Tag: Devil of the Highlands

Throwback Thursday Review: Taming the Highland Bride by Lynsay Sands

Posted March 12, 2020 by Holly in Reviews | 4 Comments

Throwback Thursday Review: Taming the Highland Bride by Lynsay SandsReviewer: Holly
Taming the Highland Bride by Lynsay Sands
Series: Devil of the Highlands #2
Also in this series: Taming the Highland Bride
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: January 26, 2010
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Point-of-View: Third
Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
Genres: Historical Romance
Pages: 371
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

She was ready to let her heart run wild . . .Merry Stewart has had enough! Enough of her brothers, whose behavior would make even the most improper lady blush. Enough of their Highland home, which would surely have fallen to ruin were it not for her. She dreams of escaping into the arms of her betrothed, Alexander d'Aumesbery, even though they haven't yet met. But when they do, Merry is devastated. It seems he's no better than the men in her family.

So beautiful, so brazen . . . From the moment he meets Merry, Alexander is determined to make her his. Desperate to convince her he's nothing like the members of her roguish clan, he will prove he is every bit the well-mannered gentleman. Yet, beneath it all beats a heart as intense and uncontrollable as hers. And finally, when his life is threatened, Merry realizes he's the husband she's been waiting for . . . and their passion becomes the one thing that cannot be tamed.

*** Every Thursday, we’ll be posting throwback reviews of our favorite and not-so-favorite books. Enjoy! ***

This review was originally posted on March 24, 2010.

I only just discovered Sands’ historicals last year. Prior to that I though she wrote only paranormals. Since discovering her medievals I’ve gone on a buying binge, gobbling up her backlist. I’ve found her novels to be quick, light reads. While this was more of the same, I wasn’t quite as satisfied with it.

I think many of the actions of the heroine were supposed to be kind of cutesy but they were kind of dry instead. I wasn’t laughing or smiling over her antics as much as I have in the past. I’m not sure if it was my mood while reading or a reflection of the book but there you go. I think the problem might have been that they just went on too long. There were a ton of instances where she had to be clever and find solutions to problems (carting her husband around after he’d been bashed in the head or drugged) and that didn’t leave a lot of time for the romance.

I really liked the way Alex tried to make Merry understand he wasn’t like her father and brothers. Because of a series of misunderstandings and the actions of outside forces, Merry thinks he’s a drunkard like her family. His disappointment over her feelings for him and the way he tries to fix it were sweet. It did bother me that Merry was so much in charge during the book, though. I like my medieval warriors to be just that..warriors. Because Alex was hurt so much Merry was mostly left in charge of running the keep and training the men. This bothered Alex quite a bit, but he wasn’t able to do much about it since he was always drugged or recovering from beatings.

The mystery plot annoyed me only because no one seemed to take the threats seriously. Every time something happened to Alex it was explained away or considered an accident. I wasn’t surprised at who the villain was, though the reasons behind it were interesting.

Something that really bothered me, and I’m sure this will prove just how shallow I am: the first time Merry sees Alex he’s falling down drunk. He isn’t normally a drinker, but he had a bad tooth that was causing him pain so he drank whiskey to dull the pain of having it removed. But..it was never mentioned why it had to be removed, or what tooth it was. Was it one of his front teeth, so now when he smiles he’s gap-toothed? Was it infected because he doesn’t believe in personal hygiene? I wondered about it all throughout the book. I guess it was just a little bit too much reality in my fiction.

Still, it was readable and I enjoyed the main story. I’m also looking forward to reading The Hellion and the Highlander, Merry’s oldest brother’s book.

3.75 out of 5

Devil of the Highlands

Book Cover Book Cover Book Cover

This book is available from Avon. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

three-half-stars


Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Guest Review: Taming the Highland Bride by Lynsay Sands

Posted June 25, 2015 by Tracy in Reviews | 5 Comments

Guest Review: Taming the Highland Bride by Lynsay SandsReviewer: Tracy
Taming the Highland Bride by Lynsay Sands
Series: Devil of the Highlands #2
Also in this series: Taming the Highland Bride
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication Date: January 26, 2010
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

She was ready to let her heart run wild . . .

Merry Stewart has had enough! Enough of her brothers, whose behavior would make even the most improper lady blush. Enough of their Highland home, which would surely have fallen to ruin were it not for her. She dreams of escaping into the arms of her betrothed, Alexander d'Aumesbery—even though they haven't yet met. But when they do, Merry is devastated. It seems he's no better than the men in her family.

