THE BORDER LORD'S BRIDE

Author: Bertrice Small ISBN: 0451222148 10/2007 HISTORICAL Publisher: NAL
Time Period: Scotland, 1494

Duncan Armstrong, laird of Duffdour, has sworn not to wed unless it is to a lass he truly loves. But when he needs a favor from King James, Duncan never expects what he's forced to pay in return: the taking of a bride he neither loves nor desires. When Highland heiress Ellen MacArthur's marriage plans are thwarted by a murder attempt, she has no choice but to beg the king for help. The cost for her urgent plea: to surrender her heritage and become a border lord's bride. The price to be paid by two strangers thrown together by fate is higher than they can imagine. And more dangerous than the passion—and betrayal—that could consume them.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

The second book in Bertrice Small's Border Chronicles is called THE BORDER LORD'S BRIDE. When I first started reading it, I thought it would stand alone, but now that I read it, I believe that it would help tremendously if you read the first book in the series, A DANGEROUS LOVE.

I will say that I liked THE BORDER LORD’S BRIDE a lot more than I did the first book in Small's Chronicles. I loved the hero and heroine right away. Duncan and Ellen make a great romantic couple. They're strong, brave and sensual, and will do anything for their family and lands. Ellen went through a very hard time in the beginning of the story, and that paved the way for her actions throughout the rest of the book. Duncan is totally likable from the start and never once acted like a barbarian (not unlike Conal from the first book).

While I enjoyed the first half of the book, I found the second half to be rather confusing. It seemed like suddenly there were a lot of characters coming out of the woodwork and the plot turned too complicated for me to really enjoy. What a disappointment to me because I found myself becoming quite involved with the first half of the book.

Along with Duncan and Ellen, there were many other characters from A DANGEROUS LOVE involved with their story. The two that will stand out to you (if you've read the first book) is Adair and Conal. They end up playing a pretty major role in this story, too. I will say that I liked Adair and Conal a whole lot more this time around.

Fans of Bertrice Small will be happy to know that she didn't skimp on the sex scenes in THE BORDER LORD’S BRIDE. I will say that Small can write some pretty erotic scenes, but I have to say that there was one scene involving a, um.well, this is a family site and I can't really go into details about it. However, it didn't seem to fit in with the time period of the story.

THE BORDER LORD'S BRIDE was a better read than A DANGEROUS LOVE. However, it started to go downhill for me halfway through the book. Again, though, that is just my opinion and if you read it, you may not have a problem with the onslaught of characters and twists to the plot. Will I recommend it? I've learned that Bertrice Small fans are quite a dedicated bunch, so I will recommend it to them. However, if she is still an author who you haven't yet read, I would recommend her contemporary Pleasure series instead (they're really good books).

Julie Kornhausl