Katherine Hunter, The Pledge

This author brought Scotland to life. I normally do not like description, but Katherine made it part of the story and actually made me feel like I was in Scotland 1550

This author brings Scotland to life. I usually hate narration and description, but Katherine made it part of the story

Laird McKenna earned his status by the sword and spent his life on the Scottish border, defending his people from and attacking the English. Earning the sobriquet' The Wolf', he is a fearsome man, both physically and in his nature, although his soul is tortured by an unhappy past and the loss of a beloved wife. His origins are only partially known and the man who knows the name of his father has sworn an oath of silence.Lord Winston is among McKenna's enemies, but when raiders attack Winston's estate and kill his family, Calum McKenna is not among them. Winston leaves a daughter, Lady Gillian. Brought up in a convent and with little knowledge or care from her father, whose only interest in her appears to be to use her as a bargaining tool to make a good marriage.Gillian returns to her devastated home to find her father's people destitute and she swears to protect them from an unknown attacker who surrounds the Winston Holdings and imprisons everyone within. With only one way to turn, Gillian seeks the help of the McKenna, who's price for his protection is to make her swear a pledge. A pledge she does not yet know or understand.Laird McKenna frees the Winston land from its oppressors, but before Gillian can make plans for her future, Calum McKenna returns to collect his Pledge. Gillian must return to Scotland with him, become his wife and provide a son to secure the McKenna line.Fearing the wrath of Queen Elizabeth, but with no choice, Gillian marries Calum,a man she does not understand, yet is strangely attracted to. Her initiation into Scottish rituals and traditions is a puzzling one, leaving her security in tatters and feeling like a prisoner. However Gillian is determined to make the best of her new life, despite the fact her husband attributes her father's English cruelty and lack of honor to herself. Other enemies gather and when the Kerr clan declares war on her wedding day, Gillian refuses to cower and shows her intelligence in turning potential disaster into a victory.Katherine Hunter has brought the 16th century borderlands to all its colorful, savage life. Gillian tames her husband's heart and finds true love in her search for the truth about her family history. I found myself unable to put the book down as I cheered Gillian on in her determination to conquer her own destiny as well as the heart of the man who forced her to abandon her home. If you enjoy medieval novels and the romance of Elizabethan Scotland, you will really enjoy this story.