So beautiful, so brazen . . . From the moment he meets Merry, Alexander is determined to make her his. Desperate to convince her he's nothing like the members of her roguish clan, he will prove he is every bit the well-mannered gentleman. Yet, beneath it all beats a heart as intense and uncontrollable as hers. And finally, when his life is threatened, Merry realizes he's the husband she's been waiting for . . . and their passion becomes the one thing that cannot be tamed.

Tracy’s review of Taming the Highland Bride (Devil of the Highlands #2) by Lynsay Sands

Merry Stewart was given the name “the Stewart shrew” by her brothers of all people. That’s because after her mother died her 2 youngest brothers and her father became raging drunks. She tried to control everything, as they did nothing in their drunkenness, and they therefore thought of her as a shrew. When they hear that her betrothed, who has been in the Crusades, has finally returned they are anxious to get her gone so that they can have control of their whiskey.

Merry’s not sure what expect when it comes to her betrothed. They have been betrothed since birth but have never met. She just hopes that he isn’t a drunk like the men in her family. When she arrives Alex is so drunk he falls flat on his face. Then for the weeks following he slurs and stumbles and she’s positive her husband is just as bad as the Stewart family. Then as they travel to visit Alex’s sister several incidents occur that have people who work for Alex suspecting that Merry is trying to kill her husband. When Alex and Merry actually talk they discover that someone is not only dosing him with something that makes him randy as hell but that someone – not her – is trying to kill him.

I really love Sands’ historical novels, I must say. This was another great one as it had me completely intrigued but laughing as well. I swear, the descriptions she comes up with to describe sex in her historicals cracks me up. In this one she has Alex’s step-mother talking to Merry about what to expect on her wedding night and describing a man’s penis. OMG, I found myself laughing pretty darned hard:

“Well,” Edda said finally. “You see, men are built differently than we women. The man has a…” She paused again and chewed on her lip briefly before brightening and saying, “Have you ever been in the kitchens at Stewart while your cook was preparing a chicken?”

Merry blinked at the question, not at all sure what a chicken had to do with this, but said, “Aye.”

“Well, think of the neck when the cook has plucked and cut it off to throw it in soup. A man has one of those between his legs.”

“Sort of,” Edda said with dissatisfaction. “’Tis straighter. At least ’tis when they are excited. And it does not have the bony ridges and it may be a tad bigger than a chicken neck.”

“Oh,” Merry said faintly.

Edda nodded solemnly. “’Tis most odd-looking. It sticks out from their body like a misplaced nose, but you must not laugh when you first see it,” she cautioned, and nodded to emphasize the point. “They become very offended. For some reason they are very proud of their chicken neck.”

Hilarious!

Merry was a great heroine and perfect for Alex who was a wonderful hero. I thought they fit together perfectly and I loved that despite everyone else’s suspicions Alex never believed Merry capable of harming him. Definitely points in his favor. Their love story was very sweet and I loved reading it.

Rating: 4 out of 5

This title is available from Avon. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

four-stars


Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Guest Review: Devil of the Highlands by Lynsay Sands

Posted March 1, 2009 by Holly in Reviews | 2 Comments

Publisher: Avon, Harper Collins

Book Cover

They call him the Devil . . .

He is the most notorious laird of Scotland: fierce, cold, deadly . . . and maybe even worse. Yet Evelinde has just agreed to wed him. Anything, she thinks, is better than her cruel stepmother. Though Evelinde should be wary of the rumors, she can’t help but be drawn to this warrior . . . for the Devil of the Highlands inspires a heat within her that is unlike anything she has ever known.

They may call him whatever they wish, but Cullen, Laird of Donnachaidh, cares only for the future of his clan. He must find a wife, a woman to bear him sons and heed his commands. He has no need for beauty or grace, but one taste of his lovely bride’s sweet lips and the sultry feel of her skin arouse an untamed passion. Perhaps there’s more to marriage than he thought . . .

I have a guest review up at The Good, The Bad and The Unread.

Years ago I read a novella featuring Lynsay Sands and Hannah Howell. Though it was enjoyable, it featured vampires – something I’m practically allergic to. I was under the impression that Lynsay Sands only wrote vampires, so I didn’t bother to look for anything else by her. Recently Sybil suggested this book and I decided, oh, what they hey. Even though I’m not big on vamps I enjoyed the novella I read by her. I was pleasantly surprised that this wasn’t a vamp book at all, but a fun, light historical….

read the rest here

This book is available from Avon. You can buy it here or here.


Tagged: , , , , , ,