Customer Reviews

The Bodyguard (Dell Historical Romance)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When the tall, rugged stranger stepped out of the shadows and rescued her from a fate worse than death, Katherine MacKinnon knew she had found her bodyguard. With his steely arms and reckless courage, he would shield her from her clansmen, who refused to accept her as laird, and from the hated Duke of Blackthorne, who controlled her family's lands. As her desire grew for the mysterious man who was constantly by her side, she had no idea that she was falling in love with the enemy himself. Was not as good as the previous one in the series but a good read none the less. I can't wait to see what will happen to Blackthorne's daughters in the next one.

I have read all the captive heart series. I look forward to seeing more about the Blackthornes.(the Texas ones) I'd like more about Reggie & the Earl of Carlisle. Also there must be a story about Becky and Mick and their children. It wasn't hard to follow the story line from AFTER THE KISS to BODYGUARD. Although I was looking for the title of the book to be "Blackthorne's Bride", I think that would have been a better title for the book, instead of BODYGUARD. I just read "Bridegroom" about the TWINS. Is there still a story line for MARCUS & ELIZA and their family ? Since it started in AFTER THE KISS...I'd like to see it go on.

Even before she became the new head of Clan MacKinnon, Katherine had heard all of her life about the dastardly deeds of their enemy, the Blackthornes. Katherine makes a death bed vow to her father that she will continue the fight against the sixth Duke of Blackthorne, Alastair Wharton. When Katherine claims a choice Scottish estate as being owned by her clan, Alastair sets sail to Scotland to put an end to this nonsense. However, after nearly dying in a shipwreck, Alastair scores a job as THE BODYGUARD to the fiery Katherine, who has many enemies.

Alastair stays close to Kitt to protect her and learn her plans on how she will gain control of the disputed lands. However, their proximity leads to a growing love. Still, he is the very enemy that she has sworn a sacred vow of vengeance towards and this doesn't make their chances for a lifetime of happiness seem very possible.

The third novel, starring the popular Blackthorne family, is a well written, very interesting Regency romance. Like its two predecessors (CAPTIVE and AFTER THE KISS), the story line is filled with action and vibrant characters that bring to life early nineteenth century Scotland and England. Fans of the series and historical romances in general will joyfully want to read Joan Johnston's latest fascinating romance.

Harriet Klausner

It was okay...I felt the ending was really rushed. There was such an anti-climactic, abrupt end to such an elaborate story.

Blackthorne forgives and forgets Katherine's lies because his daughters want him to? Katherine forgives and forgets Blackthorne's abandonment of her during her pregnancy and childbirth because she doesn't want to part with her son? Very far-fetched and contrived.

How could Katherine have even contemplated (for one second) bartering her son for her clan? If I were Blackthorne, I would have dumped her for that reason alone!

This was an adequate read, but nothing spectacular.

I've read every single one of her books in the Captive Hearts series (and several of her others) and honestly...this one was really good. I can't believe some people gave it such poor ratings. The Duke of Blackthorne sounds like a dream and Katherine sounds like a beautiful strong willed woman. The book made me laugh a lot too (which is really hard to do). I mean, honestly, b/c of the amnesia, the Duke didn't know that he was actually robbing himself when he broke into his own home! I really wish that Katherine wouldn't have tricked Alex (the Duke) into sleeping with her when he was drunk, so that she could become pregnant. But that was the only part of the story that I disliked. I loved the fact that Katherine didn't just settle for what she knew she could have (the Earl of Carlisle...who appears in book four), but she fights for what is rightfully hers...the land. The ending is fine...obviously they get back together and Joan is going to continue the series. Happy reading!

STORY BRIEF:
Kitt's ancestors owned Castle MacKinnon. The English won the land 50 years earlier and the castle is now owned by the English Duke of Blackthorne. The current Scottish tenants are close to starvation due to the high rents charged by the Duke. Kitt is an only child. Her father makes Kitt promise to marry the Duke of Blackthorne or to get pregnant by him as a way to get the land back into Scottish hands. He then announces that Kitt is to be laird/lady of the clan upon his death. After he dies, the men of the clan want her to marry one of them. She says she needs time to decide, but she keeps secret her plan for the Duke. Meanwhile she is attacked and almost raped by one of the men which would force her to marry him. She decides she needs a bodyguard.

The Duke is traveling by boat to Scotland. Three men were hired to kill him. They beat him, take his clothes, tie his hands and feet, and throw him overboard. He survives and ends up on the beach but has amnesia. He doesn't know who he is or where he came from. He meets a young boy who suggests he speak with a Scottish accent, since the English are hated here. He ends up at Kitt's cottage where he saves her from a rape attack. She asks him to be her bodyguard. He agrees.

