The Border Lord and the Lady by Bertrice Small

By: Unknown on Saturday, November 09, 2013

Title:  The Border Lord and the Lady

Author:  Bertrice Small

Series:  The Border Chronicles #4

Published:  October 6th 2009 by NAL Trade

Page Count:  432

Genre:  Historical Romance

Shelf:  Books I bought

Rating:  ★★★★

  

Synopsis from Goodreads:

From the New York Times bestselling author?the fourth passionate romance in the Border Chronicles series.

Lady Cicely Bowen, daughter of the Earl of Leighton, is sent away by her father when her jealous stepmother threatens her safety. Soon the exiled Cicely becomes best friends with Lady Joan Beaufort, the king?s cousin?and when Joan is married to King James I of Scotland she chooses Cicely as one of the ladies accompany her north?

At the Scot?s court Cicely finds herself pursued by two men?elegant Andrew Gordon, the laird of Fairlee, and Ian Douglas, the laird of Glengorm, a rough-spoken border lord. When Ian kidnaps Cicely just as Andrew is about to propose, the royal court is sent into an uproar. The queen is demanding the return of her friend and the Gordons are threatening to set the border on fire. But the border lord is difficult to tame?and the lady?s heart is even harder to claim.

Adult-content rating: This book contains content considered unsuitable for young readers 17 and under, and which may be offensive to some readers of all ages.

My Review:

Small doesn’t simply describe specific scenes, but rather lays out entire towns and regions. She describes everything in detail while making it part of the action. The tale has many suspenseful moments, while remaining romantic in oh so many ways. She throws twists and turns at the reader, many of which are quite surprising yet all of which add greatly to the growth of the characters and of the storyline itself. Small also does a brilliant job of covering a large amount of time quickly without the reader feeling rushed or that they’re lacking important details.

The characters in this tale are such an intriguing contrast to one another that you can’t help but love them. Each is individually developed in a manner that suits both the historical time period in which they find themselves and their lot in life. A few of the characters stand out as paradoxes, yet are such real people that it heightens the story itself. I love how some of the characters are larger than life. It’s quite apparent that their station in life stokes their egos. Overall, Small shows a deep understanding of the human condition through her brilliant character development.

By the end of this tale the main character definitely has gone through the mill when it comes to love. That said, she has also found the thing we all want in life. The love she has at the end is the kind of love that every girl dreams of. It’s hard fought, hard to come by, hard to accept, yet impossible to live without once you have it. This is a tale of love and loss, and of loving again. Small embodies the time period while keeping you entertained and wanting more.

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