BLOG TOUR – One Night with her Viking Warrior by Sarah Rodi

One Night With Her Viking Warrior

Her forbidden love is back to claim her!

Once Lady Rebekah shared a life-changing night with stable hand Raeden but he disappeared the morning after. Now she’s consort to a cruel Saxon Lord, and when Northmen lay siege to Ryestone Keep, Rebekah’s shocked to see Raeden leading the charge! This Viking warrior is not the man she remembers, yet she finds herself drawn to him again. Taken as his hostage, Rebekah must decide: can she trust him with her life…and her dangerous secret?

Purchase Links:

UK ~ US

Author Bio:

Sarah Rodi has always been a hopeless romantic. She grew up watching old, romantic movies recommended by her grandad, or devouring love stories from the local library. Sarah lives in the village of Cookham in Berkshire, where she enjoys walking along the River Thames with her husband, her two daughters and their dog. She has been a magazine journalist for over 20 years, but it has been her lifelong dream to write romance for Mills & Boon. Sarah believes everyone deserves to find their happily ever after.

Contact Sarah:

Website ~ Twitter ~ Email

Tracy’s Review:

One Night with Her Viking WarriorOne Night with Her Viking Warrior by Sarah Rodi

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone

Release Date: December 2022

Lady Rebekah’s life has been far from easy, orphaned at ten when Danes attacked her home, an attack she survived but was burned and sent to live with her uncle at Ryestone Keep. Then years later when she falls in love with a stable boy named Raedan, she hopes for a future with him and willingly gives him her virginity, but the next day he is gone, and later she is told he is dead. With no chance of happiness, she agrees to marry her cousin Atol, but soon after her uncle dies and Atol abuses her and when she learns she is pregnant, he refuses to marry her unless (or until) she gives him a son. So when a daughter is born, Rebekah is left to act as Lady of the Keep but is really little more than Atol’s unwilling mistress. But all that changes when the Danes raid again and Rebekah is taken captive by a man named Halfdan who reminds her of her lost love.

Halfdan (aka Raedan) can’t believe that Rebekah married Atol so soon after he was beaten and sold to a slave master, he thought she loved him, but he won’t make that mistake again. After spending years as a slave, he was bought and freed by a Dane, Jarl Knud, and his sister Brita, that was the day that Raedan died and Halfdan was born. And thanks to Jarl Knud, Raedan learned to be a warrior and rose in the ranks, until he was Knud’s best warrior. He eagerly leads the raid against his old home and takes Rebekah hostage. He thinks he is over her, but once they are alone, he realizes he is still attracted to her, much to his disgust. But after they talk, he learns that she had no part in his banishment and had no idea he was sold into slavery – a secret shame that he isn’t willing to share with anyone. He learns of the abuse she has endured and makes the decision to take her back to his home in Nedergaard, it is then he learns of her daughter and the shame Rebekah has lived with as little more than Atol’s leman. He then boldly rescues her daughter Gytha from under Atol’s nose and takes them both with him – but not before Atol realizes and gives chase. They escape, but Atol vows revenge and Raedan makes more than one enemy. Once they are back in Nedergaard, they marry to protect Rebekah and their old feelings begin to rekindle, but with so many secrets between them and their enemies bent on revenge, finding their HEA won’t be easy.

This was a very well-written, fast-paced story featuring wonderful characters and a second-chance romance. This book has a little bit of everything: secrets, lies, revelations, action, revenge, steamyish love scenes, a marriage of convenience, more than one villain who won’t give up, new beginnings, forgiveness, and finally a HEA complete with an epilogue. The only qualm I had was that I felt that at least one villain got off too easily, but that was a very minor thing and I readily admit that I am a blood-thirsty wench. So overall, this was a fantastic read and I enthusiastically recommend this title! I am sincerely hoping that the author decides to write stories for Knud and his sister Brita.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*

Cinderella and the Duke by Lydia Drake

Cinderella and the DukeCinderella and the Duke by Lydia Drake

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone (?)

Release Date: December 27, 2022

For the last ten years, Julia Beaumont has lived quietly in the country, at the beck and call of her stepmother and she has come to believe that her dreams of love and marriage were nothing more than fairy tales, but when her stepmother is ill and cannot attend a ball with her much younger step-sister, Susannah, Julia jumps at the chance to chaperon her, knowing this may be her last chance to attend a ball and find a husband. But instead of a husband, she finds a potential scandal and if that wasn’t bad enough, she also loses a shoe when she makes her escape!

Gregory Carter, the Duke of Ashworth, is bored and tired – being England’s most sought-after rake is exhausting, but he is sick of women trying to slip into his bed and their husbands trying to kill him. So he is both surprised and intrigued when he is rescued from yet another bored wife bent on seduction and her husband bent on shooting Gregory in yet another duel, by a gorgeous woman who is completely unknown to him. His surprise is increased when he learns she is unwed and when she slips away leaving him with nothing but her name and her shoe!

Gregory tracks her down the next day to return her shoe, sure that she won’t be as intriguing in the light of day. But to his delight, she is not only as lovely as he remembered but witty and smart too and when she proposes they marry to save her reputation and to save him from the bored wives looking to join the “Carter Club”, he surprises both of them by agreeing! But Gregory believes that no woman could ever love him and has no desire to fall for Julia and be rejected, so he is firm that this will not be a real marriage and that he will be leaving for Spain within days of the wedding, Julia agrees as there is no way she will let herself feel anything for him when she knows he is a rake and could never love her. But as they say, the best-laid plans…

I loved this book, it was well-written, nicely paced and so much fun to read. Gregory and Julia are wonderful characters, easy to like and delightful to read, they both have experiences in their pasts that have shaped them and led them to believe they are unlovable, they also have a strong sense of self-perseveration and a healthy helping of pride, therefore will never let themselves fall in love thus opening themselves up to rejection – so their road to HEA is definitely not a smooth ride! This book has wonderful characters, witty banter, engaging dialogue, great secondary characters, steamyish love scenes, the “Carter Club”, a dash of heartache and a sweet ending, and a charming epilogue. I highly recommend this story – I am leary of “fairytale” retellings, but this one is outstanding, it is also one of the best debuts I have ever read and I can’t wait to read the next book this author writes!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*