The Knight’s Pledge by Heather Grothaus

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Sons of Scotland, #4

Release Date: March 3, 2022

**To be clear – I am giving this 4 stars for the MYSTERY – the ROMANCE is a 0 star for me and be warned, this review is slightly spoilerish**

Picking up shortly after the end of the previous book and still suffering from the injury he sustained from the outlaw Effie, Sir Lucan Montague finds himself once again in her presence. This time she wants him to take her to London to see the King and doesn’t intend on taking “No” for an answer.

Effie Annesley was raised as Euphemia Hargrave, a distant relative to Vaugh and Caris Hargrave, but when she learns the truth of her birth and the evil of the Hargraves, she bolts and tries to get Lucan to go with her to the King. But lost in his own grief, Lucan is cruel to Effie and turns her away. With nowhere to go, Effie forges her own path and falls in with a group of outlaws. Now 15 years later, Effie has denounced her noble upbringing and lived a new life, one where she falls in love has a son, and diligently works to right the wrongs the Hargraves have wrought. But when the enemy she thought she conquered rises from the dead and takes her son, Effie will do whatever is necessary to get him back – even work with Lucan. But once they meet with the King, they learn getting her son back won’t be as easy as they hoped – If Effie wants her son back and if Lucan has any hope of regaining his title and lands from the crown, then they will have to do as King Henry ordered and work together to bring in her father and wanted man, Thomas Annesley.

This is the final installment of the Sons of Scotland Series, which follows Thomas, Lord Annesley, and his flight after the death of his betrothed, Cordelia Hargrave, the night before their wedding. Each book in the series has furthered the mystery of what happened that fateful night and has introduced the reader to the children he fathered during his life as a fugitive. In this story, we learn that Cordelia was actually with child when she died – Effie – who is delivered by Caris via cesarean. This book will finally give readers the truth of what happened the night Cordelia died and will also deliver a mind-blowing twist. And while the mystery was well-done and wraps up with a very satisfying ending, the romance was a complete wall-banger for me. I cannot believe that Effie and Lucan are in love, especially when she is professing her love to the father of her child at the 90% mark of this book – a man she professed to love earlier in the book, right before she slept with him – yeah – nothing says romance like a heroine who sleeps with a man who is not the hero. So, two things to know; one – you should not read this book as a standalone title, you will be confused and frustrated and two – do not read this as a romance, read it as a mystery, it will make your reading experience much better if you do.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*