has been her lifelong dream to write romance for Harlequin Historical. Sarah believes everyone deserves to find their happy-ever-after. You can contact her via https://twitter.com/sarahrodiedits or visit her website at https://www.sarahrodi.com/

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Title: Crowned for the King’s Secret
(Behind the Palace Doors... Book 3)
Author: Kali Anthony
Published: November 2023
Rate: 4.5 of 5
Genre: Harlequin Presents, Mills & Boon Modern, Second Chance at Love, Surprise Baby

Blurb:

He’ll secure his throne with the heir he’s only just discovered in this royal secret-child romance by Kali Anthony.

She hid his son...

Can she hide from their desire?

One year ago, her spine-tingling night with exiled king Sandro left Victoria pregnant and alone. Lied to by the palace, she believed he wanted nothing to do with them. So Sandro turning up on her doorstep – ready to claim, his heir and his kingdom – is astounding!

Burned by her past, Victoria has no intention of complying with His Majesty’s command. But she’ll need to keep her wits about her because their insatiable craving once made her abandon all reason. And it’s about to reignite with a vengeance...

My Review:

I was over the moon when the author sent me the e-arc for the final instalment of Behind the Palace Doors. It’s a story about Victoria, Lance’s sister, but it is a standalone.

I still recall Victoria from the second book, but her characters seems to have changed here. She becomes a strong, loving and protective mother to little Nicolai. Both Sandro and Victoria agree to a one-night stand that ends in an unexpected pregnancy. The beginning begins with little Nicolai’s lines. He may have me wrapped around his little finger. I loved reading his lines. I love a story where a child is involved even if he is a minor character.

Victoria has been trying to tell Sandro about the baby in the palace, but there are a lot of misunderstandings from the start, so she is accused of being a schemer. When Sandro confronts her, he may literally kidnap her and his son to Santa Fiorina to protect them from threats.

I liked Victoria’s character. After what she has been through, she learns not to let herself be dictated again, whereas Sandro is determined and cautious. He is still haunted by his horrendous pasts. Uncertainty and wariness hover over them, which made me instantly read it in one sitting to find out their happily ever after.

The book is packed with emotion, drama and a little suspense and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Thank you, Kali, Anthony for the e-arc which I volunteered to review. This final instalment of Behind the Palace Doors made my day.

About the Author

When Kali Anthony read her first romance novel at fourteen, she realized a few truths: there can never be too many happy endings, and one day she would write them herself. After marrying her own tall, dark and handsome hero in a perfect friends-to-lovers romance, Kali took the plunge and penned her first story. Writing has been a love affair ever since. If she isn’t battling her cat for access to the keyboard, you can find Kali playing dress-up in vintage clothes, gardening, or bushwhacking with her husband and three children in the rain forest of South East Queensland. You might contact her on https://www.kalianthony.com/ or her twitter https://twitter.com/KaliAAnthony