In only six weeks, Isla Ramsey is due to marry Henry Northrup, the sixth Earl of Sydney. But she remains haunted by memories of the dashing Hugh Courtney, the Marquess Pierce. The handsome aristocrat had hinted at forever and then tossed her aside, leaving Isla with few viable options. Now, as she awaits her new fiancé’s arrival from London, she rides her horse past Hugh’s estate at Hazelwood … every day, pining for a man who was never truly hers.
Hugh Courtney may have left Isla’s life, but he can’t erase her from his thoughts. When he rescues her from a sudden snowstorm, they are forced to take shelter together at his private estate. In such close quarters there is no escaping each other. Yet no man wants a reckless wife—or a woman promised to another. As fate draws Isla further into his world, Hugh vows to keep her out of his bedchamber. However, some vows are meant to be broken . . .
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Isla Ramsey is due to marry Henry Northrup, the sixth Earl of Sydney but she remains haunted by memories of the dashing Hugh Courtney, the Marquis Pierce. who had hinted at forever and then tossed her aside after a scandal at a ball, leaving Isla with few viable options. Now, she’s staying at Huntingdon awaiting Sydney’s arrival from London, she rides her horse past Hugh’s estate at Hazelwood every day, pining for a man who was never truly hers.
Isla decides to go riding against her sister in laws advice as a storm is brewing but she needs to ride by Hugh’s home then the snowstorm arrives, taking shelter in the woods Isla falls from her horse. Hugh sees her disappear into the woods. He & her brothers search for Isla but it’s Hugh who rescues her & they are forced to take shelter together at his private estate. In such close quarters there is no escaping each other. Meanwhile Sydney suffers a carriage accident on his way to Huntingdon & is rescued by Lucas Dean a young farmer.
This is the first of a new series but I loved it that it’s linked to the Somerset Sisters, Isla being the sister of Lachlan who married Hyacinth in the last of the Somerset sisters series. The author’s books are always very well written with well fleshed characters & an engaging & interesting story. This book is in fact two love stories & both stories are lovely. Isla & Hugh fell in love during the season but parted after misunderstandings, when they are thrown together during the storm sparks fly. Sydney’s romance is a much gentler falling in love. There was no mention anywhere of the risk Sydney & Lucas were taking as their relationship was a hanging offence in the nineteenth century & for them to be living openly together was very brave indeed, I would have been happier for Lucas to have become Sydney’s steward or secretary for appearances sake. Whilst this book had me enthralled from start to finish I was a little concerned that there was triple infidelity, I realise all three were making marriages of convenience but a betrothal was almost as binding as a marriage & this was the reason I give this novel 4 Stars not 5. Also Scottish whisky doesn’t have an ‘e’, if it’s spelled whiskey then it’s not scotch.
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read
Oh my, oh my, oh my! A horrible misunderstanding has torn our hero and heroine apart forever. At least, until fate and mother nature step in. This first book in Anna Bradley’s newest series, Besotted Scots, is a humdinger of a launch. Ms. Bradley ripped my heart out with Isla’s suffering and she had my emotions flip flopping between wanting to wring Hugh’s neck (okay , there was another character I wanted to smack) and feeling sorry for him. Then just when you think Isla and Hugh’s suffering is healing, Ms. Bradley rips the sore open making you wonder if there is a HEA after all? Anxiously waiting for book 2 and what Ms. Bradley has in mind.
5++++
I love Anna Bradley’s writing. It is so fresh and different. This story has a twist – you get a two-fer love story. Both love stories were very well written and kept me reading way into the night. The characters are intriguing and you know you are invested when you are not sure how it will work out so you just keep reading way too long for a worknight. There are no real villains but lots and lots of angst. If you have never tried one of Ms. Bradley’s books, please do. They are all interconnected but all standalones. You will not be disappointed in her writing.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley.
This was a wonderful read! The characters are delightful and the book is well-written and well-plotted. It could have easily been a 5-star read for me had the blurb mentioned that there was an m/m romance as well as infidelity. The couples aren’t married, but they are formally betrothed and during that period, that is about the same thing.
