"An engaging historical romance"

In 1420 Scotland, Lord MacLean ties his wife Mary to a rock to die when the tide comes in. Nurse Siobhan Campbell curses the MacLeans insisting no woman will ever replace Mary.

In 1511 Uncle Ansys Campbell informs his orphaned niece Felicia that the King demands she marry brutal Morreth. She refuses, but acts compliant because she knows her only way out is to flee.

Rory MacLean has returned home after years at sea because his clan needs him. His men decide he needs a wife so they abduct a woman they think is Janet Cameron. Felicia realizes what has happened and pretends to be her friend Janet because she does not want to be returned to her uncle. Rory is irate with his men for the kidnapping especially since he has vowed to never marry again since his first two spouses died because he believes of the curse. Felicia works every ruse to stay until she can escape, but soon she and her host fall in love. She knows she owes him the truth that she is a member of his enemy clan while he rejects marriage because he refuses to place the woman he loves in jeopardy.

This is an engaging historical romance with a touch of the supernatural or perhaps a belief fostered by coincidence (read to learn which). Rory is a terrific hero who feels like a fish out of water, but finds wanting to become a landlubber. The support cast adds depth, but the fun sixteenth century novel belongs to the courageous Felicia who refuses to let a monarch, a guardian, a stubborn beloved, or a curse stop her from obtaining her desire.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted August 28, 2004

Summary

Broken by an old curse that has claimed his two previous brides, Rory Maclean has spent the last eight years away at sea. Now, he returns home to broker a peace between the feuding Macleans and Campbells—and risks it all by letting the enemy into his heart.