Catch Hold Of To Tempt A Viking (Forbidden Vikings, #2) Written And Illustrated By Michelle Willingham Delivered In Leaflet

haven't read a book about Vikings for several years and if honest haven't read a lot of historical fiction recently but something about this book appealed to me and I'm so glad that I downloaded it.
This is not your ordinary romance no this story has substance and makes the reader stop and think, If looking for a book worth investing your time in then you could do a lot worse as this author tackles the sticky issue of infidelity and arranged marriages in a most unusual way.

Elena is married to Styr and has travelled with him and her fellow kinsmen to Ireland to start a new life but from the moment they land trouble dogs their footsteps.
The native Irish fear their intentions and Styr is taken prisoner whilst Elena barely escapes with her life aided by Ragner her husbands closest friend.
Ragner has always loved Elena but has never admitted it and now he finds himself wounded in a strange country and responsible for getting her safely reunited with her husband Styr.

Elena's marriage to Styr is not a happy one and although they have both tried it appears as if children are not to be in their future.
Whilst trying to survive the inhospitable landscape they find themselves in Ragner and Elena become much closer and Elena starts to see Ragner in a different light.
He's an honourable man though and would never try to steal his friends wife no matter how much he longs to hold her.
Temptation is tearing Ragner apart but their trials are far from over as Stry returns and this time he's not alone!
This was written in such a way as to completely captivate this reader.
Loving the strong Ragner but Elena is a heroine to be admired, Born in a harsh time she stands up for herself and also those around her who cannot defend themselves, I really enjoyed this aspect of the story as all to often it's the men in historical romance that seem to run the show.
Really enjoyed the second half of the book and the developments as Elena and Ragner began to make lives for themselves,
So in conclusion this was a surprisingly thought provoking book and I will be looking for other books by this author.
I now realise that this is a follow up to To Sin With A Viking and I feel I would have enjoyed it even more if I'd read that first.
Loved the character Matteus that was introduced towards the end of the story and really enjoyed the twist that allowed, If I'm rating it I have to say it's a four and a half but that's just because I didn't read the previous book.
I was already a big fan of Michelle's before I read To Tempt a Viking because I'd read To Sin With a Viking, the first book in the Forbidden Vikings series, and loved it.
I actually couldn't wait to get my hands on the second book! To Sin With a Viking first introduces Ragnar and Elena, the hero and heroine, as well as Styr and Caragh.
The twist to this series is that Styr and Elena are married, but not happily, Michelle does an amazing job of showing how these characters struggle with their fate, fight temptation, and finally find true love, If you're looking for an unusual historical romance with an alpha hero and lots of sizzling tension, I highly recommend To Tempt a Viking! Originally ed For: sitelinkBodice Rippers, Femme Fatales and Fantasy

To Tempt a Viking.
. Now there's a challenge in and of itself, But author Michelle Willingham writes a wonderful story about making the hard choices and does it brilliantly, Honestly, I was predisposed to dislike this book, it is book two in her Forbidden Viking Series and after feeling slightly ambivalent about book one.
.

The entire premise is based on what happens when an arranged marriage goes wrong When the love is lost or never found How do the two individuals find their HEA Do they stay in a marriage that doesn't work Or do they move on Now in real life most of these individuals just make do, they probably led miserable lives or at best just chugged along because we all know that love was never a reason for marriage.
One married for family, duty and land, . which is what Styr The hero from To Sin with a Viking and Elena were expected to do, And they tried they really did, well Elena tried,

Elena was betrothed to Styr atand married by, she wanted to love Styr, he was the man her father picked out for her.
She was young enough to believe that they would love each other, that they should love each other but that never really happened.
Elena spent years twisting and turning herself inside out trying to become the woman Styr could love and it never happened, Styr was a good guy but not the right guy, he had dreams beyond hearth and home and all Elena wanted was a family.
When Styr finally decides to take Elena and a select crew away to start anew they are both hoping for a fresh chance.
Instead they find hard times and near starvation, . then were attacked by a clan from one of the Irish Isles, Styr was captured and Elena left to Ragnar's tender care, Ragnar was their best friend and honor bound to care for Elena, . .

Ragnar Olafson was the abused son of the village drunk, Once his mother died the light left his father's eyes and Ragnar suffered over and over again, Left with little pride he struggled to become a warrior of worth, Dreaming all along of one thing, . a life with Elena, she was his best friend and the love of his life, Instead he had to watch her marry his other dearest friend, . . watch them destroy each other, slowly, All Ragnar wanted to do was care for Elena, When Styr was captured, Ragnar was determined to make sure Elena survived, . Only to discover that many times it was Elena making sure he survived, Each day into their journey Ragnar fell more

and more in love and yet he was a man of honor and did his best to deny those feelings.
When Elena started to lean on him just a little too much Ragnar did all he could to stand true,

Eventually, decisions were made and Elena realized that Styr had fallen in love elsewhere, that she needed to let him go and move on.
A hard choice for a young woman, A woman who fears she is barren and of no worth, Before she can do anything she has to discover just who and what she is, Find her ownself. In many ways this book could have been called the metamorphosis of Elena, . A Beautiful Transition.

Ragnar had his own demons to slay, Yes he loved Elena but would he forever be a Styr stand in Did Elena truly want him And honestly COULD Elena truly love him He felt little but self loathing.
. felt he was little more than a soldier, good for nothing more than fodder, . He wasn't worthy of Elena, of any woman, He had to find his own self worth,

The farther I got into this book the more in love I fell, WOW. . Michelle Willingham tells a fabulous story, a timeless one, wrapped neatly into Irish and Viking history, And yet, I can see so many correlations to today's relationships, Neither Styr nor Elena were bad people, . they were just wrong enough for each other, But it was Elena who found her spine and chose to end it all, It was Elena who realized that duty wasn't enough, And it was Elena who jumped at the chance for a true new life in a new world, A strong woman who needed near tragedy to help her grow!

