Tag: Medieval historical

Guest Review: Forbidden Night with the Prince by Michelle Willingham

Posted July 5, 2018 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Forbidden Night with the Prince by Michelle WillinghamReviewer: Tracy
Forbidden Night with the Prince (Warriors of the Night #3) by Michelle Willingham
Series: Warriors of the Night #3
Also in this series: Forbidden Night with the Warrior
Publisher: Harlequin Historical
Publication Date: August 1, 2018
Format: eARC
Point-of-View: Third
Genres: Historical Romance
Pages: 288
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three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

A lifetime of being good…

One night of sin!

A Warriors of the Night story: virtuous Joan de Laurent is fated never to marry. Three betrothals, each ending in the groom’s death, have convinced her she’s cursed! But only her hand in marriage can help darkly brooding Irish prince Ronan win back his fortress. To break the curse, Joan must risk all to spend one forbidden night with the royal warrior…

Joan de Laurent believes she’s cursed.  She has had two betrothals and both of her intendeds died before the wedding!  She heads off to Ireland to meet her third betrothed and guess what?  He’s dead too!  Of course he was older, but still!

Ronan Ó Callaghan is an Irish prince who heads to the MacEgan holding to gather reinforcements.  His step-brother staged a coup and took over his father’s throne, taking his father hostage.  Ronan cannot let this stand and asks the MacEgan’s for warriors.  They say they’ll provide them but the de Laurent brothers can also provide warriors.  Unfortunately they’ll only do so if Ronan marries their sister.  Ronan isn’t interested in marrying but when he meets Joan he is quite taken with her.

Joan doesn’t want to get betrothed again.  She doesn’t want to take the chance of killing another man.  When she starts to have feelings for Ronan, she especially doesn’t want him to die.  She gets desperate and goes to an old medicine woman to ask how to break the curse.  The woman tells her to have Ronan drink a potion and then Joan is to lay with him and once they have the curse will be broken.  Joan is skeptical but she’s also desperate, so she goes for it.  They spend a wonderful night together and Ronan even agrees to marry Joan, but Joan won’t marry him as he refuses to have kids.  (He believes he killed his brother and nephew.)  The two need to come to an agreement so that Ronan can get the warriors he needs and save his father like he couldn’t save his other family members.

This was a good story.  I felt so bad for Joan!  With her believing that she’s cursed and everyone acting like she’s the devil, I’d want to leave as well.  Ronan was good for her as he brought her out of her self-induced shell.  She wasn’t a meek and mild person but felt she needed to act like one in order to break the curse.  I loved how Ronan dealt with Joan and she with him., they were really perfect for each other.

I felt that the part of the story that dealt with Ronan and his step-brother was also well done.  It seemed very realistic – something that I could imagine happening (even though I’m not really up on my Irish medieval history).

In the end I enjoyed the book and found it entertaining – a nice way to spend a quiet evening.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5

Warriors of the Night

three-half-stars


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Guest Review: Brennus by Hazel Hunter

Posted May 22, 2018 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Brennus by Hazel HunterReviewer: Tracy
Brennus (Immortal Highlander: Clan Skaraven #1) by Hazel Hunter

Publication Date: March 26, 2018
Format: eARC
Point-of-View: Third Person
Genres: Historical Romance, Paranormal Romance, Time Travel
Pages: 386
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three-half-stars

An ancient highlander who’s never been allowed to love. A modern woman who keeps men at arm’s length. Can their passion overcome their pasts?

Althea Jarden’s botanical fieldwork keeps her happily busy, but it has kept her from relationships as well—by design. Because deep passions can overwhelm her, she concluded long ago that a conventional life was not for her. Instead she’s learned to depend on herself. But all the self-reliance in the world can’t prepare her for being to abducted to ancient Scotland and what she finds there.

Chieftain Brennus Skaraven would like nothing better than to remain dead, his legendary clan buried and forgotten. Anything would be preferable to suffering the manipulations of the druids. But when a strange lass comes crashing into his life, he discovers more than a reason to live. He finds the one thing that had always been denied to him and his kind—love.

Brennus is a Skaraven warrior.  He and his fellow warriors were slaves to the druids until they died 12 centuries ago.  They’ve been brought back to life and made immortal by the druids to help fight evil druids who are planning on decimating the planet.  Brennus, the Chieftain of the clan, refuses to let his men be pawns in the druid’s games any longer.

Althea and 4 other women are sucked through time by the evil druids and held captive.  Starved and tortured, Althea knows that she must escape and find help. She receives that help from Brennus and while they’re plotting to save the other women, they spend a lot of time together.  They get closer and soon are falling for each other.  Brennus, however, was never allowed near a woman unless he was tied to a bed for fear that he would hurt her.  He’s concerned about Althea, but he’s not willing to be without her.

