The first book in the Montgomery & Armstrong series has set a really high bar for the rest of the series for sure!
Graeme became the laird of the Montgomery clan when his father was murdered by the Armstrongs; the Armstrongs maintain that they were retaliating against a wrongful death of their kin... and on and on. The Hatfields and McCoys had a bromance going on compared to the level of hate these two clans have for each other, and the king has had enough. Now that he has secured his rule, he needs to stop infighting between clans, especially his two strongest who have been at each other for generations. What better way to bring families together than a marriage? At least that's what he hopes will finally bring an end to the bordering clans' hatefest. And since Graeme has not yet wed, the king decrees that he is to wed the only daughter of the Armstrongs: Eveline.
The king's messenger could not get away fast enough after having to deliver those edicts as both families were in an uproar upon hearing the news. The Montgomery laird feels betrayed by his king to be saddled with a wife who cannot truly ever be a wife as she the rumors are that she is "defective" and "touched." The Armstrongs are devastated that their only precious daughter is being sacrificed to their most hated enemy --- how will she possibly survive in such circumstances given her afflictions? Though either side is loathe to carry out the king's orders, they know that they must, or they will become enemies of the kingdom and sacrifice the well-being their entire clans in doing so.
Eveline is not all that she seems.... Three years ago, she ran away from her home as she was being forced to wed a man (Ian McHugh) who tormented her with all the terrible things he planned to do to her once they were wed. Her family believed that she was just nervous about getting married, and no matter how much she insisted that wasn't the case, she was ignored as her fiance played the perfect gentleman in front of her parents and brothers. In fleeing her fate, she was thrown from her horse into a deep gorge and remained there for several days until one of her brothers finally found her very near death. Because of the injuries she sustained, she lost her hearing; she also stopped talking (voluntarily); thus, many believe her to be mad. She did not corrected this misconception as it allowed her to be released from her marriage contract, and if she were to show that she was not afflicted, she would be forced to marry the monster she knows Ian to truly be. Now she has no choice but to marry as the king decrees.... One look at Graeme, though, and she suddenly has no fear. Even better, his voice is such a deep timber that she can actually hear something when he speaks.
Graeme doesn't know what to make of the slip of a lass he encounters when he arrives to claim the bride that has been forced upon him. First of all, she is the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. Secondly, she completely breaks decorum by approaching him and grabbing his arm when she first meets him. Third, when he retires for the evening before his wedding, he finds Eveline sitting on his bed waiting for him --- and she keeps gesturing at him like she wants him to talk? But most puzzling of all is when he looks into her eyes and sees the intelligence there, it just doesn't add up to what he has been told about her being "touched in the mind." How can she seem so with it one moment and then oblivious the next? And how can he be so attracted to a woman he can never really have? Will Eveline be able to be her true self with Graeme? And will the Montgomery clan who has sworn to hate their bitter rival ever accept an Armstrong as one of them?
What I liked:
--- The story was great - there was pretty much everything in it: love, drama, danger, etc.
--- The main characters were very likeable, and the H was definitely swoon-worthy
--- Eveline's "condition" could have been used longer in the story to draw out that angst, but the author didn't do that, which I GREATLY appreciated (unnecessary angst is a major pet peeve of mine)
--- The kinds of stories I like best are the "us against the world" where the couple is together most of the book, battling external elements, and that is what happened here after about the halfway point
What I didn't like as much:
--- This sounds terrible, and maybe it's my own cynicism talking here, but Graeme was a little too good to be true - he immediately accepted Eveline, let her do whatever she wanted, and went to bat for her whenever anyone slighted her - seems a little over the top when he was originally so enraged that he was being forced to marry a woman not of his choosing
--- I could have used a more steam
Overall, a wonderful story with elements of danger, family drama, and love!
Plot --- 5/5
Main Characters --- 4.5/5
Supporting Cast --- 4.5/5
Steam Level* --- 3.5/5
Violence --- nothing graphic
Language --- not egregious
POV --- 3rd
*Note that steam level is not a rating so much as a how hot was it: 0/5 - clean; 1/5 - mild; 2/5 - sensual but nothing descriptive; 3/5 - now we're getting somewhere; 4/5 - yes please! ; 5/5 - they did EVERYTHING in this one, y'all
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Popular Highlights in this book
“My lady, I don’t simply care for her. I love her. She is my entire life. Without her, I am nothing. I have nothing.”Highlighted by 391 Kindle readers- “Dear God,” he whispered. “You can’t hear, can you?”Highlighted by 257 Kindle readers
- He was holding in his arms the woman meant for him. Nothing would ever feel this right if he lived to be a hundred.Highlighted by 229 Kindle readers
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Reviews with images
A Great Introduction into the Highland Aspect of Historical Romances!
Leave it to another historical romance to absolutely capture my heart!❤️ You start this story off with two feuding clans, the Montgomerys and the Armstrongs. Both are extremely strong in their own right. The King feels that making the daughter of the Armstrong clan, Evelyn, and the Laird of the Montgomerys, Graeme, to marry will sanctify a truce between each of the clans. And I'm sure you can guess that nobody is happy with that plan!.Evelyn who after a serious fall from a horse into a ravine and not being found for 3 days, succumbs to a fever that steals her sense of hearing!😓 I feel the disability rep in this story was a great touch and I would assume quite accurate as is mentioned in the acknowledgments that Maya Banks's husband is deaf and no one realized the extent of his condition until he was in college and learned to read the lips of those around him!.Evelyn may just be one of my favorite female characters! She's truly so loyal, kind, determined, & she doesn't take s*** from anyone as she set a side her differences for the better of all. She's put through so much in this story and still came out with a smile on her face! She is everything that I would want in a MFC!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻.And my gosh Graeme. Graeme, Graeme, Graeme! I feel he is the perfect epitome of a Highland laird! In the beginning he was really standoffish for acceptable reasons but once he started getting to know Evelyn and coming to learn about her hearing disability, I really saw a change in his character and I was honestly swept up in it! He came to love her more than his hatred for the Armstrongs and my heart just SWELLED! 😍 😍 😍.I also want to note that this story has one of my favorite tropes, sick in bed/caretaker trope! An event in the story leads to Graeme being severely injured. Evelyn forsakes everyone and is determined to stand by his side no matter what, even though she has injuries to herself. The moment Graeme is better, she succumbs to her own injuries which in turns makes Graeme takes care of her and it was just so freaking heartwarming! 🤗.I think this story was a really good introduction into the Highland aspect of historical romances and promise me when I say this will not be my last Maya Banks book! I'm actually really excited to be picking one up again here soon with @bookishlynerdykelsey with who I buddy read this with! This book deserves alllll the stars!!⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐.@mother.of.all.books
Top reviews from other countries
Daniela | @daniela_endless_tbr
🖤 Graeme & Eveline 🖤
Reviewed in Germany on August 8, 2023
sandra
Another fantastic book by Maya Banks.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 8, 2012