2020 Beat the Backlist challenge
Review: Claimed by the Laird (Scottish Brides #3) by Nicola Cornick
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Series: Scottish Brides #3
Author: Nicola Cornick
Published August 1st 2014 by MIRA
Goodreads Synopsis
He will expose her as the criminal he seeks, or seduce her as the woman he desires…
An old maid—that's all Lady Christina McMorlan, daughter to the Duke of Forres, is to society now that she's past thirty. She hosts her father's parties and cares for her siblings, knowing she'll never have her own home and family. She has no time to pine, however. By night, she's The Lady, head of a notorious whiskey-smuggling gang that supports her impoverished clan. They're always one step ahead of the revenue man—until Lucas Black shows up.
Rejecting his title and the proper society that disparaged his mother, Lucas earns his living running a successful gambling house. He's also a spy, charged with bringing down the Forres Gang. He thinks The Lady's just a bored society spinster. She thinks he's a lost child playing at rebellion. And when the truth comes out, it's not just their love on the line…
Goodreads
Review
The final book in the series, Claimed by the Laird, sees the eldest McMorlan daughter, Lady Christina, find her own happiness after her sister's have all married well. Following the death of her mother on the eve of her marriage, she was forced to give up her future, and take on a maternal role for her younger siblings. Now in her thirties, and decidedly on the shelf, she suffers the indignation of comments and remarks made by her sister-in-law, and others, about her own happiness. However, she's more than busy running the estate on behalf of her absent minded father, the Duke of Forres, as well as being the head of the local whiskey-smuggling gang on the side. When the crown and Home Secretary become personally involved in the smuggling activities occurring on the estate, Lucas Black is sent to spy. He's on the lookout for the murderer of his younger half-brother, Peter, so masquerades as the under-gardener to get close to secrets. However, his every meeting with Christina is filled with chemistry and desire, and it soon seems like both might be falling for the other. Will they manage to come through the over side, or will their past catch up to them?
I did enjoy this book, but it was my least favourite of the series. Christina was an enjoyable character, but seemed a bit lacklustre at times, and the whole wicked sister-in-law story was a little boring. Lucas being in fact the illegitimate son of a Scottish nobleman and a Russian princess was a stretch, and the secrecy between the two was something I found myself struggling with. The plot lines surrounding Peter's death, the smuggling, and Christina's niece's secret marriage, were fun, but all in all, it was missing something for me.
Dates Read:
October 8-10, 2020
Rating
4 Stars
