Honor is his duty. She is his undoing.

Astrid Olafsson will never marry anyone other than a fellow Norseman. To do so would be to abandon her heritage and her family's legacy. So, logically, she does everything in her power to halt her brother's betrothal to a woman foisted upon him by one of the most powerful kings in their new homeland. If he marries the king's choice of bride, he may as well admit to being the man's puppet.

As a leader of the elite Fianna warriors, Cormac O'Conor takes his responsibilities to king and kingdom more seriously than most. When the meddlesome Astrid interferes with his mission of securing a betrothal for his king's daughter, Cormac's dislike of Astrid only grows. In an effort to get her to stop interfering with her brother's betrothal, Cormac handily changes the family's focus to her own nuptials.

With little recourse remaining, Astrid forms a tense alliance with the irritating warrior: he will win the absurd tournament for her hand that her brother devised and she will convince her brother to agree to marry the king's daughter. Neither of them imagined that the tournament wouldn't just test their skills-it would test their hearts as well.

Join Cormac and Astrid for a Yule tournament, Viking-style, in an enemies-to-lovers tale of passion and courage.

Tropes/Themes:

✅ Enemies to lovers

✅ Viking heroine / Norse legacy

✅ Warrior hero

✅ Forced alliance

✅ Marriage tournament

✅ Cultural clash romance (Norse vs Gaelic)

✅ Strong, defiant heroine

✅ Medieval Yule setting

✅ Pride and duty conflict

✅ She vows never to marry... until him

✅ Alpha hero with a code of honor

✅ Fiery banter / verbal sparring

✅ Heart vs duty dilemma