Genre: Historical Romance
Series: The Montgomerys and Armstrongs #1
Publication Date: September 25, 2012
ISBN: 978-0345533234
Page Count: 352 Rating: ★★★★
Review Copy: Advance Readers Copy
Synopsis: This sinfully sexy new romance from Maya Banks features a remarkable woman whose rare gift teaches a gruff Scottish warrior how to listen with his heart.
Eveline Armstrong is fiercely loved and protected by her powerful clan, but outsiders consider her “touched.” Beautiful, fey, with a level, intent gaze, she doesn’t speak. No one, not even her family, knows that she cannot hear. Content with her life of seclusion, Eveline has taught herself to read lips and allows the outside world to view her as daft. But when an arranged marriage into a rival clan makes Graeme Montgomery her husband, Eveline accepts her duty—unprepared for the delights to come. Graeme is a rugged warrior with a voice so deep and powerful that his new bride can hear it, and hands and kisses so tender and skilled that he stirs her deepest passions.
Graeme is intrigued by the mysterious Eveline, whose silent lips are ripe with temptation and whose bright, intelligent eyes can see into his soul. As intimacy deepens, he learns her secret. But when clan rivalries and dark deeds threaten the wife he has only begun to cherish, the Scottish warrior will move heaven and earth to save the woman who has awakened his heart to the beautiful song of a rare and magical love.
REVIEW
~Then silent tears fast flowing
When someone stood beside
A hand upon my shoulder
I knew the touch was kind
He drew me near and nearer
We neither spoke one word
But the beating of our own two hearts
Was the only sound I heard~
(This is a verse from 'I Wandered by a Brookside' by Eva Cassidy and I thought the words fit this particular story rather nicely.)
A swoon-worthy hero and a brave and determined heroine.
This was a very enlightening read. The first time I've read a book with a deaf main character. It was quite an eye-opener and I grew to have tremendous respect for both the heroine for her bravery and tenacity, and the hero for his ability to see beyond his hatred of the Armstrongs to see what a true prize he'd really been given.
The book is based around a long-standing feud between two powerful clans; the Montgomerys and the Armstrongs. Their constant battling has become a source of annoyance for King Alexander II, and so after enjoying a blissful winter's peace, when the clans put down their weapons only because of the poor weather conditions, he comes up with a plan to stop the warfare once and for all.
Anyone for a spring wedding?
The story begins with the leaders of both clans in outrage over the missives they have just received from the King, ordering Graeme Montgomery, chief of the Montgomery clan, to wed Eveline Armstrong, the daughter of the Armstrong chief. For Graeme, not only would that mean tying himself to his fiercest enemy's clan by marriage, but it's also known throughout Scotland that the chief's daughter is 'daft', 'addled', 'touched'. So it would also mean he couldn't expect a 'proper wife', and therefore his dream of heirs to pass the Montgomery name to is also shattered. It's a crushing blow.
Over at the Armstrong clan, the news isn't received with any more enthusiasm. For Chief Armstrong, the thought of giving over his only precious daughter—who is all things good and kind and has suffered enough after her accident changed her forever—is positively unbearable.
Eveline and Graeme were a very endearing couple. Eveline's silence and strange behaviour has little to do with being 'daft', she simply cannot hear, but she has allowed the rumours of her mental state to continue for good reason. It was fascinating to watch Eveline's ways of communicating and how other people reacted to her. Graeme was an absolute sweetheart. Initially his feelings were more of pity than anything else, although he could certainly see Eveline was a beauty, he felt guilty for thinking that way about her and considered it such a waste. He planned never to consummate the marriage and he envisioned many long, sleepless nights ahead!
Of course, this is a Maya Banks novel, and a Maya Banks novel without a sex scene would be like a... a Fred without a Ginger. Although, having said that, compared to some of the steamy scenes in the last trilogy, the McCabes, the sex scenes weren't quite as erotic as her usual style. I think she toned it down a wee bit.
Overall, I'd say the story was more interesting and endearing than thrilling or exciting, because plot-wise there wasn't much happening other than the romance until the last quarter, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It was certainly a different read and I found I enjoyed the romance and feeling righteous indignation on Eveline's behalf over her treatment by the Montgomerys, and then elation as the final scenes came to a close.
A very satisfying read. Recommended to all fans of Scottish Romance.
4 Stars ★★★★
ARC provided for an honest review.
When someone stood beside
A hand upon my shoulder
I knew the touch was kind
He drew me near and nearer
We neither spoke one word
But the beating of our own two hearts
Was the only sound I heard~
(This is a verse from 'I Wandered by a Brookside' by Eva Cassidy and I thought the words fit this particular story rather nicely.)
A swoon-worthy hero and a brave and determined heroine.
This was a very enlightening read. The first time I've read a book with a deaf main character. It was quite an eye-opener and I grew to have tremendous respect for both the heroine for her bravery and tenacity, and the hero for his ability to see beyond his hatred of the Armstrongs to see what a true prize he'd really been given.
The book is based around a long-standing feud between two powerful clans; the Montgomerys and the Armstrongs. Their constant battling has become a source of annoyance for King Alexander II, and so after enjoying a blissful winter's peace, when the clans put down their weapons only because of the poor weather conditions, he comes up with a plan to stop the warfare once and for all.
Anyone for a spring wedding?
The story begins with the leaders of both clans in outrage over the missives they have just received from the King, ordering Graeme Montgomery, chief of the Montgomery clan, to wed Eveline Armstrong, the daughter of the Armstrong chief. For Graeme, not only would that mean tying himself to his fiercest enemy's clan by marriage, but it's also known throughout Scotland that the chief's daughter is 'daft', 'addled', 'touched'. So it would also mean he couldn't expect a 'proper wife', and therefore his dream of heirs to pass the Montgomery name to is also shattered. It's a crushing blow.
Over at the Armstrong clan, the news isn't received with any more enthusiasm. For Chief Armstrong, the thought of giving over his only precious daughter—who is all things good and kind and has suffered enough after her accident changed her forever—is positively unbearable.
********
Eveline and Graeme were a very endearing couple. Eveline's silence and strange behaviour has little to do with being 'daft', she simply cannot hear, but she has allowed the rumours of her mental state to continue for good reason. It was fascinating to watch Eveline's ways of communicating and how other people reacted to her. Graeme was an absolute sweetheart. Initially his feelings were more of pity than anything else, although he could certainly see Eveline was a beauty, he felt guilty for thinking that way about her and considered it such a waste. He planned never to consummate the marriage and he envisioned many long, sleepless nights ahead!
Of course, this is a Maya Banks novel, and a Maya Banks novel without a sex scene would be like a... a Fred without a Ginger. Although, having said that, compared to some of the steamy scenes in the last trilogy, the McCabes, the sex scenes weren't quite as erotic as her usual style. I think she toned it down a wee bit.
Overall, I'd say the story was more interesting and endearing than thrilling or exciting, because plot-wise there wasn't much happening other than the romance until the last quarter, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It was certainly a different read and I found I enjoyed the romance and feeling righteous indignation on Eveline's behalf over her treatment by the Montgomerys, and then elation as the final scenes came to a close.
A very satisfying read. Recommended to all fans of Scottish Romance.
4 Stars ★★★★
ARC provided for an honest review.
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