Tag: Madeline Martin

Blog Tour – Marin’s Promise – Madeline Martin

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Blog Tour, Middle Ages / Medieval (476-1454), Scottish/Highlander2 Comments

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A LADY WHO WILL DEFEND HER FAMILY AND HER CASTLE…

Lady Marin Barrington, eldest of the Earl of Werrick’s five daughters, is a born protector. Not only has she taken on the role of mistress of the castle and caregiver to her sisters upon their mother’s death, she also acts in her father’s stead while he is serving the king abroad. Dedicated and resolute, failure is never an option for her. So, when a reiver forces his way into the castle, Marin won’t surrender easily and takes it upon herself to kill the usurper. Except plans go awry when passions are awoken and matters get complicated.

A MAN WHO MUST SUCCEED NO MATTER THE COST…

Bran Davidson’s sister is going to be hanged unless he agrees to take Werrick Castle. Ever a pawn in a rich man’s game, Bran has no choice but to force his way into Werrick on behalf of the Scottish Middle March Warden. He quickly discovers getting into the castle is the easy part. Dealing with its mistress, however, will take every ounce of cunning and determination he can muster, especially when she turns his blood to fire.

A PROMISE THAT CHANGES IT ALL…

In a game where desperation and love dictate the lives of many, a simple promise can change the tide of favor and open the door to pleasure and danger alike.

Further Books in Series:

  1. Anice’s Bargain – releasing 6/25/19
  2. Ella’s Desire – releasing 7/30/19
  3. Catriona’s Secret – releasing 8/27/19
  4. Leila’s Legacy – releasing 9/24/19

Vendor Links:

Amazon: http://hyperurl.co/MPamz
Nook: http://hyperurl.co/MPnk
iBooks: http://hyperurl.co/MPib
Kobo: http://hyperurl.co/MPkobo
Print: http://hyperurl.co/MPPrint

Excerpt

July 1333
Brackenhill, England

Lady Marin Barrington was used to attacks from the reivers. As the eldest daughter to the third Earl of Werrick, the English West March Warden, she was even used to acting as his unofficial constable in his absence.

Threat of an impending battle in Berwick had resulted in the earl bringing a majority of his forces with him to go to King Edward’s side. The remaining soldiers looked to her for guidance, to ensure the people within the castle remained properly defended and safe.

The castle had not been breached, not in the last eleven years when the last raid forced them to erect fortified curtain walls so great no marauders could get penetrate them to reach the castle within. Not until this moment.

Marin kept her arrow nocked and pointed toward the dark-haired man below. The blonde girl in his arms did not move. It was that last fact which made Marin’s heart chill.

“Open yer gates,” he shouted.

The army around him was larger than the one remaining to defend the castle. Well over one hundred men. If the gates were opened, her forces would be easily overwhelmed.

“Open yer gates, or I will kill yer sister.” The man leapt from his stocky reiver’s horse and dragged Catriona with him, her hair streaming in the summer wind like a banner of gold.

As soon as his feet hit the ground, Catriona jumped to life, launching her elbow at his face. He jerked hard to the side from the impact but kept his hold on her.

Marin lowered her bow and edged to the castle wall.

“Don’t give in to him, Marin—” Cat opened her mouth to say more, but the reiver snagged her around the waist and pulled her toward him. A knife flashed at his side and pressed to her neck.

He sniffed hard, the way one often did when a blow to their face resulted in a bloody nose. “Open the gate or I will kill her.”

Marin’s heart plunged into her stomach.

Barbara’s Review

OMG!!! What a wonderful beginning to this new series. It is full of action, romance and a cast of characters with whom you will fall in love. Several years ago (11 I think) the Earl of Werrick’s castle was attacked. His wife was raped and left pregnant by one of the reivers. She later died giving birth to the child. Rather than blaming the babe, the Earl and his four daughters loved the little one with all their hearts – looking upon her as the final beautiful gift from their mother. The Earl couldn’t stand the idea of anything ever happening to his beautiful daughters, so he raised them as warriors as well as ladies. Each had a specialty, but they could all fight as well as a man. This series features each of those five daughters. You’ll meet and love all of the sisters in this first book.

Marin, the oldest daughter of the Earl of Werrick, took over the responsibilities for the castle and her siblings when she was very young – at her mother’s death. Her father went into a deep depression and it was all left on Marin’s young shoulders. She didn’t even have time to grieve for her mother because she had to meet everyone else’s needs. Then, once her father somewhat recovered, he took off for the wars and the protection of the castle also fell to Marin. Marin selflessly loved and cared for everybody in the castle – everyone except herself. She never asked for anything for herself – although she did bask in her father’s praise.

