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Highland Brides #2
To Marry a Scottish Laird
New York Times bestselling author Lynsay Sands returns to the Highlands of Scotland in her hottest new historical romance yet!
Highlander Campbell Sinclair is no stranger to battle, so when he sees a lad attacked by bandits, he jumps into the fray. He didn't count on being stabbed. Grateful to the boy for nursing him back to health, Cam offers to accompany Jo safely to his destination. But when he accidentally comes across the lad bathing in the river, Cam discovers that Jo is actually Joan...with the most sinful of curves.
Joan promised her mother that she would deliver a scroll to the clan MacKay. But traveling alone is dangerous, even disguised as a boy. When a Scottish warrior lends his aid, she is more than relieved...until he surprises her with lingering kisses and caresses that prove her disguise hasn't fooled him. As their passion ignites, will the secrets of the scroll force a wedding...and lead to a love she's never known?
Highlander Campbell Sinclair is no stranger to battle, so when he sees a lad attacked by bandits, he jumps into the fray. He didn't count on being stabbed. Grateful to the boy for nursing him back to health, Cam offers to accompany Jo safely to his destination. But when he accidentally comes across the lad bathing in the river, Cam discovers that Jo is actually Joan...with the most sinful of curves.
Joan promised her mother that she would deliver a scroll to the clan MacKay. But traveling alone is dangerous, even disguised as a boy. When a Scottish warrior lends his aid, she is more than relieved...until he surprises her with lingering kisses and caresses that prove her disguise hasn't fooled him. As their passion ignites, will the secrets of the scroll force a wedding...and lead to a love she's never known?
384 pages, ebook
First published June 14, 2014
About the author
Lynsay Sands
111 books11.9k followersLYNSAY SANDS is the nationally bestselling author who is known for her hysterical historicals as well as the popular Argeneau/Rogue Hunter vampire series. With her witty and charming personality, Sands describes books as, “Waking dreams or stories, tales to amuse, entertain and distract us from everyday life.” She’s been writing stories since grade school and considers herself incredibly lucky to be able to make a career out of it. Her hope is that readers can get away from their everyday stress through her stories, and if there are occasional uncontrollable fits of laughter, that’s just a big bonus. Visit her official website at www.lynsaysands.net.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 634 reviews
July 7, 2018
Another enjoyable read by Lyndsay Sands! I’m loving the “Highlander Bride” series! This was the second book in the series but it can stand alone.
The beginning starts off with Cam coming across a young boy who is being attacked by four big men. He rushes to help and becomes injured in the process. The young boy... who is actually a lady dressed in disguise... ends up saving Cam’s life after tending to him for three days after he becomes injured. You can imagine where this story goes from here!
I really enjoyed the couples journey to where they were going, and I do have to say I was a bit surprised with how fast they became intimate, it seemed like it was going to be a sexathon throughout the whole story; but it does taper off once the second half of the story comes into play!
I did become a bit frustrated with their lack of communicating their fears to one another; but this kind of thing is common in romance land! Lol!
All in all, I find the series to be a light hearted, funny, and sexy read! I do plan to keep going as long as my amusement keeps being fed!!
The beginning starts off with Cam coming across a young boy who is being attacked by four big men. He rushes to help and becomes injured in the process. The young boy... who is actually a lady dressed in disguise... ends up saving Cam’s life after tending to him for three days after he becomes injured. You can imagine where this story goes from here!
I really enjoyed the couples journey to where they were going, and I do have to say I was a bit surprised with how fast they became intimate, it seemed like it was going to be a sexathon throughout the whole story; but it does taper off once the second half of the story comes into play!
I did become a bit frustrated with their lack of communicating their fears to one another; but this kind of thing is common in romance land! Lol!
All in all, I find the series to be a light hearted, funny, and sexy read! I do plan to keep going as long as my amusement keeps being fed!!
August 19, 2024
Review from 2014
C+ for narration / D for content, 2.5 stars.
To Marry a Scottish Laird is a simple compromised-into-marriage story, which is normally one of my favourite tropes in the genre of historical romance. The problem is that while in some cases simplicity of story leaves ample room for character development and relationship progression, neither of those things are apparent in this book. The storytelling is unsophisticated to the point of dullness, there is no chemistry between the two protagonists and the author resorts too often to cliché in both characterisation and plot, so that I came away from this audiobook feeling as though that was ten hours of my life I’d rather like to have back.
Campbell Sinclair is travelling home from a sojourn in the North of England when he happens upon a lad being beaten up by three brigands. Cam is able to rescue the boy and kill or wound his attackers, but not without cost to himself. He is stabbed in the back, and would have died were it not for the care given him by the boy, who – fortunately – turns out to be a healer. Introducing himself as Jonas, the boy explains that he is on his way to deliver a letter to Laird McKay, and as soon as he is well enough, Cam offers to let the boy travel with him, as the MacKay lands lie not far from his own home.
A couple of days later, Cam inadvertently discovers that Jonas is, in fact, Joan, which puts a whole different complexion on things, namely that Cam has trouble trying not to think about what she looks like without her clothes on. The journey, which would normally take a few days, is slowed down because of Cam’s injury, and this allows the pair to get to know each other, exchanging stories and confidences along the road.
One stormy night, after he’s well on the way to recovery, Cam finds it impossible to resist Joan’s charms any longer. She’s still under the impression he thinks she’s a boy, so her first reaction to finding herself being soundly kissed and enthusiastically fondled is one of horror. But when Cam quickly makes it clear he realised the truth about her some time ago, she gives him the green light. At this point, I was tempted to rewind to see if I’d missed anything, because this first sexual encounter comes almost completely out of the blue, with no real build-up. One minute Cam’s trying to shelter Joan from the rain and the next he’s ripping her clothes off! And she goes from “what’s he doing?” to “oh, okay, time to lose my virginity” in about ten seconds flat. It also makes no sense given that both characters have spoken about their desire not to marry or have children – yet they have sex with no thought for consequences until after the horse has well and truly bolted several times over.
Shortly before they reach their destination, Cam asks Joan to go to home to Sinclair with him. Joan isn’t daft and knows this isn’t a marriage proposal – and anyway, she’s a peasant and he’s a lord, so it could never be – so she tells him no, making him think he’s been nothing to her but a pleasant diversion. Cam is hurt and upset by her rejection and, being a man of great brawn but not so much brain, can’t work out that simply asking her to go home with him was not, perhaps, the most flattering of proposals.
On the last day of their journey, the pair are discovered cuddled up beneath Cam’s plaid by none other than Laird MacKay. Joan delivers her letter and plans to move on – only to be informed, as per its contents, that she is, in fact, MacKay’s niece, the daughter of his rather troublesome sister, who ran away with her lover and then died giving birth to her child, who was then brought up by the kindly midwife who attended the birth.
For Cam to have deflowered a young peasant girl is one thing. For him to have deflowered the niece of The MacKay is quite another, and he immediately offers to make things right by marrying Joan.
And thus the misunderstandings continue to pile up. Joan thinks Cam is only marrying her because he has to. He thinks she doesn’t want him because of her earlier refusal to return home with him. She thinks she’s not good enough for him because she wasn’t brought up a lady and can’t do all the things that the wife of a would-be-Laird should be able to do. He has no idea that she thinks that way, because, while they spent a lot of their journey talking about anything and everything, once married, he avoids her because he feels he’s forced her into a marriage she didn’t want… and so on. Add in the bitchy trollop who’d hoped to marry Cam, a plot to do away with Joan, a red herring that’s so obviously a red herring as to have a neon sign painted on it, and we’re shopping in Banalities-R-Us like it’s the last day of their closing down sale.
To Marry a Scottish Laird moves slowly and possesses very little by way of charm or wit. Cam might be good with his weapon – both in the sack and out of it – but he comes across as being somewhat dim and unperceptive. Joan is so full of insecurities that even when Cam tells her outright that he loves her and that it doesn’t matter to him if she can embroider or sing, she continues to doubt him, and I lost patience with her very quickly.
Kieron Elliott is a new-to-me narrator. His voice is pleasant to listen to and he acquits himself fairly well here. He’s a Scot, and performs the narrative and most of the characters in his lovely natural accent, but his interpretation of Joan is a bit iffy. While he uses an appropriately softened tone and a slightly higher pitch to portray her, his accent is all wrong. Joan is supposedly from Grimsby in the North-East of England, but she sounds as though she’d fit right in among the cast of EastEnders. All the other characters are clearly delineated, and the narrative is well-paced, although he does have a tendency to split sentences by inserting long pauses after conjunctions.
I would certainly listen to Mr Elliott again (although on the showing here, he needs to work on his English accent a bit), but it’s a shame that he wasn’t given better material to make what appears to be his début recording in the genre.
C+ for narration / D for content, 2.5 stars.
To Marry a Scottish Laird is a simple compromised-into-marriage story, which is normally one of my favourite tropes in the genre of historical romance. The problem is that while in some cases simplicity of story leaves ample room for character development and relationship progression, neither of those things are apparent in this book. The storytelling is unsophisticated to the point of dullness, there is no chemistry between the two protagonists and the author resorts too often to cliché in both characterisation and plot, so that I came away from this audiobook feeling as though that was ten hours of my life I’d rather like to have back.
Campbell Sinclair is travelling home from a sojourn in the North of England when he happens upon a lad being beaten up by three brigands. Cam is able to rescue the boy and kill or wound his attackers, but not without cost to himself. He is stabbed in the back, and would have died were it not for the care given him by the boy, who – fortunately – turns out to be a healer. Introducing himself as Jonas, the boy explains that he is on his way to deliver a letter to Laird McKay, and as soon as he is well enough, Cam offers to let the boy travel with him, as the MacKay lands lie not far from his own home.
A couple of days later, Cam inadvertently discovers that Jonas is, in fact, Joan, which puts a whole different complexion on things, namely that Cam has trouble trying not to think about what she looks like without her clothes on. The journey, which would normally take a few days, is slowed down because of Cam’s injury, and this allows the pair to get to know each other, exchanging stories and confidences along the road.
One stormy night, after he’s well on the way to recovery, Cam finds it impossible to resist Joan’s charms any longer. She’s still under the impression he thinks she’s a boy, so her first reaction to finding herself being soundly kissed and enthusiastically fondled is one of horror. But when Cam quickly makes it clear he realised the truth about her some time ago, she gives him the green light. At this point, I was tempted to rewind to see if I’d missed anything, because this first sexual encounter comes almost completely out of the blue, with no real build-up. One minute Cam’s trying to shelter Joan from the rain and the next he’s ripping her clothes off! And she goes from “what’s he doing?” to “oh, okay, time to lose my virginity” in about ten seconds flat. It also makes no sense given that both characters have spoken about their desire not to marry or have children – yet they have sex with no thought for consequences until after the horse has well and truly bolted several times over.
Shortly before they reach their destination, Cam asks Joan to go to home to Sinclair with him. Joan isn’t daft and knows this isn’t a marriage proposal – and anyway, she’s a peasant and he’s a lord, so it could never be – so she tells him no, making him think he’s been nothing to her but a pleasant diversion. Cam is hurt and upset by her rejection and, being a man of great brawn but not so much brain, can’t work out that simply asking her to go home with him was not, perhaps, the most flattering of proposals.
On the last day of their journey, the pair are discovered cuddled up beneath Cam’s plaid by none other than Laird MacKay. Joan delivers her letter and plans to move on – only to be informed, as per its contents, that she is, in fact, MacKay’s niece, the daughter of his rather troublesome sister, who ran away with her lover and then died giving birth to her child, who was then brought up by the kindly midwife who attended the birth.
For Cam to have deflowered a young peasant girl is one thing. For him to have deflowered the niece of The MacKay is quite another, and he immediately offers to make things right by marrying Joan.
