I decided to depart from my usual Paranormal Romance and Fantasy genres and read a Scottish Historical Romance. I haven't read one in years. I have enjoyed Mary Wine’s Historical Romances before so I chose one she wrote.

One of the things I like about Mary Wine is that she blends actual history with the story which makes it a little more realistic. What wasn't realistic was the plot that was schemed up by the evil mistress.

An earl in England married a noblewoman who gave him a girl child but refused to bed him ever again because she was so afraid of dying in childbirth. He took a leman who gave him many other children. His wife grew bitter and hateful and raised their legitimate child to be spoiled and hateful like her.

The earl spent a lot of time at Court and so did their daughter, Mary. He married her off by proxy to a Scottish earl named Brodick McJames.

Mary was scared to death to have sex or a child ever, especially with a will Scot so she cried to her mother who came up with a scheme. She would send the eldest daughter of the leman in her place. When Anne became pregnant, she would return home to give birth. If it was a boy, Mary would claim it and she could take Anne's place. The dumb Scot wouldn't even notice the difference in the two. He could get a leman and Mary would be off the hook for sex.

I rolled my eyes and almost quit reading but I gave into the cheesy ridiculousness and read on. And I liked it!

I'm going to see what other trouble the McJames Clan gets into in the next book. ( )

It was a pretty good book and I agree with many of the comments here about the plot holes. I also thought I would never say this, but I thought the sex scenes in the middle of the book didn't add to the story and I flipped through them! I liked the ending, even if it was too neatly tied up. I look forward to the next in the series. ( )

In Bed with a Stranger
3.5 Stars

As the illegitimate daughter of the Earl of Warwickshire, Anne Copper is forced to serve at the pleasure of his vicious and bitter wife. When the Earl’s legitimate daughter is promised in marriage to a Scottish noble, Anne is coerced into taking her place. As passion draws Anne and Brodrick together, the malicious machinations of a twisted mind strive to tear them apart …

A steamy romance with a solid plot premise and a wicked stepmother type villainess who is enough to make your skin crawl.

Anne and Brodrick are a sweet couple and the author manages to avoid the silly misunderstanding trope that so often emerges from the mistaken identity storyline. That said, Anne’s character comes across as somewhat wishy-washy. There are moments when she exhibits an independent will and a strong backbone, but this is subsequently undermined by an uncharacteristic timidity and diffidence.

The basic plot is entertaining although there are a couple of problematic areas such as the contrived circumstances that keep Anne and Brodrick apart toward the end of the book, the unresolved plot threads, i.e., what happens to Philipa’s evil henchman, and Anne’s sister, Bonnie, and the rather anti-climactic ending where Brodrick just waltzes into the house with absolutely no resistance whatsoever.

The secondary characters are intriguing and the hints at Cullen and Bronwyn’s book are enticing, so I will be continuing with the series.

On a final note, the book contains several explicit scenes that may not appeal to some readers of historical romance. However, fans of Elizabeth Hoyt will probably enjoy this aspect of the story. ( )