Book picks similar to
Tara's Song by Barbara Ferry Johnson


historical-romance
viking
bodice-ripper
historical

The Shipwreck


Glynnis Campbell - 2013
    A storm at sea leaves him shipwrecked, alone, and barely alive on a foreign coastline. Along the Pictish shore, Avril, a warrior maid and the victim of a Viking berserker, banished from her ancestral home of Rivenloch to a seaside cottage, dreams of the day she’ll raise her sword, take back the castle that is rightfully hers, and find her half-Viking daughter a proper father. Discovering a broad-shouldered, fair-haired, broken castaway washed up on her beach among the wreckage of his longship, she takes him captive and binds him in chains. She refuses to be a Viking’s victim again...never imagining that soon her fiercest enemy will earn her trust, invade her heart, and enthrall her senses.

Leif


Celeste Barclay - 2019
     Free will binds them. Leif Ivarrson wants nothing more than to enjoy the comforts of home after sailing for months.  When a neighboring jarl arrives bearing news of a threat to their land and security, Leif knows there will be no rest for him.  Tasked with finding and bringing back this jarl’s niece, Leif departs on a journey that fate designed but he chooses to carry out.Sigrid Torbensdóttir’s visions have been both a gift and a curse since she was a young girl.  Now a woman, Sigrid’s position as a seer puts her in danger when enemies seek to take advantage of her gift for their benefit and to keep her from saving her family.  Sigrid knows she cannot defy fate, and when Leif comes to her rescue, Leif discovers destiny cannot be ignored.Leif and Sigrid struggle to reconcile the future the gods have shown her with the shifting fate their enemies attempt to control.  Will a new love survive the tests of war and family? Can a match created by fate withstand the machinations of man? Viking Glory is a steamy historical series that will transport you back to the world of the ancient Norse with brave heroes and even stronger heroines.  The series follows the lives and loves of five friends. Brother and sister, Leif and Freya, along with their cousin, Bjorn, and their friends Strian and Tyra sail the seas and conquer hearts.  This is a four book series where each book can be read as a standalone but is best read as part of the series.

The Loyal Heart


Merry Farmer - 2011
    Several problems. Her childhood love, Ethan, has returned home from the Crusades, but he’s more interested in winning his land back than wooing her. She has to rescue a pair of nuns who are being held prisoner in Derby Castle’s tower by the sadistic Sheriff Buxton. And to top it all off, she’s developing scandalous feelings for Buxton’s lackey, the dark and devilish Crispin. Faced with all that what’s a girl to do but don her disguise as the Derbywood Bandit and take matters into her own hands?Sir Crispin is at his wit’s end. Not only does he have his hands full keeping Buxton from killing half the shire, now his arch nemesis, the Derbywood Bandit, has joined forces with his old rival Ethan. And that’s nothing compared to the burning torch he carries for his ex-fiancé, Lady Aubrey. He would do anything to win Aubrey’s love …… until he suspects that there could be a closer connection between Aubrey and the Derbywood Bandit than anyone knows.

Highlander's Challenge


Jo Barrett - 2007
    Who will win this battle of wills?

His Bonnie Bride


Hannah Howell - 1988
    So when Storm Eldon was kidnapped by her family's ancestral enemies, she knew there were rules to be honored by both sides. If her stepmother agreed to the ransom, Storm would not be harmed by the handsome Highland warrior who held her captive. But as days of waiting turned into weeks, it began to be clear that in this contest of wills, no one was fighting fair.

Dreamspell


Tamara Leigh - 2012
    A TIME TO DIE. A TIME TO DREAM.Sleep disorders specialist Kennedy Plain has been diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor. When her research subject dies after trying to convince her he has achieved dream-induced time travel and her study is shelved, she enlists herself as a subject to complete her research. But when she dreams herself into 14th-century England and falls into the hands of Fulke Wynland, a man history has condemned as a murderer, she must not only stay alive long enough to find a way to return to her own time, but prevent Fulke from murdering his young nephews. And yet, the more time she spends with the medieval warrior, the more difficult it is to believe he is capable of committing the heinous crime for which he has been reviled for 600 years.Baron Fulke Wynland has been granted guardianship of his brother’s heirs despite suspicions that he seeks to steal their inheritance. When the king sends a mysterious woman to care for the boys, Fulke is surprised by the lady's hostility toward him--and more surprised to learn she is to be his wife. But when his nephews are abducted, the two must overcome their mutual dislike to discover the boys' fate. What Fulke never expects is to feel for this woman whose peculiar speech, behavior, and talk of dream travel could see her burned as a witch.

Lord Ruin


Carolyn Jewel - 2002
    He planned to marry for beauty. But a night of unforgettable passion left him a changed man—a man tied to a bespectacled spinster. Anne Sinclair's long legs drove him wild with desire, and her quick wit challenged his mind. Ruined for any other, the notorious rake had only one choice: to court his wife. To win her confidence, however, nothing less than his love would do.The Divine SinclairAnne Sinclair had sworn to protect her sister from the infamous Lord Ruin. Yet she never expected to sacrifice her own virtue. Forced to give the rogue her hand in marriage, she vowed never to relinquish her heart. But Ruan worshiped her body and valued her intelligence, making Anne long to succumb to the ultimate temptation: falling for her husband.

