In Bed With A Stranger

Brodick McJames is the lord of a Scottish clan close to the English border in the late 16th century, shortly before the two countries will be united under King James of Scotland. In this situation, he feels that it would be good for his clan if he married an English heiress who will bring with her land from the English side of the border as well as much-needed money. He doesn't really like English ladies because he feels they are superficial and arrogant, but he's willing to make this sacrifice for his clan. The Earl of Warwick has only one legitimate child because his wife was so afraid of childbirth after the birth of her daughter that she refused to share his bed ever again. He has a lover and several children by her, but as bastards they can't inherit and will never be more than servants in his castle. What makes things worse is that he is rarely at home and when he's at court, his castle is ruled by his wife, who hates his mistress and children. So when he arranges a marriage between his legitimate daughter and a 'primitive' Scotsman, his wife sees only one way to spare her daughter an unwanted marriage #and the risks of childbirth#: She blackmails his oldest illegitimate daughter, Anne: If Anne doesn't pretend to be the heiress, she will harm her mother and siblings. Anne sees no other choice and agrees. But when she and Brodick meet and marry, they both find that they can respect and after a while even love their partner. But she doesn't want to risk telling the truth to her husband and her secretive behavior makes it difficult for him to trust her. When Anne's life is at risk and Brodick finds out the truth, will he decide to stand by the bride who lied to him and will cost him the alliance, land and money he arranged the marriage for? This is an intense romance with a lot of erotic tension, interesting and likeable main characters, and a well-researched historic background. I enjoyed it a lot but found the intrigue and that Anne didn't confess the truth to Brodick a bit contrived and thus not always convincing. As a result, the novel is very good but not quite 5 stars. I'd still recommend it and would say it's a lot better than most books in this genre.