Bran Davidson is a border reiver, not because he wanted to be, but because it was the only way he could feed himself and his sister who is all that remains of his sister. He’s not your ordinary reiver though. There is no raping or mistreatment of women by any man in his army. They all know that if that happens, Bran will personally exact swift punishment that ends in their death.

Bran has been forced into capturing the Earl of Werrick’s castle. The man who wants the castle, Kerr, has arrested Bran’s sister and will put her to death if Bran doesn’t do as Kerr wants. Bran hates all rich, privileged men and Kerr certainly fits that bill – Bran has even refused to work for Kerr in the past. Now he has no choice and he intends to succeed – no matter what – because he has to save Ena, his sister.

Bran has been observing the castle for several days and it seems that it is impregnable. Then, he sees one of the young daughters of the castle outside the walls with only a single guard. He dispatches the guard and captures the young girl – and demands that the castle surrender or he will cut the throat of the girl. That threat turns Bran’s stomach, and he’d never do it, but the people in the castle don’t know that.

Marin’s father is off at war – the King needed him – so Marin is in charge of the castle. She has only a small contingent of warriors within the castle walls because her father took most of them with him. She can’t surrender – but can’t win a fight – and she has to protect her sister, so she surrenders the castle even though her sister begs her to let her die and not to surrender the castle.

Bran marches his warriors in and takes over, but he didn’t realize the strength and loyalty of the servants and soldiers in the castle. He finds he has to form an alliance with Marin or he’ll end up killing everybody inside – and he certainly doesn’t want to do that. As Marin and Bran spend time together, work together and get to know each other, an unlikely love grows between them.

I admire Marin and her strength and loving nature, but Bran is a real hero in every sense of the word. He saves Marin’s sisters and servants when he doesn’t have to, he fights to save the castle and he loves Marin beyond all measure.

The romance is real and wonderful and the love scenes are steamy. I just know you’ll love this book as much as I did. I can’t believe I have to wait for the next book, Anice’s Bargain, featuring the second oldest sister. I loved Anice in this book and I just know she’ll be a remarkable heroine – just like Marin.

Author Bio

madeline Martin

Madeline Martin is a USA TODAY Bestselling author of Scottish set historical romance novels filled with twists and turns, adventure, steamy romance, empowered heroines and the men who are strong enough to love them.

She lives a glitter-filled life in Jacksonville, Florida with her two daughters (known collectively as the minions) and a man so wonderful he’s been dubbed Mr. Awesome. All shenanigans are detailed regularly on Twitter and on Facebook.

Madeline loves animals in sweaters, cat videos, and working out (to support her love of wine and Nutella). As she is unable to have pets herself due to allergies, she has acquired a plastic Halloween skeleton named Nick and a small robot named Meccano – both of whom are dressed up regularly by the minions.

She loves connecting with her readers, so feel free to follow her on any one of her social media platforms or send her a message.

Author Social Media Links:

Website: http://madelinemartin.com
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/biji1j
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MadelineMartinAuthor/
Madeline Martin’s Review Clan: https://www.facebook.com/groups/468621526854408/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MadelineMMartin
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/MadelineMartin9/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madelinemmartin/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12062937.Madeline_Martin

Dukes by the Dozen by Various Authors

On By TracyIn Anthology, Author Collaboration Series, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Novella, Tracy's Reviews1 Comment

Dukes by the DozenDukes by the Dozen by Various Authors

Tracy’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Various Series by several authors

Release Date: April 16, 2019

Please Note – I did not have time to read all 13 novellas in this collection – so my review is an average rating of the stories I did read.

WOW – this collection is chocked full of novellas from some of the most wonderful HR authors writing today! I sadly did not have time to read all the stories (but I will go back and finish!), but for the money, even if you only get to read a couple – it will be money well spent!

The Difference a Duke Makes by Elizabeth Essex – 4 stars – When Commander Lord Marcus Beecham returns to England after ten years at sea, he never expected to learn that he was now the Duke of Warwick. Marcus is not happy about this turn of events and when his mother presses for him to marry, he escapes to the country. But to make his mother think he is cooperating, he agrees to attend an event at his neighbor. He feels out of place and heads to the library for a reprieve. To his surprise and delight, he is not left alone – Penelope Pease enters – his childhood friend and if the rumors are true, the girl that refused his brother’s marriage proposal. Penelope is happy to see “Beech” and proceeds to tell him of her sordid past with his brother – a past that has lead to her complete and utter ruin. Beech feels comfortable for the first time since returning to England, she doesn’t try to toady up and is not put off by his missing arm, she just treat him like a man and right then and there, he decides that Penelope is the perfect duchess for him – but can he convince her? Sweet story, warmish love scenes, likeable leads and a HEA – but it did feel a bit rushed.

