Lady Cristina Macleod is the oldest child and her father
insists that she must marry before her younger sisters are
wed. It's been the frustration of many suitors, because
Cristina's younger sister, Mariota, is such a stunning
beauty that all want her first. When Hector Reaganach
rescued Mariota as her dress caught on fire, he fell hard
for the beautiful girl. But the girls' father is
superstitious, absolutely refusing to pledge Mariota to
Hector before Cristina is married. Hector stands firm,
refusing to marry the older sister, never dreaming that the
laird would resort to trickery to get his way.
Cristina tries to defy her father, knowing that it will go
ill for her when Hector discovers the trick played on him.
But her father is never shy about disciplining his children
and when he threatens to turn his anger to Mariota,
Cristina goes along with the plan.
This is a surprisingly dark story. We're used to bad guys --
there does have to be a plot, after all. But in LORD OF THE
ISLES, the father is not a good man, Mariota has definite
hints of evil to her personality and the storyline, in
general, is ridden with overtones of evil. I like that
Hector begins to see Mariota as the self-serving wench that
she is, and I found his character believable. I did have
some trouble that Cristina didn't react more strongly to
her sister's decidedly interfering nastiness. Her goodness
was just a little too good to be believable. Overall,
though, this was a good book, combining those dark elements
into a readable story with a well-done plot.
Lady Cristina Macleod, eldest daughter of a Highland
chieftain, is in a dire situation. Her superstitious father
insists that she marry before her sisters, and he has
forced her into a scheme: to trick Hector "the Ferocious"
Maclean into taking her for his wife. Yet Cristina wonders
about the true reason she obeys. Is it because of duty to
her father? Or her secret attraction to Hector? In matters
of war, he is as fearsome as the battle-axe that hardly
ever leaves his side. But to women, his face is temptation
itself and his charm weaves a powerful spell. Now facing
the wrath of her new husband, Cristina refuses to bow to
it, fueling his anger, stoking his passion. When an old
enemy resurfaces and a new threat emerges, Hector realizes
he could very well lose his "wrong bride"...and vows to
fight for her with all his warrior heart.
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