I LOVED the first two books and so with a heavy heart I had to DNF this book. Its not something I wanted to do but I just couldn't do this book at all. I really struggled with it and the HEROINE is the reason. Quite frankly the hero was amazing and didn't deserve her hate. I can't stand man haters in women especially in romance and in this heroine it just didn't make sense to be honest. And I just couldn't stand her attitude and how she treats the hero.
Eight years ago Luke Ripton married a thirteen year old girl that would be forced to marry at such a young age, so he offered her his protection in matrimony and left her in a convent in Spain. Now he has heard news that his offer for annulment from the church has been rejected, so he has no choice but to claim her and bring her to England. When he arrives in Spain he expects to find a meek and biddable young woman that is very obedient and more than willing to be claimed. What he doesn't realize is that his wife is full of passion and zeal and seems intent on disobeying whenever the need arises, and it stirs his blood like no other. Bella has been in a convent for eight years forced to sew and has always felt like a prisoner among the walls of the convent. She yearns to be free and through the years has constantly done what she could to test her boundaries. She has dreamed of her handsome soldier of a husband, but feels less than adequate when she sees him again. Even though Luke and Bella wills seem to fight against each other constantly, a fiery desire also builds between them until it can no longer be denied.There were quite a few aspects I enjoyed about this wonderful conclusion to a adventurous series by Anne Gracie. Bride By Mistake is Luke's story, and in the past books we see him as a scoundrel and famous among the ladies. Luke is a full blooded male, a fierce protector, tortured past, and determined to claim his wife when annulment is no longer available. Isabella, is the type of heroine I fell in love with from the beginning. Even though she cares for Luke, she has had to do things to survive. She has alot of passion and wildness about her, she has a longing for adventure. There was such a sense of fun and playfulness between these two. I lost count the number of times I burst out laughing. There was such a spark between these two. I loved how Isabella treats Luke, she isn't a meek mouse, and takes him on a adventure. We see how she starts to have him wrapped around her finger---which is always great to see when the hero is too arrogant for his own good. There was alsoa enriching story full of emotion and sensuality to charm you. A beautifully crafted tale of love, exciting plot, adventure and an irresistable romance!!! Definitely "Choclate and swoon" worthy of a read.
Bride Enchanted was surprisingly enchanting, and definitely a book I am glad that I have had the opportunity to read. With Edith Layton sometimes I get drawn into the stories, and there are times where I have a hard time staying with it. Thankfully this was one of those, that I was completely drawn into, and captivated by the characters, and the plot was utterly satisfying. It begins with Eve Faraday, who is a beautiful woman, but has never had many suitors. Eve thinks she is not that enticing, and has doubts of when she will marry; that she might have to settle. Then one evening, the most compelling and gorgeous man she has ever seen asks her to dance twice in one evening. Eve is totally beside herself with shock. She has no idea what Aubrey see's in her. Eve knows there are many more women that he could choose that would be more beautiful and more smart. However, there is a reason why Aubrey chooses Eve, not the least of which is she is not as compelled by him and enthralled as every other person is. Aubrey is a member of a species that has been told in folklore, but is really known as one of the 'older ones'. Aubrey has special powers, and to mos humans, are enthralled by his mere presence. Eve is the only one that see's through it, and keeps logic and sense without being completely enthralled by him. For Aubrey, his race is dying, and he believes if he marries Eve, that she will be able to conceive his children. Aubrey conceals the true reason that he marries her. Once Eve finds out the real truth about Aubrey and his people, will she flee from him or will she decide to stay by his side and love him forever? I won't spoil it for you, but I will say I was definitely pleased by the ending.
I definitely enjoyed reading this book, it definitely drew me in. I have only read a few of Layton's book, and this is the first one that has the Paranormal genre within it. I definitely enjoyed having Aubrey being of another species, and I loved the aspect that he would never use his powers on Eve, unless she asked for it. How even though Eve at first is enthralled by his looks, see's through it with sense, and see's him for who he really is. Its truly a magical story that from beginning to end, is a journey of passion, love and a magic that surpasses time and will capture your heart.
