Customer Reviews

BRIDE OF A WICKED SCOTSMAN

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

A little suspension of belief is requisite in romance novels, but a Circle of Light that floats above the ground and brings good luck? And, it sends out an aura to tell where it is?

Like the Circle of Light, the plot is full of holes, too. It is dependent upon coincidence, and taste-free, odorless potions, and lack of communication, and a well located where there is no need for one. Also, there is a hero who is seduced, drugged, forced into marriage, lied to, stolen from, --and yet he wants to continue the marriage because she is just so darned good looking.

I looked forward to the release of this book. It has already been carted off to the used book shop.

Does Samantha James have something against the male McBrides? First Aidan had to deal with an annoying character in Fionna and now Alec is stuck with Maura. I just don't get.

For two hundred years, Maura O'Donnell's family has been cursed to lose good land and die mysteriously all because the Circle of Light was stolen by a pirate. On her father's death bed, he beseeched her to find the artifact and return it home. Of course, it now resides with the pirate's ancestor Alec McBride, who just have happens to be visiting his father's old friend in Ireland.

On with the deception....

Maura flirts, drugs and cons this man into marriage. Alec is understandably upset and distrustful of his new bride. I love how Maura is indignant when Alec is less than cheerful about the whole occasion. I mean really?

I didn't like Maura and as the story went on I liked her even less. She justified her treatment of Alec as payback for an ancestor (who by the way Alec didn't know anything about) actions. I also didn't like the author "dumbing down" Alec so Maura can continue her charade. Only when she denied him sex did he finally start questioning her.

After reading, "The Secret Passion of Simon Blackwell" I could wait to read stories about this family and they were such a disappointment. I can honestly say I won't buy her books anymore...it's the library or nothing.

Sorry but it started off on a sour note for me. Maura seemed like such a manipulating, selfish, liar. She set out to punish someone for the deeds of someone else, drugged him, trapped him and then slapped him ? after he was forced into marrying her for this relic that was supposed to bring her family prosperity. She didn't seem guilty at all for what she did to Alec and everyone was treating him like HE was the bad guy?? Most people would find some other way to become prosperous instead of doing these sort of deceitful things. I just found the whole story silly.

I'm not even halfway through the book and I already want to punch Maura...Alec was made non-smart...will see as the book goes on if it gets any better and I will write more but right now its looking like a waste of time with poor characters and a terrible plot.

I wrote that a couple of months ago and now i'm just finishing this book It was really really bad. I kept having to stop and go back and I got frustrated. The other two in this serious aren't bad and they aren't SJ's best but this end to the series was written terribly and the characters were worse. She made Alec out to be sooooooo stupid. He was so much better in the previous stories and with his nickname I expected so much more. The love is blind thing fits this man but its more like love makes you stupid about all things. The heroine ugh, what to say about her the way SJ made this woman think that the things she was doing made sense is really bad. I mean seriously let me hate you for something your great great grandfather did to mine. Really no not going for it. I can handle the whole finding the circle of light but honestly did it do what it was supposed to once they got it back??? Maybe i skimmed that part but i didn't see that part anywhere. Not sure what is with others nowadays making all these heroines out to be coniving, outspoken, independent, money hungry woman! NOT ALL FEMALES ARE LIKE THAT, so I don't want them in every book I read.

I love SJ and I by all her books once they come out. But this has made me stop, I won't be buying her next book(it sounds exactly like this one almost) until I read reviews and get some feedback, i'm going to learn to just wait. I really hope these others get other female heroines into their heads Samantha J., Victoria A., Lori Foster these women in these books are killing me, some aren't bad but do they really have to be so annoying half the time.

I am a great fan of Samantha James, but goodness me, this is a corker - it is shockingly bad - don't know what happened. I didn't like Maura at all. It seemed as if James was just going through her paces. I wouldn't even bother to get this from the library!

First and foremost, this novel is disappointing, and a waste of money. I bought it because Samantha James's name was on the cover. Its even more disappointing because I waited month for the release. The beginning was good right up to the seduction scene in the library (I'm a little fizzle about the exact setting of it, but it was when they were both dressed as pirates), however, from there the story started rapidly falling downhill. I struggled with finishing it. What the novel needs it major story/heroine&hero's relationship (it lacks a love story development) editing to at least 3/4 of the novel. Its sad because this is the conclusion to the series, and it ended badly as the last novel. Overall, save your money, this is probably one of those novel you want to skip to preserve your admiration for SJ. I hope her next book is an improvement from this one. Sigh.

This honestly felt like I was reading a rough draft. The plot was underdeveloped and unbelievable. I agree with another poster; I am willing to suspend belief for the sake of a romance novel, but nothing about this book made sense: the ridiculous circle of light, the heroine's machinations, the hero's gullibility and masochism. Even when he knew what she had done, it really didn't matter to him. She never had to grovel at all.

And the writing - where do I begin? Exclamation points every other sentence, short choppy sentences, inane word choices all combined to give this book a sappy & childish feel. I have a very hard time not finishing a book once I start it, but I wish I had just given up on this one. I have really liked several of her other books, and I will read her again, but I won't buy one of her books unless I've borrowed it from the library first.

Maura is a scheming, lying, deceitful thief and SHE'S the heroine! It's a romance novel so belief can be suspended for the Circle of Light and the mystical magical powers it has for her clan. Her grand plan to find it was so far fetched - let's see, lie to get Alec to marry you so you can go to his lands to search. But wait she didn't really marry him so it is even worse. He's living a lie and doesn't even know it. Then she steals from Alec and continues to lie. Not exactly romantic. The entire "relationship" is built on lies. How Alec became too dumb to catch on sooner is beyond me. What their "love" is based on eludes me. And all the people who went along with Maura's plan - what could they have possibly been thinking? When Maura finally confesses to Alec what she did he tells her he would have every right to pitch her out on the spot. He should have. It would have been a better story.

I like Samantha James as an author and I bought this book without even caring how it sounded on the back. I was a bit disappointed in it. Not very good characters, so-so love scenes, not much humor. Just kinda blah.
I didn't see why the hero was so smitten with the heroine....she wasn't very likable. It comes across more as lust than love. Actually when I think about it, the last few Samantha James books have been sub-par. Her first ones were great.."The Perfect Bride, The Perfect Groom"....read those. In my opinion she's gone from great to mediocrity. I might just have to pay more attention to the back of the book next time.

In Ireland Clan McDonough possessed the legendary Celtic relic Circle of Light seemingly forever. Over time with so much fortune bestowed on the clan, a belief grew that the Circle of Light was a special gift that even St. Patrick came to see. The clan felt they were the guardians, but to lose the Circle of Light meant to lose prosperity. When the Black Scotsman McBride stole the Circle of Light, Clan McDonough fell into poverty and a sense of disgrace for failing their mission.

On his deathbed, Clan McDonough leader Lord O'Donnell forces his daughter Maura to vow to take back what is theirs and save the clan. Duke Alec McBride, a descendent of the thief, arrives in town. When Maura meets him to beg he give her the Circle of Light, they are compromised. Outraged and holding her culpable they marry; something she did not plan when she went to beg. Neither is aware of the enchantment of love between them as each tries to top the other in a game of seduction.

BRIDE OF A WICKED SCOTSMAN is a fabulous historical romance with a touch of whimsical fantasy based on a Celtic legend. Misleading title aside; Alec and Maura are fully developed rivals competing for the upper hand in their relationship with the stakes being the Circle of Light artifact. Fans will enjoy the battle between the Scotsman and the Irish lady as love proves the most powerful magic of all.

Harriet Klausner