And thus the misunderstandings continue to pile up. Joan thinks Cam is only marrying her because he has to. He thinks she doesn’t want him because of her earlier refusal to return home with him. She thinks she’s not good enough for him because she wasn’t brought up a lady and can’t do all the things that the wife of a would-be-Laird should be able to do. He has no idea that she thinks that way, because, while they spent a lot of their journey talking about anything and everything, once married, he avoids her because he feels he’s forced her into a marriage she didn’t want… and so on. Add in the bitchy trollop who’d hoped to marry Cam, a plot to do away with Joan, a red herring that’s so obviously a red herring as to have a neon sign painted on it, and we’re shopping in Banalities-R-Us like it’s the last day of their closing down sale.
To Marry a Scottish Laird moves slowly and possesses very little by way of charm or wit. Cam might be good with his weapon – both in the sack and out of it – but he comes across as being somewhat dim and unperceptive. Joan is so full of insecurities that even when Cam tells her outright that he loves her and that it doesn’t matter to him if she can embroider or sing, she continues to doubt him, and I lost patience with her very quickly.
Kieron Elliott is a new-to-me narrator. His voice is pleasant to listen to and he acquits himself fairly well here. He’s a Scot, and performs the narrative and most of the characters in his lovely natural accent, but his interpretation of Joan is a bit iffy. While he uses an appropriately softened tone and a slightly higher pitch to portray her, his accent is all wrong. Joan is supposedly from Grimsby in the North-East of England, but she sounds as though she’d fit right in among the cast of EastEnders. All the other characters are clearly delineated, and the narrative is well-paced, although he does have a tendency to split sentences by inserting long pauses after conjunctions.
I would certainly listen to Mr Elliott again (although on the showing here, he needs to work on his English accent a bit), but it’s a shame that he wasn’t given better material to make what appears to be his début recording in the genre.
June 26, 2021
2🌟
I kinda hated the Hero, he's only purpose in this book was to shag Joan.
I didn't understand how everyone described him as smart and right and honorable. He basically took that girl's V card without a care in the world. And she should be so grateful that he later proposed her to be his mistress???
He was a total ass from my pov. Even with the marriage and all. His only actions and thoughts are related to having sex... so much of a hero...
Don't misunderstand me, I love a good sensual and erotic book, but boy this one seemed dumb and dry.
I kinda hated the Hero, he's only purpose in this book was to shag Joan.
I didn't understand how everyone described him as smart and right and honorable. He basically took that girl's V card without a care in the world. And she should be so grateful that he later proposed her to be his mistress???
He was a total ass from my pov. Even with the marriage and all. His only actions and thoughts are related to having sex... so much of a hero...
Don't misunderstand me, I love a good sensual and erotic book, but boy this one seemed dumb and dry.
October 7, 2020
cw:
GAH. I picked up this series on a whim, and I was surprised how much I enjoyed the first book, An English Bride in Scotland, so I was looking forward to this. It showed some promise early on but got worse and worse as it went along.
Alright, so the opening scenes showed some promise. Joan's dressed as a boy when Campbell comes across her being attacked by bandits who want to steal her bag. Cam defeats most of them, but one's sneaking up on him so Joan takes him out. Then Joan saves Cam's life by tending his wounds. I thought, awesome! Just like in book one, the heroine gets to save the hero, and they're going to be a real team YAY.
Cam learns she's a girl the first night he's awake, because she goes off to bathe and he wakes up what happening to the boy and sees her. But he decides he'll wait until she feels comfortable saying something. I'm disappointed that there wasn't more time with him unaware, but I'm also happy that he's being so respectful of her.
But then she's injured falling from a tree and it rains so he sleeps next to her because his plaid can cover them both and shield them from the rain I guess, and in the morning he's horny af and just starts kissing her. She's kinda into it but also worried he's going to be sad when he learns she's not male, but he grabs her boob and is happy about it, so then she gives herself over to sensation. It's questionable consent, but both parties enjoy everything. EXCEPT that both of them have discussed that they Cam's wife died in childbirth and he doesn't want kids (which is why he doesn't want to remarry), and Joan (secretly) does not want kids either because she is terrified of childbirth from seeing her mother work as a healer.
Neither of them thinks about that AT ALL during their initial boink!fest. This is where I started thinking I wasn't going to like the book, but since I liked the prior, I hoped I was wrong and it wouldn't end up with them having kids. Reader, they do end up with a kid. Though not from this encounter, which is at least mildly surprising. I was also slightly encouraged to continue by the fact that, after this fuckup, both hero and heroine obtain methods of birth control (he gets a sheep's bladder and she uses wild carrot—no idea of its efficacy but honestly willing to allow these things regardless of historical accuracy which imo is not the point).
Another concern that appears at this point is the fact that there's really no chemistry here, aside from the fact that, the moment they touch, they can't help doing the sex. The book goes telling rather than showing, constantly having a line about how great their talks are and how they can talk about anything together, maybe because they first bonded when Cam thought they shared a gender (which is pretty icky reasoning too), but we don't actually see them having interesting conversations about much of anything, certainly not after the gender reveal.
At any rate, they end up taking two weeks for a short journey (not sure how long it would have been) so they can have as much sex as possible on the way. He asks her to come home with him but doesn't specify in what capacity (healer, mistress, wife?), so she says no, because she doesn't want to be his mistress and get dropped later. He's all hurt. And then the hero from book one and a bunch of his clan ride up and catch them all post coital not far from his home (Joan's destination was the McKay's because her mother sent her with a secret deathbed letter for Annabel).
Joan is revealed to be the daughter of Annabel's treacherous sister Kate (who in book one was shipped off to a nunnery for murder and thievery). At this point, I'm annoyed by three things: the fact that Kate died in childbirth right after arriving at the nunnery AND the fact that the commoner heroine is now an heiress, so they can be together AND now they HAVE to wed, which means they can draw out the feelings miscommunication even further. Why do I keep going? Well, I keep hoping things will take a surprising turn for the better, because the first one was very surprising and weird. Spoiler: they don't.
Aside: Also the author forgot that Ross MacKay had a sibling?!?!?! "Neither Laird MacKay nor his wife had siblings." Except you totally meet his awesome sister in book one. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS BOOK?
They're married off swiftly, even though both of them kind of don't want to marry because they think the other one doesn't want them even though they do both want each other and are happy to be married. It's very annoying already, but buckle in because this is going absolutely nowhere, even though most of the secondary characters literally tell them "he/she totally loves you just talk it out" and they don't. But, don't worry, you absolutely will still get lines of narrative summary about their amazing conversations and friendship and ability to discuss anything.
In this section, there's also the introduction of a mean girl villain love rival who is pursuing the heroine's husband. This is where I start getting truly concerned, though in retrospect it should have been earlier. Now, in the first book, there was also a mean girl villain love rival who pursued the heroine's husband, the aforementioned Kate, but I was willing to allow it there, because Annabel had such great relationships with the other female characters, and it very much was a believable, developed toxic family storyline. Here, though, this girl just vamps around. There is absolutely no depth or development to her character. Also, a bit out of order here, but this woman is murdered for making a move on the hero. So that's two villainous women who have been killed by the author in this book, which is some nasty ass moralizing imo.
Alright, so two things are going on plotwise here: Joan's insecurities and plots to murder Joan (a couple people, including the mean girl, are murdered as part of this plot). Let's talk Joan's insecurities first. She's not just insecure about whether Cam wants to be married to her; she's also insecure about being a lady, since she was raised as a commoner. This latter insecurity was shared by Annabel in the first book, but in a very charming way. Here, though, it's Joan taking lessons with Annabel, sucking at all of them, and then crying and deciding she has to please Cam sexually enough that he will not divorce her, which culminates in a scene where she's badly injured after her horse riding lesson goes awry (due to murder plot—a hair pin under the horse's saddle so that the horse freaks out when she gets on), but starts giving Cam a blow job and trying to convince him to fuck her. She's so injured he refuses, but then she's all mad about that so he's like maaaybe and then her family busts in and makes fun of them. It was SO UNCOMFORTABLE. The Joan who was brave enough to dress as a boy, travel alone from England to Scotland, fight bandits, and rescue Cam completely disappears once they start having sex and never comes back.
Meanwhile, there are various murder attempts in a scheme for one of the girls, the supposedly nice and helpful one, the only non-family-member female with whom Joan really converses, to kill Joan so she can have Cam. The girl also murders a messenger so she won't be sent home and the seductive widow mean girl. Again, there is NO development. The plots are also increasingly stupid, culminating in a scene where the villain drugs all the other women with a sleeping potion and then monologues her evil plans to the heroine. And the heroine doesn't even deal with her! One of the other girls conveniently wakes up and saves Joan.
And you might be thinking, at least it's over, but NO. This is the point where we get to the inevitable baby epilogue, in case you forgot that. It jumps to Joan, who is about to give birth. She's concerned but accepts that birth control isn't perfectly affective. I'm disappointed but also this book was a shit show so this doesn't really rate. I knew it was coming, so whatever.
BUT THEN
That's right! It's not a birth control fail! The mother-in-law, Bearnas, swapped Joan's birth control for something that does not do that so she could get a grandbaby, against the will of both Cam and Joan. It trails off and Joan calls her an "interfering bitch" which is fair, but her Annabel says Joan didn't mean it and consoles the mother-in-law, who's all "if she dies, I'll never forgive myself." YOU SHOULD NEVER FORGIVE YOURSELF EVEN IF SHE LIVES YOU FUCKING MURDEROUS ASSHOLE.
Ahem. But really. Childbirth was really fucking dangerous and often killed the mother, as is the case with TWO WOMEN in this book, the hero's first wife and the heroine's mother. This is dangerous bullshit, and I'm incensed. But I'm even MORE incensed when:
So she's mad about someone making reproductive decisions for her for two seconds and then APOLOGIZES AND NAMES HER CHILD AFTER THE WOMAN. I WANT TO SET EVERYTHING ON FIRE.
I listened to the audiobook, though I did look up quotes in the ebook because I was mad enough to check that out from the library as well for EVIDENCE. The narration of the first book was excellent, but imo this one was just okay.
This book was so bad that I actually think I may never read Lynsay Sands ever again. Which is a really rare thing for me to do actually, because I basically want to read any romance that sounds possibly cute.
GAH. I picked up this series on a whim, and I was surprised how much I enjoyed the first book, An English Bride in Scotland, so I was looking forward to this. It showed some promise early on but got worse and worse as it went along.
Alright, so the opening scenes showed some promise. Joan's dressed as a boy when Campbell comes across her being attacked by bandits who want to steal her bag. Cam defeats most of them, but one's sneaking up on him so Joan takes him out. Then Joan saves Cam's life by tending his wounds. I thought, awesome! Just like in book one, the heroine gets to save the hero, and they're going to be a real team YAY.
Cam learns she's a girl the first night he's awake, because she goes off to bathe and he wakes up what happening to the boy and sees her. But he decides he'll wait until she feels comfortable saying something. I'm disappointed that there wasn't more time with him unaware, but I'm also happy that he's being so respectful of her.
But then she's injured falling from a tree and it rains so he sleeps next to her because his plaid can cover them both and shield them from the rain I guess, and in the morning he's horny af and just starts kissing her. She's kinda into it but also worried he's going to be sad when he learns she's not male, but he grabs her boob and is happy about it, so then she gives herself over to sensation. It's questionable consent, but both parties enjoy everything. EXCEPT that both of them have discussed that they Cam's wife died in childbirth and he doesn't want kids (which is why he doesn't want to remarry), and Joan (secretly) does not want kids either because she is terrified of childbirth from seeing her mother work as a healer.
Neither of them thinks about that AT ALL during their initial boink!fest. This is where I started thinking I wasn't going to like the book, but since I liked the prior, I hoped I was wrong and it wouldn't end up with them having kids. Reader, they do end up with a kid. Though not from this encounter, which is at least mildly surprising. I was also slightly encouraged to continue by the fact that, after this fuckup, both hero and heroine obtain methods of birth control (he gets a sheep's bladder and she uses wild carrot—no idea of its efficacy but honestly willing to allow these things regardless of historical accuracy which imo is not the point).
