Sent as the Viking's Bride

Western Isles Vikings #3

by Michelle Styles

She's the wife he doesn't want...

...and the woman he needs!

Desperate to escape her murderous brother-in-law and protect her young sister, Ragnhild agrees to marry an unknown warrior, and arrives penniless on his remote island. Only, Gunnar Olafson's belief in love died with his family--he does not want a bride! But as yuletide approaches, Ragnhild transforms his isolated existence. Can she melt her Viking warrior's frozen heart?

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Harlequin, Historical

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published December 18, 2018

About the author

Born and raised near San Francisco Califorinia, Michelle Styles currently lives a few miles south of Hadrian's Wall with her husband, three children and menagerie of pets. An avid reader, she became hooked on historical romance when she discovered Georgette Heyer, Anya Seton and Victoria Holt in her school's library. Michelle enjoys writing stories in a wide range of time periods including Roman, Viking, Regency and early Victorian. Her website can be found at www.michellestyles.co.uk

Reviews

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a sweet viking romance but not much special about it

[🐝 Shaz 🐝 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book , Ragnhild and Gunner story.
It also had Characters from other books I have read of Michelle Styles.
Maybe we will meet Svana. Ragnhild little sister, in her own story.

[Frankie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Firstly, I have to say that this beauty is way, way more than a mere five star at least a ten.

Now this is how a Viking romance is done, this is absolutely fabulous! Michelle Styles really is one of my go-to authors for Viking romances, this brings together everything I love Vikings, history and Christmas romances. What’s not to love? And I love this so much, it is a truly magical, seasonal read, that will be pulled of the keeper shelf to be read and re-read over and over again.

Gunnar has hung up his warriors sword to make a new life for himself on is new farm on a remote island, where he can have the peace and sanctuary he has been desperately wanting for most of his adult life. He life of going to war, drinking himself into oblivion and bedding any female he finds with a pulse all so alleviate the pain he has to endure daily over what happened to his family, is now becoming wearisome. Even he knows that the way he was living is no good, so when he gets the opportunity to start afresh Gunnar takes it with both hands. He has set his heart against anything to do with romance and love, that idea died to him long ago.

Gunnar is a complex man, he appears all brooding, monosyllabic and actually rather rude and a tad arrogant, but that is just a mask of the real man beneath. He is actually quite sensitive, lonely, he feels guilt ridden over what happened to his family and because of that he has closed of his heart to love, he thinks that if he allows someone in they will leave him in one way or another. He thinks all he is good for is fighting, which is far, far from the truth. He is a wonderful, passionate, stubborn, kind, sympathetic, loyal, sexy – and oh, my goodness is he sexy, or what? I was definitly swooning especially when he was chopping wood 😉 – but apart from sending me into a dithering mess, he just needs some love and kindness. (Me, me, me!! I’ll love him)

Which is where Ragnhild comes in, she and her sister are fleeing her brother-in-law who is all set on murdering both the sisters. To save herself and her sister from an unthinkable fate, she accepts the position to be the wife of a warrior who has now set himself up on a deserted island. She doesn’t know what to expect as she has never even laid eyes on the man, but she knows that this is their only chance. Their first meeting doesn’t exactly go well to begin with, he is so damn rude but she senses there is something beneath all that grumbling.

What I love about Ragnhild is that she isn’t what would be classed as beautiful, she’s not this frozen goddess with flowing blonde hair, she is a very an ordinary woman with scars and flaws. She is feisty, protective, loyal, strong, kind, caring, nurturing and has so much love bottled up just waiting to be unleashed on someone. But she has been through a lot, and because of her past she is highly self conscious, fragile, frightened and unaware just how remarkable she is. She is just a wonderfully real and relatable character, who I instantly connected with.

Reading this is like a feature length episode of Viking’s, all those glorious Viking warriors, history and superstition and they really were a superstitious lot, weren’t they? Intriguing, romantic, entertaining, alluring, enchanting, beautifully written and engaging are just a few terms to describes just how magical this book is. I love the how detailed it is from the traditional Viking Yule season to all the superstitions from lucky charms to catching the Nissar – you have to read the book to find out about that one. The character’s are beautifully created, the journey to their happily ever after is fraught with distrust, having to over come personal misgivings’ and learning to open their hearts to love. They are a compelling and courageous couple who really are the backbone of the story.

