Sandy M’s review of Bride of a Wicked Scotsman by Samantha James
Historical Romance published by Avon 24 Feb 09
My first thought just a chapter or so into this book was that it’s going way too slow, even for me. But I’m happy to say that it picked up with the appearance of the hero and I ended up really enjoying this story. It is a theme we’ve read a lot of over the years, hero is tricked into marriage, though usually it’s not the heroine. In this case it is and her reasons are different enough to keep things interesting. And I liked these two characters together, even when things weren’t going that well for them.
Maura makes a deathbed promise to her father to bring home the Circle of Light, an enchanted relic that held her family’s prosperity in its own mystical way. A man known as the Black Scotsman stole the Circle from the family generations before and their lives and property have never been the same, dwindling down to near nothing. There is a current Black Scotsman about and Maura puts her plan in motion to gain entry to the man’s home for her search for the Circle to make her family prosperous once again.
What she doesn’t expect is the unexplained and instant attraction she has to Alec McBride, Duke of Gleneden. Their banter and sensual teasing is exciting and leads her right where she needs to be to trap the man, making him think he’s bedded her and then conveniently having her pseudo-Uncle Murdoch discover them in a most compromising position, thus demanding Alec marry her. Things couldn’t have gone any better.
Alec is furious and confused at the sudden turn of events in his life. He can’t even remember what happened between himself and Maura and now he’s being forced into marriage to save her reputation, this from a man who prides himself on his restraint and level-headedness. But he does his duty and immediately takes his bride to Scotland, where he’s determined to exact his pound of flesh. Alec finds he can’t do what he plans, however, because he wants this woman as he’s wanted no other, no matter what she’s done. His revenge turns into seduction, but he could never have guessed the full extent of his bride’s deceit.
Even though this is the third book in a series, I felt I didn’t really miss anything by not having read the first two. This story is fully self-contained; if someone from a previous book shows up, it didn’t matter a bit. Though Maura takes her courage a bit far and goes full steam ahead with her plan, she isn’t without guilt when it comes to Alec and her feelings for him, and Alec pushes her to the limit when it comes to their attraction and finally their love for each other. I liked how the author continued to use their nicknames for one another, Scotsman and Irish, throughout the book even after their initial meeting when those names are decided on between them. They’re used in different ways to reflect particular moments and it’s done very well.
This is my first book by Ms. James and I look forward to more. In fact, I just came across my copy of The Secret Passion of Simon Blackwell in the TBR pile and pulled it out. Simon is mentioned only once in Bride, but I’m curious now to read about him. I hope he’s just as engaging as Alec.
Grade: A
Summary:
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Lady Maura O’Donnell swore to her father that she would recover the Circle of Light, an enchanted Celtic relic that had brought the family prosperity—until it was stolen two centuries earlier by a notorious pirate. Now the pirate’s descendant, the Duke of Gleneden, holds this rare treasure, and Maura will do anything to get it back
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Alec McBride knows when he’s been had. Lady Maura tricked him into marriage, and now she’ll pay. He’ll tempt her, tame her—until she sorely wishes she’d never heard of the Duke of Gleneden. Caught up in their game of revenge, Alec and Maura never notice what is happening in their hearts—until it’s too late.
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Read an excerpt.
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