The Reluctant Berserker


Alex Beecroft - 2014
    Not some slight, beautiful nobody of a harper who pushes him up against a wall and kisses him.In the aftermath, Wulfstan isn’t sure what he regrets most—that he only punched the churl in the face, or that he really wanted to give in.Leofgar is determined to prove he’s as much of a man as any Saxon. But now he’s got a bigger problem than a bloody nose. The lord who’s given him shelter from the killing cold is eyeing him like a wolf eyes a wounded hare.When Wulfstan accidentally kills a friend who is about to blurt his secret, he flees in panic and meets Leofgar, who is on the run from his lord’s lust. Together, pursued by a mother’s curse, they battle guilt, outlaws, and the powers of the underworld, armed only with music…and love that must overcome murderous shame to survive.Warning: Contains accurate depictions of Vikings, Dark Ages magic, kickass musicians, trope subversions and men who don’t know their place.

Butterfly Swords


Jeannie Lin - 2010
    Miles from home, with only her delicate butterfly swords for defense, she enlists the reluctant protection of a blue-eyed warrior. Battle-scarred, embittered Ryam has always held his own life at cheap value. Ai Li's innocent trust in him and honorable, stubborn nature make him desperate to protect her which means not seducing the first woman he has ever truly wanted.

The Warrior


Nicole Jordan - 1992
    . . .For five turbulent years Ariane has dutifully prepared herself for marriage to King Henry’s most trusted vassal, the legendary Norman knight Ranulf de Vernay. But cruel circumstance has branded Ariane’s father a traitor to the crown. And now Ranulf is returning to Claredon, not as a bridegroom . . . but as a conqueror.Survivor of a hellish youth, Ranulf knows well the treacheries of noblewomen–and mistrusts the regal, defiant beauty to whom he was once betrothed. But while he shields his wounded heart with impenetrable armor, she sears his soul with sensuous fire. Ranulf may have vowed to claim her lands and her body as his prize, but ultimately it is the mighty warrior who must surrender to Ariane’s proud, determined passion–and her remarkable healing love.

True to the Highlander


Barbara Longley - 2014
    With their king captured by the English, Scottish nobles plot to ransom James behind the back of the brutal regent holding their land in his iron grip. But not every clan wishes to see King James back on his throne…Sitting atop this powder keg of bloodthirsty rivalries, Malcolm of clan MacKintosh takes the mysterious, lone maiden he finds along his road as a bad omen…though an undeniably beautiful one. When he attempts to save her from a rogue within his own garrison, she deftly brings Malcolm to his knees. Who is this willful lass who has so quickly laid siege to his heart?Alethia Goodsky has met all kinds working at the New York Renaissance Festival, but no one like the fortune-teller who tasks her with a cryptic life-saving mission and flings her into the fifteenth century. Now Alethia must rely on her wits to unravel the mystery in this violent land. Malcolm has sworn to protect her, but her gifts may soon make her his protector. With enemies closing in, Alethia must choose between finding a way home…and remaining true to her Highlander.

Spoil of War


Phoenix Sullivan - 2011
    Expecting the same abuse as the other surviving women of her house, Elsbeth instead finds the king, Leodegrance, treating her with a civility that belies his flagrant desire for her. A desire that will have her his consort in Cameliard once he can convince her rank and duty alone forced his hand against her father.But Elsbeth is not so easily won. There is the matter of Leodegrance gifting his steward with an unwilling young handmaid from Elsbeth’s household. Of his marriage of convenience to his Byzantine queen. And of his plans to subjugate more of Britain’s citadels and unite the wild isle under Roman rule.If Elsbeth can’t find her tangled way to forgiveness with the king – or escape the dark designs and perverse desires of Uther Pendragon, enemy to them both – then a legend of Camelot may never be conceived, never be born, and never change history forever ...

Midnight Warrior


Iris Johansen - 1994
    Known for her skills as a healer, she had been brought to his battlefield tent to save his dying friend. Yet in the days and nights ahead, the sensual conqueror made it clear she might be more than nursemaid to his soldiers. She could be the intimate plaything of his seductive desires.HE WAS A CONQUEROR FOR WHOM NOTHING WAS FORBIDDEN ...Dark, brooding, and passionate, Lord Gage Dumont was a man used to conquest. And yet with one look at the beautiful slave he'd been given as his spoils, he realized she held him prisoner. As she fought to save his friend with her healing powers, Dumont felt her fiery touch deep in his scarred soul. Though he may have already owned her body, what he wanted was her heart --- and for that he would risk everything.

Knight in Highland Armor


Amy Jarecki - 2015
    With no marriage prospects, Colin petitions his majesty for help in finding a stepmother. Never again will he fall in love—the death of a woman brings more pain than losing a whole contingent of men on the battlefield.Feisty, quick tongued and smart, Margaret Robinson is delighted when her father receives a messenger from the king…until she discovers what news he brings. In a sennight, she will wed the notorious Black Knight—her life is about to end.Tension builds during the wedding and deteriorates from there…until an accident draws them together. Just when their love begins to blossom, a dire request arrives from the Pope. Colin must join the Crusades at once.Their fragile love is forced to withstand the seductions of hell—Margaret tempted by a scoundrel laird—Colin courted by Satan himself. Aye, the war for Christendom could very well ruin their dreams forever.

Love's Tender Fury


Jennifer Wilde - 1976
    Marietta was a woman wronged--raped by her employer, charged with theft by her jealous mistress, and shipped to the Colonies to serve fourteen years as bound servant to the man who bid highest. But Marietta was beautiful, educated and resilient, with a provocative body meant for love, and she was determined to prevail. Over the handsome, silent planter who bought her to be his housekeeper. Over the dashing entrepreneur who supplied girls to the New Orleans red light district. Over the wealthy sadist who used her in his madness. She would conquer them all--if she could subdue the hot, unruly passions of her heart.