This is the perfect festive Viking romance, one which I cannot recommended enough.

[Annie Burrows · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've enjoyed Michelle Styles's books for some time now, and this one did not disappoint. A lovely, well-written, action packed romance that carried me away (just when I needed some great escapism).

[Toth Jo-Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this story. This is the second story of this author I've read and I thourghly enjoyed it. Meeting Ragn and Gunnar was such a joy. She brought the story to life from start to finish. You could feel the insecurities that Ragn had. It had great plot twists that kept you guessing to the end. I wonder which viking will be written about next? My wish is for Maurr. But till we meet again between the pages.

[Trudy Miner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gunnar Olafson's heart died when his family was killed. He liked the isolation of his remote farmstead and then Ragnhid and her sister arrived on his doorstep as his bride! Ragnhid had never met Gunnar but she was running from a brutal brother-in-law and agreed to come sight unseen to protect her sister. Once there, Gunnar had no choice but to take them in after Ragnhid offered to be his housekeeper. As time went on, she returned the farmhouse to its former glory, help to tend his animals, became a favorite of his tenants and helped her sister heal from her injuries inflicted by her brother-in-law. When the Yuletide came, Ragnhid had completely transformed life on the farmstead. Gunnar's frozen heart started to melt. Is there a HEA for them after all?

I hadn't read one of this author's books for a long time and surely missed out. This Viking romance is page-turning. The characters are well-drawn and believable. The plot is believable and steady. Great story with accurate historical background.

[Jenni Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an early review copy of this book and I could hardly put it down. I loved the fact that Ragnhild is an imperfect heroine, not stereotypically beautiful, but capable and compassionate. Her relationship with her younger sister (another great character) is genuinely touching and Gunnar is a really attractive hero, grumpy but with a hidden soft side. I particularly enjoyed the domestic scenes and the tension was perfectly paced. Definitely recommended.

[Carol · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 Star

I truly should know better by now not to read so many Harlequin novels at one time, especially it seems, this particular author.

This story was just plain boring. The beginning had potential but from there it was just a snooze cruise into snoozeville.

Ragnhild was on the run with her younger sister Svana from her mustache twirling evil brother-in-law Vargr. So, thanks to Gunnar's bestie Eylir he learns he now has a contracted wife in Ragnhild who took the first opportunity to get to safety. But wait, Gunnar doesn't want her and he's all Mr. grumpy pants upon their super inconvenient arrival! 🙄

I could have dealt with that plot if it wasn't for the repetitive parts of the story. Particularly the heroines constant bemoaning her lack of charms and general insecurities (courtesy of her dead husband) and sighing over how she learned her lesson the first time and she wouldn't love Gunnar...and of course she does. Like, it was endless with how often this was regurgitated. Especially about her looks and her reminding the reader about all her supposed faults and how stubborn she was about believing otherwise despite the fact we had already been told three times already.

Add in the same treatment regarding Gunnar and his sad little story about all the women he loved being cursed and him being to blame for his mother and sister's death...and yeah. Who needs original content when we can just repeat the same details ten times, right?

And those were merely the most obnoxious aspects of this story. It was simplistic, boring and it did not flow at all. It was so clunky and confusing at times with too many out of the blue and abrupt scene shiftings and lack of transitioning that I would have to reread the last bit to make sure I didn't miss something.

This was def DNF worthy but I just had to finish it...silly me.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been waiting to read Sent as the Viking's Bride by Michelle Styles since I first saw the cover reveal. This is actually the first Viking story I have read and I must say it was everything I hoped it to be and more.

Who doesn’t love a brooding and handsome Viking? Especially when he’s adamant about not wanting a wife! Gunnar Olafson was a great hero once you get past the mask he portrays. He’s proud, kind, loyal and has a soft heart, especially towards Ragnhild’s younger sister Svana.

Ragnhild was a wonderful heroine and I liked her from the very beginning. She’s been through a lot physically and mentally but yet she’s a fighter. She’s strong and willing to do anything to protect her younger sister. Yet she has a vulnerability about her when it comes to her looks and how remarkable she really is.