While my feelings were rather tepid about To Sin With a Viking my emotions were captured in To Tempt a Viking.
A powerful story about finding love and still living with your honor,

This book can easily be read as a stand alone but is more powerful when read as part of the dualogy.
But either way, I seriously suggest you read this book,

Shauni

This review is based on the ARC of To Tempt a Viking, provided by netgalley and is scheduled to be released on January,After reading the beginning, it sounded familiar.
I had read the first book in this series on netgalley and this was the second book, Rag nor is in love with his best friends wife, Elena, While coming ashore from a long sail and three days without sleep her husband Styr is captured and she is taken by the Danes.
Rag nor follows and doesn't leave her side, After escaping the Danes they are stranded for awhile together and do many things for survival since Ragnor was wounded, Eventually Styr finds her and she releases him from his vows to her after finding out he loves another, Ragnor pushes her away,a dnf she tries to fill her void by adopting a child for her barren womb, Lovely Viking story. I was very engrossed and it ended well, Thanks good reads first win for a great book, I received a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review,
I must admit that Viking romances are one of my guilty pleasures, I think if most women are honest they would admit there is something romantic about being swept away by an honorable warrior, hell bent on protecting their honor, and a bit too wild to tame.
I realize this is most assuredly not the most PC comment I could make, but come on! The braided hair, the rockhard muscles, the long broadsword cough, coughpun intended, and this novel didnt disappoint in that area.

In a setting as harsh as the Norsemen themselves, Ragnar and Elena must survive, relying only on each other, This lifeordeath struggle throws them together until they can no longer ignore whats always been between them, Its the formula as comfortable to seasoned romance readers as a snuggly blanket, and the scenes become fantastically steamy,
The action moves quickly however, thats both a plus and a minus, It doesnt drag, and its a quick, relaxing read without too many side plots, but at times I felt lost, This is the second in a series, and I needed a little more backstory, I felt as though I had started reading in the middle of the novel, There were a few flashback scenes, the first of which would have been much better as a prologue, It would have gone a long way to that whole backstory issue,
Overall, if you enjoy a good ole “warrior wants girl, warrior takes girl, girl cant help herself” story, youll like this one.


.stars
Barbee's review Jan,edit
ofstars
Read in January,

Well it is no secret I am a huge fan of Michelle Willingham books and she never ceases to amaze me.
I just finished this book bcoming from me who has loved all her books that really something, This book is a bit darker in a way as it touches a couple subjects you rarely see in historical romance these days infertility and children with special needs.
OMG this book is really wonderful as having close friends with children with special needs this book really touched my heart, It also touches the subject of child abuse and how it affects those into adulthood and even as adults there are so many self esteem issues.
Of course back in the day they didn't have therapists or Doctors to help you deal with these issues so I found this book just fascinating although different then Michelle's other books and at this time I will say it my favorite book of anything she has ever written!

You can read this book alone but I highly recommend you read To Sin With A Viking the first book in this series as that way you can understand the heroine in this books first husband Styr Hardrata and the Irish women Caragh Ò Brannon he falls in love with or else I feel you will dislike her first husband and his true love without having any insight of their real story or true characters.
Plus they are ancestors of previous Michelle Willingham books The Viking Hidden Love Slave, The Holy and The Viking in Warriors in The Winter and My Warrior Slave bookin the mega fabulous MacEgan book series.
So they really did need to happen plus it explores that not all arranged marriages work no matter how hard you try.
I personally love connecting the dots to from previous characters of books I have read and loved whether future or past characters.
It always makes me feel a part of the family in the way, yes I get that attached to my book characters! Whoops

"To Tempt A Viking" is the second book in the Forbidden Viking duet series By Michelle Willingham.
It is about Elena Karlsdotter the first barren wife of Styr Hardrata from the first book in this series "To Sin With A Viking".
The hero in this book is about Warrior Viking Ragnar Olafsson who was the best friend of Styr, but has been secretly in love with his best friends wife since they were children which he has kept hidden all these many years.
Elena and Ragnar are put in a hostage situation and he has saved her life more then once and he will always put his beloved Elena first, although she has no idea he has feelings for her.
Elena does know she can always be herself and not pretend with Ragnar as she does with her own husband, Of course Elena and Styr was an arranged marriage and this just proves that arranged marriages don't always work, Of course with Ragnar and Elena living in such close captivity the sparks sets out and once they find out about her first husbands betrayal things really heat up.
Yet Ragnar never feels good enough for Elena as he has a lot of self worth issues coming from an abused household and feels fighting is his only self worth.
Elena sees the good in him and has to help him overcome this darkness he feels he can't control, Not to say Elena too doesn't have self esteem issues herself and some OCD as well, she cleans and cooks compulsively thinking it can make things better in her life.
I found this book so fascinating as so many people have the same psychological issues even in today's world unfortunately, but at least we have place to go and people who can help with these problems.
Of course her compulsive disorder cannot make things better and then Elena finds a new purpose in her life name Matteus a handicapped child she saves from murder.
The scenes in this book with Elena and Matheus were breath taking and beautiful as it really pulled my heart strings and blew me away that's all I am saying you really need to read this book it's so very powerful and wonderful at the same time.


This book is really beautifully written and honestly hated to see it end, Yes it was that great! I definitely recommend To Tempt A Viking by Michelle Willingham, I love, love, love.