A Scottish chief. An English maiden. Their forbidden love threatens to destroy them both.
The ChiefThe Scottish king gives Toren Kerr a dangerous but important mission—kill the English Warden. The man’s rumored corruption threatens to destroy the fragile peace along the border, and Toren reluctantly agrees to do his duty. When he travels to England to participate in the Tournament of the North … England to participate in the Tournament of the North as a cover for his mission, the last thing he expects is to find love, but he’s immediately drawn to a beautiful, mysterious Englishwoman. . . only to discover she’s the warden’s daughter.
The Maiden
Books are Lady Juliette Hallington’s escape from her sheltered life. Tales of romance have convinced her there’s only one reason to marry: love. When her protective father agrees to send her to the tournament with no guardian other than her married best friend, she recognizes her chance to avoid an arranged marriage. But after meeting Toren, Juliette realizes real life is more complicated than tales of love—and the very thing she wants most might consume everything she holds dear.
The Chief’s Maiden is the third book in a historical romance series set in 13th century Northumbria along the Anglo-Scottish border. If you like strong female heroines, alpha-male heroes, and sizzling romance, you’ll love the third installment of the Border Series.
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Nothing captures my attention more than when a strong, brooding Highlander becomes unraveled by a woman. This book was proof that strength comes from many sources. You have your brute strength, and then there’s the strength and pull of love. One that cannot be denied. Throw into the mix that his orders from the king were to kill her father. So now what? If she knew the truth of his mission, she’d hate him and he couldn’t have that.
This book will take you a long journey where two people set out with different goals only to be tangled along the way, and with those snags many things are revealed. I loved Juliette, although I thought she was a bit reckless in the beginning but then as time went on, I understood why. Imagine your life mapped out for you, but it’s not the path you want. Imagine wanting to experience love, even if it’s short-lived. That was the heroine’s mindset.
In comes Toren, a Scottish Chief with orders to kill a man believed to be taking bribes. The king wants him dead. He travels to join a tournament where he knew this man would be attending. And then he meets Juliette while waiting for his target to arrive. His attraction for her bothers him and he attempts to find any reason to avoid her but his heart refuses to let go.
Thank goodness for delays, for if people acted upon impulse they may never see the truth unveiled.
I enjoyed this read and would recommend it. I would rate it a 4.9 because I felt like the ending was a bit long for results to happen. But then, maybe it was me who just wanted all truths to finally come to light.
Captivating!! Epic page-turner!!! This Historical romance is full-bodied, with passion and adventure!! You will want more and more!!! Well done!!!
Cecelia Mecca was doing a book giveaway promotion a week or so ago, and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to try an up-and-coming medieval romance author. I’m certainly glad that I did!
Toren Kerr, chief of Clan Kerr, is on a mission to assassinate the English border warden. When he falls in love with the man’s daughter at a tournament, Toren must choose between love and honor. The heroine, Juliette Hallington, is an interesting character. She, like many romance heroines, is a tad naive and progressive for her own time. That being said, I love those tropes and Juliette was absolutely charming. I enjoyed watching them develop through the story, both separately and together.
The Chief’s Maiden is Book 3 in the Border series by Mecca, and I have not yet read the first two books. In spite of being Book 3, it was easy to follow as a standalone. I was impressed that there were clearly complex story lines preceding this book and yet the plot was able to stand on its own two feet.
The story was steamy and sweet, and unlike many romances it didn’t lose me at the 60% mark. Let me explain [tangent warning].
In the plot structure of most romance novels, the characters hook up and hit their sweetest, most romantic high point – all the feels – between 50-60% of the way into the book. At that point, the external plot has to carry the book for a few beats while the relationship slowly crumbles. I’ve noticed that this is the point in many romances where the author loses me. If I put it down halfway through, there’s a high chance I’ll never pick it back up. That was not the case with The Chief’s Maiden. Believe me, no one was more surprised than I was when I finished the entire thing two days later. [Tangent over].
I was curious enough as to how the plot would resolve that it pulled me through. Was he actually going to kill her father? How on earth could he fix this? The romance was well-developed and the side characters entertaining. It had a good mixture of tropes and innovations to keep everyone satisfied.
As a historian I enjoyed just how much historical detail she included. The heroine is a bibliophile, and Mecca’s descriptions of the books loved by her characters were beautifully done. My biggest criticism is that I would’ve loved more similar descriptions of the rest of the setting, though I know many readers feel those bog down the story and slow the action. But, I’m a fantasy nerd as well as a medieval nerd so I like a good helping of both.
This is the first Highland romance that I’ve not only finished within a couple of days, but also really enjoyed. I absolutely recommend reading this series – I know I will!
decent story overly wordy – have to wade through all the extra verbiage to get to the story which can get annoying. But if that doesn’t bother you than you will enjoy this.
Loved the characters! Loved the hero and his wonderful sense of honor.
Another excellent book by Ms. Mecca. Both Juliette and Toren are likable lead characters. We watch Juliette bloom as her personality is not oppressed once she is away from her parents. We watch Toren struggle between his mission and his desires. Their path to HEA was not clear given Toren’s beliefs along for the reasons for those beliefs. I also liked seeing how Catrina and Bryce were fairing.
DO NOT CONTINUE READING IF YOU WISH TO AVOID SPOILERS!!!
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SPOILER PARTS:
I like that Toren investigated the charges against Juliette’s father instead of just accepting them as fact. We only saw the surface of this investigation but it was obvious that his investigation was more thorough.
While Christina and her husband are important to the story, it was nice to watch their marriage become a desired relationship. I also like when her husband’s career was revealed.
Once an arrest was made of the person accepting the bribes, I was hoping to see his former boss linked to the scheme, since he clearly benefited from it.
Alfred did not dawn on me as a character to watch when he was introduced. However, this character becomes interesting late in the story.
This series just gets better and better! Cecelia Mecca has created wonderful characters that you can’t help but fall in love with plus the intrigue keeps getting better also. I can’t wait for the next book!
I loved Juliette and Toren’s story! They were very compelling and likable characters that felt an instant connection with one another. But, one BIG thing stood in their way, a secret that Juliette had no knowledge of: Toren has been sent to kill her father who is suspected of Treason against the Crown by intentionally causing turmoil between border people of Scotland and England. I was instantly a fan of how independent and take charge Juliette was. And, I was easily drawn to Toren’s sense of honor and duty and desire to be a gentleman, as he fought his feelings and desire for Juliette. This book had everything it takes to be an interesting and memorable story for me.
*I received a complimentary ARC of this story in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.
Note: Make sure your reader is charged up because you won’t want to put this book down until the end!
The Chief’s Maiden is book #3 of Cecelia Mecca’s “Fantastic” Border Series. In short, “LOVED IT!”
Cecelia Mecca is an outstanding “A list” author with a true gift of story telling that brings this heart warming story to life.
I love the creative storyline with it’s beautifully written historic details of places and events and the multiple character’s with intertwining stories and the surprising twist. I’m awe struck! The only negative note is that I’m done reading this story and now I have to wait for the next book to come out…
I adore this series and this author! Each story keeps getting better and better. Fast paced filled with action, passion, mystery and suspense. The cast of characters are amazing, they’re loveable, engaging and will steal your heart. The plot flows effortlessly, and is intriguing as well as captivating. The furst sentence me in and held me captive. A page Turner. The H/H were made for each other. Their banter added another layer to the story. A must read fir Medeival Romance fans. I can’t wait for the next adventure. Well done!!
Ratinf: 5
Heat ratibg: Steamy
Reviewer: AprilR