A Nordic King by Karina Halle

Four out of Five Stars

One sentence summary: A widowed King begins falling for the feisty young woman he hires as his children's nanny- will their pasts keep them apart or pull them together? 

First thought: I really enjoyed Karina's writing style and thought the story arc was pretty good. I was ready to give this book five stars until about 75%. 

Why I read it: The cover. I need to find out who this cover model is ASAP, then follow him on Insta. If you know, help a girl out in the comments. 

POV: First person alternating M|F, present tense 

Setting: Copenhagen, Denmark-- I wish I would have google imaged this before I started reading!  

Tropes: Royalty, Taboo, Age Gap, Nanny 

Our Heroine: Aurora. She's likable, bold and independent and adorably sassy to the King. From Australia, she starts our story reminding us that he's not her King which I thought was an excellent addition. Aurora is bright and kind to the two children she's the charge of. She has a mysterious past, which I didn't think was needed in this story, but she covers it pretty well. She's 14 years younger than our hero, and I wonder if that's a bit why she holds back when he opens up. When we're young we imagine we can get away with more. 

Aurora's got a great inner dialogue and reading from her POV was my favorite.  

Our Hero: Askel. For first 50% of the book I was 100% team Askel. He acknowledges that he's got a young and beautiful nanny and he's so respectful of that. GO Askel, don't leer until she wants you too! But then... Then, he got creepy controlling. 

It seemed really out of place for me. And, I know he's a King and all, but I've read some royal romance that wasn't seeping with moments of jealousy. So, by the end of this book, Askel was one of my lease favorite heroes. But don't worry, I won't hold that against the cover model. 

Overall thoughts: This story really taught me you can like a book without liking the hero. I thought the story was sweet- I particularly enjoyed the interactions Aurora had with Aksel's kids. This is another nanny trope that does an excellent job including the children as characters and not just plot.

This story is certainly a slow burn, but only in the way that it takes a while for the two of them to get together. However, since the relationship is so taboo, I was really expecting more secret moments, or accidental catches. Instead, we had a lot of angsty back story from both of our MCs. Personally, I think that the story really didn't need it. There was enough drama in the fact that a King was falling for his Nanny.      

The sexy scenes: Theres this moment in romance novels, when the hero is in a position of power, but then the heroine gets to see him physically vulnerable- usually shoeless, or in his pajamas, or some varying state of undress. That is my absolute favorite part of this style of romance, and Karina Halle delivers some excellent pajama moments. 

But other than that, I was hoping for a bit more romance in the sexy scenes. I mean, they're dirty-- but with a taboo affair, I want more stolen glances, touches, and moments. 

The best part of the book: The writing. Karina Halle's got some beautiful lines. 

Worst part of the book: Second half Askel. He's just not my cup of tea, I guess. 

TLDR: This story isn't without flaws, but I thought it was an excellent read- what young woman doesn't dream of becoming a queen? 

How I read it: For free with my Kindle Unlimited subscription. 

Links: A Nordic King on GoodReads & A Nordic King on Amazon

Enjoy my blog? 

Follow me on Twitter, 

add me on Goodreads, 

or check out my Instagram!