Taming the Highland Bride by Lynsay Sands

Merry Stewart and Alexander d'Aumesbery's book





Taming the Highland Bride (book 2)

By Lynsay Sands

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

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

Another fun historical read by Lynsay Sands. I kick myself for reading them out of order because Taming the Highland Bride is book 2, not book 1 like I had thought. I should have checked Goodreads first instead of the inside covers. Oh well. I have book 1 The Devil of the Highlands and I also already have book 3 The Hellion and the Highlander so I'll just have to step back one book and start it. 

Taming the Highland Bride was a very enjoyable read that included a bit of a mystery too. Someone was out to hurt or kill Alexander and unfortunately Merry was even a suspect.  It was creative to have the villain so obvious yet there was always a thought that perhaps that person was not necessarily the true villain. Right up until the end when I saw I only had a few pages left, I still wasn't sure who the culprit was. 

Poor Merry grew up having the need to take an adult role her entire life. Her father may have been Laird Stewart but due to his drunkenness and his lazy sons, Merry seemed to be the true laird of the clan. She really didn't have anyone to rely on before. 

Not having the need to depend on anyone, made it difficult to accept Alex and even something as simple as heeding his advice of taking her time to walk after dismounting from a horse made her suspicious. 

Since someone was constantly out to hurt Alex, Merry seemed to save him from peril more than a few times. Being a brave warrior, that was hard for him to accept that his hero was his tiny wife. It was nice to read how smart Merry was in each of these rescue situations. 

I enjoyed the journey of their blooming love and was piqued by the mystery of who was out to get him. Excellent read and I can't wait to step back to book 1. 

Teasers - Stewart Shrewd, big claymores, draining the dragon, genius horse rescue by Merry