Category: Medieval (1066-1540)

The Rebel Heiress and the Knight by Melissa Oliver

On By TracyIn Blog Tour, Medieval (1066-1540), Middle Ages / Medieval (476-1454), Tracy's Reviews3 Comments

She must marry the knight…

By order of the king!Widow Eleanor of Tallany Castle knows her people are broken by the taxes demanded by King John. So when she’s ordered to marry Hugh de Villiers, a knight loyal to the king, she’s furious—even if he is handsome! As gallant Hugh begins to heal the scars of Eleanor’s abusive first marriage, she’s even more determined to keep her secret: she is the outlaw the king wants to send to the gallows!

Purchase Links:

UK ~ US

Author Bio :

Growing up in Richmond- Upon-Thames, Melissa Oliver used to walk past the old Mills and Boon offices as a teen, and wistfully sigh that one day her dream of writing for them will come true. Amazingly, after all these years, it finally has…& now she can bring all those stories out onto the pages of her books. Melissa lives in south-west London with her gorgeous husband and equally gorgeous daughters, who share her passion for castles, palaces and all things historical.

Social Media Links:

Facebook ~ Twitter

Tracy’s Review:

The Rebel Heiress And The Knight by Melissa Oliver

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars


4.5 stars rounded up.

Lady Eleanor of Tallany has already suffered through a miserable marriage and has no desire to do so again, but when King John orders her to wed his faithful knight, Sir Hugh de Villiers, she has no choice but to comply. She is not happy and determined to keep her new husband at arm’s length and ignorant of her secrets. Since the king is taxing his people into poverty, Eleanor has gone outlaw to provide for them.

Sir Hugh is loyal to King John and at his command he has arrived at Tallany Castle to deliver the king’s message and capture the outlaw as Le Renard. But Eleanor refuses to see him, testing the usually tempered Hugh to his limits. He demands she receive him or he will force the issue. Knowing her time has run out, she agrees to meet with him and he is stunned by the immediate attraction he feels to her and by the hostility radiating from her. They open the king’s missive and are both shocked to learn they are being commanded to marry! How can love grow amid such discord? How can trust thrive when they harbor so many secrets??

I really enjoyed this well written, intriguing story which uses the tried and true enemies to lovers trope with a dash of deception and treason thrown in. Eleanor is a strong character and not always easy to empathize with, but the reader knows her heart is in the right place and Hugh – sigh – he is just a wonderful hero. I did feel like Eleanor’s deception dragged on a little too long and agree with another reviewer who pointed out that the lies do make it hard to believe they were able to fall deeply in love. The book has lies, secrets, treason, warmish love scenes, compromise and finally a heartwarming HEA. I have not read this author before, but I will certainly be on the lookout for her future work! I liked the book and am happy to recommend it!

I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher.



Faye’s Sacrifice by Madeline Martin

On By TracyIn Medieval (1066-1540), Scottish/Highlander, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Faye's Sacrifice (Borderland Rebels, #1)

Faye’s Sacrifice by Madeline Martin

Tracy’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Borderland Rebels, #1

Release Date: June 23, 2020


If you loved Madeline Martin’s Borderland Ladies Series and were sad to see it end – You can now rejoice because she has started a new spinoff series featuring Drake Fletcher and his sisters!!!

After the death of her English father, Faye Fletcher learned several hard truths, foremost is that love is not forever and can’t be trusted. She carefully guards her heart and other than her family, she refuses to love anyone. Thanks to her brother Drake, Faye along with her mother and two sisters; Clara and Kinsey now have a good life and a nice home. Life is comfortable but she wants to contribute and as a beautiful woman, she also learned that she can use her “wiles” to benefit her family, she flirts and charms the local merchants into giving her deals. But her comfortable life is shattered when her Scottish grandfather demands that she marry Ewan Sutherland, she refuses and he kidnaps her!

Ewan Sutherland is the chieftain of the Sutherland clan. A widower, he needs an heir and is negotiating a betrothal with Blair of the Gordan clan when the Ross chieftain approaches him and wants him to honor an agreement, he made years ago with Ewan’s father, an agreement that would see Ewan wed to Ross’ granddaughter. He vaguely remembers Faye and recalls being fond of her. He agrees to meet and is shocked when he learns that Faye has run away. He finds her and promises that he will not force her to marry him and will even help return her to her family. But when Ross finds them, he tells Faye she is free to go but threatens to take her kind and gentle sister Clara. Faye will not let that happen and agrees to marry Ewan as long as the Ross promises to leave her sisters alone.

Ewan learns from his cousin Moiré that his first wife, Lara, killed herself because Ewan didn’t love her and he vows to not repeat that mistake! Faye marries Ewan and learns that she enjoys the physical side of marriage – but Ewan wants more, he wants her heart. Faye likes Ewan, but she can’t let herself love him and falls back on her “wiles” to keep her heart safe. But Ewan is hard to resist and she finds herself falling for him. But before they get their HEA they will have to confront not only their own past hurts, but will have survive a shocking betrayal!

This was a well-written, fast paced story with wonderful characters, steamy love scenes, betrayal, misunderstandings, murder, multiple villains, surprising twists and turns and finally a well deserved HEA complete with an epilogue. I thought this was a great start to the series and while Ewan is no James (Anice’s Bargain) Ms. Martin set the bar high because he is an amazing hero and I can’t wait to see where this series goes from here!!

I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me.