Goodreads.com summary:
Scotland, 1479
Cameron Malcolm Stewart, Earl of Lennox, had made his peace with destiny. It was not his fate to love as other men.
Each of his politically arranged marriages had ended in disaster. And though he had never touched a one of his wives, he had come to believe that sharing his name would consign a woman to an early grave.
So, on the sunny spring day Cameron encounters a delightfully devious, bright-eyed lass selling charmed stones in one of Stirling's alehouses, he tosses her a shilling, thinking only to steal a kiss. But it is a kiss that will change his life forever.
To care for her ailing father, the precocious Kate Ferguson has resorted to swindling the drunkards of Stirling. But a chance meeting with a handsome and seductively mysterious outlaw named Cameron ends with a kiss that changes the course of her destiny.
But as dark times descend upon Scotland, Kate is inadvertently caught in a deadly web of court intrigue spun by the royal favorite, Thomas Cochrane. And as King James III falls prey to his fear of the Black Arts, accusations of witchcraft and treachery abound.
The fate of Scotland hangs in the balance, and while Cameron vows to defy destiny itself to hold Kate forever in his arms, he must unravel the plots of nobles and commoners alike to protect the country that he loves.
Cameron Malcolm Stewart, Earl of Lennox, had made his peace with destiny. It was not his fate to love as other men.
Each of his politically arranged marriages had ended in disaster. And though he had never touched a one of his wives, he had come to believe that sharing his name would consign a woman to an early grave.
So, on the sunny spring day Cameron encounters a delightfully devious, bright-eyed lass selling charmed stones in one of Stirling's alehouses, he tosses her a shilling, thinking only to steal a kiss. But it is a kiss that will change his life forever.
To care for her ailing father, the precocious Kate Ferguson has resorted to swindling the drunkards of Stirling. But a chance meeting with a handsome and seductively mysterious outlaw named Cameron ends with a kiss that changes the course of her destiny.
But as dark times descend upon Scotland, Kate is inadvertently caught in a deadly web of court intrigue spun by the royal favorite, Thomas Cochrane. And as King James III falls prey to his fear of the Black Arts, accusations of witchcraft and treachery abound.
The fate of Scotland hangs in the balance, and while Cameron vows to defy destiny itself to hold Kate forever in his arms, he must unravel the plots of nobles and commoners alike to protect the country that he loves.
Review:
ISBN: 0983524068
Cost: $3.49
Edition: Digital
Rating: ★★★☆☆
It is a rare day that I pick up romance novels, and even rare that I don't read them without laughing over cheesy scenes, horribly inaccurate written lovemaking, or some little sappiness in them. To say that I am not a connoisseur of romance novels is a fair statement. Still, on the rare occasion I spot a novel of interest, I might be so inclined as to read it.
The Bedeviled Heart is the second in the series (something I was unaware of when I picked up the novel for a mere 99 cent on Amazon special), and while the romance pair themselves don't exist, the novel does have a bit of truth set into it. Set in 15th century Scotland, this novel does a fairly decent job of displaying political events of the time, setting us with Cameron Stewart, a cousin to the then King James III of Scotland. Throughout the story, we're given a startling interesting view of the politics that go on at court. King James III was not a particularly liked King and Caine's book seems to be well thought out and well researched.
Upon first glance at the original cover, I was a bit wary seeing as it looks like something that could have ended up in Objectified Scotsman Thursdays. The book itself was well-written, few to no mistakes in grammar, and I applaud Caine for attempting to write out the Scottish accent. There were a few parts however that I had to reread passages two or three times in order to make sense of what was being said. I recognize it's difficult to write accents, but sometimes it become detrimental to use an accurate accent when writing. And, I'll admit I was a bit saddened at the lack of any actual scenes of a sexual nature, though sometimes it's best to just allude to those.
I'd recommend this for anyone wanting a historical romance to read, since Caine is masterful enough to blend both the mystery of romance and the stinging truth of history in this story. Now if I could get my hands onto the first and third books of this series.
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