Discovering the Duke by Madeline Martin – 5 stars – Julia Sinclair, the Duchess of Stedton is on her way to a house party, where she will see her husband again for the first time since their very awkward wedding night a few weeks ago. Julia married William after a whirlwind courtship with the hope of finding happiness and to escape her father’s house, but those hopes were shattered when she found a note the morning William rushed away to see his “Maribel” the morning after they wed. She has decided that she cannot live a life as a complacent wife as her mother did and will tell William that she wants to live separate lives. William hated having to rush off the morning after their less than perfect wedding night, he loves Julia, but his father’s horse Maribel was ill and she is the last link he has to his family who all perished in a fire. He expects Julia to be upset – but he is absolutely floored to learn she wants to leave him! He tells her who Maribel is and convinces her to give them a chance to get to know each other before any plans for the future are made. This was a well written, fast paced story with two flawed people, steamy love scenes, a lot of emotion and a very sweet HEA.

How to Ditch a Duke by May McGoldrick – 5 stars – Lady Taylor Fleming is a heiress in her own right who has given up hope of ever finding love. When a carriage accident leads to an encounter with Franz Aurech, the Duke of Bamberg, Taylor is stunned to realize that she is attracted to him. When she later learns that he is penniless, on the hunt for a rich wife and that her father offered her up on a silver platter, she bolts. Franz is not broke and he is very interested in the beautiful, bold woman he met on the road – but he can’t seem to pin her down! As luck (or fate) would have it, he learns that she is hiding out in the highlands with his good friend Dermot McKendry, he wastes no time running her to ground. Taylor wants no part of a marriage to a groom seeking fortune, she has learned more about Bamberg and has convinced herself that he will take her money and leave her to rot in his castle in Bavaria – no thank you! She avoids him at every turn and escapes to visit her dearest friend Lady Millie – only to learn that he will be arriving shortly. Millie encourages her to talk to him and then conspires with Dermot to trap them alone long enough to talk – but their plan goes awry when Millie goes into labor. This was a fantastic short story with two wonderful leads, some misunderstandings, steamy love scenes, love at first sight and MILLIE & DERMOT!!

Duke in Search of a Duchess by Jennifer Ashley – 5 stars – Augustine Ferrand, the Duke of Ashford likes order, he needs order, it is how he copes. So when his children inform him that he is too rigid and needs a wife, he is stunned. When he learns that the children have asked his widowed neighbor Helena Courtland to help him, stunned takes a backseat to anger and horror. He tells Helena in no uncertain terms that he is not in need of a wife and even if he was, he would never ask for her help. Unfazed by his outburst, Helena proceeds to tell him her plan to find him a wife. She also suggests he take a trip to the country and spend sometime with his children. Later he learns that he is not needed in Parliament and decides that he will go to his country seat – mainly to get away from Helena. Helena learns of the trip and makes plans to visit her friend who lives close by his estate – she is more determined than ever to marry him off! Let the battle of the wills commence! This was a great addition to the collection and I loved it – it is well written, well paced, believable and entertaining, with great characters, warm love scenes and a great HEA.

Dear Duke by Anna Harrington – 4.5 stars – This was a cute adaptation of “You’ve Got Mail” Cora Bradley is the daughter of a grist mill owner and John Daniels is the new Duke of Monmouth. John wants to build a canal which will ruin the mill, he offers to buy the mill for far more than it is worth, but is turned down flat by the beautiful but annoying Cora. John struggles with his inheritance, he never expected to be a duke and feels like an imposter, building the canal is important to him, it makes him feel useful and needed – but if he can’t convince Cora to let go of the mill, the entire project will fail. Cora is returning from the duke’s house when she finds an old ring – clearly not a priceless piece, but definitely priceless to the person who lost it – she writes a note and pins it to a tree with the ring – this begins the exchange of notes – John found the note and the ring and replies – they share so much in those notes, everything except their names. When John suggests they meet – she is torn, but goes anyway. He learns who she really is and wonders how they can move forward with the mill problem between them – but help comes from an unexpected source and the reader is treated to a very sweet HEA. This was a cute story, well written and well paced, staying true to the theme, without completely copying it.

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