Nordic-inspired fantasy romance draws on harsh landscapes, ancient gods, and worlds shaped by ice, myth, and survival. These stories often feel colder, darker, and more elemental, with romances forged through endurance, loyalty, and fate rather than comfort or ease. The setting itself becomes a force that tests both love and strength.
The fantasy romance books on this list are rooted in Nordic-inspired mythology and aesthetics. Each one blends gods, magic, and unforgiving environments with compelling romantic arcs, creating stories where love must survive snowbound worlds, divine interference, and brutal trials.
1. Road of Bones by Demi Winters
A woman on the run. A crew of Viking mercenaries. A forbidden romance. And the secret which threatens them all.
Silla Nordvig is running for her life.
The queen of Íseldur has sent warriors to bring Silla to Sunnavík, where death awaits her. When her father is killed, his last words set Silla on a perilous quest: travel the treacherous Road of Bones–a thousand-mile stretch haunted by warbands, creatures of darkness, and a mysterious murderer–and go to Kopa, where a shield-house awaits her.
After barely surviving the first stretch of road, a desperate Silla sneaks into a supply wagon belonging to the notorious Bloodaxe Crew. To make it to Kopa, she must win over Axe Eyes, the brooding leader of the Crew, while avoiding the Wolf, his distractingly handsome right-hand man. But the queen’s ruthless assassin has other plans and hunts Silla obsessively.
Will Silla make it safely to Kopa? Or will she fall prey to the perils of the Road of Bones?
Featuring an immersive world blending fairy tale with Vikings, The Road of Bones leads you on an adrenaline-fueled chase with fun banter and a slow-building enemies to lovers romance. The first book in the Ashen Series, you are one click away from reading it!
2. A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen
A shield maiden blessed by the gods battles to unite a nation under a power-hungry king—while also fighting her growing desire for his fiery son—in this Norse-inspired fantasy romance from the bestselling author of The Bridge Kingdom series.
Bound in an unwanted marriage, Freya spends her days gutting fish, but dreams of becoming a warrior. And of putting an axe in her boorish husband’s back.
Freya’s dreams abruptly become reality when her husband betrays her to the region’s jarl, landing her in a fight to the death against his son, Bjorn. To survive, Freya is forced to reveal her deepest secret: She possesses a drop of a goddess’s blood, which makes her a shield maiden with magic capable of repelling any attack. It was foretold such a magic would unite the fractured nation of Skaland beneath the one who controls the shield maiden’s fate.
Believing he’s destined to rule Skaland as king, the fanatical jarl binds Freya with a blood oath and orders Bjorn to protect her from their enemies. Desperate to prove her strength, Freya must train to fight and learn to control her magic, all while facing perilous tests set by the gods. The greatest test of all, however, may be resisting her forbidden attraction to Bjorn. If Freya succumbs to her lust for the charming and fierce warrior, she risks not only her own destiny but the fate of all the people she swore to protect.
3. A Feather so Black by Lyra Selene
Set in a world of perilous magic and moonlit forests, this seductive romantic fantasy tells the story of a defiant changeling, her cursed sister, and the dangerous fae lord she must defeat to save her family.
In a kingdom where magic has been lost, Fia is a rare changeling, left behind by the wicked Fair Folk when they stole the High Queen’s daughter and retreated behind the locked gates of Tír na nÓg.
Most despise Fia’s fae blood. But the queen raises her as a daughter and trains her to be a spy. Meanwhile, the real princess Eala is bound to Tír na nÓg, cursed to become a swan by day and only returning to her true form at night.
When a hidden gate to the realm is discovered, Fia is tasked by the queen to retrieve the princess and break her curse. But she doesn’t go with her is prince Rogan, Fia’s dearest childhood friend—and Eala’s betrothed.
As they journey through the forests of the Folk, where magic winds through the roots of the trees and beauty can be a deadly illusion, Fia’s mission is complicated by her feelings for the prince…and her unexpected attraction to the dark-hearted fae lord holding Eala captive. Irian might be more monster than man, but he seems to understand Fia in a way no one ever has.
Soon, Fia begins to question the truth of her mission. But time is running out to break her sister’s curse. And unraveling the secrets of the past might destroy everything she has come to love.
4. Truth and Other Lies by Lyra Wolf
Nothing is trickier than the truth.
All Loki the trickster god of Asgard wants is a peaceful life where he’s free to stir up a bit of harmless mischief. But when he’s struck by a painful vision of blood, ash, and death he knows his fun has run out.
Refusing to have his life obliterated by some stuffy prophecy, Loki feels he must save Asgard. Except the gods stand in his way. They don’t trust the God of Lies—which means his only hope is to return to Odin, the man he wished to forget thanks to their complicated history.
When Loki meets a mortal woman, his plans hit a snag.
Sigyn is delightfully stubborn and quick with a blade. She also, inexplicably, possesses a divine element found only in a god.
As Loki falls deeply in love with her, he never expects their bond to fulfill the prophecy threatening all their lives.
Forced between honoring his oath with Odin or protecting the woman he loves, Loki will discover that the only thing crueler than truth are the lies behind it all.
And the truth changes everything.
5. Illusion of Stars by Sarah Marie Page
From award-winning author Sarah Marie Page comes a stunning enemies-to-lovers romantasy featuring a simmering slow-burn romance between a vengeful spy and an enemy general’s alluring second-in-command on opposite sides of a pending war.
SHE’S STEALING MORE THAN SECRETS.
As the royal physician of a tiny, windswept island, eighteen-year-old Isabel spends her days trying to keep the queen from dying and the mad king from streaking naked down the halls. But when her best friend is found murdered on the beaches, her world is ripped apart. Desperate for answers, she discovers a stash of letters that reveal a terrifying truth: the neighboring kingdom of Volgaard possesses a kingdom-shattering weapon and is ready to conquer everything in its path.
Seeking vengeance, Isabel infiltrates the enemy. Her mission? Woo Erik Lothgarson, the general’s steamy, illusion-magic wielding son. Steal the dangerous weapon. She can bring Volgaard to its knees—if she isn’t caught.
But as Isabel dances along the knife edge of deception, the lines between truth and fiction blur, and she must wrestle her quest for vengeance against her undeniable attraction to the enemy.
Which one is your favourite?
Books are always a very personal choice and we try our best to make sure our lists are a accurate as possible. But, maybe you have a different opinion, or want to add something to this post.
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