Since this was my first Viking story, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I loved how detailed Ms. Styles writing is and I could easily imagine being in that time period. This was a beautifully written story set at Christmas time with suspense, intrigue and a romance between two people who truly deserved a HEA! Ms. Styles also included several memorable secondary characters that I wouldn’t mind reading about in the future! I loved Ragnhild & Gunnar’s story and l will definitely be reading more Viking stories in the future! Highly recommend!

[Reese Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first or second Viking romance. I can't say enough how much I loved this book and its characters. Gunnar comes off initially as rude and horribly brusque after the long, dangerous sea journey Ragn and her young sister Svana have made. But it isn't long before Ragn demonstrates her abilities, cleverness, and wisdom. He comes to appreciate the heroine for her many endearing qualities and finds himself drawn to her. I loved the romance, the characters, and the intrigue and danger posed by Ragn's brother-in-law who wants her dead and the warrior who has his sights set on Gunnar's property.

[Wildwhuck · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started off alright. Right around the time they got married (about 40%) the book started to slag. Also the dialogue was not at all keeping with the times. They would not be using snuggled up, bully, housekeeper,. I skipped through the last 30% of the book.

[Nessa]

DNF

[Gracie · Rating 3 out of 5]

borrowed this from the library on impulse, it was fun and short compared to most of what I’m currently reading. it was a fun bit of escapism for the current moment

[Jas Kaur · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Proud Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

This week’s book came to me from the author contacting me to see if I’d be interested in reading and reviewing her book. And I’m glad I said yes because I’m due for my fix of Vikings and this is right up that alley.

We start off this book with Gunnar and his best friend at Jul (I think this is kind of like our modern day New Years Eve for vikings?) where he’s just been given land. Fast forward almost a year and we are now with Ragnhild (Ragn) and her sister Svana. I was a little confused at this point who was who, I don’t know if that’s because I was tired when I started reading this book or whether the writing wasn’t very clear but it only took a couple of pages for me to figure out what was going on. Ragn and Svana are on a boat on their way to what I gathered to be either Iceland, Greenland or Scotland from their viking homeland, fleeing from Ragn’s brother in law who murdered her husband and destroyed her lands. Without even getting anywhere in the book there was already so much drama and so many possibilities for things to go wrong, go right, twist to happen for it all to sort itself out.

Some of the things I really enjoyed about this book was that even though Ragn and Gunnar obviously like each other they are both super scared to admit it, they are scared to relinquish control of their lives to anyone else and they are both burned by previous relationships making this all the harder. I feel like with most relationships if someone has been burned before it’s only one of them, not both. So this was a difference that I thought was really well written and made you really feel for the other character as the one who we’re following at the time struggles to figure out and accept their own feelings and history.

Svana on the other hand started the book with epileptic fits, a lazy eye, a limp and A LOT of fears that were driving her behaviours. To me it feels so stupid that people should fear her because of these unfortunate “defects” that she can’t help. In modern day epilepsy is treated with medication (I’ve known a few people with this and it’s managed), a lazy eye if caught early can be trained to be normal (I’ve experienced this myself), a limp that could have been caused by anything, including running for her life. And of course her fears. Who wouldn’t fear dogs when they’ve been hunted down by them? Who wouldn’t fear someone fearing them when it’s always resulted in being hit or punished in the past? To read how Gunnar and others worked together to cure her fears and slowly work on her other issues was amazing. The fact that her epilepsy slowly calmed down and went away speaks to the truth of them being caused by a head injury not her being a witch says it all for how ignorant people could be back then which makes me super happy to be in a world with less fear and judgement. I’m not saying that the world is without fear or judgement, but I think it’s largely better than it has been throughout history.

To wrap things up we got an epic display of political moves, outsmarting each other, planning ahead and counter-planning ahead. To have the trust of those around you to do what they can to protect each other, to live for each other and most of all to fight for each other is amazing. It was definitely hard won trust for a few people and grudging respect from others but they got there and ended up making the perfect team that achieved exactly what you set out to do. And of course there was a happy ending for the whole family that made me really happy and immediately made me want to jump into another Michelle Styles novel! Hopefully you’ll see another one of her books come up in the new year.

[Alessandra Casu · Rating 3 out of 5]

That was a cute one. Long time I didn't read an historical and it was a good Surprise. In addition to it, I'm a bit in love with the vikings' history After I watched all Ragnar adventures 😄