Eveline
Armstrong is fiercely loved and protected by her powerful clan, but
outsiders consider her “touched.” Beautiful, fey, with a level,
intent gaze, she doesn’t speak. No one, not even her family, knows
that she cannot hear. Content with her life of seclusion, Eveline has
taught herself to read lips and allows the outside world to view her
as daft. But when an arranged marriage into a rival clan makes Graeme
Montgomery her husband, Eveline accepts her duty – unprepared
for the delights to come. Graeme is a rugged warrior with a voice so
deep and powerful that his new bride can hear it, and hands and
kisses so tender and skilled that he stirs her deepest
passions.
Graeme
is intrigued by the mysterious Eveline, whose silent lips are ripe
with temptation and whose bright, intelligent eyes can see into his
soul. As intimacy deepens, he learns her secret. But when clan
rivalries and dark deeds threaten the wife he has only begun to
cherish, the Scottish warrior will move heaven and earth to save the
woman who has awakened his heart to the beautiful song of a rare and
magical love.
bond. The last thing he wants is to have them at war. The problem
is, they’ve been enemies for many decades. In the current clans the
Armstrongs killed the laird of the Montgomery clan making Graeme the
current laird. Graeme wants nothing more than to kill every
Armstrong he comes across. When he gets word that his King wants him
to take Eveline Armstrong to wife he’s pissed as all hell. If he
denies the request though, he and his clan will be named outlaws and
killed. Graeme has heard that Eveline is daft and that means that
she’ll have no idea what’s going on and he can’t, in all honor, bed a
woman who has no clue what’s going on, which means no heirs for him!
They think Graeme, and all Montgomery’s, an animal and fear for
Eveline when she gets married. They, like Graeme, can’t defy they’re
king so they are stuck. Eveline, however, is excited about the
marriage. You see, instead of being daft as everyone, even her
family believes, she’s actually deaf and just seems a bit addled when
there are too many people around, they’re all talking at once and she
can’t read their lips. She feels horrible about keeping info from
her parents but she has a really good reason and hopes that once
she’s on Montgomery land she can finally be herself.
her affliction rather than continuing with the deception Graeme is
thrilled that he will be able to have a true marriage. The biggest
problem is his clan. They can’t see an innocent woman who had
nothing to do with the battles that were previously fought between
their clans; what they see when they look at Eveline is an Armstrong
and most aren’t willing to let her in to their lives.
when I read about the book. I love heroine’s or heroes that are deaf
or mute because I think it adds an interesting bit of angst to the
story. This was one of the better ones I’ve read.
deaf/mute aspect of the story was a large part of things it wasn’t
the sole focus. There was also the huge issue of Eveline’s
acceptance into the Montgomery clan. Graeme, as he got to know
Eveline, realized what a kind and strong person she was. She wanted
to make a place for herself in the clan and instead of acceptance she
found trickery and ridicule. This infuriated Graeme and added
another problem of his clan thinking that he was abandoning the
Montgomery’s for a “dirty” Armstrong. It was just all so good!
circumstances that caused Eveline to go deaf in the first place, Ian
McHugh. He was a nasty piece of work and Eveline was happy to be rid
of him. Ian, however was a wily bastard and didn’t give up on
Eveline as easily as she had thought. While this part of the story
was a bit much it was a means to an good end and I thought it was a
great way to wrap it all up.
I don’t think I’d read a Banks historical before but I will
definitely be reading the next book in the Montgomerys and Armstrongs
Series.
Wow, that was fast Tracy! LOL. Just happy that you enjoyed it 🙂 Let me know if the next books are as enjoyable! 🙂
Great Review!!! I also loved this book, and her other historical's are just as good!!!!
Nath – I told you I loved that trope! lol I was lucky and could still get it on Netgalley so I dove right in. No delayed gratification for this chick. lol
The next one doesn't come out til the end of February so we've got a few months to wait. 🙂
LoR – Good to know, I'll look in to those, thanks.
i have not gotten a chance to read this one, it is on its way from the library, but I have really enjoyed her other historicals. I am glad that you liked this one 🙂