Customer Reviews

Border Moonlight

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

 

 

You could call Lady Sibylla Cavers the original runaway bride. Lady Sibylla had already left three men at the altar, one of the men being Simon Murray, Laird of Elishaw. Sibylla's feels quickly change for Simon when together they rescue a little girl from drowning in the river. Just because Sibylla sees Simon differently does not mean she is ready to become his wife.

Simon still feels a little embarrassed and his ego bruised from Sibylla's rejection of him. He won't admit that to her. The longer Sibylla and Simon keep company with each other, the more intense the passion between them increases. Neither one of them wanting to give an inch but they just might have to band together. A battle may erupt when Border activities arise and could disrupt Scotland's truce with England.

I found Sibylla and Simon to be very likeable characters. I admire females who are strong and independent like Sibylla. Simon being a Lord could have been stuck up but he wasn't. He was nice, dashing and caring. Border Moonlight is the second book I have read now by author, Amanda Scott. She writes Scottish novels. She is great at her craft. She brings her characters to life in her books in addition to having the perfect romantic setting...Scotland. You can't go wrong with an Amanda Scott novel.

I finally gave up on this book. I have a fairly disciplined rule of never not finishing a book, but I just could not find the enjoyment in this one. The hero seemed like a mommie's boy with no back bone and I kept waiting for the spark or tension to occur between the characters. I enjoy history lessons and learning new things and I even don't mind language that is different, but it just never got me interested. Kudo's to all who have finished the book

This third book of the Border series focuses on Simon Murray, a gruff man who is now the head of his clan. Years before, he was left at the altar by Lady Sibylla Cavers, and he swore to never forgive her. When he helps her rescue a couple of drowning children, both of them realize that things have changed since that ill-fated day.

I was looking forward to Border Moonlight and it didn't disappoint. We finally get to see Simon for the man he is, not just the scary older brother of Meg and Amy (whom we met in the previous two novels). And Lady Sibylla is an interesting character herself. Watching the two clash as they struggle to hide their growing affection for each other was fun and you can't help but root for them both. I hope there will be a fourth novel soon.

Niki Lee
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Border Moonlight is a historical romance novel that gives you a fairly realistic sense of border life. The Author's attention to detail and the authenticity of the time period is a nice treat. I have to admit that the use of Scottish some language and their way of speaking is a significant interruption to the flow of the story and I found it necessary to stop frequently and re-read sentences so that I could figure out a particular word's meaning. The pacing is fairly good, other then the `language' issue. The characters are very likable and well developed. I really enjoyed the interactions between Sibylla and Simon, they are a feisty couple.
I would have liked this book to have had a more romantic feel and I really think that the author could have marketed this book, with a little more development, as historical fiction, not as a historical romance novel.

(6 out of 10 Diamonds) - I enjoyed it


© 2008-2009 Bobbie Crawford-McCoy (Book Reviews By Bobbie).
All rights reserved.

I enjoy Amanda Scott's historicals. Not that I'm an expert on Medieval Scottish history or culture, but she appears to have done a great deal of research. At times, I get bogged down in the politics and convoluted intrigues. Otherwise, I really like reading how Scottish/English (hence the "Border" in so many of her titles) nobles lived their day to day lives. And I really, really like that I was born in modern times. :-)

Her books are Romance but very sedate as far as sex scenes go. Scott really seems to writes her characters as people of their time. So her heroes do not fall into the Enlightened Man category and while they may mellow a bit by the end of the book, they still see women as subservient to men and under their control. Scott's heroines are intelligent, often very bold, even pushy women who chafe under society's restrictions but they understand that there are limits to how much they can do as they would like. So they work within those limits to achieve their goals.

In Border Moonlight, gutsy Sybilla (from ages 14 - 16 she refused three marriages her father arranged) ends up getting to know one of her rejected bethrotheds a few years after leaving him at the alter. As she comes to see a different, kinder side to Simon's cold, domineering ways, he begins to appreciate her intelligence and ingenuity. There is give and take as the relationship develops and as they face a variety of threats to their happiness, holdings and even lives.

It was nice to see the two characters grow and change both as individuals and in their interactions with each other. I found Border Moonlight an enjoyable read about two very likable people who build a relationship and strategy for survival in a challenging environment.

BORDER MOONLIGHT
AMANDA SCOTT
Historical Romance
Hachette
Sensuality rating: Spicy

Rating: 3.5 Enchantments

Lady Sibylla Cavers is a woman who knows what she wants, or rather what she does not want. She has rejected three men at the altar and she had no problem doing it. She will not be married to a man that she does not like.

Laird Simon Murray was one of the men that Lady Sibylla has rejected. At first he took it personally but eventually he learned that she is just a stubborn woman who will do whatever she wants with no regards to other people.

