BORDER WEDDING

Author: Amanda Scott ISBN: 044619798X 3/2008 HISTORICAL Publisher: GRAND CENTRAL
Time Period: 1388 Scotland

Marry or hang! For Sir Walter Scott, caught stealing back his own cattle from his thieving neighbor, death is almost preferable to wedding his captor's eldest daughter. Yet to save his loyal men, Wat trades the hangman's noose for a woman he barely knows, Lady Margaret Murray—reputed to be one of the homeliest women in the Borders. For Meg, marriage means the promise of a life she thought beyond her grasp. She offers herself unreservedly to this proud man, stirring his desire with her innocence and a body he finds hard to resist… But their union has also made Meg a pawn in the endless violence between England and Scotland. Soon, with treachery at every turn, Meg must choose between standing up to her unscrupulous brothers…or betraying the husband with whom she is falling deeply, passionately—and dangerously—in love.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

I am so sorry to say that I am disappointed in BORDER WEDDING. Amanda Scott has written some fantastic Scottish historical romances, so not getting into this one shocks and surprises me.

I will say that if you can hang in there long enough, the book does pick up about three-quarters of the way through. It becomes almost good, actually, but that small bit of pickup does nothing to make me forget the slow pace of the majority of it. Well, that, and the first impression the heroine made on me. The way she is described put the terrible image of a big-mouthed bass on a skinny frame in my head. No, I am not so shallow as to need all of my heroines picture perfect, but that face and head is an image I find hard to shake, despite the fact that she perks up toward the end.

While this one is not for me, I am sure Scott's fans will still want to add it to their collection. I am still grateful to her for writing historical romance because so few are doing it these days. So, despite this one not being one of her better works, I know what she is capable of and look forward to her next one.

Shannon Johnson