This review was originally posted on Addicted To RomanceI received this book for free from Zebra in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Bride Chooses a Highlander is the third book in her McKenna family series. I have had such a fun time with this highlander family. Each member brings something new to the series and now we have the only girl of the family who has her story. And boy I really got a kick out of this book. It was so fabulous and even though I wish there was more romantic feels, the plot and the characters make up for it for the most part.
Our brilliant story begins with our hero, Lachlan, who is Laird of the MacTavish clan. But his people are slowly dying, they are barely making enough to survive and he knows that something needs to change. His clan was once prosperous but then they were punished when fighting on the wrong side of the war of independence in Scotland and now they are barely making it. His youngest brother is missing caught by the McKenna's and his middle brother wants to do something drastic and Lachlan is the reasonable brother and wants to find a peaceful way to work with the McKenna's to get his brother back but with no funds he has no idea how until his brother Aiden does something rash that could bring war upon them.
Katherine is the only daughter of the McKenna family and she is one of the few women that has a choice in the man she can marry. She is getting older than most girls to marry and she has made her choice. She hopes that she can have a marriage like her parents and her older brothers who have love and affection. But when she arrives to meet her betrothed, she finds that he is in love with another woman and so feeling betrayed she leaves with a few guardsmen knowing her father wouldn't support her because he wants her married and an alliance. But she finds herself kidnapped by Aiden but then his older brother rescues her and she forms an attachment to Lachlan and decides that he is the man that she wants but will she have to fight her family for the man she loves?
This was such a fun filled story that I had a blast reading. Now I will admit that the actual romance I had a hard time feeling for most of the book until the very end. But I had such a fun time getting into this story and man the plot was seemly pretty superbly written. I love the way that this author writes her historical romances, there is always something that tugs at the reader as you pick one of her books. What I really liked about this book was seeing a heroine fight for what she wants even against her own family. And boy the family DRAMA was simply epic in this book and I loved every single moment of it.
The romance that develops between Lachlan and Katherine was so sweet and likable. They really are such a good match for each other. Lachlan is honest with Katherine about everything, he doesn't keep what her brother did to her from her or anything like that. He is open with her and so there is a strong level of honesty between them. Lachlan is a loveable hero, he is strong and capable, a strong warrior and very loyal and honest. He is the type of person you could see yourself marrying, he just has strong values he lives by. Katherine is spirited, sweet and kind. She knows what she wants and won't settle for less. I love how she battles with her family, most especially, her father to keep the man that she loves instead of the man they already made an agreement with. We see what great sibling relationships she has with her brothers especially her younger brother SpoilerAnd seeing what her youngest brother does for her at the end, where he offers himself to be married to the daughter so that his sister can marry the man of her choosing and prevent a war was so SWEET!! You see how much this family loves and sacrifices for each other. And our villain from book two is finally killed in this book YAY!!! He was horrid.
Overall I found this book to be a fabulous addition to the series. The Bride Chooses A Highlander is a tale packed with action, intrigue, deception and fighting for what is right....MAGNIFICENT!!
A Bride By Moonlight is book four of the Fraternitas Aureae Crucis series. And yes that is such a complex spelling for a series? But once you read these books you begin to understand the reasoning of it a bit more. This book *sigh* was a struggle and I am not sure if it was just because it was my first historical in a long while, lack of energy or my mood but this took me almost a week to read and that is just not me even for a historical which I have struggled with lately. So I am not sure how long this review will be, but I do want to share my honest thoughts about this story.
A Bride By Moonlight is a story that is about two more opposite of people Lisette and Napier. Napier is a man that works with and is a defender of upholding the laws of the land. Lisette, is a woman who has a dark past and pushes the boundaries of the law. But Napier and Lisette come to an arrangement of sorts, a fake engagement to help solve a mystery and a murder mystery at that. Lisette is used to pushing men away, she doesn't like to get emotionally involved but with Napier its different. They have passion between them but there is something deeper and he is proving to be more of a challenge to let go of.
