26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good historical romance, July 30, 2005
LORD OF THE ISLES by Amanda Scott
July 30, 2005
Amazon rating 4/5
LORD OF THE ISLES by Amanda Scott is a historical romance set in Scotland in the late 1300's. Lord Hector Reganoch, Lord of Lochbuie, finds himself out in a thunderstorm and goes to the home of Lord Macleod and his many daughters, seeking shelter. He meets the lovely Mariota, the second oldest daughter, and he falls in love with her. Unfortunately, when he asks to take her as his wife, Macleod tells Reganoch that he cannot allow this. Because of superstition, his oldest daughter must marry first.
Christina is not as fair as the lovely Mariota, and has not had many men attracted to her as Mariota has, but she would make a good wife. She is eighteen years old and is ready to start a family of her own. She already takes care of her father and her sisters, with the help of Lady Euphemia, her father's sister. But all this does nothing to impress Hector. He insists on marrying Mariota.
So, Macleod and the rest of the family (excluding Mariota, who has shown no interest in the man) help create a deception, and Hector ends up marrying Christina, while drunk. The two share the wedding bed that night, and by morning, Hector knows he cannot annul this marriage that he was tricked into. He still yearns for the beautiful Mariota, but does not know what to do now that he's legally married to the older sister.
Christina had fallen in love with Hector on first sight, but she feels that he will never love her, since he loves Mariota. But what Christina does not know is that Hector is slowly getting to know Christina and Mariota, and is realizing that there is a lot more to a marriage than staring at a very beautiful face. And while Christina is not as beautiful as her sister, he sees qualities in her that are deeper than mere beauty, and finds that he is falling in love with his wife.
Mariota in the meantime is now set on annulling her sister's marriage so she can marry Hector, a man she had no interest in until he married Christina. Obviously, she wants what she can't have. This is one crazy woman, as the reader will find out.
While it took me a while to get into the story, once the story was set up the novel started to pick up. The book was a lot of fun, and the author did a good job creating such diverse characters such as the various Macleod sisters. One thing I enjoy about historical romances is the backdrop, and the beauty of Scotland stands out. I would definitely read more of this series (I think this is a series). THE LORD OF THE ISLES is recommended to fans of historical romances with a bit of humor in them.
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Crags, Mors, Sea mists, Scottish Lords and their Ladies..., December 27, 2005
Any good story is best told by the author, and not retold by the reviewer. The best that I can do is highlight some of the elements that make LORD OF THE ISLES a five-star read.
#1 - The story takes place in the 14th Century -- an era in which fans of historical fiction do not often get to read about... a fantastic time in Scottish history. This is a time when the kingship of Scotland was coming to the Stewarts, and Ms. Scott explains how that came to be. Fascinating stuff, considering there were older Celtic families still in the mix.
#2 - Her prose is that of a classic story-teller, and one that can be appreciated by fans of literature. The standard "romance" formula does not apply here, and that is really quite nice, considering that many people are very frustrated with the new "standardized" romance books.
#3 - Rich in history, but not so overdone that it bogs the story down. The characters' personalities come through and are well defined without long amounts of dialog or narrative. Pacing is perfect.
#4 - Excellent plots, mixing historical facts and events with the internal turmoil of the characters. Life is, for all of us, something to be experienced in good times and bad... consistency and change... and we grow from those experiences. The same is true of the characters and events in LORD OF THE ISLES - and it comes across quite well.
Let me boil this down... LORD OF THE ISLES is an easy, enjoyable read, but it also suspenseful, intriguing and exciting. It's a book you'll be glad you picked up.
www.catherinescott.net
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Disappointment, May 10, 2007
With a strong beginning, the story promises to be enticing, well written and solid. As the story progress though, both characters, although well defined in the first few chapters, slowly begin to disintegrate and the reader is left with too much meaningless dialog which both weakens and undermines the once strong characters. It's also a little hard to believe that a warrior as powerful and savvy as Lord Hector could be duped in the manner he was (did not want to reveal the story line here for new readers). There are solid secondary characters, such as Isobel and her Aunt, but in the end, it all becomes too convoluted and busy and the core of the once promising story, is all but lost. I couldn't help but think what Julie Garwood could have done to improve this once promising story!
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