Tarah Scott

The book is an erotic historical romance and takes place in Scotland in the 1300s. Lady Riana is widowed, her lands and fortune has fallen under the care of the cruel Duke and Duchess of Arundel, and she and her younger sister are now the Duke’s wards. Riana is used as a sex slave to service the Duke and anyone of the Duchess’s choosing while the Duchess watches. When the Duchess orders her to seduce and murder a man, Riana has no choice but to comply or risk her sister’s life.
Sir Bryant doesn’t know what to do with the naked woman in his bed. He knows she’s not there willing but they have the wildest night of passion either has ever experienced. By morning, he’s half in love with her and decides to use her to his advantage to take down the evil Duke and Duchess.
Their romance happens quickly but it’s believable even though the entire book takes place in about five days. Their chemistry sizzles.
I definitely liked strong-willed, defiant Riana. She was determined to save her sister, Siusan, from the same fate she suffered, rescue Glen from prison, a disabled man she loved like a father, and later to save Sir Bryant from an assassin after he managed to free her from the Arundel keep. Despite the things she’d done and the men she slept with, she didn’t hate herself and she shouldn’t. She knew she had no choice in the matter and she just wanted to survive.
Sir Bryant was the typical historical romance hero. He sleeps with the girl, falls in love with her, doesn’t trust or respect her enough to let her in on his plan to save the day, so she takes matters into her own hands and falls into a trap so he has to save her. Now, had he told her everything he knew before she almost sacrificed herself to the Duchess, the story would’ve ended about 40 pages sooner. Don’t get me wrong, I liked Sir Bryant, but he seemed to respect Riana more when he had to fight to get her to accept him. Once she finally did, he tried to keep safe on a pedestal and kept her in the dark about some important issues.
I was a little confused at times with the Scottish and English historical backdrop. I think more details from the author about whom these real-life characters were and the battles they faced would’ve helped better explained the fictional characters’ motivations and actions throughout the book.
Though well-written, the book could use a light edit. There were a few typos here and there, but nothing major. I’ve had this book on my Kindle for a few years and I really enjoyed reading it.
4 Stars

Disclaimer – I downloaded this book for free on Amazon on a Free Day. I am not compensated in any way, shape or form for this honest review. I will not change or alter this review for any reason unless at my discretion.
… (lisätietoja)

This was a short story set in the Scottish Highlands in the late thirteen hundreds, written by an American author. Therein lay the problem – lack of research.

We have two men after one girl, Airin. The one who finds the brooch that belonged to her great-grandmother will have her hand in marriage. One of the men, Jason, is her late sister's husband, the other is Deryll, the handsome, manly, dashing and infamous Scarlet Knight. It seems a simple and indisputable way to find a husband. Things get somewhat messy when murder, unscrupulous sheriffs, soppy puppy-eyed minstrels and good old-fashioned skulduggery get in the way. Who will find the brooch, who will win the virgin, Airin's, hand and ….. is it really great-grandmamma's brooch?

The story is well structured and well balanced – it's neat and tidy, no loose ends are dangling at the end. Deryll is attractive in a little-bit-of-a-naughty-chap sort of way. Airin is a spunky maiden and even in the 1300s women didn't like to be pushed around, it seems!

So, so far so good.

What I didn't like was that the author tried to add a little dashing derring-do flavour by using some Olde English words and phrases – but only a few and were therefore a little incongruous. The dialogue was neither one thing or another. There was rather an incessant and rather irritating use of 'gaze'. Not one character looked or saw – the gaze shifted or dropped or sharpened (sharpened??). This was rather tedious.

There were a number of editorial oversights and the author might like to know that 'bullocks' are young steer. If you want to use the British slang for the man's 'crown jewels' the word you need is 'bollocks'.

The story needs more than a lick and a promise – it needs a good dust and polish.… (lisätietoja)

Goodness, more sex than you can shake a stick at! lol. There was also still plenty of story though, not just a series of sex scenes loosely strung together. I don't think the authors were overly concerned with being realistic, not so that it ever got in the way of the story they wanted to tell anyway. The premise for the main plot-progressing secret was a bit weak to start with, and kind of got sillier as it went, but I could shrug that off for the most part. And lots of little instances of inconveniences just being glossed over, circumstances that would, without a doubt, make someone appear extremely disheveled, but somehow no one happens to notice, or a character who goes from sobbing to chatting without ever needing to blow their nose or anything, that sort of thing. It pulls me out of a story, personally, but it might not be as distracting to others. The plot, character development, etc. wasn't terrific, but I was entertained despite its flaws, so I give it 3 stars. I would consider reading something else by these authors in the future.… (lisätietoja)