This is a story that I will say was confusing to say the least. The first half of the book was a huge struggle, so I really felt I had to force my way through it. I am not sure why I kept up with this one to be honest. I haven't read this author in years so I also had to adjust to her writing style which I definitely wasn't used to since its been so long. But I just wanted to love it. And even though I ended up liking some aspects of the story, it just didn't pull me in, or engage me and quite frankly I didn't feel the emotion that I wanted to feel between these two. As a plus though, there is a well written mystery that is put into play in this story and I definitely had a fun time with that. The second half of the book is definitely a vast improvement and I highly recommend that if you want to pick this one up, do so but stick with it and I guarantee that it does get better.
Overall, even though it didn't quite meet my expectations, it had such promise within its pages, and was a solid story of intrigue, unrequited love and the power of opposites being attracted....
Lady Grace, has been watching her husband, grow weaker from fever from a wound from a boar while hunting. She has stayed by his side, and when he makes a request from her, she can't refuse him. After he dies from his weakened condition, she is forced to leave, knowing the brothers of her late husband, will only use her for their own needs and greedy desires. While staying with her brother and his wife, her plan is to continue onto the convent, having feeling a need to atone for past sins. She grew up in the convent and desires to go back there. But her brother has different plans for her...he desires for her to find a husband and have children. When one of his battle buddies, a Sir Ewan Gilroy comes for a visit, desiring a opportunity to court and marry her. At first Grace is firm in her resolve to go to the convent, but Ewan is determined and is not a man to be swept away with foolish notions. His plan is to show Grace that he plans on keeping her as his, no matter what!
Bride Of A Scottish Warrior is the first book I have read from this author. I may have read her years ago, since her name is very familiar to me, and her writing was like visiting with a old friend. However, for the life of me, I can't recall which book of hers I had from her. So I will just claim this is the first book of hers that I can actually recall. I have recently seen this book pop up, quite often in ratings and reviews, and so I decided that I need to take a chance on this one. And I have a certain weakness for medieval historical romances...especially with a Scottish theme to it. This story takes place in the early 1300's, and I do love this time period. Its full of passion and raw sensuality that is so appealing and makes you crave for a time of kilts, sexy brogues, and Scottish castles and the kinship of clans.
Let me start with our magnificent hero, the bold and daring, Sir Ewan. What a man! Seriously I adored his character...I almost wanted to swoon just so he could catch me! LOL Unlike some heroes we see...he isn't intimidate by marriage or love or devotion...in fact he craves it, and desires it. And he goes in search of it. He wants someone to share and build his life with and he won't settle for less. I loved how he is afraid to search after what he wants, and holds nothing back. When he meets Grace...he knows she is the one. She is the one woman he wants for life, but there is one problem...she doesn't return that feeling. She admires him and respect him, but she has no interest in marrying anyone. Now onto the lovely Grace. She has such a stubborn personality....in fact too stubborn, but I am too....and so I felt a kinship towards her. I felt as I was reading this one...I could relate with her in so many ways. She is strong willed and very passionate even though she plans on entering a convent. What I really liked about her character was her willingness that when she makes a decision she stands by it with full heart and she is the perfect match for Ewan. They both have passionate natures, and I loved seeing them fight for each other in the end....and what a love affair they have.
The story isn't all roses and daisies though...there is a villain. Pretty good one too. He really puts these two through the wringer...but I found it was a good thing...it really makes them come together and fight for each other and the life they are building together. This was such a wonderful story...I enjoyed every single page. I was fighting for this couple all the way!! And those intimate scenes...were sensual and emotionally provoking....definitely had me needing a fan or even a cold bath...but they weren't super HOT, in fact tame compared to some other books I have read..but were so provocative and powerful in its intensity!! A story to win your heart....Heartwarming till the end!! WILL CAPTIVE AND STUN YOU!
