Smitten by Books

I love this book. LOVE IT!! The best romance I’ve read in a very LONG LONG time. You HAVE to pre-order this book today!!! It comes out in 2 days.  I can’t give it a stronger recommendation. 

She’s an English lady who knows her duty to the Crown. He’s a disreputable, dishonorable and sinfully handsome Irish warlord. When honor and desire collide, who will win their test of wills?

NOT WHAT SHE WANTS…

Lady Katarina has safeguarded the Irish barony of Rardove for England with audacity and sheer will, bending to no man. But when the worst of the Irish warlords breaches the impenetrable castle walls through trickery, he threatens her personal wall of cool reserve as well. Not only is Aodh Mac Con the most formidable man she’s ever met, but his blue eyes look deep inside her, finding the woman she longs to be.

Can she stand firm, or will she fall too–straight into his arms?

NOT WHAT HE EXPECTS…

Aodh Mac Con, The Hound, is through serving the English Crown and waiting to be granted the barony he sees as his birthright. After taking control of the remote castle with his bold men, he turns his attention on Katarina, intending to conquer the cool, reserved chatelaine as he’s done everything else in his life: by making her bend to his irresistible will.

Can he conquer her in time, before the armies of England come marching, or will the fire that fuels her defiance put everything he’s fought for in peril?

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So…where do I even start with CLAIMING HER. Part of me just wants to say, this book is bloody brilliant. Go buy it and you’ll see what I mean. That’s enough right? But as reviews go, I guess it’s not. But let me warn you, you’re going to have to put up with a lot of gushing for the next bunch of paragraphs.

Kris Kennedy, as I mentioned in a recent review, was one of only two authors whose medieval romances I would read. Remember, I’ve only become keen on medieval and Scottish highlander books since I became addicted to Outlander. Kris’s debut was fabulous. I loved it. In CLAIMING HER, Kris well and truly outdid herself. It is, to date, the best book she’s written.

Aodh Mac Con is a to-die-for hero. I fell for him like a ton of bricks. To tell you the truth, I think I’m still falling. The guy is potent. Completely addictive. Sexy as hell. Katarina didn’t stand a chance when he rode through the open gates of Rardove. But then neither did he.

I’ll give you a quick summary of the plot if you haven’t read the blurb. The year is 1589 and Queen Elizabeth is restoring the Rardove title to an undeserving Bertrand of Bridge (hideous man). Lady Katarina, in whose hands the barony is being safeguarded, is to marry Bertrand. At least that was the queen’s plan. Aodh, however, says otherwise. The queen had promised Rardove to him, it is, after all, his birthright. So he does what a bold, rebellious Irishman would do, he goes and takes it. Katarina included.

But Aodh (I have no idea how to pronounce his name, btw) is not about pillaging and plundering. Not the lands and certainly not Katarina. He’s not going to take her by force, he wants her to bend to his will, and then persuade her to marry him. And boy is it fun to see him try to seduce our very headstrong heroine. Not that she has an easy time resisting him. She doesn’t. I told you, the guy is potent. Irresistible. Get a fan ladies, he’s scorching hot, and so are the love scenes in this book.

“I’m going to take you now.” She felt as if he’d strung her up on bolts of lightning. “Hard and deep.” Her wrists hung in his hands as he leaned forward and flicked is tongue across her breast. “I’m not going to stop.” He grazed her with his teeth, and her head dropped forward. “Until you’re laid out, tossing your head and crying my name.” His gaze swept up. “And then I’m going to take you harder.”

And not only that, they are as brilliantly written as is the entire novel. Honestly, this book is a treat to all the senses. The scenes literally jump off the pages. I could feel the harshness of the winds as they roared across the land. I could clearly visualize the great hall of Rardove Keep in my mind’s eye. There wasn’t a sentence in this book that I did not like. I absolutely savored every single word. The writing was that good. As a historical author myself, I won’t lie to you, I was envious as hell.

What hooked me and kept me reading all day (I finished this book in one day. I could not put it down.) was the romance between Aodh and Katarina. Yes there is much intrigue when it comes to Aodh rebelling against the queen he swore loyalty to, and Katarina’s staunch refusal to join him in the heresy of treason, but this is largely a book about their romance. How he manages to bend her to his will, and how he inevitably does the same because of her. Watching them fall in love is an experience. Then you get to hold your breath, heart in throat, as that love is tested. Kris loves to put her readers through this, sadist that she is. I was on tenterhooks near the end. Cursing. Terrified. I read like I was watching a suspense movie through the slits of my fingers, ready to clamp them together at the first sign of trouble. But when trouble came, my eyes were riveted to every word.

What a rollercoaster of emotions. This was definitely one of the best romances I’ve ever read. It’s the kind I will reread again and again. And I just discovered by forging Kris’s website, that it’s the first in a series. So there is more to come. Thank GOD. And you’re going to LOVE the epilogue, which was the icing on top of an already spectacular cake.

In closing, I want to say this. Even if you don’t normally read or like medieval romances, give this one a try. Right now it’s an absolute steal at $2.99.

Oh, and you’re welcome. 🙂