Thistle in the Mistletoe by Margaret Izard

 Forced into a marriage neither sought, they must find common ground—or die for the trying.

About The Book: Mary, only daughter of the laird of Comyn, is forced to wed the laird of the MacDougall clan, or her father and the new laird will die. Theirs has been a long-standing feud which the king seeks to stop by demanding a merger—as well as an infant within a year’s time.

Mary knows what it is to be unwanted, unloved and under-valued—mostly because of her gender—so living among the MacDougalls’ hatred and loathing is nothing new. Roderick MacDougall, however, has only known love and devotion from his immediate family and members of his extended clan. When Mary is threatened at every turn, to the point of near death, he must put aside what he thinks he knows and open his eyes to the truth.

These two stubborn people have much to learn how to forge a future under the most bitter of circumstances. Or heads will roll—literally.

Our Review: Author Izard, known for extensive research into her topic does not disappoint her legion of fans with this story. The characters are well developed, demonstrating multiple layers and individual traits. The history of customs, fashion, food abound and offer flavor to this beauty. Fans of historical romance, particularly set in medieval Scotland, will love this one.

On a scale of 1-5, Thistle in the Mistletoe deserves a 6.

Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews

 

 

 

 

Yule Tide by Brian Anderson

 Christmas can be magical. It can also be deadly.

 Yule Tide, a novel of Christmas

 About the Book: Years after the death of Kris Kringle—maybe an accident, or maybe not—a fallen angel turned private investigator attempts to wrest the operation of Christmas from the control of a shadowy organization that has taken over the whole holiday and twisted it to their own evil ends.

 Our Review: Devotees of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser PI and John R. Maxim’s Paul Bannerman will grab onto Brian Anderson’s Yule Tide and not let go. Something dark and uncomfortably evil has worked its way into all parts of the Yule season. Fallen angel turned flailing private investigator, Harold [as in Hark the Herald—get it?] seeks to return things to the way they once were. The way they should be. Loner Harold can’t do it alone so, employing a cast of unique and quirky two and four-legged characters, he thwarts the Organization at every turn. The dry humor and snappy dialogue—Anderson’s trademark—are always a treat. This one’s a beauty. Don’t miss it.

 Based on a scale of 1-5, Yule Tide merits an 8.

 Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews