BRIDE OF A SCOTTISH WARRIOR - Adrienne Basso
Zebra Books
ISBN-13: 978-1-4201-2904-5
ISBN-10: 1-4201-2904-X
July 2014
Historical Romance

Scotland, 1314

After her husband died, Lady Grace Ferguson left Dunnad Castle to retire to a convent. She felt she needed to atone for Alastair's death. She will never marry again or have children. When Alastair was dying, fevered, and in pain from an infected wound, he was attended by an inept monk who inflicted pain while claiming his patient improved. Alastair made Grace promise to help him die before his leg was amputated. He was laird of his clan, and his clan decided his brother Douglas would be next clan chief. His brother Roderick wanted the position and came up with a plan to involve Douglas and Grace in Alastair's death.

King Robert the Bruce knighted Sir Ewan Gilroy and gave him an estate for his helping Robert gain Scotland's throne. Ewan is the unwanted bastard son of the Earl of Gilroy, so gaining his own property is a huge reward. His prize needs much work and repair, for which Ewan needs a wife with a large dowry. Yet, no respectable family wants Ewan for one of their daughters, except his good friend and fellow warrior, Brian McKenna, head of the McKenna clan, who offers Ewan his widowed sister Grace. Ewan only needs to convince Grace not to join a convent.

The bride chase is fraught with perils as Ewan and Grace Skirmish, both attracted by the other, both set in their own paths, and both smart, witty, and persistent. Readers will enjoy Ewan, who displays the best of manhood despite his father's rejection. Grace is a hardworking, thoughtful, and caring person caught between her desire for atonement, her attraction to Ewan, and her former brother-in-law Roderick's scheming. Others, like Ewan's mother Moira, and Grace's brother and sister-in-law, intervene, some give helpful advice, others work against the union. Every chapter presents new obstacles for Grace or Ewan to overcome leading to an inevitable confrontation with Roderick. Author Adrienne Basso creates a dangerous and compelling romance within the ancient Scottish Highlands.

Robin Lee