The Wedding

Just imagine. It is the early 12th century in the Scottish Highlands and you've just had a row with your husband, your very new husband. He's taking off for an undefined amount of time and doesn't even bother to say goodbye. You whisper your adieu to him and you take your leave, heartbroken, feeling unwanted and alone. As you walk up the hill, you suddenly feel the ground shaking and others are rushing to get off the path in front of you. Before you can face the impending danger, you are plucked from the ground and swept up onto your husband's horse, his hand tight around your waist as you gallop at a breakneck speed. At the top of the incline, he stops his stallion, stares into your eyes and whispers his farewell. And then he kisses show more you, long and hard.....a kiss both you and he will never forget. Just imagine. Your new husband has just swept you off your feet.

This is but one of my favourite parts in this enjoyable tale. Julie Garwood has a talent for shaping unforgettable characters. She lets you think their thoughts and feel their emotions until you believe you are there with them.....a secondary character yourself....a member of the clan. I really delighted in the heroine's character, Brenna. She was a sweet romantic at heart, yet she was strong, determined and out-spoken when she needed to be. Her quirky flaw of forgetting her personal belongings all over the place made her more real and endearing to me. Brenna was going to make her marriage work, and that was one outstanding feat, for Connor MacAlister is one formidable, unemotional Highlander. And the fact that he stole her as she was making her way to her wedding to another Highlander is no easy fact to get over. Connor's past has shaped his actions and his need for revenge is no secret. But he is an honourable man. Yet his English bride Brenna manages to tap upon his heart, little by little breaking down his hard exterior, reaching into his soul and releasing the love he has for her. Brenna makes Connor realize that loving someone does make him vulnerable, yet it doesn't make him less of a man. A great story and perfect read for the summer. show less

This is not one of my favourites of the Garwood books. I felt the two main characters didn't have the usual chemistry and the lead man was TOO hard and bitter. I don't mind if that is part of the character but it was overkill here in my opinion. But on the bright side, I enjoyed his seconds in command. Too bad there wasn't a story about Quinlan and Faith. He seemed like a fun character!

Through the beginning was wonderful, the plot and the dialog after the first 3 or 4 chapters felt rushed and some scenes I felt needed elaboration. I got the sense that she was just churning out another story for the masses without putting as much soul into it as she has with many of her other novels.

I am not really sure how to rate this book.
It's just such a misogynistic time in history so for our Hero to be like this is in some ways makes it accurate but at the same time it's not how I want a Hero to be.
He does soften towards her and change to a certain extent but some of the scenes esp at the beginning are not so pleasant.
It is certainly not as good as the 1st book in the series.

I enjoyed this (& loved that Jamie and Alec were a part of it), but I wasn’t a fan of the villain plot as it didn’t feel as though Connor and Brenna really had enough time together on the page.

English Lady Brenna is on her way to marry the Scot to whom her father has betrothed her when her traveling party is overtaken by painted Highlanders intent on kidnapping her. She is summarily married off to the leader of the group, Connor, whom she had last met when she was a young child and a bit of a hellion. Quickly determined to make the best of her new situation, she determines to make a decent life for herself, her new husband, and his men. Connor is reluctant to let Brenna know the full extent behind his decision to steal her and marry her and he butts heads with her with almost every decision she makes. The sparring between the two main characters does ratchet up the tension in the book and made it a bit unbelievable that the show more headstrong Brenna would far so quickly and completely for her rigidly controlling husband. But there is enough give and take that this is ultimately a minor quibble. The resolution of Connor obsession is widely foreshadowed in this book so the climax and ending are both not terribly surprising but Garwood gets her characters to their required places with finesse. I enjoy Scottish settings and even though the revenge motive in romances is one that generally doesn't resonate with me, this one was a pleasant enough interlude in my reading. show less

This was a thoroughly enjoyable book, mostly because of the abundance of humor. I found my self laughing out loud at times. Brenna the English lady who is kidnapped and wed to Scottish Laird Connor Mac Alister is a hoot. She never gives up in her attempts to tame him, with her forgetfulness and soft heartedness she wins the hearts of his clan while she still struggles to engage him. Her antics and schemes are hillarious and not understood by Mac Alister most of the time. He thinks she is a scatter brained flighty piece of fluff. His troops recognize her as a woman who thinks like a man. This must be because she was raised as the youngest of 8 with many older brothers who liked to teach her things.