Lady Sibylla knows that she only has a limited time left with her family. Her father has given up on her getting married and has told her simply that after she helps her sister marry she is to find elsewhere to live. She has accepted this with no problem because that is better than living with a man she can't stand. When she was out for a ride she heard a child calling for help. What she finds is a child about to drown in the river. She does not even hesitate when she rides into the rapid current to save her. What she was not expecting was to fall in and almost drown herself. The child's frantic cries are then heard by more random bystanders who must come in and rescue her and the child. She has no idea that her hero will be none other than one of her past ex suitors for her hand in marriage. She rejected him once, how can she reject him again without seeming rude? Or will she find that her original judgment was quite haste and he is a rather good man?

BORDER MOONLIGHT started off great. I loved the beginning! A woman who was not afraid to stand up for herself and not be bullied into a marriage with a person she cannot honestly stand. I thought that Sibylla was a strong minded woman which was rare for this time period. But what I found was she was quite whinny and did whatever she wanted no matter who got in the middle of it. She had no regard for other people and their feelings. It got annoying fast. Simon was a hero without a back bone. He drove me nuts. He could not stand up for himself and he was constantly letting others affect his opinions and viewpoints. I felt the characters did not click and did not have that spark that I like my books to have. There could have been more of an attraction whether it was physical or spiritual. But the hardest part of reading this story was the language. I understand it was specific to the time period but I had a heck of a time trying to understand what the author was trying to say. I would quite often have to read things out loud to try to figure out what it was saying. This was a good historical romance and definitely worth reading but not one that I would keep on my shelf.

Amanda Scott has many historical books out including her popular Border series. [...]

Jennifer
ENCHANTING REVIEWS
MAY 2009

I know Amanda Scott, and have nearly all her books. I felt this one is one of her best. The conflict between the two characters is marvelous! And the Scottish history within, which I do know a lot about, puts me right back into bonnie Scotland. Three cheers for Amanda!

Compared to the first two in this series, this book was boring. There were no 'sparks' between the main characters and absolutely no action. Quite dull actually. As for Simon, I couldn't like him after how horrible he was in the first two books.

Ms. Scott has shown that she is a master storyteller with the ability to create a storyboard that spans three books, and provides the reader with a unique experience to the very the end. What I appreciated about this book is she didn't give the reader the typical "highland canna/dinna" book, her characters were Scots of the Borders/Lowlands and the reader knew that because of the language. Her command of the syntax of the Scots language was exceptional, and though at times it did bog the story down a bit, it also added so much texture to the telling of the tale that it was wonderful feast of language.

She provides the reader with a heroine who has believable internal and external conflicts right up front that the reader can identify with right from the beginning. Sibylla is a headstrong and opinionated lass but not a shrew, and Ms Scott gave her a hero who set out not to tame but to enjoy all those traits that made her who she was and to be the man for her. Sibylla, of the three in the series, is the one who is quiet in her actions but in the end she must be heard, much to the frustration and love of her hero. And though it did take her hero a while to listen/understand her, his journey, for the reader was a delight. In his quiet way he knows she is the one woman who was his equal. I thought of the three stories in this series, this couple complimented each other the best and would love to see them reappear again in the future books.

Along with the Romance she provides the reader with a mystery both from within and without and ties up all the loose ends in a satisfyingly and realistic way. Bottom line there are a lot of Scottish romances out there, with most set in the highlands, but no one has a grasp on the lore, love and the true history of Borders of Scotland like Ms Scott. When you read her books you are there with each scene.

It is nice to know this last book in the trilogy has the ability to stand-alone so well. But if you are new to Ms Scott's Border trilogy you may want to read them in order: ...BORDER WEDDING, BORDER LASS and BORDER MOONLIGHT. Can't wait to see what Ms. Scot has in store for the reader in her next Scottish Border trilogy.

In 1386 Edinburgh, at the altar, fourteen years old Sibylla Cavers says no to a marriage to ancient Lord Galston. A year later she is at the altar where she meets her latest groom for the first time, but says no again when he cannot even smile; he vows vengeance for her impudence. Two years later she informs her irate frustrated father Sir Malcolm she will not marry his third choice who spends all his time with his men. Her father writes her off and plans to arrange his next oldest daughter's marriage, praying she is more biddable.

In 1391, Sibylla is riding alone when she hears a child's scream. She sees the lass drowning in the nearby river and makes a gallant attempt to rescue the young lass from the current, but is hurt in the unsuccessful process. Laird Simon Murray returning home accompanied by a small contingency saves her while his men rescue the child. He takes the injured Sibylla home even as both recognize one another from her jilting him at the altar over three years ago. As they become better acquainted with one another, they fall in love, but trouble on the border appears ready to divide clans in a potentially ferocious war.

This is an exciting Border romance with plenty of action as strife seems everywhere starting with an abduction. The story line is fast-paced from the opening moment when the intrepid Sybilla says no to the priest in front of her father and others and never slows down until the final clan confrontation. Amanda Scott fans will enjoy her latest medieval romance starring a brave female and the arrogant laird in a terrific historical gender war.

Harriet Klausner