The Bruised Thistle #eggcerptexchange @Ashley1066York

Ashley York takes over the blog today to share her Medieval Scottish historical romance, “The Bruised Thistle” – part of the Eggcerpt Exchange Fun.
-----------------------------------------------------

Blurb:

Iseabail MacNaughton, the orphaned daughter of a Scottish laird, is forced to flee her home and seek assistance against her lecherous uncle, who has usurped her family’s land. When she meets Seumas, a strong and valiant mercenary, she cannot help wondering if he could be the one to stand with her against her uncle. But with a price on her head and enemies on all sides, her trust is not something she can afford to give lightly…

Seumas MacDonell is a man wounded in body and soul, driven by guilt. When he rescues Iseabail from one of his men, he cannot deny the attraction he feels for her, despite the wound that left him unable to act on it. In the hope of finding redemption for his sins, he agrees to help Iseabail…but will his feelings for her prove to be the ultimate obstacle to his salvation?

Now the Eggcerpt:

“It was quite an adventure,” Calum chirped. “Then they called after me  ’thief, thief’ and chased me when I took off on Seumas’s horse.”

Seumas smiled at Calum. “You did fine, lad.”

Calum came to stand beside the man, rubbing the long ears of his pet. ” Did you give her the herbs?”

“Nae, I didn’t need them.” Seumas pierced Iseabail with his look. “I was able to get the fever down by other means.”

Calum frowned and looked between them. “How?”

“I took her to the river.”

“Oh.” Calum nodded, satisfied with the answer. “I will go out and find some food for my rabbit, if you think it safe.”

“Do not go far, lad. There is plenty near here that vermin can eat.”

Iseabail shifted in his arms. “Can you put me down now?”

He did not answer, nor did he comply. Instead, he inched his hand up her neck and started working little circles into her skin. She fought the desire to close her eyes. It felt so good.”

“Do ye not want to know how I got your fever down?”

“You said you brought me to the river.”

He held her gaze then pulled her toward him, and she knew he was going to kiss her. His lips were warm, and the lightning surged through her again. He kissed her lightly at first then more urgently. She wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him closer.

He straightened abruptly then placed her on her cloak. “Ye should get some sleep.”

Seumas pushed past Calum as he was coming back in.

“Told you he was mad,” Calum said.

Purchase at: http://www.amazon.com

Find Ashley at: http://www.ashleyyorkauthor.com
Twitter: @ashley1066york

------------------------------

Check back for more Eggcerpts to come!

Linda

Book Review Club: A Visit to Scotland

Both of this month's books are set in Scotland, a country that has long fascinated me.


The Shadowy Horses 
by Susanna Kearsley
Audiobook narrated by Sally Armstrong
Oakhill Publishing 2011 (Originally published by Orion, 1997)


Setting: Eyemouth, Scotland
Inspired by Rosemary Sutcliffe's The Eagle of the Ninth, about the Roman Lost Legion.

Verity Gray is an English archeologist who is lured to a dig in Scotland by Adrian, an old boyfriend/colleague. There she learns that eccentric Irishman Peter Quinnell is financing the project. Rumored to be mad, Peter is obsessed with finding the Lost Legion, the Roman Ninth, which marched north into Scotland and disappeared early in the 2nd century AD. She's especially shocked to learn that Peter picked Rose Hills because a local boy reputed to have second sight had seen a Roman legionaire in the area. Can Robbie's Sentinel be real? Peter is hard to say no to, and Verity is intrigued by the job  as well as attracted to handsome Scotsman David Fortune. And then there is Robbie, a charming and precocious eight-year-old whose predictions are rarely wrong. I especially love the way the animals react to The Sentinel. The cats hiss and arch their backs while Robbie's collie gambols by the ghost's side, jumping up occasionally for a pat.

Last year I read Susanna Kearsley's The Rose Garden, and fell in love with her writing style. Her prose is lush and unhurried, as she draws you into the world of her characters. The Shadowy Horses is part archeological mystery, part ghost story combined with a lovely romance. It all makes for a very satisfying mix, on that fans of Mary Stewart will enjoy.

I'm so glad I chose the audio version. Armstrong is a marvelous narrator who does a wonderful job, especially with the Scottish accents, which sounded spot on to my American ear. I can still hear her musical cadences even though the audiobook is finished and returned to the library.

* The Shadowy Horses page at Kearsley's website includes  location photos and insight into what inspired her to write the story.

The Winter Sea
by Susanna Kearsley
Allison & Busby, 2010

Kearsley returns to Scotland for this story within a story set on the rugged coast north of Aberdeen. In the modern story, novelist Carrie McClelland arrives in Cruden Bay, a village near ruined Slains Castle, and knows this is where she has to live to write her book about the abortive 1708 Jacobite invasion.

Carrie's story is interspersed with scenes from her novel, featuring one of her ancestors, young Sophia Paterson, who comes to Slains in 1708 to live with a kinswoman. There she meets the love of her life, an outlawed Jacobite who serves James III and finds herself thrust into a world of intrigue and danger.

The whole thing becomes eerie when Carrie researches the events of 1708 and discovers that the scenes she has already written are oddly accurate, even down to names of characters she thought she'd made up, but who really existed. Her father suggests it might be a case of genetic memory. Carrie isn't sure; she just knows this is a story that must be told.

I enjoyed this book, too, though not quite as much as The Shadowy Horses. I liked the fact that it was set in 1708 rather than the more popular 1745 uprising, and the history of Slains Castle is quite interesting. You can check out Kearsley's location photos at her website.

What country fascinates you?

And as always, click on the graphic below for more fabulous book reviews!

Linda

Click icon for more book review blogs
@Barrie Summy