Another concern that appears at this point is the fact that there's really no chemistry here, aside from the fact that, the moment they touch, they can't help doing the sex. The book goes telling rather than showing, constantly having a line about how great their talks are and how they can talk about anything together, maybe because they first bonded when Cam thought they shared a gender (which is pretty icky reasoning too), but we don't actually see them having interesting conversations about much of anything, certainly not after the gender reveal.
At any rate, they end up taking two weeks for a short journey (not sure how long it would have been) so they can have as much sex as possible on the way. He asks her to come home with him but doesn't specify in what capacity (healer, mistress, wife?), so she says no, because she doesn't want to be his mistress and get dropped later. He's all hurt. And then the hero from book one and a bunch of his clan ride up and catch them all post coital not far from his home (Joan's destination was the McKay's because her mother sent her with a secret deathbed letter for Annabel).
Joan is revealed to be the daughter of Annabel's treacherous sister Kate (who in book one was shipped off to a nunnery for murder and thievery). At this point, I'm annoyed by three things: the fact that Kate died in childbirth right after arriving at the nunnery AND the fact that the commoner heroine is now an heiress, so they can be together AND now they HAVE to wed, which means they can draw out the feelings miscommunication even further. Why do I keep going? Well, I keep hoping things will take a surprising turn for the better, because the first one was very surprising and weird. Spoiler: they don't.
Aside: Also the author forgot that Ross MacKay had a sibling?!?!?! "Neither Laird MacKay nor his wife had siblings." Except you totally meet his awesome sister in book one. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS BOOK?
They're married off swiftly, even though both of them kind of don't want to marry because they think the other one doesn't want them even though they do both want each other and are happy to be married. It's very annoying already, but buckle in because this is going absolutely nowhere, even though most of the secondary characters literally tell them "he/she totally loves you just talk it out" and they don't. But, don't worry, you absolutely will still get lines of narrative summary about their amazing conversations and friendship and ability to discuss anything.
In this section, there's also the introduction of a mean girl villain love rival who is pursuing the heroine's husband. This is where I start getting truly concerned, though in retrospect it should have been earlier. Now, in the first book, there was also a mean girl villain love rival who pursued the heroine's husband, the aforementioned Kate, but I was willing to allow it there, because Annabel had such great relationships with the other female characters, and it very much was a believable, developed toxic family storyline. Here, though, this girl just vamps around. There is absolutely no depth or development to her character. Also, a bit out of order here, but this woman is murdered for making a move on the hero. So that's two villainous women who have been killed by the author in this book, which is some nasty ass moralizing imo.
Alright, so two things are going on plotwise here: Joan's insecurities and plots to murder Joan (a couple people, including the mean girl, are murdered as part of this plot). Let's talk Joan's insecurities first. She's not just insecure about whether Cam wants to be married to her; she's also insecure about being a lady, since she was raised as a commoner. This latter insecurity was shared by Annabel in the first book, but in a very charming way. Here, though, it's Joan taking lessons with Annabel, sucking at all of them, and then crying and deciding she has to please Cam sexually enough that he will not divorce her, which culminates in a scene where she's badly injured after her horse riding lesson goes awry (due to murder plot—a hair pin under the horse's saddle so that the horse freaks out when she gets on), but starts giving Cam a blow job and trying to convince him to fuck her. She's so injured he refuses, but then she's all mad about that so he's like maaaybe and then her family busts in and makes fun of them. It was SO UNCOMFORTABLE. The Joan who was brave enough to dress as a boy, travel alone from England to Scotland, fight bandits, and rescue Cam completely disappears once they start having sex and never comes back.
Meanwhile, there are various murder attempts in a scheme for one of the girls, the supposedly nice and helpful one, the only non-family-member female with whom Joan really converses, to kill Joan so she can have Cam. The girl also murders a messenger so she won't be sent home and the seductive widow mean girl. Again, there is NO development. The plots are also increasingly stupid, culminating in a scene where the villain drugs all the other women with a sleeping potion and then monologues her evil plans to the heroine. And the heroine doesn't even deal with her! One of the other girls conveniently wakes up and saves Joan.
And you might be thinking, at least it's over, but NO. This is the point where we get to the inevitable baby epilogue, in case you forgot that. It jumps to Joan, who is about to give birth. She's concerned but accepts that birth control isn't perfectly affective. I'm disappointed but also this book was a shit show so this doesn't really rate. I knew it was coming, so whatever.
BUT THEN
Cam's mother hesitated, but then blurted, "My maid learned from Jinn about the wild carrot seed and I had her switch it out for—"
That's right! It's not a birth control fail! The mother-in-law, Bearnas, swapped Joan's birth control for something that does not do that so she could get a grandbaby, against the will of both Cam and Joan. It trails off and Joan calls her an "interfering bitch" which is fair, but her Annabel says Joan didn't mean it and consoles the mother-in-law, who's all "if she dies, I'll never forgive myself." YOU SHOULD NEVER FORGIVE YOURSELF EVEN IF SHE LIVES YOU FUCKING MURDEROUS ASSHOLE.
Ahem. But really. Childbirth was really fucking dangerous and often killed the mother, as is the case with TWO WOMEN in this book, the hero's first wife and the heroine's mother. This is dangerous bullshit, and I'm incensed. But I'm even MORE incensed when:
"He's beautiful. Do ye ken what name ye'll give him?"
When Joan glanced to Cam, he shook his head. "'Tis yer choice. Ye did all the work."
Joan hesitated, and then met her mother-in-law's eyes.
"Bearnard," she said quietly. "In honor of the lady responsible for his being here. Thank you," she added solemnly, and then rushed on, apologetically. "And I am sorry about calling you an interfering bitch earlier. My aunt was right, I really didn't mean it. Without you, we wouldn't have Bearnard."
So she's mad about someone making reproductive decisions for her for two seconds and then APOLOGIZES AND NAMES HER CHILD AFTER THE WOMAN. I WANT TO SET EVERYTHING ON FIRE.
I listened to the audiobook, though I did look up quotes in the ebook because I was mad enough to check that out from the library as well for EVIDENCE. The narration of the first book was excellent, but imo this one was just okay.
This book was so bad that I actually think I may never read Lynsay Sands ever again. Which is a really rare thing for me to do actually, because I basically want to read any romance that sounds possibly cute.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 15, 2022
This was unfortunate. I enjoyed the first one a lot and was eager to continue but sadly this one didn't do it for me. But I'm still interested in listen to the next one
January 19, 2019
4 1/2 stars
Love me some smutty highlander historical romances with a twist of mystery, and Lynsay Sands delivers every time! I inhaled this one in a day because I just couldn't bring myself to put it down.
To Marry a Scottish Laird is the second book in the Highland Brides series, and it begins about 20 years after book 1, which was a bit of a surprise to me, but it made it all the more enjoyable to revisit the main characters from book 1 (An English Bride in Scotland) and see how things turned out with the long-term HEA.
Campbell ("Cam") Sinclair is the first-born son of the Sinclair laird who was once married but lost both his wife and unborn infant in childbirth; thus, he has decided marriage is not for him, despite his mother's desperate attempts to persuade him otherwise by inviting every eligible female in Scotland to their home. Weary of the non-stop female bombardments, Cam decides to roam the lands with a couple of his cousins as hired swords for various allies in the area. His quest takes him to the lowlands and into England where he comes across a lad being pummeled by a giant of a man attempting to steal the boy's pouch. Cam comes to the lad's aid and saves him, but he fails to notice that there are 3 other men with this ogre, and one stabs him in the back. After fending off the other two, he collapses, and is left to the mercy of the lad and/or the fates.
Joan is the daughter of the healer who served an English abbey for many years until her recent passing. On her deathbed, her mother begs her one last request: she is to deliver a message to the Laird and Lady McKay (the MCs from book 1) in the Scottish highlands. Her instructions included ways that Joan can defend herself on the potentially perilous and lengthy journey; one of these ideas involves binding her breasts, hiding her long blonde hair under a cap, and posing as a young man on a mission to deliver a message. When Cam comes to her defense, she feels obligated to care for him as he was injured in an effort to save her from a beating death. When he awakens, he sees the lad he saved, but cannot discern any facial features as he was beaten so severely, yet he stumbles upon the "boy" bathing in the lake and realizes "he" is actually a very appealing female.
Cam and Joan must try to fight not only their magnetic attraction to one another but also their growing feelings as a commoner can never marry a laird.... right?
What I liked:
--- Both MCs were imminently likeable from the get-go
--- The "dressed as a lad ruse" has been played often before as an HR story line, but this one worked better because her face was not a factor as it was beaten, so he wouldn't have been as much of a dolt as many of the male MCs are when they run around the countryside with a "boy" and not realize he's way too pretty and delicate to actually be one (also, the reveal happens early in the book, so they don't get very far along the path before her very clearly feminine assets are on display)
--- The twists in the book made it all the more interesting, even when I was able to guess the larger mystery of the story
What I didn't like:
--- The miscommunication angst gets old for me pretty quickly; thankfully, the female MC from the first book in the series intervened a couple of times to set them straight, but really - just talk to each other - ugh! :)
Overall, another very satisfying historical romance from Sands that hit on my must-haves: likeable main characters; some turns/spins on the tale; and a truckload (er, I mean, horse-drawn cartload) of steamy goodness galore!
Plot --- 4.5/5
Main Characters --- 5/5
Supporting Cast --- 4.5/5
Steam Level --- 4/5
Violence --- some (none domestic or gory)
Language --- minimal
POV --- 3rd
Love me some smutty highlander historical romances with a twist of mystery, and Lynsay Sands delivers every time! I inhaled this one in a day because I just couldn't bring myself to put it down.
To Marry a Scottish Laird is the second book in the Highland Brides series, and it begins about 20 years after book 1, which was a bit of a surprise to me, but it made it all the more enjoyable to revisit the main characters from book 1 (An English Bride in Scotland) and see how things turned out with the long-term HEA.
Campbell ("Cam") Sinclair is the first-born son of the Sinclair laird who was once married but lost both his wife and unborn infant in childbirth; thus, he has decided marriage is not for him, despite his mother's desperate attempts to persuade him otherwise by inviting every eligible female in Scotland to their home. Weary of the non-stop female bombardments, Cam decides to roam the lands with a couple of his cousins as hired swords for various allies in the area. His quest takes him to the lowlands and into England where he comes across a lad being pummeled by a giant of a man attempting to steal the boy's pouch. Cam comes to the lad's aid and saves him, but he fails to notice that there are 3 other men with this ogre, and one stabs him in the back. After fending off the other two, he collapses, and is left to the mercy of the lad and/or the fates.
Joan is the daughter of the healer who served an English abbey for many years until her recent passing. On her deathbed, her mother begs her one last request: she is to deliver a message to the Laird and Lady McKay (the MCs from book 1) in the Scottish highlands. Her instructions included ways that Joan can defend herself on the potentially perilous and lengthy journey; one of these ideas involves binding her breasts, hiding her long blonde hair under a cap, and posing as a young man on a mission to deliver a message. When Cam comes to her defense, she feels obligated to care for him as he was injured in an effort to save her from a beating death. When he awakens, he sees the lad he saved, but cannot discern any facial features as he was beaten so severely, yet he stumbles upon the "boy" bathing in the lake and realizes "he" is actually a very appealing female.
Cam and Joan must try to fight not only their magnetic attraction to one another but also their growing feelings as a commoner can never marry a laird.... right?
