Review: Taming the Highland Bride by Lynsay Sands

She was ready to let her heart run wild . . .

Merry Steward 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 is no better than the men in her family.

So beautiful, so brazen, from the moment he meets Merry, Alexand 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 is the husband she has been waiting for, and their passion becomes the one thing that cannot be tamed.

Lynsay Sands is one of those romance authors that just keeps on writing and keeps on delighting her readers, no matter the genre. Whether it is paranormals or settings in ancient times, this writer never misses a beat in giving her fans more of what they love. This novel is no exception. Set in the times of the Crusades, with a hero who has been away from England and his estates for three years, this novel tells a story of an arranged marriage between one of the Clan Stewart--daughter of the Laird--and a knight who has fought valiently and who just wants to come home. He is not really thinking enthusiastically about claiming his bride, a woman to whom he has been betrothed since he was five years old. Yet when her brothers show up at his keep and he is presented with his "prize," Alexander mans up and takes on a woman knows far and wide as "The Steward Shrew." Few know, however, that her shrewish ways are the result of a father and two brothers who have abdicated their responsibilities and have systematically dismantled her patience as they drink away their days. Imagine her distress when the first glimpse of her bridegroom is after he has consumed an entire pitcher of whiskey as anesthesia for his aching tooth as it is being extracted by -- of all people -- the blacksmith. (I think most of us would have been drunk as well!)

Sands have given her audience a wonderful look inside the workings of ancient English society, especially those who live away from the busy urban areas of the times and who must make their lives secure and prosperous under some very difficult circumstances. As always, the politics of that day have perhaps a far greater immediate effect on England's citizens than would or could be true today. Suffice it to say that Merry wants her marriage to have a half-way chance of being congenial, if not loving. Her heart is engaged, almost without her knowing, when her husband's life is threatened, his health is in question from injuries sustained in mysterious attacks, Merry must not only contend with her own emotions and caring for a husband who fires her blood, but with trying to unravel the mystery of the how, why, and wherefore of the attacks on his person. It is also the tale which embraces the sometimes turbulent relationships within families, those related by blood and those who come to be inserted through marriage by royal edict.

This novel is so very well written and is another example of the work of a writer that takes seriously the writing task and who leaves nothing to chance in the telling. It is vastly entertaining as well as educational--I don't think anyone goes away from a well-written fictional work without having learned something that expands one's knowledge base about the world of living and loving, both now and in the past ages. I give this novel a 4.25 out of 5.

The Key -- by Lynsay Sands -- A Review

Iliana Wildwood would do anything to escape from the depraved baron who sought her lands -- including marrying a barbarian. Fleeing to the Highlands, Iliana was wedded to Duncan, lair of Dunbar Castle. Certainly there was something about the virile warrior that made her weak in the knees--but something stank in the state of Scotland, and Iliana would not trust anyone until she' done something about it.


Determined therefore to resist her bandsome husband, Iliana found a way to keep her secrets safe. Employing a chastity belt, the spirited beauty managed to thwart the thane's advances. But then her husband changed his tactics and began a sensual assault that sent her intentions up in smoke. And as the air cleared, Iliana found that it had been her heart she had locked away, and that this stubborn Scot had finally found . . . The Key.


There are few of us today that would consider going too many days without a shower or bath, and often I have thought that most people who revere the ancient historical contexts of romantic fiction forget that bathing was not even thought of as a common activity in the "olden days." Most people are unaware that the reason that June is Wedding Month is because in the Dark & Middle Ages, this was the occasion for the second bath of the year. The groom and bride smelled relatively clean for a while.


So it goes with our hero and heroine, a prim and proper English lady who has agreed to marry a Scottish laird in order to escape from her stepfather, his greed for her inheritance, and abusive ways. However, she finds that her bridegroom is dirty and smells to high heaven, and refuses to bathe before his scheduled July bath time. So it has always been and so it will be. Iliana steadfastly refuses to allow her bridegroom anywhere near her until he is not nearly so pungent, and encases herself in a chastity belt, hiding the key (in plain sight, don't you know), and proceeds to let everyone think that the marriage has been consummated. Her father-in-law adores her (he later falls in lust and love with Iliana's mother), the household comes to love her, and her frustrated husband rants and raves because of his wife's stubborn withholding of his conjugal rights.


It is a funny story in many ways but there is some trouble afoot with political difficulties and greedy landowners. There is tenderness and caring, surprising respect for women in this laird's house, and in many ways and on many levels Iliana brings this family alive and back together. She is a woman of strong temperament who knows her own mind, creative, inventive, and able to bring out the best in those around her. She ultimately earns the respect of her whole household, but the budding relationship with her husband is the crux of the story and is truly the delight of this tale.


Lynsay Sands is a very good writer and she does another great job here. Well written, great historical research, flamboyant and unique characters -- what's not to like? I give this book a rating of 4.5 out of 5.