“You can’t help but fall in love with Lynsay Sands!” —New York Times bestselling author Christina Dodd Lynsay Sands—the perennial USA Today and New York Times bestselling author well-known and loved for her delightful novels featuring the Argeneau family of vampires—once again shows us another side with Taming the Highland Bride, the second in the wonderfully witty, supremely sexy historical … family of vampires—once again shows us another side with Taming the Highland Bride, the second in the wonderfully witty, supremely sexy historical romance series she kicked off with Devil of the Highlands. With Taming the Highland Bride, the incomparable Lynsay pays homage to the immortal Bard, William Shakespeare, as she delights readers with a tale of a smitten Scotsman’s determined efforts to tame his beautiful, hot-tempered fiancée, the notorious “Stewart Shrew.”
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Merry Stewart is tired of being taken advantage of by her drunken father and brothers, running the keep and ensuring their soldiers are well-trained with no one to help her. She’s never met her betrothed, Alexander d’Aumesbery, but when he sends for her, she is eager to go to him, if only to escape her current situation. But when she arrives in her new English home, it is to find that her new husband seems to comport himself no better than her father or brothers have.
Alex is taken with Merry from their first meeting and determined to convince her he’s a good man, despite his less than stellar first impression. Beneath his gentlemanly façade, he’s just as passionate as she is and Merry soon realizes Alex is just what she needs, but someone is trying to kill him and Merry is determined to keep him safe.
This was a classic wild, fun Sands highlander romance and I still say we need more of them. This one had me laughing and rolling my eyes, but it also kept me intrigued with the mystery elements and the clear connection developing between Alex and Merry. I wanted to smack the useless men in her family, and I loved that Alex stepped up and cared for her for a change, even though he had to teach her how to accept help. Alex’s patience was definitely needed because Merry could be rather a handful and a bit judgmental, but when she actually listened to him, they made a nice couple and I liked seeing them sort out their newfound feelings. There’s nothing particularly profound happening here, but it was an enjoyable, quick story with a decent narrator and entertaining, if sometimes overly ridiculous and silly, characters.
Blog link: https://mustreadalltheromance.blogspot.com/2021/07/taming-highland-bride-by-lynsay-sands.html
Source: paperback I own: Rating: MA: mature audience, graphic sex. Swoon-worthy love scenes and declarations of love.
Upon Alexander d’Aumesbery’s return from Tunis, he discovers that his father has died [making him now laird], his sister, Evelinde, has been married off to the Devil [Cullen, the Duncan, Laird of Donnachaidh], and the castle is in shambles due to his step-mother Edda’s cruel behavior. Half of the servants had left; the other half was about to leave, and his betrothed, Merry Stewart ‘the Stewart Shrew,’ [a contract signed while they were children], and her family, have just arrived for his wedding.
The humor is similar to the previous book. Although it could be read as a stand-alone, I would recommend reading Book 1: ‘Devil of the Highlands.’ I loved the Cullen character. Evelinde was adorable and so innocent. Edda was a true b-witch from the depths of you-know-where. The first book really established the groundwork for this story. People, places, and events will make more sense if these books are read in order.
Concerns: I was a bit concerned that there were so many head injuries with the victims being unconscious for hours if not days. By today’s standards, we are looking at closed-head injuries, TBI [traumatic-brain-injuries], and concussions. Some of the humor was slapstick, but I was beginning to get concerned at the violence needed to quell or get the attention of characters. The sex was graphic, unrealistic, and rather brazen for a virgin.
Her highlander books are always so amusing! Great author!