What I liked:
--- Both MCs were imminently likeable from the get-go
--- The "dressed as a lad ruse" has been played often before as an HR story line, but this one worked better because her face was not a factor as it was beaten, so he wouldn't have been as much of a dolt as many of the male MCs are when they run around the countryside with a "boy" and not realize he's way too pretty and delicate to actually be one (also, the reveal happens early in the book, so they don't get very far along the path before her very clearly feminine assets are on display)
--- The twists in the book made it all the more interesting, even when I was able to guess the larger mystery of the story
What I didn't like:
--- The miscommunication angst gets old for me pretty quickly; thankfully, the female MC from the first book in the series intervened a couple of times to set them straight, but really - just talk to each other - ugh! :)
Overall, another very satisfying historical romance from Sands that hit on my must-haves: likeable main characters; some turns/spins on the tale; and a truckload (er, I mean, horse-drawn cartload) of steamy goodness galore!
Plot --- 4.5/5
Main Characters --- 5/5
Supporting Cast --- 4.5/5
Steam Level --- 4/5
Violence --- some (none domestic or gory)
Language --- minimal
POV --- 3rd
December 27, 2018
Setting: Medieval Scotland
Re-Read (cause I couldn't remember)
But 3 1/2 stars this time
The moment Campbell Sinclair sees a lad attacked by a bunch of thugs, he jumps right into the fray and offers to escort Jonas and the legendary scroll to the McKays.
But when along the way Campbell stumbles upon a bathing Jonas, and discovers Jonas is really a Joan, their friendship changes really fast.
Campbell attempts to ignore his attraction to her, but easier said than done and they both soon surrender to their mutual desire.
Then complications arise when they deliver the scroll to it's rightful place and are then forced to marry.
Jealousy and misunderstandings then get in the way of their happiness until finally each realizes the importance of love.
A "girl dressed as a boy" plot theme is very much used in the older romances, and I always have enjoyed reading one just to see how the author gets around this without having it the "same old same old" tale and without it getting boring.
The author did this well in To Marry a Scottish Laird, and delivered a fast paced tale with action galore and great chemistry between the two lovers.
Although the story relied on jealousy and foolish misunderstandings to drive the storytelling, the feisty heroine and hero with lots of humour thrown in made the read worth the ride.
Re-Read (cause I couldn't remember)
But 3 1/2 stars this time
The moment Campbell Sinclair sees a lad attacked by a bunch of thugs, he jumps right into the fray and offers to escort Jonas and the legendary scroll to the McKays.
But when along the way Campbell stumbles upon a bathing Jonas, and discovers Jonas is really a Joan, their friendship changes really fast.
Campbell attempts to ignore his attraction to her, but easier said than done and they both soon surrender to their mutual desire.
Then complications arise when they deliver the scroll to it's rightful place and are then forced to marry.
Jealousy and misunderstandings then get in the way of their happiness until finally each realizes the importance of love.
A "girl dressed as a boy" plot theme is very much used in the older romances, and I always have enjoyed reading one just to see how the author gets around this without having it the "same old same old" tale and without it getting boring.
The author did this well in To Marry a Scottish Laird, and delivered a fast paced tale with action galore and great chemistry between the two lovers.
Although the story relied on jealousy and foolish misunderstandings to drive the storytelling, the feisty heroine and hero with lots of humour thrown in made the read worth the ride.
January 11, 2023
3 Stars
He was riding on. She needed saving. He saved. Then he needed saving. She saved. They met. They (sort of) talked. They did, well, other things. Secrets were revealed. They (had to) marry. Misunderstandings happened because they did not talk. Boring sewing stuff. Poisoning. More misunderstanding. Wisdom. Misguided seduction attempt. Murder. Murder attempt. Declarations of love. Idiotic ways of finding the murderer. More sewing stuff. Murderer is found. Epilogue. Fin.
Not bad. No great. Heh! Funny sometimes. Dub-con? Not even sure if this constitutes a review!
He was riding on. She needed saving. He saved. Then he needed saving. She saved. They met. They (sort of) talked. They did, well, other things. Secrets were revealed. They (had to) marry. Misunderstandings happened because they did not talk. Boring sewing stuff. Poisoning. More misunderstanding. Wisdom. Misguided seduction attempt. Murder. Murder attempt. Declarations of love. Idiotic ways of finding the murderer. More sewing stuff. Murderer is found. Epilogue. Fin.
Not bad. No great. Heh! Funny sometimes. Dub-con? Not even sure if this constitutes a review!
February 26, 2014
A charming, lovely, romantic read, To Marry a Scottish Laird was a fantastic historical romance. I totally loved this book! It was sweet, enjoyable, and with a few surprises in store. I've adored every book I've read by this author and this one is no exception.
Joan was a lovely heroine. She was strong and definitely wasn't a woman to be underestimated. She was determined and a genuinely kind heroine. My one issue with her was that I wish she hadn't let the jealous ladies get to her so easily. She was too easily convinced of her own insecurities. But, other than that, I really liked her.
Cam was wonderful. He was so sweet and utterly adorable. He was strong, honorable, and protective of his loved ones. I totally loved him. He was perfect.
The romance was a mix of sweet and hot. Joan and Cam were wonderful together. They had some issues with miscommunication and assuming things about each other at first. But, despite that, they were perfect together. And the chemistry between them was super hot. They literally couldn't keep their hands off of each other and there was plenty of steaminess. I thought they were great together.
The plot was fast paced and I was hooked the entire way through. They mystery of who was trying to kill Joan was well done. It added some thrills and I never suspected who it turned out to be. And there were a couple other surprises along the way, especially the truth about Joan's family. I really enjoyed the story and the ending was perfect.
To Marry a Scottish Laird was a brilliant historical romance! I absolutely loved this book. It was romantic, surprising, and truly enjoyable. Romance lovers, this book is a must read.
*I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Joan was a lovely heroine. She was strong and definitely wasn't a woman to be underestimated. She was determined and a genuinely kind heroine. My one issue with her was that I wish she hadn't let the jealous ladies get to her so easily. She was too easily convinced of her own insecurities. But, other than that, I really liked her.
Cam was wonderful. He was so sweet and utterly adorable. He was strong, honorable, and protective of his loved ones. I totally loved him. He was perfect.
The romance was a mix of sweet and hot. Joan and Cam were wonderful together. They had some issues with miscommunication and assuming things about each other at first. But, despite that, they were perfect together. And the chemistry between them was super hot. They literally couldn't keep their hands off of each other and there was plenty of steaminess. I thought they were great together.
The plot was fast paced and I was hooked the entire way through. They mystery of who was trying to kill Joan was well done. It added some thrills and I never suspected who it turned out to be. And there were a couple other surprises along the way, especially the truth about Joan's family. I really enjoyed the story and the ending was perfect.
To Marry a Scottish Laird was a brilliant historical romance! I absolutely loved this book. It was romantic, surprising, and truly enjoyable. Romance lovers, this book is a must read.
*I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
March 29, 2021
3/28/2021: Read Kindle Version
3.5 stars! 😁.
Audio by Keiron Elliot: Scottish narration through-out.. quite good. 👍
3.5 stars! 😁.
Audio by Keiron Elliot: Scottish narration through-out.. quite good. 👍
February 3, 2021
Камерън Синклер и Джоан
Джоан е дъщеря на английска лечителка, научила всичко за лековете от майка си. На смъртния одър на майка си, Джоан се кълне, че ще изпълни последната й воля, да замине за Шотландия, където да занесе един свитък на леърда на МакКай и съпругата му. Така, преоблечена като момче, Джоан пътува сама и пеша към Шотландия, когато е нападната от група разбойници. Макар и бита, Джоан прави всичко по силите си, да спаси свитъка, докато на помощ не й се притичва огромен шотландски воин.
Камерън Синклер, или Кам, както го наричат близки и приятели е далеч от дома си, тъй като майка му го е напълнила с потенциални съпруги. След като губи първата си съпруга и детето си, по време на раждане, Кам се кълне, че никога повече няма да се ожени, затова предпочита да стои далеч от дома. След месеци прекарани в Англия, той мисли, че вероятно майка му се е отказала от опитите си да му намери жена и е на път да се прибере, когато попада на група бандити биещи младо момче. Той успява да спаси момъка, но бива ранен и изпада в безсъзнание. Щом се събужда разбира, че момчето се е грижило за него, и му предлага помощта си, да го отведе при клана МакКай.
Много скоро, Кам разбира, че момъка, всъщност е младо момиче, но се старае да й даде време да го опознае, преди да й покаже, че знае истината.
Джоан няма намерение да се омъжва, тъй като е била свидетел как не една жена умира при раждане, и по тази причина, гледа да страни от Кам, тъй като, макар да няма шанс един благородник да се ожени за обикновено момиче, той може да пожелае да му е любовница.
След няколко дни обаче вече и двамата не успяват да устоят на изкушението, отдавайки се на страстта и решавайки, да се насладят на чувствата кипящи помежду им, докато пътуват през Шотландия. Стигайки в дома на клана МакКай обаче, свитъка разкрива дълго пазена тайна, и скоро Кам и Джоан биват венчани и заминават за дома му, където освен ордата жени, чакащи завръщането на Кам се спотайва и враг, който ще направи всичко по силите си, да ги раздели.
Поредната книжка на Линдзи в която зъл човек крои планове да затрие един от главните герои. Имам чувството, че всичките й книги са на тази тематика. Иначе, тази беше чудесна. Кам и Джоан си имаха своите възходи и падения, ако си комуникираха повече, вместо да се правят на гадателки, смятайки, че знаят какво изпитва другия, нещата щяха да станат много по-лесно. А голямата тайна, още от на��алото я разгадах, и единственото, което ме караше да не съм на 100% сигурна бе факта, че не знаех, колко време е изминало след събитията случили се в първата книга. Като научих, вече бях убедена, каква е огромната тайна и се оказа, че съм права. Освен това, тъй като вече посвикнах със стила на авторката, бързо се сетих и кой е злодея, дори разгадах до някъде и причините му. И все пак, това не ми попречи да се насладя пълноценно на книгата. 5 звездички и продължавам към следващата книга от поредицата.
Джоан е дъщеря на английска лечителка, научила всичко за лековете от майка си. На смъртния одър на майка си, Джоан се кълне, че ще изпълни последната й воля, да замине за Шотландия, където да занесе един свитък на леърда на МакКай и съпругата му. Така, преоблечена като момче, Джоан пътува сама и пеша към Шотландия, когато е нападната от група разбойници. Макар и бита, Джоан прави всичко по силите си, да спаси свитъка, докато на помощ не й се притичва огромен шотландски воин.
Камерън Синклер, или Кам, както го наричат близки и приятели е далеч от дома си, тъй като майка му го е напълнила с потенциални съпруги. След като губи първата си съпруга и детето си, по време на раждане, Кам се кълне, че никога повече няма да се ожени, затова предпочита да стои далеч от дома. След месеци прекарани в Англия, той мисли, че вероятно майка му се е отказала от опитите си да му намери жена и е на път да се прибере, когато попада на група бандити биещи младо момче. Той успява да спаси момъка, но бива ранен и изпада в безсъзнание. Щом се събужда разбира, че момчето се е грижило за него, и му предлага помощта си, да го отведе при клана МакКай.
Много скоро, Кам разбира, че момъка, всъщност е младо момиче, но се старае да й даде време да го опознае, преди да й покаже, че знае истината.
Джоан няма намерение да се омъжва, тъй като е била свидетел как не една жена умира при раждане, и по тази причина, гледа да страни от Кам, тъй като, макар да няма шанс един благородник да се ожени за обикновено момиче, той може да пожелае да му е любовница.
След няколко дни обаче вече и двамата не успяват да устоят на изкушението, отдавайки се на страстта и решавайки, да се насладят на чувствата кипящи помежду им, докато пътуват през Шотландия. Стигайки в дома на клана МакКай обаче, свитъка разкрива дълго пазена тайна, и скоро Кам и Джоан биват венчани и заминават за дома му, където освен ордата жени, чакащи завръщането на Кам се спотайва и враг, който ще направи всичко по силите си, да ги раздели.
