7Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Series: The Sutherlands of Dornoch Castle #3
Publication Date: 5/6/22
Period: Jacobean/Stuart Era (1656) – Scottish Highlands
Number of Pages: 193

Lady Elsbeth Johnstone has been restless and feeling useless for the last couple of years. Now, she’s finally decided what to do about it – she’s going to become a nun. Three years ago (To Deceive a Highlander) Elsbeth’s father betrothed her to Laird Haydon Sutherland, but he scared her to death, so her twin sister Ainslee changed places with Elspeth and married Sutherland instead. Now, Ainslee and Haydon are blissfully happy and Elsbeth has been living with them at Dornoch Castle. Then, Elsbeth began to develop tender feelings for Haydon’s brother Conall even though Conall loved every woman he saw and swore he’d never marry – until he did (To Marry a Highlander). Now, there are two strong women living in the castle and Elsbeth feels there is no place for her. She’ll never marry unless she can have what her sister Ainslee and Maura (Conall’s wife) have with their husbands. Since no man she’s ever met stirs the slightest feeling within her, she’ll become a nun where she can do good for others. Now, to convince Haydon and her sister to allow her to go to Perth to join the nunnery there.

Laird Duncan Grant doesn’t want his two neighboring clans to form an alliance through marriage – nor does he want to go to the trouble to search for a bride. So, the easy answer is to just steal the bride who is to seal the alliance between those neighboring clans. He’ll actually be doing the woman a favor because the man she is set to marry is a brute. So, he’ll kidnap her, bring her back to his castle and marry her. Yep – problem solved. Until – they kidnap the wrong lass. OOPS!

The attraction between Elsbeth and Duncan is immediate, but both are stubborn and set on their goals – for her, it is to become a nun, and for him, it is to never, ever, love his wife because it killed his father. Can they give up their stubbornness and find happiness with each other? What happens when her father shows up in Perth with her betrothed in tow? The man is odious – but – the contracts are signed. Will Elsbeth once again become the obedient daughter and do her father’s bidding?

This was a fun, entertaining read and I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. The characters are lovely – and the ending is smile-worthy – and there is a nice setup for the next book as well.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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