Series: Borderland Ladies, #1
Tropes & Traits: enemies to lovers
Genre/Setting: Historical, Medieval; English/Scottish border
Publication Date: 5.28.19
Heat Level: 4/5
Rating: 4 stars, one of my favorite heroes
Since her mother's death Lady Marin Barrington has served as mistress of her father, the Earl of Werrick's castle, as the eldest of his five daughters. She also takes command of the castle when her father is away serving the king. When a reiver forces his way into the castle during one of her father's absences, Marin plays the part of gracious loser all the while plotting ways to kill him. Except, when she finds herself presented with the opportunity, in the most intimate of moments, she discovers a primal connection with Bran and can't bring herself to go through with killing him.Bran Douglas is sick of reiving and being used as a pawn in other, more powerful men's wars, but with his sister's life on the line, he has no choice but to take Werrick Castle for the Warden of the Scottish Middle March. He had issues gaining access to the castle, but handling its mistress is a different story altogether. When an attempt on his life causes him to lock Marin in the dungeons, Marin devises an escape that inadvertently puts her family in danger so she promises to marry Bran and smooth his way at Werrick Castle in exchange for his help in saving her family.
Bran amazed me with his naivete and surprise at the lack of cooperation he received from the castle's inhabitants, including Marin. What exactly was he expecting?? I certainly didn't like Bran at first, especially when he was still talking about how attractive he found Marin's sisters, then happily headed to bed with Marin. This didn't exactly endear him to me, on top of his taking her castle, even if he was trying to protect his sister and was really a good man.
I did love that Marin and her sisters had been trained for battle as sons would've been. As much as I didn't like him at first, Bran really grew on me about halfway through the book. It did bother me that Bran wasn't honest with Marin sooner about his reasons for attacking the cast in the first place, but she wasn't exactly honest with him either and that was yet another factor that made this story more realistic. It was nice to see Bran and Marin's relationship develop and them grow to rely on each other and work as a team. I'm not sure what witchcraft was worked here but I went from not liking Bran and not being all that into this book at first to loving it and ranking Bran as one of my favorite heroes now. If you're not thrilled with it at first, definitely stick with it because I wound up really enjoying it and not being able to put it down.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2798526683?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
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