Поредната книжка на Линдзи в която зъл човек крои планове да затрие един от главните герои. Имам чувството, че всичките й книги са на тази тематика. Иначе, тази беше чудесна. Кам и Джоан си имаха своите възходи и падения, ако си комуникираха повече, вместо да се правят на гадателки, смятайки, че знаят какво изпитва другия, нещата щяха да станат много по-лесно. А голямата тайна, още от на��алото я разгадах, и единственото, което ме караше да не съм на 100% сигурна бе факта, че не знаех, колко време е изминало след събитията случили се в първата книга. Като научих, вече бях убедена, каква е огромната тайна и се оказа, че съм права. Освен това, тъй като вече посвикнах със стила на авторката, бързо се сетих и кой е злодея, дори разгадах до някъде и причините му. И все пак, това не ми попречи да се насладя пълноценно на книгата. 5 звездички и продължавам към следващата книга от поредицата.
November 4, 2022
⭐⭐⭐
3 stars.
An okay read.
3 stars.
An okay read.
January 26, 2021
As a romance? Not very successful. It is a strangely structured book, unfolding in essentially two halves of different genres and, in general, does not focus enough on interaction between the MCs (who barely speak to each other in the second half of the book).
The first half really does feel like a romance. English heroine and folk-healer Joan, in gender masquerade as a boy while travelling alone on the road to Scotland to deliver a mysterious scroll to Annabel McKay, mistress of Clan McKay (and protagonist of the first novel in the series), is accosted and beaten by robbers as the story opens. She is rescued by hunky Highlander, Cam Sinclair, who has been avoiding his family duties (and his mother's marriage plans for him) by working as a mercenary. Cam is initially fooled by "Jonas's" disguise (helped by poor Joan's pulped face), and man and boy bond after "Jonas" treats Cam's battle wounds while stealing glances at his firm thighs and hot ass. This whole opening act does not shy away from the queer implications of this scenario--in fact, it leans into them more archly than I expected it to. All harmless good fun, of course, since Cam soon spies Joan bathing and only then feels a sudden stirring in his tartan. Joan is a virgin and there is a kind of dubious consent/bodice-ripper lite thing happening in the first sex scene. A sequel, beneath a waterfall, is more straightforwardly hot and mutual. Cam and Joan then enjoy an extended medieval road trip idyll as the hero escorts his new lover to Scotland and to the castle of (it turns out) his friends the McKays.
The only blight on their countryside bliss is the specter of pregnancy--a traumatic trigger for both hero and heroine: him because his former wife died in labor, her because she witnessed a parallel nightmare as a young child attending her mother's midwifery. Medieval methods of birth control become important signs of care between the lovers as Joan heals from her beating and the two grow ever closer. When they arrive at castle McKay and the contents of the scroll are read, Annabel is revealed to be Joan's aunt by blood--sister to Joan's actual biological mother, while noble Maggie Charters, whom Joan believed to be her mother, turns out to have been the midwife who rescued her from Annabel's evil sister. So: it's a rags-to-riches reveal for Joan, who suddenly finds herself the niece of a wealthy Scottish dynasty. This revelation triggers Cam's sense of noble duty: before, he had been content to bed Joan; now, he realizes, he is obliged to marry her.
As you might expect, Joan isn't thrilled by the thought of being someone's "duty." And the general failure of the couple to ever have a clear discussion about this issue leads to the cooling of their relationship. They are married without fanfare, "off stage" as it were, and Joan and Cam head off to rejoin Cam's own family at castle Sinclair.
At this point, the genre of the story essentially changes from highland romance to Gothic murder mystery. Cam and Joan rarely interact (though they do meet at night to snog...under a veil of silence!). Joan spends most of her time at the castle receiving tedious lessons in how to be "a proper lady" by her well-meaning Aunt Annabel and Annabel's daughters who have come along for this purpose. Meanwhile, intrigue is brewing among the legions of prospective brides that Cam's mom has assembled at the castle to marry him off to before learning of his surprise marriage to Joan. Slithery Finola is clearly trouble from the get-go, and mysterious accidents begin to befall Joan. When Finola is found dead at the bottom of a stone staircase after trying to seduce Cam by masquerading in Joan's stolen red dress, it becomes clear to everyone--especially Annabel, who is suddenly a detective--that one of the prospective brides is gunning for Joan. Which one is it? It hardly matters since they are barely distinguishable from each other, but much medieval CSI-style speculation and questioning of witnesses ensues, as do further "accidents." Where is Brother Cadfael when you need him?
This whole portion of the narrative is extremely dull as the romance plot grinds to a standstill; the murder of Finola enlivens things a bit, but even this is pretty thin stuff. Suspects proliferate. Cupboards are searched. Blah! Part of the problem is that in addition to killing the romance plot, this portion of the novel is also reluctant to give Cam much of anything to do because it focuses on the power of the castle's community of women to resolve the mystery on their own. This is actually great, and I appreciated the romance's refusal of the hero-as-rescuer trope. In the end, Joan is an active player in solving the mystery and she is rescued not by Cam but by one of the other women-in-waiting (I'm guessing the protagonist of a future novel in the series). But the downside of this strategy is that the lovers as lovers drift further to the margins, and when they do get together and resolve their misunderstanding (with Cam professing that he has parried for love and not duty), it's hard to feel very moved.
One almost senses the author's own impatience with the romance plot by the end, as the Epilogue ties up the dangling thread of the MCs' fear of Joan's getting pregnant. It turns out, Cam's mercenary mother--apparently dead-set on some grandchildren--tampered with Joan's wild carrot birth control method and Joan has been pregnant throughout most of the sleuthing portion of the book. In a harrowing birth scene, Joan yells profanities at everyone and even Cam gets snippy. We are reassured by the experienced parents in the room that these outbursts are just part of the birthing process, and of course they are. But they also feel, in this closing scene, like a little bit of license for Joan, and perhaps even the author, to vent some annoyance at these characters, who , in the end, never quite make it off the page.
The first half really does feel like a romance. English heroine and folk-healer Joan, in gender masquerade as a boy while travelling alone on the road to Scotland to deliver a mysterious scroll to Annabel McKay, mistress of Clan McKay (and protagonist of the first novel in the series), is accosted and beaten by robbers as the story opens. She is rescued by hunky Highlander, Cam Sinclair, who has been avoiding his family duties (and his mother's marriage plans for him) by working as a mercenary. Cam is initially fooled by "Jonas's" disguise (helped by poor Joan's pulped face), and man and boy bond after "Jonas" treats Cam's battle wounds while stealing glances at his firm thighs and hot ass. This whole opening act does not shy away from the queer implications of this scenario--in fact, it leans into them more archly than I expected it to. All harmless good fun, of course, since Cam soon spies Joan bathing and only then feels a sudden stirring in his tartan. Joan is a virgin and there is a kind of dubious consent/bodice-ripper lite thing happening in the first sex scene. A sequel, beneath a waterfall, is more straightforwardly hot and mutual. Cam and Joan then enjoy an extended medieval road trip idyll as the hero escorts his new lover to Scotland and to the castle of (it turns out) his friends the McKays.
The only blight on their countryside bliss is the specter of pregnancy--a traumatic trigger for both hero and heroine: him because his former wife died in labor, her because she witnessed a parallel nightmare as a young child attending her mother's midwifery. Medieval methods of birth control become important signs of care between the lovers as Joan heals from her beating and the two grow ever closer. When they arrive at castle McKay and the contents of the scroll are read, Annabel is revealed to be Joan's aunt by blood--sister to Joan's actual biological mother, while noble Maggie Charters, whom Joan believed to be her mother, turns out to have been the midwife who rescued her from Annabel's evil sister. So: it's a rags-to-riches reveal for Joan, who suddenly finds herself the niece of a wealthy Scottish dynasty. This revelation triggers Cam's sense of noble duty: before, he had been content to bed Joan; now, he realizes, he is obliged to marry her.
As you might expect, Joan isn't thrilled by the thought of being someone's "duty." And the general failure of the couple to ever have a clear discussion about this issue leads to the cooling of their relationship. They are married without fanfare, "off stage" as it were, and Joan and Cam head off to rejoin Cam's own family at castle Sinclair.
At this point, the genre of the story essentially changes from highland romance to Gothic murder mystery. Cam and Joan rarely interact (though they do meet at night to snog...under a veil of silence!). Joan spends most of her time at the castle receiving tedious lessons in how to be "a proper lady" by her well-meaning Aunt Annabel and Annabel's daughters who have come along for this purpose. Meanwhile, intrigue is brewing among the legions of prospective brides that Cam's mom has assembled at the castle to marry him off to before learning of his surprise marriage to Joan. Slithery Finola is clearly trouble from the get-go, and mysterious accidents begin to befall Joan. When Finola is found dead at the bottom of a stone staircase after trying to seduce Cam by masquerading in Joan's stolen red dress, it becomes clear to everyone--especially Annabel, who is suddenly a detective--that one of the prospective brides is gunning for Joan. Which one is it? It hardly matters since they are barely distinguishable from each other, but much medieval CSI-style speculation and questioning of witnesses ensues, as do further "accidents." Where is Brother Cadfael when you need him?
This whole portion of the narrative is extremely dull as the romance plot grinds to a standstill; the murder of Finola enlivens things a bit, but even this is pretty thin stuff. Suspects proliferate. Cupboards are searched. Blah! Part of the problem is that in addition to killing the romance plot, this portion of the novel is also reluctant to give Cam much of anything to do because it focuses on the power of the castle's community of women to resolve the mystery on their own. This is actually great, and I appreciated the romance's refusal of the hero-as-rescuer trope. In the end, Joan is an active player in solving the mystery and she is rescued not by Cam but by one of the other women-in-waiting (I'm guessing the protagonist of a future novel in the series). But the downside of this strategy is that the lovers as lovers drift further to the margins, and when they do get together and resolve their misunderstanding (with Cam professing that he has parried for love and not duty), it's hard to feel very moved.
One almost senses the author's own impatience with the romance plot by the end, as the Epilogue ties up the dangling thread of the MCs' fear of Joan's getting pregnant. It turns out, Cam's mercenary mother--apparently dead-set on some grandchildren--tampered with Joan's wild carrot birth control method and Joan has been pregnant throughout most of the sleuthing portion of the book. In a harrowing birth scene, Joan yells profanities at everyone and even Cam gets snippy. We are reassured by the experienced parents in the room that these outbursts are just part of the birthing process, and of course they are. But they also feel, in this closing scene, like a little bit of license for Joan, and perhaps even the author, to vent some annoyance at these characters, who , in the end, never quite make it off the page.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 6, 2015
Good book. Joan was given a scroll by her mother, who was on her deathbed, to deliver to the lady of Clan MacKay. Knowing that it wasn't safe for a woman to travel alone, Joan disguised herself as a boy. Even so, she was attacked and beaten by some men who were attempting to rob her. Cam came across them just in time, and jumps in to save her, but is injured in the process. As a healer trained by her mother, Joan returns the favor by nursing him back to health, all the while attempting to maintain her disguise.
Cam was returning home after six months away. He had lost his wife and child when she died during childbirth, and he feels guilty because of it. He is determined that he will not marry again and put another woman into that kind of danger. Unfortunately, his mother is equally determined that he will marry again, and has been inviting eligible young women to visit. He left home to get away from them, and is hopeful they are all gone by now. Rescuing the young lad was no trouble except for his injury, and when he discovers the boy is delivering a message to a neighbor of his, Cam offers to escort him.
