The Viking Chief’s Marriage Alliance – Lucy Morris

A challenging wife For a warrior Viking When Thorstein Bergson rescues a beautiful woman from a storm-tossed longship he little expects to broker a powerful marriage alliance with her. This high-status ice queen is not the comfortable wife this warrior chief is seeking, but maybe the bittersweet pain in Gyda’s eyes hides another woman beneath? The one he tasted that first night, when she kissed him with such pent-up longing…

This book contains:

attempted kidnapping.

Gyda is a woman forced from her home after her husband’s death. With all her family dead already and her husband’s son’s suggesting her death, she’s forced to flee with no means to support herself except her skills. Except she needs to get set up somewhere safe first.

Thorstein on the other hand has a home, a successful settlement and an overlord who he respects. Now it’s time to find a wife to help him run his settlement.

Gyda’s ship that has taken her from Viken to England is shipwrecked near Thorstein’s settlement. When his people see the shipwreck, they go out to save whoever they can. When they get there, they find Gyda trying to save her jewels and other belongings even though her own life is at risk.

Thorstein promises to see Gyda to Jorvik, a job the master of the ship has decided not to fullfill, to deliver her to her late-twins husband. Once there, their lives are turned upside down and they’re both forced to face their past on a daily basis until they can both finally move forwards, together.

While I can find romances that rely on a lack of communication frustrating at times, I can’t say I felt that with this one. There were enough moments of the “will they? Won’t they?” that it kept your attention and made the story intriguing, without getting old fast.

As both characters grew, revealed little details about their past and generally began to learn about the other we can see them grow as a couple as well. This growth starts off as small observations, but in the end makes the difference between life and slavery.

Being able to recognise when you got something wrong and takes steps to learn is so important! Every time I started to feel frustration over that acknowledgement from them, they made that leap of faith. It was beautiful to watch, and I almost wish I could’ve found out more about their settlement like 5-10 years later!

Continue to read further down to find out about the author.

Author Bio

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. A member of the UK Romantic Novelists’ Association, she was delighted to accept a two-book deal with Harlequin after submitting her story to the Warriors Wanted submission blitz for Viking, Medieval and Highlander romances.

Writing for Harlequin Historical is a dream come true for her and she hopes you enjoy her books!