This is a related book to the Immortal Highlander series.  I enjoyed that series so when I saw this book I was definitely interested.  In the previous series each of the “mates” came through at different times.  This is different as all five women are pulled through time at once.

I enjoyed the world that Hunter created for the Skaraven clan.  They’ve been brought back to life and basically pulled through time as well so it’s an adjustment for them as well as Althea – just in a different way.  They seemed to be good men, for the most part and cared about each other.  As they’d never even been allowed to speak with a female before they died, having Althea there was a big change for them.

Althea and Brennus’s romance was more of a falling in love then a romance per se.  I enjoyed them getting to know each other I just wish they’d had more time. With the women being held, and their focus on getting them free, it was difficult for Brennus and Althea to get to know each other thoroughly, imho, and that rushed things a bit, in my mind.

I was a little confused at first as to what was going on with the evil druids but soon caught up.  I wish their history would have been more obvious to me – I think I would have understood things better throughout the book.

Overall it was a decent read and I will read the next book when it comes out to see what happens next.

3.5 out of 5

Immortal Highlander: Clan Skaraven

three-half-stars


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Guest Review: To Save a Savage Scot by Tamara Gill

Posted April 26, 2018 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: To Save a Savage Scot by Tamara GillReviewer: Tracy
To Save a Savage Scot (Time-Traveler's Highland Love #2) by Tamara Gill
Series: Time-Traveler's Highland Love #2
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
Publication Date: March 26th 2018
Format: eARC
Point-of-View: Third
Genres: Historical Romance
Pages: 209
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three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Kenzie Jacobs is fascinated by a portrait of the roguish Highlander, Black Ben, which hangs in her ancestral home. There’s a mystery surrounding his death, and Kenzie longs to solve it by traveling through time to 17th century Scotland—and perhaps meet the gorgeous laird who haunts her dreams.

Black Ben, Laird of Ross, suited his dark name more than ever since his wife died in childbirth. He has vowed never to marry again. But Kenzie is an intoxicating elixir and even more potent than whisky. As confusing and crazy as she may seem, he can’t get her out of his system. But there’s no way they can ever work, as she does not fit into his plans.

Fate has brought them together, and Ben can’t stop Kenzie from returning to her time, though he would do anything–except marry her–to keep her with him. Kenzie has a life to get back to but leaving her favorite, though infuriating, Highlander behind, might be the toughest thing she’ll ever have to do.

Black Ben Ross has always held a fascination for Kenzie Jacobs.  Even from when she was small she was intrigued by a painting of his that hung in her cousin’s house.  Unfortunately the history book don’t know what ever happened to the man.  Kenzie decides to go back and figure it out on her own.  She should have known that her fascination would lead to deeper feelings for the man.

Ben Ross believes that he killed his wife by asking for an heir.  She died in childbirth because of a tumor but he thinks it was all him.  He leaves not long after his son is born and gets drunk.  He stays that way for many months until he lands on his friends’ doorstep, drunk and very ill.  He meets Kenzie, who has come back from the future and he’s as smitten with her as she is with him.

The two start an affair but when Kenzie tells Ben why she’s really there, neither of them are sure where the danger is coming from, or how they will keep him alive when it arrives.

This was a decent time travel romance.  I really liked both Kenzie and Ben as well as the other characters in the book – except the evil ones, I didn’t like them. 😉 The romance between the H/h was slow to start and had a lot of tension between the two to start off with.  Of course, that eventually went by the wayside and they became lovers.

I thought the author did a good job writing the time period when it came to the setting but some of the ways that the characters talked who were from 1605 was a bit too contemporary.  I was also quite surprised with how many people knew Kenzie was from the future.  I would have thought it was kept a bigger secret as they wouldn’t want her be thought a witch, but no one seemed to be too freaked out about it which was strange.

Despite my issues with the book it was a good read and I would definitely read more in this series.

Time Traveler’s Highland Love Series

Rating: 3.75 out of 5

three-half-stars


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Guest Review: Forbidden Night with the Warrior by Michelle Willingham

Posted June 28, 2017 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Forbidden Night with the Warrior by Michelle WillinghamReviewer: Tracy
Forbidden Night with the Warrior by Michelle Willingham
Series: Warriors of the Night #1
Also in this series: Forbidden Night with the Prince (Warriors of the Night #3)
Publisher: Harlequin
Publication Date: June 20th 2017
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

One wicked night for an heir!