The first couple days went well as Cam found Jo very easy to talk to. They developed an easy friendship as they traveled. Then he discovered that Jo was actually Joan, a beautiful young woman, and he's suddenly thinking of her in a very different way. One night the temptation becomes too much to handle, and he shows Jo that her cover has been blown. The passion that he introduces her to overtakes her common sense and soon they are indulging themselves frequently. A journey that should only take a few days stretches out over a couple weeks. Cam enjoys her company in all ways, and wants to take her home with him.
Joan fears what will happen when they reach their journey's end. Cam has made no secret of the fact that he does not wish to marry again. Not that she expects it, as she is a commoner and he is a nobleman. Neither does she wish to become his mistress, having to watch him cave in to pressure and marry someone else. Joan also carries her own fears of childbirth, having witnessed many tragedies as a healer. In order to protect her own heart, she tells Cam that she will not go on to his home with him.
When they reach their destination and Joan delivers her message, her life takes a surprising turn. The laird and lady (see An English Bride in Scotland) deliver the news that she is family, and suddenly she is thrust into a whole new world. Just as she begins to accept that idea, she is informed that she and Cam will marry. She knows his views on marriage and feels that he is being forced to do something he doesn't want to do. She also feels that she is not the woman he needs, as she has not been raised that way. Meanwhile, Cam is quite willing to marry Joan, as it keeps her with him, but feels she is being forced since she had made clear that she wanted to end their relationship.
I liked both Cam and Joan. Joan is a smart and resilient woman who thinks well in a crisis. I loved seeing her deal with Cam, both in and out of her disguise. Her fears are understandable, given what she's seen, and she does her best to protect herself. The attraction she feels to Cam turns pretty quickly to love, leading to her need to distance herself. When the marriage happens, she feels unworthy of him but is determined to become what she thinks he needs. Cam is a good man at heart, who is dealing with his tragedy the best way he can. Joan has become more important to him than he realizes at first. I liked the friendship that developed between them first, and continued even after he knew she was a woman. But his bias against marriage keeps him from thinking about her that way, until forced to do so by her new identity. He is hurt by her previous decision to part ways with him, not realizing why she felt that way, and doesn't want to force himself on her. One of the things I liked best about him was the way he tried to make her see that she didn't need to change for him, he liked her just the way she was. It takes a crisis for them to be able to admit their feelings for each other and get their happy ending.
There was some suspense in the story after Cam brought Joan home to the houseful of wife wannabes, They were all disappointed, but one was particularly nasty. There were several attempts made on Joan's life, and it became obvious that someone wanted her out of the way. There were a couple of interesting twists until the culprit was revealed. Once again, Joan's quick wits saved her, with Cam's arrival helping to finish it all.
The were also some excellent instances of LS's trademark humor. I liked their discovery by Laird MacKay, and his reactions. Their arrival at Sinclair and facing down the group of women was pretty funny. But the best came in the epilogue with Joan trying to hide her labor from Cam, and what happened when he discovered it.
Cam was returning home after six months away. He had lost his wife and child when she died during childbirth, and he feels guilty because of it. He is determined that he will not marry again and put another woman into that kind of danger. Unfortunately, his mother is equally determined that he will marry again, and has been inviting eligible young women to visit. He left home to get away from them, and is hopeful they are all gone by now. Rescuing the young lad was no trouble except for his injury, and when he discovers the boy is delivering a message to a neighbor of his, Cam offers to escort him.
The first couple days went well as Cam found Jo very easy to talk to. They developed an easy friendship as they traveled. Then he discovered that Jo was actually Joan, a beautiful young woman, and he's suddenly thinking of her in a very different way. One night the temptation becomes too much to handle, and he shows Jo that her cover has been blown. The passion that he introduces her to overtakes her common sense and soon they are indulging themselves frequently. A journey that should only take a few days stretches out over a couple weeks. Cam enjoys her company in all ways, and wants to take her home with him.
Joan fears what will happen when they reach their journey's end. Cam has made no secret of the fact that he does not wish to marry again. Not that she expects it, as she is a commoner and he is a nobleman. Neither does she wish to become his mistress, having to watch him cave in to pressure and marry someone else. Joan also carries her own fears of childbirth, having witnessed many tragedies as a healer. In order to protect her own heart, she tells Cam that she will not go on to his home with him.
When they reach their destination and Joan delivers her message, her life takes a surprising turn. The laird and lady (see An English Bride in Scotland) deliver the news that she is family, and suddenly she is thrust into a whole new world. Just as she begins to accept that idea, she is informed that she and Cam will marry. She knows his views on marriage and feels that he is being forced to do something he doesn't want to do. She also feels that she is not the woman he needs, as she has not been raised that way. Meanwhile, Cam is quite willing to marry Joan, as it keeps her with him, but feels she is being forced since she had made clear that she wanted to end their relationship.
I liked both Cam and Joan. Joan is a smart and resilient woman who thinks well in a crisis. I loved seeing her deal with Cam, both in and out of her disguise. Her fears are understandable, given what she's seen, and she does her best to protect herself. The attraction she feels to Cam turns pretty quickly to love, leading to her need to distance herself. When the marriage happens, she feels unworthy of him but is determined to become what she thinks he needs. Cam is a good man at heart, who is dealing with his tragedy the best way he can. Joan has become more important to him than he realizes at first. I liked the friendship that developed between them first, and continued even after he knew she was a woman. But his bias against marriage keeps him from thinking about her that way, until forced to do so by her new identity. He is hurt by her previous decision to part ways with him, not realizing why she felt that way, and doesn't want to force himself on her. One of the things I liked best about him was the way he tried to make her see that she didn't need to change for him, he liked her just the way she was. It takes a crisis for them to be able to admit their feelings for each other and get their happy ending.
There was some suspense in the story after Cam brought Joan home to the houseful of wife wannabes, They were all disappointed, but one was particularly nasty. There were several attempts made on Joan's life, and it became obvious that someone wanted her out of the way. There were a couple of interesting twists until the culprit was revealed. Once again, Joan's quick wits saved her, with Cam's arrival helping to finish it all.
The were also some excellent instances of LS's trademark humor. I liked their discovery by Laird MacKay, and his reactions. Their arrival at Sinclair and facing down the group of women was pretty funny. But the best came in the epilogue with Joan trying to hide her labor from Cam, and what happened when he discovered it.
July 10, 2017
It was good...but not great.
I liked Cam. For the most part he was a good hero.
I liked Joan. She was pretty cool until they got home. Then her insecurities drove me nuts!
The story slowed down at about half way through and I lost a little interest. I also had zero interest in her having to go home to a house full of single women looking to land Cam. Cam had zero interest in any of them though. But that, plus the dead ex, are plot devices I hate!
Safety Gang
I liked Cam. For the most part he was a good hero.
I liked Joan. She was pretty cool until they got home. Then her insecurities drove me nuts!
The story slowed down at about half way through and I lost a little interest. I also had zero interest in her having to go home to a house full of single women looking to land Cam. Cam had zero interest in any of them though. But that, plus the dead ex, are plot devices I hate!
Safety Gang
May 19, 2021
It has been a really long time since I have read a historical romance. I love to do these books as audiobooks because the accents are always so charming.
This one starts off exciting as Cam (Campbell Sinclair), while traveling back home comes upon a young being attacked by several men. As he is trying to help the young man he gets stabbed and passes out. The young boy ends up being a young lady in disquise and nurses Cam back to health after his injury.
This follows their journey of attraction and addresses why neither one of them want a serious relationship.
I really liked both characters but they did have a serious lack of communication. This book also had some mystery/suspense in it that kept it interesting.
This one starts off exciting as Cam (Campbell Sinclair), while traveling back home comes upon a young being attacked by several men. As he is trying to help the young man he gets stabbed and passes out. The young boy ends up being a young lady in disquise and nurses Cam back to health after his injury.
This follows their journey of attraction and addresses why neither one of them want a serious relationship.
I really liked both characters but they did have a serious lack of communication. This book also had some mystery/suspense in it that kept it interesting.
July 29, 2018
This one was just okay. I liked the first 1/3 of the book and really felt the connection between Cam and Joan, but things took a bad turn after that and the rest of the book limped along at an annoyingly slow pace with manufactured issues and a rather lame and easy-to-spot villain.
In the end I was actually pretty disappointed with the book. It started out great, and unlike some other reviewers, I was glad it didn't take Cam very long to figure out that Joan was a girl. After reading The Switch just a little while ago, my tolerance for men who can't spot a cross-dressing bombshell even when she's right in front of him has gone way down. So I was glad we just got on with the romance in this one. But the shift in tone and the characters' behavior just completely derailed the story and it never got back on track
In the end I was actually pretty disappointed with the book. It started out great, and unlike some other reviewers, I was glad it didn't take Cam very long to figure out that Joan was a girl. After reading The Switch just a little while ago, my tolerance for men who can't spot a cross-dressing bombshell even when she's right in front of him has gone way down. So I was glad we just got on with the romance in this one. But the shift in tone and the characters' behavior just completely derailed the story and it never got back on track
July 31, 2024
Second Rating: 4.45 / 5
Definitely didn't feel like anything was missing this time around, though my arguments from below are still fairly valid. Knowing as I do that this book introduces Murine, Edith, and especially my lovely Saidh, I think I'm more inclined to be lenient towards it. Also, I just realized that I like Jo as a heroine slightly more than Annabel, and whereas I think that Ross and Annabel's relationship from Book 1 is described as being stronger (whereas we are just told rather than shown Jo and Cam's relationship), considering that in Book 1 I have to skip a few chapters to enjoy it and in this one I have to skip naught, it places Book 2 slightly above Book 1 in my estimation, but just by a bit, mind you.
So, with that being said, here is my updated ranking of the series:
My Official Ranking of the Highland Brides Series
1. The Highlander's Promise (Book 6)
2. The Highlander Takes A Bride (Book 3)
3. Hunting for a Highlander (Book 8)
4. Falling for the Highlander (Book 4)
5. The Wrong Highlander (Book 7)
6. To Marry A Scottish Laird (Book 2)
7. An English Bride in Scotland (Book 1)
8. Surrender to the Highlander (Book 5)
To-be-updated moving forward (2024).
Rating: 3.9 / 5
Following the usual mien of Lynsay Sands romances that I just love reading over and over and over again, this book had a bit of everything to its historical romanticness: comedic timing, chemistry between the hero and heroine, lots of steamy love scenes, and, of course, a murder mystery wound in as well--although I confess that I didn't think there'd be enough room for this last one.
In this book, we meet Joan, who is in fact the daughter of a character from An English Bride in Scotland. We get the characters from that book back as well, but only about midway. Until then, we have Joan paired with Cam, who saves her life after she's almost beaten to death by bandits. See, Joan is disguised as a boy, so her and Cam's relationship starts off on a friendly basis at first...
...but not for long once he sees her naked, of course.
Anyway, the two very obviously like each other and get along, and the bedroom scenes spur on the plot until we have them reunited with many other characters, and thus their official courtship and the murder mystery plot begins!
I think that, while I like this, out of all of Lynsay Sands's books, this one is my least favourite. I think part of the reason for this is because I just wanted to read more about Joan and Cam talking together rather than just being told that they talked together and got along and all, and I could also have done without the "bullshit misunderstandings because they don't just talk to one another" bits. I admit skimming through those, as they seemed unnecessary.
Overall, I want to stress that I definitely DID like this story and it's a definite re-read, especially for the series, but so far it's my least favourite of Sands's works.
That's all, nice and done, nice and neat. Moving on to my next read!
Definitely didn't feel like anything was missing this time around, though my arguments from below are still fairly valid. Knowing as I do that this book introduces Murine, Edith, and especially my lovely Saidh, I think I'm more inclined to be lenient towards it. Also, I just realized that I like Jo as a heroine slightly more than Annabel, and whereas I think that Ross and Annabel's relationship from Book 1 is described as being stronger (whereas we are just told rather than shown Jo and Cam's relationship), considering that in Book 1 I have to skip a few chapters to enjoy it and in this one I have to skip naught, it places Book 2 slightly above Book 1 in my estimation, but just by a bit, mind you.
