WTF Are You Reading?: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours Presents: Border Bride

Title: Border Bride
(The Border #1)
Author: Amanda Scott
Format: ERC
Length: 390 pages
Publisher: Open Road Media
Rating: 4 Stars

Set in treacherous sixteenth-century Scotland, the first volume of Amanda Scott’s Border Trilogy tells the unforgettable story of a woman sworn to defy the knight she is forced to wed—only to discover a love she’ll do anything to claim

As Mary, Queen of Scots, languishes in the Tower of London as a prisoner of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth, war tears Scotland apart. To save her beloved homeland, a proud Highland beauty named Mary Kate MacPherson must wage her own battle when she’s forced into wedlock with a knight, Sir Adam Douglas, from the barbaric borderland of Tornary. Even as she succumbs to her seductive husband’s sensual demands, Mary Kate vows never to give him her heart. She will belong to no man. But Adam burns with something deeper than desire. Sworn to carry out a long-awaited revenge, he won’t rest until he has vanquished his enemies. Accused of treason, the last thing he expects is to lose his heart to the woman he’s determined to tame but never to love: his own wife. -Goodreads

My Thoughts
Amanda Scott's amazing talent for historical detail takes a backseat to the feisty Mary Kate MacPherson, heroine extraordinaire in "Border Bride". Forced into marriage by her father, to the handsome and powerful, yet roguish knight, Sir Adam Douglas. Mary Kate has no choice but to seek her fortunes in the borderland of Tornary.
It appears however, that in choosing Mary Kate, our dear Sir Knight may have bitten off more than he can ever hope to chew.
For in a time when women are to be seen and not heard, and may find themselves whipped at their husband's slightest vexation; Kate is determined to be both heard and seen on her own terms.

This book is all about Mary Kate, and in this case her sense of fire and spirit make her interesting enough in word and deed to carry the story and readers' hearts.
Mary Kate's "never let them see you sweat" attitude and quick mind, keeps readers wondering what she will do or say next, and just what delicious sort of trouble it will lead to.
All other characters seem mousy (in the case of the women) or stuffy and overbearing (in the case of the men) in comparison to her.
The only character that comes close to our heroine in terms of level of interest is Sir Douglas, and that is only after he stops trying to bully Mary Kate.

The story is well paced and never drags. The plot contains elements of intrigue and levity along with the history and romance.

This is a very easy read, that though historical is never boring.
The only negative of this read is the open-ended finish. It seem as if there was a bit of a rush there and the end seems not to be as polished as the rest of the book.
This flaw is all that stands in the way of 5 stars.
This is a wonderful book, and I am happy to say that there are more in the series.

About The Author

Amanda Scott, USA Today Bestselling Author and winner of Romance Writers of America’s RITA/Golden Medallion (LORD ABBERLEY'S NEMESIS) and Romantic Times’ Awards for Best Regency Author and Best Sensual Regency (RAVENWOOD'S LADY), Lifetime Achievement (2007) and Best Scottish Historical (Border Moonlight, 2008), began writing on a dare from her husband. She has sold every manuscript she has written.

Amanda is a fourth-generation Californian, who was born and raised in Salinas and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in history from Mills College in Oakland. She did graduate work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, specializing in British History, before obtaining her Master’s in History from California State University at San Jose. She now lives with her husband and son in northern California.

As a child, Amanda Scott was a model for O’Connor Moffatt in San Francisco (now Macy’s). She was also a Sputnik child, one of those selected after the satellite went up for one of California’s first programs for gifted children. She remained in that program through high school. After graduate school, she taught for the Salinas City School District for three years before marrying her husband, who was then a captain in the Air Force. They lived in Honolulu for a year, then in Papillion, Nebraska, for seven. Their son was born in Nebraska. They have lived in northern California since 1980.

Scott grew up in a family of lawyers, and is descended from a long line of them. Her father was a three-term District Attorney of Monterey County before his death in 1955 at age 36. Her grandfather was City Attorney of Salinas for 36 years after serving two terms as District Attorney, and two of her ancestors were State Supreme Court Justices (one in Missouri, the other the first Supreme Court Justice for the State of Arkansas). One brother, having carried on the Scott tradition in the Monterey County DA’s office, is now a judge. The other is an electrician in Knoxville, TN, and her sister is a teacher in the Sacramento area.

The women of Amanda Scott’s family have been no less successful than the men. Her mother was a child actress known as Baby Lowell, who performed all over the west coast and in Hollywood movies, and then was a dancer with the San Francisco Opera Ballet until her marriage. Her mother’s sister, Loretta Lowell, was also a child actress. She performed in the Our Gang comedies and in several Loretta Young movies before becoming one of the first women in the US Air Force. Scott's paternal grandmother was active in local and State politics and served as president of the California State PTA, and her maternal grandmother was a teacher (and stage mother) before working for Monterey County. The place of women in Scott’s family has always been a strong one. Though they married strong men, the women have, for generations, been well educated and encouraged to succeed at whatever they chose to do.

Amanda Scott’s first book was OMAHA CITY ARCHITECTURE, a coffee-table photo essay on the historical architecture of Omaha, written for Landmarks, Inc. under her married name as a Junior League project. Others took the photos; she did the research and wrote the text on an old Smith-Corona portable electric. She sold her first novel, THE FUGITIVE HEIRESS—likewise written on the battered Smith-Corona in 1980. Since then, she has sold many more books, but since the second one she has used a word processor and computer. Twenty-five of her novels are set in the English Regency period (1810-1820). Others are set in 15th-century England and 14th- through 18th-century Scotland, and three are contemporary romances. Many of her titles are currently available at bookstores and online.