My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is my first book by Nicola Cornick. The Lady and the Laird has the interesting plot of forced marriage leading to love and I’m a sucker for such stories. I really do love the fighting banter and the slow progression of love between the enemy couples that such books contain. Here, we have a unique heroine, Lucy who is hell bent on making money by writing erotic letters for her brother’s friends. She has need of money for charity purposes and is unwilling to face the consequences of such scandalous letters in the society.
Robert, the Marquis of Methven is a honorable man ready to sacrifice his life for the sake of his clan and save his inheritance from the evil clutches of a cartoonish villain Cardoss.
Both Lucy and Robert have deep scars, the grief of losing a sibling a common bond between them, for Robert it is an emotional pain as he has been unable to overcome the loss of his brother, Gregor and the subsequent banishment by his grandfather to Canada far away from all his near and dear ones. Lucy also has lost her twin sister Alice and the trauma of her death has left Lucy forever averse to marriage. Circumstances however force them into a wedding of convenience but love grows strong between them overcoming every obstacle in their path.
I wish the author had more consistency with the characterization of Lucy as for someone who writes erotic and sensual letters to be so much in fear of marriage and its consummation felt a tad too overstretched. Scottish highlands definitely comes alive thru the author’s words and its beauty and wonder is a delight to read. The supporting characters were all interesting but not sure if I want to check other books in the series.
Blurb
Lady Lucy MacMorlan may have forsworn men and marriage, but that doesn’t mean she won’t agree to profit from writing love letters for her brother’s friends–letters that become increasingly racy as her fame grows. That is, until she inadvertently ruins the betrothal of a notorious laird….
Robert, the dashing Marquis of Methven, is onto Lucy’s secret. And he certainly doesn’t intend to let the lovely Lady Lucy have the last word, especially when her letters suggest she is considerably more experienced than he realized.
But Lucy’s knowledge is not based on past seductions. If she continues to write letters, she’ll need to conduct some firsthand research. Robert has secrets of his own, but he is all too willing to aid a lady in need, especially when he desperately needs a bride….