Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of The Border Lord by Sophia James
Historical romance released by Harlequin Historical 1 May 09
While I know some readers who can’t get enough Scottish historicals, I am not one of them. Oh sure, I like them, but only occasionally. As a pallet cleanser if you will. I picked up Sophia James’ latest because I was ready for another Scottish historical, I love discovering new Harlequin Historical writers, and I’m a complete and total sucker for the marriage of convenience trope. Unfortunately, after a bang-up first half, I found the second half of this novel to be muddled with too much external conflict.
Lady Grace Stanton is no beauty. Scarred by fire, with flaming red hair, an unfortunate skin condition, and a stutter, she’s hardly worth the trouble if not for the fact that she has quite a bit of money. So, hoping to settle unrest along the Scottish border, the King decrees that she’s to marry Laird Malcolm Kerr. Then Malcolm dies under mysterious circumstances. This hardly changes matters though. The King needs the families to unite, the Kerrs need money, and Lady Grace doesn’t have a lot of options. The new Laird, Lachlan Kerr will just have to stand in for his dearly departed brother.
Lachlan has already had one disastrous marriage, and he’s not real anxious for another trip down the aisle. But his land is in disrepair, and he desperately needs the money that Lady Grace’s dowry will provide. Yep, marriage is the only way. However once the deal is done, it’s only the start of their problems as a couple. Both of them are hiding secrets, and traitors are all around.
The first half of the novel is used to focus on the romantic couple and set the wheels in motion for their romance. While Grace is no beauty, her husband is quickly captivated by her, and drawn to her bravery. Grace doesn’t want this marriage any more than he does, and while she doesn’t have many friends among Lachlan’s people, she does win some hearts with her backbone and quick thinking. Certainly Lachlan and Grace intrigue each other, and that only intensifies once they take to the marriage bed.
Unfortunately I felt this story floundered in the second half. It takes place in 1360, which was certainly an unsettled time in Scottish history. However, all the political intrigue and secrets gives the story a schizophrenic feel. This isn’t helped by the small matter of dead brother Malcolm who flits from villain to hero so often that I could barely keep up. Also, it got more than a tad annoying after a while that Grace and Lachlan seemed incapable of talking to each other. 90% of the issues in this story could have been resolved had they just laid all their cards out on the table from the get-go. Certainly, that’s probably not likely to happen – but one would think after the mind-altering sex that they would have been a bit more willing to have some frank discussions.
Ultimately it’s the second half that dragged this story down for me. Up until that point, it was a wonderful trip down memory lane, reminding me of the historicals I loved as a teenager featuring “plain” heroines who catch the eye of the beautiful, hunky hero. Too much external conflict, and too much politicking ended up sucking most of the fun out of it for me.
Grade: C
Summary:
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Ordered to marry, Laird Lachlan Kerr thought a betrothal to homely, timid Lady Grace Stanton was hardly worth the trouble of protest. Yet, despite everything, he found there was something about her that was…brave. All his life he had been surrounded by betrayal, and this woman, who believed there was still goodness in him, was special indeed.
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Grace knew that the safety of her home depended on her betrothal—signed, sealed and delivered! Lachlan’s strength and unexpected care of her were dangerously appealing. She could fall for this man with secrets in his eyes….
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Read an excerpt here.