Rosamund de Courcy has always loved Warrick de Laurent, but was forced to marry another. Now her husband's dying command is that she must provide him with an heir. To do so, she will have to spend one sinful night...with Warrick!

The powerful warrior was wounded by Rosamund's abandonment years ago, and Warrick refuses to let her touch his heart again. But this illicit night is impossible to resist, and soon he is determined--he will not only possess her, but reclaim her for his own!

Three years ago Rosamund met and fell in love with Warrick.  She wanted nothing more than to be with Warrick but her father had other ideas about her future – not one where she wed a third son with no property.  Under threat of death to Warrick, Rosamund marries.  Now it’s three years later and her husband, Alan, is dying.  He summons Warrick to him and tells him that he wants him to lie with his wife to produce an heir.  Alan doesn’t want his evil brother to inherit and he knows he can’t produce an heir.  Rosamund is adamant that this not happen but Alan gets his way.

Being with Warrick again brings back all of the old feelings she once had for him.  She knows she never stopped loving him but she is still married to her husband.  When he dies Rosamund fears for her life fro Alan’s brother, Owen, and fleas her home.  Unfortunately Owen is determined to have Alan’s estates as well as Rosamund.

I never am one to read books that involve infidelity but this was a different take on everything.  I still didn’t care for it but I could deal with it better because of the circumstances.  Alan truly gave Rosamund no choice in the matter and that pissed me off.  He even forced it on her by coming to her in the dark –   he wanted her to believe that it was he that she was having sex with.  Of course she knew immediately it was Warrick.  That whole scene had me cringing because Warrick – who I had really liked  up until that point was involved.  It was a bit weird to say the least.

The story revolves around not only the issues with Alan and his wishes for Rosamund before he dies, but the issues with his brother Owen as well.   Then there was Rosamund and Warrick working out their issues from the past as well as the problems they faced currently.  There was a lot going on but as usual Willingham wrote it in such a way that it flowed easily.  She took all the different parts of the story and brought it into one cohesive and very good book.  I really enjoyed all of the parts of the story and definitely recommend this one.

Rating: 4 out of 5

four-stars


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Guest Review: How to Lose a Highlander by Michelle McLean

Posted May 17, 2017 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: How to Lose a Highlander by Michelle McLeanReviewer: Tracy
How to Lose a Highlander by Michelle McLean
Series: The MacGregor Lairds #1
Also in this series: How to Ensnare a Highlander (The MacGregor Lairds #2)
Publisher: Scandalous
Publication Date: May 15th 2017
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Series Rating: four-stars

Forced into marriage by their king in order to stop years of inter-clan feuding, Sorcha Campbell and Malcolm MacGregor are each determined to drive the other away. Malcolm knows he can never trust his new shrewish wife, despite the fact that everything he observes seems to prove that she’s not only trustworthy, but utterly perfect for him. Sorcha knows she can never let her guard down around the man she believes betrayed her father, yet the longer she’s with him, the more she discovers he is nothing like she was led to believe. They’ll have to fight their way through past prejudices and their own determination to destroy their union in order to gain their perfect HEA in this Taming of the Shrew meets How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days tale.

Sorcha Campbell’s father may be a highlander but and she obviously part Scottish but she’s been brought up by her English mother in England.  She’s lived at court most of her life and she doesn’t want that to change. She’s been proposed to many times but her father has turned them all down as no one has been good enough for her.

The Campbell’s and the MacGregor’s won’t stop raiding each other’s lands and the king decides that it must come to an end.  The king decides that Sorcha will marry Malcolm MacGregor and make the two families kin.  No one is happy with the decree but they can’t go against the king.  Sorcha decides to do everything she can to make him get an annulment and strangely enough, Malcolm has the same idea.  After the marriage the pair just frustrate the hell out of each other to no avail.  Sorcha gets to know the people of the MacGregor clan and she starts to doubt that all of the horrible things her father had told her about them were true.  She starts to find a home and decides that she needs to try to make hers a real marriage with Malcolm.  Unfortunately Malcolm finds it hard to trust – especially a Campbell.

This was a great little story.  I really liked Malcolm and Sorcha and their plans to irritate each other to death in order to get an annulment.  It didn’t work with either of them but it was funny.  I admit that did get old rather quickly and was happy when the author moved on to getting the pair together.  It was done slowly but very well and I thought it was nice that Sorcha didn’t go from hating Malcolm to loving him.  It took a while and that was a good thing.

Overall I thought it was a cute story. I’m interested to see who the next Laird in the series is so I’m sure I’ll be reading the next book when it comes out. 🙂

Rating: 4 out of 5


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