One of my favorite bloggers, KindleVixen, aka Tiffany, is guest reviewing today!
A fair-haired beauty at 19, Lady Mairi is heiress apparent to her father Lord Dunwythie’s rich barony. He has carefully taught her how to manage their estates, but a feud between his clan and the Maxwell clan is brewing as the two families edge toward a clan war – their dispute over money owed. Mairi’s father believes he owes nothing, and of course Mairi sides with him.
When the impulsive and blue-eyed Rob Maxwell chances to meet Mairi in a barley field, they feel instant attraction, despite their families’ antagonisms. Knowing he must put his clan first, Rob enacts a plan to force Dunwythie to pay his debt: Rob kidnaps Mairi, making the abduction appear the work of a stranger; then he and his sheriff-brother offer to help Dunwythis rescue his daughter IF, and only if, he will pay them the monies due. Yet after Rob captures Mairi’s body, she captures his heart. When Dunwythie summons the aid of the most powerful clan in all Scotland (the Douglases), clan-tensions rise to a fever pitch. Love takes its own feverish course, as Mairi and Rob join forces to prevent a clash between hot-headed clans, and to protect their budding love.
January 4, 2010
Historical Romance
Paperback, 400 pages
Hachette
When this book came in the mail I saw the cover and squealed a little at the chance of reading about sexy scottish men with kilts and no underwear. Alas, Seduced by a Rogue makes no mention of kilts or lack of underwear, yet it still gave me an entertaining read.
Lady Mairi is the apparent heir to her father, Lord Dunwythie, as her step mother has produced no sons to take her place. Because of this her father begins teaching her the things a Baroness would need to know to manage the estates. Unfortunately trouble is brewing with neighboring clans who wish to make Lord Dunwythie submit to their leadership.
Robert Maxwell first sets eyes upon the Lady Mairi in a barley field while he is on his way to deliver a message to her father. The attraction between them is instant, tho both are resistant to acknowledge it. In an effort to prove his clan loyalty and to prevent blood loss, Robert Maxwell kidnaps the Lady Mairi intending to use her to secure her father’s submission to the Maxwell Clan’s authority. Once in his captivity, things do not go as planned and Robert finds himself enamored with the Lady. Adding to the problem, tensions between clans grow and clan war seems imminent…. can these two crazy kids find a way to be together and prevent a clan war at the same time?
Seduced by a Rogue was my first foray into the world of historical romance. As much as the thought of hot scottish men in kilts, without underwear, intrigues me…. I had never attempted to read anything from the genre! Because of that, I have to say I stumbled a bit at first. The old style english/scottish was distracting and hard for me to grasp. I read the first 10 pages before I realized I was going to have to use the google. So, being a rather resourceful book reader, I made myself a cheat sheet and thought I would share it with you. Here are words you must know if you want to read about sexy scottish dudes, with or without underwear.
gey: very/quite
ken: know
nocht: nothing
nowt: nothing
summat: something like that
aught: anything
nobbut: only
prithee: please
troth: pledge
Now that I had crib notes, and had them memorized, I was able to bury myself into the world a bit easier. In fact it wasn’t long before I found myself speaking with a scottish accent in my head.
I found Lady Mairi to be an interesting girl. She was oh so proper and controlled, but also determined. She was always in control, except when in the presence of Robert Maxwell. He was aggravating and infuriating and pushed all of her buttons. I actually did a little cheer when she lost her cool and threw a stool at him on page 98. I loved the dialogue and interactions between Rob and Mairi. Their pokes and prods at each other were easy to understand even with the Scottish thrown in. They were funny and brought life to the story through their relationship.
The story that brings Rob and Mairi together was interesting and realistic for the time period. I expected to take issue with a lead character falling in love with her kidnapper, but was happy to find it was done well and did not seem unnatural or unrealistic. I did find myself getting lost trying to figure out who was related to who and how…. who owned what lands and where they were located.
In the end I was torn about the ending. The ending to the romantic story arc was fine, however the resolution of the clan tensions wasn’t clear enough or climactic enough. I expected more fight from certain factions and was left slightly confused as to what had happened and why it was over so quickly. Even with my few complaints, I liked the story and enjoyed cuddling up with it whenever I could. I may even pick up the next book to see what happens.
Seduced by a Rogue is book 2 in a trilogy by Amanda Scott. You can find book 1, Tamed by a Laird, here.
Rating: 3.5 stars
No kilts, the horror ;)
Still sounds good anyway
Great guest review! It wouldn't be a highlander historical romance without a good clan kidnapping! :)
Nice honest review KV. Thanks for the crib notes! :)
You know, with all the historicals I read, the only books where the characters have an accent are the Scottish ones.
Mmm this makes me want to grab one of my historical highlander books & twirl around the room.
BTW I studied abroad & went to Scotland. A hot young Scotsmen was kind enough to "show me" what they where under their kilts. One of the best experiences of my life.
LMAO – I obviously need to go to Scotland. hmmm… wonder If I can convince hubby of that.
@Kindle Vixen yes you need to go if only to "see" for yourself. You can even sign up for a fun Pub crawl!
Hi KV! I always have trouble with accents in books – I think the writer has to be really skilled to pull it off. Although they are my neighbours so to speak, I even find it hard to understand them, especially if they have a very broad scottish accent.
Well, I'm glad you sort of enjoyed it in the end. Not sure if this one's for me though. Thanks for a great review!
Ummm I feel like such a nerd, I just realized that this post was written by Kindle Vixen. My bad. Totally makes sense now.
That hot, sexy Scottish rogue on the cover looks so much like actor Henry Cavill (from 'The Tudors'). Based on that alone I will be reading this book.
Great review.
I am so with you BCC…
I never understand them and they say the same of my sing song accent as well..
It does sound nice in books however
Great guest review KV……
E.H>
Smokin – you nerd ;)
Danielle – It does look like him! I hadn't even noticed and he is my favorite actor on the Tudors. *yummy sigh*
This does look good and I'm going to add the series (at least the two that are out now) to my TBR.