SEDUCING A SCOTTISH BRIDE

Author: Sue-Ellen Welfonder ISBN: 0446195294 3/2009 HISTORICAL Publisher: GRAND CENTRAL
Time Period: Eilean Creag Castle, The Western Highlands, Autumn 1348

Lady Gelis MacKenzie, one of the most desirable heiresses in the Highlands, yearns for love. When a vision shows her a darkly seductive man, she knows she's seen her future betrothed. But when she finally meets the handsome stranger, she finds a man who has endured more than any warrior can bear. She must use all her wiles to convince him that love is worth any challenge. With his dashing good looks and smoldering eyes, Ronan MacRuari, known as the Raven, is every woman's dream. Yet with his late wife newly buried and the MacRuari curse haunting him, he weds only to satisfy his clan. Refusing to believe in curses, Gelis trusts the magic of her second sight. As she kisses away the Raven's doubts, she unleashes a torrent of desire. Yet Ronan knows that loving Gelis places her in mortal danger. Soon he'll fight dangerous forces to protect her as only a Highlander can—with his whole heart, his honor, and his life ...

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

The first chapter of SEDUCING A SCOTTISH BRIDE was good, and I had I expected the rest of the book to be just as good. Unfortunately I was disappointed because it quickly fizzled out.

Lady Gelis has powers, but she has never really done anything with them. Her father, Duncan MacKenzie, the Black Stag of Kintail and the most fearsome person in the story, is obligated to repay a debt from his past, and the payment is his youngest daughter, Lady Gelis. She is to marry into a widely known, cursed family. Lady Gelis has no fears though, because her powers have given her a vision to let her know that she will be safe. She is unusually happy, for nothing really scares her.

There were things that happened in the story that should have caused her to run and not look back, no matter what kind of visions she had. Instead, she would just smile it off. Her character was actually quite annoying, She did nothing all day except try to find out where Ronan was; her character was just weak.

I guess what I was looking for was a chase—I had assumed because the title is SEDUCING A SCOTTISH BRIDE that the story was about just that. But I was wrong.

Sheila Smith