This is the first book of a new series, but this book sort of continues from the Somerset Sisters series in that the heroine in this book is the sister of the hero of the last book of the Somerset series. You don’t have to have read the previous series to love this book, but if you have, you’ll better understand the closeness of the characters – besides – it is just a good series. I had thought that the next book might feature Isla’s brother Ciaran, but that isn’t the case. Maybe #3 will be his.
Isla Ramsey was involved in another scandal and it wasn’t her fault, but the only solution was a betrothal. Her very best friend, Henry Northrup, the sixth Earl of Sydney offers for her and is accepted. They have absolutely no secrets from each other, so each knows exactly what they are getting. They don’t love each other romantically, but they do love each other. Each thinks they are doing the best thing for themselves and each other. Isn’t it wonderful that their hearts step in and show them what real love is – if they can claim it?
Isla was deeply, irrevocably in love with Hugh Courtney, the Marquess of Pierce. She was totally devastated when he just abandoned her during the scandal and wouldn’t even let her explain what happened. So, she had no choice but to become betrothed to Sydney.
Hugh was also deeply, irrevocably in love with Isla and he had thought she felt the same about him. However, she immediately became betrothed to another man just after her scandal. Hugh didn’t care about the scandal, he only cared about Isla. Evidently, she didn’t feel the same.
Sydney loves Isla as a friend and she knows all of his secrets and doesn’t judge him. He has to marry to provide an heir for the title and when Isla needs a betrothal, he steps in. He cannot ever openly fall in love, so a marriage of convenience is perfect for him – it just has to be to someone he can totally trust.
Isla and her family have left London for a visit with their brother, and his estate is directly adjacent to Hugh’s estate. Each day she takes her horse out for a ride – and cannot resist always riding in front of Hugh’s estate. She’s sure he isn’t there, but she can dream of him behind those walls. Then, during a horrific ice storm, Isla is trapped, lost, frightened and it is Hugh who finds her. He takes her to his home because it is nearest and he’s fearful she won’t survive. During their time together, they find out what happened in London, and realize they are still in love. Sadly, each of them is betrothed to someone else.
At the same time, Sydney is on his way to see Isla when he is caught in an ice storm and his carriage wrecks horribly. He’s on the brink of death when he is lifted out of the water-filled ditch. He’s only half conscious, but he’s sure there is a bear – and a man with haunting grey eyes. Later, when Sydney regains consciousness, he learns that the bear is a huge dog and the man who rescued him is Lucas Dean, a local farmer. The attraction is instant and as Sydney convalesces, they get to know one another and love each other.
Frankly, I’m not sure which romance I liked better. They were both written very well and were both sweet and poignant. However, it bothered me that the very real danger of the relationship between Sydney and Lucas wasn’t even mentioned. During that time, being a homosexual was a hanging offense, yet neither Sydney or Lucas seemed to worry about that. They went to Sydney’s estate and were openly living together and were planning trips, etc. I really wish that the story had included them finding a way to be together and work around or circumvent the dangers somehow. It isn’t a fair representation of the times to treat homosexuality like it is no big deal and I think it shortchanges the characters – because they had to be brave indeed to pursue their relationship.
This is a lovely read and I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.
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I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This is a triangle and an mm.
Islam is engaged to marry Henry.
She wants Hugh, who threw her over years ago.
Not sure what Hugh’s motivations are. He’s the one who dumped her and now only wants her when he thinks he can’t have her.
The mm is Sydney and Lucas.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The Wayward Bride, by Anna Bradley, was originally published in February of 2019. Wayward was the first book in Ms Bradley’s Besotted Scots series. For me, I’m glad I’m just now reading book 1. I have enjoyed the series and am a fan of Ms Bradley’s previous work. Wayward didn’t start out with a bang, more of an ok. Our heroine, Isla Ramsey, was involved in Hyacinth Somerset’s story, More Or Less A Temptress. By now I’d forgotten the incident so I had to backtrack, you shouldn’t have to and it won’t hurt a thing if you read this as a stand-alone. Anyway, being involved in that scheme ruined both ladies, always ruins the lady doesn’t it? Not much didn’t. Ilsa had a beau & thought he’d abandoned her but it was all a misunderstanding. Hugh, Lord Pierce, loves Ilsa & they spend the book trying to work things out but one thing after another gets in the way. To be truthful they weren’t my favorite characters in the story.