REVIEWER'S OPINION - CAUTION SPOILERS:
This was too much like so many other historical romances. I needed something to be special or different. The conflicts didn't work for me. She thinks he is Scottish and tells him she plans to get pregnant by the Duke. After she learns he's the Duke, she starts having sex with him but doesn't tell him who he really is. She's in love with him, but she lies to him. Later he learns who he is, but doesn't let her know he knows. They continue a sexual relationship for a while until he admits to her who he is. Then he shows anger and leaves. Why didn't he show anger before? Then a year goes by, and all of a sudden he forgives her, and they will be together. I'm sorry, but it just didn't work for me.

DATA:
Story length: 402 pages. Swearing language: mild, including religious swear words. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: 4. Total number of sex scene pages: 12. Setting: 1796 Scotland and England. Copyright: 1998. Genre: historical romance.

I have read the previous reviews and was delighted to have the authors comments. What a treat. I had not read either of the preceding books in this trilogy. I had read another JJ book and liked her writing style, so picked this up. It stands very independent of the others and is wonderful in and of itself. The characters are wonderful and humanly flawed. I enjoyed the plot. There was a reason for the paths the book went so it was NOT just another "amnesia" story. The duke certainly evolved during the story and I loved it when he noted things about himself "I wish I had a monogrammed handkerchief", little things that reflected his previous luxurious life. JJ did a great job of letting u glimpse his memories recover. It wasn't just "he has amnesia, he doesn't have amnesia anymore". The ending was a bit abrupt. The final scene happens too quickly and I would have liked more. It couldn't ruin what was a wonderful book and I have looking forward to the sequel. (May even have to find the pre-quel) I do know that this book and this author,with her incredible talent and insight, are on my keeper shelf.

I had trouble rating this one. The first half of the book, had I stopped there (and I was tempted), would have been 2 stars. I found that part rather slow and boring, but I like to be fair, so I hung in there and it got better. By the end I enjoyed the action so I'm giving it 3 stars.

It's the third in the Captive Hearts series (CAPTIVE, AFTER THE KISS, THE BODYGUARD and THE BRIDEGROOM). I did not know that when I bought the book, so it was the first one I read. It's OK as a stand alone though I recognized references to other romances in the story. It is set in Regency-era Scotland, but you wouldn't know the time period unless you followed the clues in the story as she never gives a date (it's post Culloden, clearances period). Katherine MacKinnon's father, as he's dying, names her the head of the MacKinnon clan and makes her promise to trick the duke of Blackthorne into marrying her in order to bear a child who will be heir to the lands and castle taken from the MacKinnons by the British throne and given to the Blackthornes after Culloden.

Katherine's clansmen, however, are not happy about having a woman as their laird, and so she consents to marry any man who can win her and agrees to make him The MacKinnon. When all the men of the clan come after her, some with force, she soon realizes she needs protection and looks for a bodyguard. Who should fall into her lap but the very Duke of Blackthorne, Alastair Wharton, who has survived an attempt on his life and a shipwreck and now has amnesia. Katherine resists the man called "Alex" when she finds they are attracted to each other, that is until she learns (before he does) that he is the duke. She must decide whether to tell him or not, knowing that the truth will damage their growing feelings for each other since she has previously told him her father made her vow to seduce the duke. She told him she would marry the devil himself to restore her clan's lands.

Perhaps Johnston revealed too much of the secret to us too soon, I don't know. But I could see it all coming. I thought Alex's anger at her was a bit over the top and, of course, there were no real conversations that would clear things up. Neither trusted the other. For much of the book I didn't like the hero or heroine. I don't think I ever really warmed to her. And I found much of this historically implausible (an English duke who hadn't been in Scotland in 20 years passing for a Scot, a woman who can't even wield a sword as head of the clan, a duke who travels with few in his entourage so three ruffians can take him, etc.). While she could have given us a picture of clan life and the plaid they wore, etc., she didn't. I prefer my historical romances more authentic to the period.

This book, while interesting in its premise -- the female hero in an unlikely time finding her archrival as a bodyguard and then a lover, has none the qualities that carried it through. The plot was average at best, with a sloppy and unfulfilling resolution. The characters are monotonously good or bad, and all the while entirely single-willed and uninteresting intellectually. The dialogue is somewhat unconvincing, sometimes seemingly contrived. All in all, the book missed it's chance to be something more than a shabby romance -- it could have had a dynamic heroine, or an intricate and twisted story-line, or perhaps even a resolution that lived up to its potential. However, it did not. Instead, it leaves the reader to drudge through a series of "then this happened, then that happened.. " and finally coming to an end of "oh, now would you believe that this happened." This book is not recommended unless the reader is willing to believe whatever fantastical thing any author throws at him (or more likely her in this case).

I have been hooked on her books since the Hawk's Way Series in Desire, but these stories I found myself searching for. The Bodyguard was a great read. As good as all her others in this series. Can't wait for the next ones.