So, with that being said, here is my updated ranking of the series:
My Official Ranking of the Highland Brides Series
1. The Highlander's Promise (Book 6)
2. The Highlander Takes A Bride (Book 3)
3. Hunting for a Highlander (Book 8)
4. Falling for the Highlander (Book 4)
5. The Wrong Highlander (Book 7)
6. To Marry A Scottish Laird (Book 2)
7. An English Bride in Scotland (Book 1)
8. Surrender to the Highlander (Book 5)
To-be-updated moving forward (2024).
Rating: 3.9 / 5
Following the usual mien of Lynsay Sands romances that I just love reading over and over and over again, this book had a bit of everything to its historical romanticness: comedic timing, chemistry between the hero and heroine, lots of steamy love scenes, and, of course, a murder mystery wound in as well--although I confess that I didn't think there'd be enough room for this last one.
In this book, we meet Joan, who is in fact the daughter of a character from An English Bride in Scotland. We get the characters from that book back as well, but only about midway. Until then, we have Joan paired with Cam, who saves her life after she's almost beaten to death by bandits. See, Joan is disguised as a boy, so her and Cam's relationship starts off on a friendly basis at first...
...but not for long once he sees her naked, of course.
Anyway, the two very obviously like each other and get along, and the bedroom scenes spur on the plot until we have them reunited with many other characters, and thus their official courtship and the murder mystery plot begins!
I think that, while I like this, out of all of Lynsay Sands's books, this one is my least favourite. I think part of the reason for this is because I just wanted to read more about Joan and Cam talking together rather than just being told that they talked together and got along and all, and I could also have done without the "bullshit misunderstandings because they don't just talk to one another" bits. I admit skimming through those, as they seemed unnecessary.
Overall, I want to stress that I definitely DID like this story and it's a definite re-read, especially for the series, but so far it's my least favourite of Sands's works.
That's all, nice and done, nice and neat. Moving on to my next read!
September 20, 2018
This is the second book in her series "An English Bride in Scotland". I gave the first book 3 stars because while I thoroughly enjoyed the light fluffy story line, the romance, and the mystery (despite the fact that Sands seems to be recycling plots like nobody's business), but I didn't like one very gratuitous aspect of the ending.
Joan meets Campbell Sinclair when he saves her, and then she saves him in turn, from some bandits. Joan is on a quest to fulfill her deathbed promise to take a scroll to Lady and Laird MacKay, and is dressed like a boy and brutally beaten, so Campbell initially doesn't realize she is female. This is a common trope that I am not typically fond, but here Campbell's confusion only lasts long enough for him to learn to like and respect Joan, and the secret only lasts long enough for a few humorous moments. From then on, it is all heaving uncontrollable lusts, with the one addition that BOTH of the characters think about contraception. (pro-tip, it turns out that wild carrot seeds actually are and were used as a natural form of contraception). However, they get to MacKay and all the secrets come out, so naturally they have to get married, despite the fact that neither of them thinks the other wants to. When they get to Sinclair's awkwardness and hi-jinks ensue until the mystery is finally solved.
This is a fun read full of pratfalls and misunderstandings and a bit of mystery. There were two twisty secrets, and I'll be honest, I didn't see either of them coming. I enjoyed both Joan and Campbell and I enjoyed getting to read about past characters. So, altogether I really did enjoy this book, and recommend to anyone who likes reading humorous and even slightly ridiculous historical romance, but it isn't going to be making my re-read shelf so I am giving it 3.5 stars.
Also, while this is the second in a series, it should work well as a stand-alone as there is no overarching story arc.
Cross-posted http://erinsburnsbookshelf.blogspot.c...
Joan meets Campbell Sinclair when he saves her, and then she saves him in turn, from some bandits. Joan is on a quest to fulfill her deathbed promise to take a scroll to Lady and Laird MacKay, and is dressed like a boy and brutally beaten, so Campbell initially doesn't realize she is female. This is a common trope that I am not typically fond, but here Campbell's confusion only lasts long enough for him to learn to like and respect Joan, and the secret only lasts long enough for a few humorous moments. From then on, it is all heaving uncontrollable lusts, with the one addition that BOTH of the characters think about contraception. (pro-tip, it turns out that wild carrot seeds actually are and were used as a natural form of contraception). However, they get to MacKay and all the secrets come out, so naturally they have to get married, despite the fact that neither of them thinks the other wants to. When they get to Sinclair's awkwardness and hi-jinks ensue until the mystery is finally solved.
This is a fun read full of pratfalls and misunderstandings and a bit of mystery. There were two twisty secrets, and I'll be honest, I didn't see either of them coming. I enjoyed both Joan and Campbell and I enjoyed getting to read about past characters. So, altogether I really did enjoy this book, and recommend to anyone who likes reading humorous and even slightly ridiculous historical romance, but it isn't going to be making my re-read shelf so I am giving it 3.5 stars.
Also, while this is the second in a series, it should work well as a stand-alone as there is no overarching story arc.
Cross-posted http://erinsburnsbookshelf.blogspot.c...
September 24, 2014
Headed home to Scotland, Cam Sinclair stumbles upon a lad beset by thieves. While he does (with some help) save the day, he's injured. Three days later, he wakes to discover that the "lad" is in fact a lass—and some parts of him can't ignore that fact.
Turns out, our heroine is fulfilling her mother's dying wish—she's delivering a message to the lady and laird of a clan that neighbors the Sinclairs. Since they're going in the same direction, Cam naturally offers to "escort" her.
There's some angsting over the fact that he's a noble, she's a peasant, they're in love but he won't offer marriage/she doesn't want to be a mistress… Spoiler alert, in case you don't see it coming
A hasty wedding ensues, and then Cam takes Jo home, to his mum, who's invited every eligible lady in Scotland to lure Cam into wedlock.
Attempted murders ensue, and from here, we have a decent "whodunit". I kinda guessed the whodunit but there were enough possibilities, and the most obvious villain was so quickly ruled out, that the mystery required some real sleuthing.
I'm not fond of romances where the whole point of the story is whether the couple eventually makes it (at least unless the issues between them deserve 370 pages of attention). I prefer stories where there's an adventure or mystery or SOMETHING to keep the story moving. This one really had me puzzling over the whodunit, even though I had a fair idea early on.
True mystery readers, those who like to have all the evidence in hand before the final reveal, might be frustrated with this one, but the story still works well enough to earn this one 3.5 stars.
Turns out, our heroine is fulfilling her mother's dying wish—she's delivering a message to the lady and laird of a clan that neighbors the Sinclairs. Since they're going in the same direction, Cam naturally offers to "escort" her.
There's some angsting over the fact that he's a noble, she's a peasant, they're in love but he won't offer marriage/she doesn't want to be a mistress… Spoiler alert, in case you don't see it coming
A hasty wedding ensues, and then Cam takes Jo home, to his mum, who's invited every eligible lady in Scotland to lure Cam into wedlock.
Attempted murders ensue, and from here, we have a decent "whodunit". I kinda guessed the whodunit but there were enough possibilities, and the most obvious villain was so quickly ruled out, that the mystery required some real sleuthing.
I'm not fond of romances where the whole point of the story is whether the couple eventually makes it (at least unless the issues between them deserve 370 pages of attention). I prefer stories where there's an adventure or mystery or SOMETHING to keep the story moving. This one really had me puzzling over the whodunit, even though I had a fair idea early on.
True mystery readers, those who like to have all the evidence in hand before the final reveal, might be frustrated with this one, but the story still works well enough to earn this one 3.5 stars.
September 15, 2020
As the son of a Highland laird, Campbell Sinclair knows how to handle himself in battle, so when he sees a young boy being beaten by thieves, he steps in to help. Unfortunately, Cam is stabbed in the process and since the boy, Jo so competently nursed him back to health, Cam offers to escort him to his destination. But the tone of their journey changes considerably when Cam learns that Jo is short for Joan and his companion is actually a lovely young woman.
Joan is fulfilling a deathbed promise to her late mother by delivering a scroll to Lady MacKay and disguised herself as a boy to make the travel slightly less dangerous. She’s glad to have Cam’s protection until he makes it more than clear that he’s seen through her disguise. Passion arises quickly between them, leading to a forced wedding that may be exactly what they both need.
This was a charming story in typical Sands style. Campbell and Joan had a physical relationship that turned into more and was almost derailed by miscommunication, but I really liked them together. The villain here was a bit obvious, but I liked how the danger element brought out Cam’s protectiveness of Joan. My only complaint is that after the villain is identified nothing really happened and, unless I missed something, we’re not notified of any punishment. That left this feeling a bit unfinished to me, but otherwise this was a satisfying read with likable characters and I’m continuing the series.
Joan is fulfilling a deathbed promise to her late mother by delivering a scroll to Lady MacKay and disguised herself as a boy to make the travel slightly less dangerous. She’s glad to have Cam’s protection until he makes it more than clear that he’s seen through her disguise. Passion arises quickly between them, leading to a forced wedding that may be exactly what they both need.
This was a charming story in typical Sands style. Campbell and Joan had a physical relationship that turned into more and was almost derailed by miscommunication, but I really liked them together. The villain here was a bit obvious, but I liked how the danger element brought out Cam’s protectiveness of Joan. My only complaint is that after the villain is identified nothing really happened and, unless I missed something, we’re not notified of any punishment. That left this feeling a bit unfinished to me, but otherwise this was a satisfying read with likable characters and I’m continuing the series.
November 13, 2018
Una tierna historia, aunque debo resaltar que no fue tan emocionante como la primera, pero estuvo linda...
January 5, 2020
Not as good as the first book. It was a bit of a Neo bodice-ripper. I didn't really care for the hero at first, but he grew on me. Overall, an okay read. On to the next book in the series.
March 29, 2023
This was a great read. I love a good romance mixed with a murder mystery, but in the last chapter or so, the author did something unforgivable. Read on if you want the MAJOR spoiler.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 10, 2023
To Marry a Scottish Laird
3.5 Stars
To honor her dying mother's last request, Joan Charters disguises herself as a boy and sets out for the Scottish Highlands. Along the way, she saves the life of Cameron Sinclair who eventually discovers her secret. The two soon grow closer, but once they arrive at their destination a malicious enemy targets Jo for death.
Series note: Book 2 in the series is set 2o years after book 1 and there are references to several characters and events therein. Thus, it is recommended that the books be read in order.
As with the previous book, there is virtually no historical detail on the time period, and the story could easily have been set in modern times with no changes to the plot. While Sands' writing flows and her characters are appealing, the twists and turns are predictable,
The plot can essentially be divided into two. The first half focusing on Jo and Cam's romance is delightful. Jo is intelligent, resilient and independent and Cam is sweet and honorable. The tone changes in the second half once Jo's true identity is revealed and the focus shifts to the threat on her life. Unfortunately, Jo's strong willed personality devolves into a mess of insecurity - the constant refrain of "his love will fade" and "I'm not a real lady" gets old fast.
The suspense plot has potential and it is fun following the clues. Nevertheless, the identity of the culprit is glaringly obvious and the final confrontation requires some suspension of disbelief - .
Epilogues are usually a fun glimpse into the characters' HEA, but in this case it is truly awful. The revelation that is despicable and puts a damper on everything. Not good!
In sum, Lynsay Sands in a good story teller but this in not one of her best. It looks like the next few books focus on Jo's newfound friends, so I will give them a try.
3.5 Stars
To honor her dying mother's last request, Joan Charters disguises herself as a boy and sets out for the Scottish Highlands. Along the way, she saves the life of Cameron Sinclair who eventually discovers her secret. The two soon grow closer, but once they arrive at their destination a malicious enemy targets Jo for death.
Series note: Book 2 in the series is set 2o years after book 1 and there are references to several characters and events therein. Thus, it is recommended that the books be read in order.