Lord Sydney & Lucas Dean are a touching couple in a forbidden romance. Lucas is a farmer so they have a lot going against them from the start. The meeting was terrific and their struggle was heartbreaking. I found myself wanting to skip over Ilsa & Hugh to find out what happened next to the 2 men. They were sweet. Love the dog too, I always wind up loving the dog.
We meet Isla as she’s attempting to sneak out of the house to go for a ride. Her sister-in-law stops her because of fear of an impending storm, but later Isla sneaks out and does get trapped and lost when the snowstorm hits. Her brothers go in search of her and enlist the aid of Hugh, Lord Pierce, a neighbor. Hugh is the one who finds her, and he takes her back to his manor house to wait out the storm. She had been ostensibly riding out to the main road to check to see if her betrothed might be approaching, but she was also really wanting to pass by Hugh’s home, as she still hasn’t quite gotten over her feelings for him. As the book unfolds, it is clear that Hugh hasn’t gotten past their time together as well. Scandal has forced Isla’s betrothal to Sydney, whom she sees more like a brother. Meanwhile, on the road to Isla’s home, Sydney has gotten into a bad carriage accident and is getting care from a farmer who rescued him from the ditch he ended up in.
What will happen between Isla and Hugh? What will happen to Sydney?
I don’t know quite what to make of this book. I didn’t find any of the characters sympathetic, so I had a hard time getting into it. I found Hugh, who is supposed to be our straight hero, off-putting and creepy; he comes across as so harsh at the start. While he supposedly loves Isla, he doesn’t treat her in a gentlemanlike fashion while she is a guest in his home. Their supposed love and affection for each other did not come across as real; what was the basis for it? On a completely different note, it is a little too hard to believe that Isla would have had to stay in his house for so long. They had a sleigh, so why couldn’t she be returned?
The plot had too many complications. There wasn’t just a love triangle between Isla, Sydney, and Hugh. It was more like a love quintangle with the addition of Lucas and Juliana. The author seemed to parallel the two main couples’ storylines, with Hugh and Isla and Sydney and Lucas consummating their relationships around the same time.
While I don’t mind there being a gay romance plotline, something about it didn’t feel realistic to me. In his thoughts and reactions, Sydney didn’t come across like a man in a romance but more like a woman. I find myself wondering if a woman can genuinely write authentic gay romance without making one “the woman,” so to speak. Of course, too, given the times, an openly gay relationship was illegal, so it seems unlikely that Isla and others would so readily accept it. Also, there are two broken betrothals in this book, and back in those times, that was highly frowned upon. It seems odd to have not just one but two in this book.
The book had significant errors with grammar, punctuation, and usage. Commas seemed more problematic than usual in modern self-publish works. In fact, there were more commas than were needed, like in between phrases in a compound predicate.
I also didn’t think that the title was the best choice for this book; so much was going on that “wayward bride” seemed the least of it!
I finished reading this book with very mixed emotions. While it’s well written, I felt there was way too much angst throughout the story, plus I really didn’t like that part of the story is about a m/m gay couple. I have no problem with gays, I just don’t like reading that genre!! It just surprises me that this author felt the need to do this. Of course, one can skip over all those scenes but with their stories being intertwined, it’s kind of hard.
Between Isla, Hugh, Sydney, Lucas, and Julianna, your head will be spinning! I did not find this a relaxing book to get lost into and it definitely is not one of my favourite Anna Bradley books.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The Wayward Bride by Anna Bradley is the first in her new series The Besotted Scotts. I have read seven other novels by Ms. Bradley and thoroughly enjoyed them. Unfortunately, I felt completely blindsided by the M/M romance contained in this story. Not my cup of tea and out of respect for her readers, Ms Bradley should have disclosed this aspect of her book in the information posted. I wouldn’t buy or waste my time had I known that brand of romance was in it. Respect your readers, Ms. Bradley. Disclose.