As with the previous book, there is virtually no historical detail on the time period, and the story could easily have been set in modern times with no changes to the plot. While Sands' writing flows and her characters are appealing, the twists and turns are predictable,
The plot can essentially be divided into two. The first half focusing on Jo and Cam's romance is delightful. Jo is intelligent, resilient and independent and Cam is sweet and honorable. The tone changes in the second half once Jo's true identity is revealed and the focus shifts to the threat on her life. Unfortunately, Jo's strong willed personality devolves into a mess of insecurity - the constant refrain of "his love will fade" and "I'm not a real lady" gets old fast.
The suspense plot has potential and it is fun following the clues. Nevertheless, the identity of the culprit is glaringly obvious and the final confrontation requires some suspension of disbelief - .
Epilogues are usually a fun glimpse into the characters' HEA, but in this case it is truly awful. The revelation that is despicable and puts a damper on everything. Not good!
In sum, Lynsay Sands in a good story teller but this in not one of her best. It looks like the next few books focus on Jo's newfound friends, so I will give them a try.
February 4, 2021
I love me scottish man
July 25, 2014
Originally published at Rookie Romance.
Joan is travelling to Scotland in order to fulfill her mother's dying request that she deliver a scroll to the clan McKay. Disguised as a boy, she sets off on her danger-fraught journey where she is attacked by thieves. Luckily she is saved by a fierce warrior, Campbell Sinclair, who is injured in battle. Skilled in the art of healing, Joan nurses Campbell back to health. All the while Campbell believes Joan is a boy, but he soon discovers she is a woman and a powerful attraction flares up between the two...
I really liked Joan as a heroine. She's a very independent woman and has been brought up as a commoner but is a skilled healer. She's smart, self-reliant and strong, with no intention of marrying. When she finds out her true identity, it does definitely do a number on her self-confidence because she doesn't think that she's good enough for Campbell, and that he should have someone raised to be a proper Lady. Despite this, she has plenty of determination and courage to become the wife he needs.
Campbell was also a great hero. He leaves home for the summer to try and avoid the leagues of women his mother had invited to their home, hoping to entice him into marrying again. Unfortunately for his mother, Campbell has no interest in marrying again after the death of his first wife. That is until he's caught in a rather compromising situation with Joan which necessitates a swift wedding. Campbell is a kind and compassionate man, with a very protective side when it comes to Joan.
I thought Joan and Campbell were a great couple, and together they could conquer their doubts about marrying and have a happy future. I'll admit to being surprised by how quickly Joan and Campbell began their physical relationship, especially considering that Joan was a virgin. Soon enough though, I was happily swept along in their passionate affair, and I loved how comfortable they felt with each other and how easy their relationship was- at least before other matters complicated it.
There is also a mystery element to the story when there are a series of accidents, all apparently centered around Joan. The culprit behind the 'accidents' came as quite a surprise and it was an enjoyable series of twists and turns in the plot.
Overall, this is a thoroughly enjoyable story with a fiery love between an honourable Highlander and the strong lass that is perfect for him. You also get to catch up with Annabel and Ross from the first book of the series which was fab. Definitely recommend it!
*I received a review copy, from the publisher via Edelweiss, for my honest opinion. Thank you!
Joan is travelling to Scotland in order to fulfill her mother's dying request that she deliver a scroll to the clan McKay. Disguised as a boy, she sets off on her danger-fraught journey where she is attacked by thieves. Luckily she is saved by a fierce warrior, Campbell Sinclair, who is injured in battle. Skilled in the art of healing, Joan nurses Campbell back to health. All the while Campbell believes Joan is a boy, but he soon discovers she is a woman and a powerful attraction flares up between the two...
I really liked Joan as a heroine. She's a very independent woman and has been brought up as a commoner but is a skilled healer. She's smart, self-reliant and strong, with no intention of marrying. When she finds out her true identity, it does definitely do a number on her self-confidence because she doesn't think that she's good enough for Campbell, and that he should have someone raised to be a proper Lady. Despite this, she has plenty of determination and courage to become the wife he needs.
Campbell was also a great hero. He leaves home for the summer to try and avoid the leagues of women his mother had invited to their home, hoping to entice him into marrying again. Unfortunately for his mother, Campbell has no interest in marrying again after the death of his first wife. That is until he's caught in a rather compromising situation with Joan which necessitates a swift wedding. Campbell is a kind and compassionate man, with a very protective side when it comes to Joan.
I thought Joan and Campbell were a great couple, and together they could conquer their doubts about marrying and have a happy future. I'll admit to being surprised by how quickly Joan and Campbell began their physical relationship, especially considering that Joan was a virgin. Soon enough though, I was happily swept along in their passionate affair, and I loved how comfortable they felt with each other and how easy their relationship was- at least before other matters complicated it.
There is also a mystery element to the story when there are a series of accidents, all apparently centered around Joan. The culprit behind the 'accidents' came as quite a surprise and it was an enjoyable series of twists and turns in the plot.
Overall, this is a thoroughly enjoyable story with a fiery love between an honourable Highlander and the strong lass that is perfect for him. You also get to catch up with Annabel and Ross from the first book of the series which was fab. Definitely recommend it!
*I received a review copy, from the publisher via Edelweiss, for my honest opinion. Thank you!
August 9, 2014
Heir to Clan Sinclair, Cambell (Cam) preferred to go to battle than have to spend time at home being pushed to marry again after his wife and child both died in childbirth. He swore never to marry again but felt after six months away, his home would be cleared of prospective brides.
On his way home he came upon a huge giant of a man beating on a young lad and jumped in to save him. He didn’t count on the giant having cohorts and was promptly stabbed in the back but still managed to fight and kill three of the bandits and with the help of the young lad Jo, the fourth was knocked out. Jo, then saved Cam using medicinals which were in his sack and nursed Cam for three days. Discovering they were traveling in the same direction, where upon Jo was trying to deliver a sealed missive to a neighbor of Cam’s he and the lad set out together. A couple of days later, Cam came upon the lad Jo bathing in the river and discovered Jo was really Joan!
*** First of all I love Scottish historical romances and secondly, I really love the writing of Lynsay Sands so right from the start in TO MARRY A SCOTTISH LAIRD I knew it would be another gem to put on my keeper shelf. And I was right!
Naturally, I expected some laugh-out-loud moments and in that I was not disappointed; also some very sensual love scenes which were delightfully steamy. The best laugh out loud moment of course, was when the Laird McKay came upon Cam rather bare-assed hugging Joan, dressed in her disguise as a lad. The descriptions and dialog had me rolling on the floor!
This is not to say that TO MARRY A SCOTTISH LAIRD didn’t also have some real suspense and mystery as well when many attempts on Joan’s life finally turned up not as mere accidents but that someone was out to do Joan real harm. The mystery of who the villain was turned into a surprise for me as I generally figure them out before full exposure.
Finally, I have to say this was classic Lynsay Sands and a total enchanting and delightful read from beginning to end. Sands is still an auto-buy for me whether historical or paranormal - always a hoot and forever entertaining!
Marilyn Rondeau, for www.ck2skwipsandkritiques.com
On his way home he came upon a huge giant of a man beating on a young lad and jumped in to save him. He didn’t count on the giant having cohorts and was promptly stabbed in the back but still managed to fight and kill three of the bandits and with the help of the young lad Jo, the fourth was knocked out. Jo, then saved Cam using medicinals which were in his sack and nursed Cam for three days. Discovering they were traveling in the same direction, where upon Jo was trying to deliver a sealed missive to a neighbor of Cam’s he and the lad set out together. A couple of days later, Cam came upon the lad Jo bathing in the river and discovered Jo was really Joan!
*** First of all I love Scottish historical romances and secondly, I really love the writing of Lynsay Sands so right from the start in TO MARRY A SCOTTISH LAIRD I knew it would be another gem to put on my keeper shelf. And I was right!
Naturally, I expected some laugh-out-loud moments and in that I was not disappointed; also some very sensual love scenes which were delightfully steamy. The best laugh out loud moment of course, was when the Laird McKay came upon Cam rather bare-assed hugging Joan, dressed in her disguise as a lad. The descriptions and dialog had me rolling on the floor!
This is not to say that TO MARRY A SCOTTISH LAIRD didn’t also have some real suspense and mystery as well when many attempts on Joan’s life finally turned up not as mere accidents but that someone was out to do Joan real harm. The mystery of who the villain was turned into a surprise for me as I generally figure them out before full exposure.
Finally, I have to say this was classic Lynsay Sands and a total enchanting and delightful read from beginning to end. Sands is still an auto-buy for me whether historical or paranormal - always a hoot and forever entertaining!
Marilyn Rondeau, for www.ck2skwipsandkritiques.com
June 27, 2014
So about 3.5 to 4 stars. I liked it alot just didn't fully love it.
Okay so I'm not sure if most would consider this spoilers or not so beware. To me it's not because in most romances the couple meet, get together and have a happy ever after so expect it to happen here as well.
Anyhoo a quick breakdown of the story:
Girl, Joan, gets a scroll on her mother's death bed and promised to deliver it to Lady MacKay. Travelling as a lad Joan is attacked and saved by Campbell Sinclair. They become friends when Campbell thinks Joan is Jo and later lovers a little after he finds out different. For the first half the book the couple is travilling to the MacKays and yes they have sex alot and frequently.
The second half is filled with a couple "accidents" that of course eventually point out someone is apperantly tring to kill Joan. Suprise surprise. That seems to run in the family. But I gotta say I didn't guys the culprit until the end, so great job on that front.
Ohh and I forgot to mention this takes place roughly 20 years after the first book. So expect a 20 yr gap between book 1 and this one. You still get to revisit Laird and Lady MacKay from book one, but of course they are in their 40's now with children of their own.
If you are looking for a nice historical romance that focuses on the budding romance, a little mystery behind the 'accidents' then you might enjoy this as well. The timeframe is vague. The only mention of time is 20 years after 1st book and it mentioned Campbell coming back from fighting in a couple battles he sold his services too. So if you're looking for historical value with a romance story this might not be the right book for you.
I enjoyed it. Honestly I liked Joan before they reached MacKay, after she was too focused on attempting learn what she thought she had to.
Okay so I'm not sure if most would consider this spoilers or not so beware. To me it's not because in most romances the couple meet, get together and have a happy ever after so expect it to happen here as well.
Anyhoo a quick breakdown of the story:
Girl, Joan, gets a scroll on her mother's death bed and promised to deliver it to Lady MacKay. Travelling as a lad Joan is attacked and saved by Campbell Sinclair. They become friends when Campbell thinks Joan is Jo and later lovers a little after he finds out different. For the first half the book the couple is travilling to the MacKays and yes they have sex alot and frequently.
The second half is filled with a couple "accidents" that of course eventually point out someone is apperantly tring to kill Joan. Suprise surprise. That seems to run in the family. But I gotta say I didn't guys the culprit until the end, so great job on that front.
Ohh and I forgot to mention this takes place roughly 20 years after the first book. So expect a 20 yr gap between book 1 and this one. You still get to revisit Laird and Lady MacKay from book one, but of course they are in their 40's now with children of their own.
If you are looking for a nice historical romance that focuses on the budding romance, a little mystery behind the 'accidents' then you might enjoy this as well. The timeframe is vague. The only mention of time is 20 years after 1st book and it mentioned Campbell coming back from fighting in a couple battles he sold his services too. So if you're looking for historical value with a romance story this might not be the right book for you.
I enjoyed it. Honestly I liked Joan before they reached MacKay, after she was too focused on attempting learn what she thought she had to.
September 20, 2020
There was so much to love in this romance. She's nursing him back to health, while disguising herself as a man for protection. He offers to protect her on her journey, and they fall in love and it's amazing! Lynsay Sands knows just how to tug at my heart, and I loved the friends first approach to their relationship, and it is so well done!
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