Nicole Locke

Dazzled at the Wedding
By Kate Pearce, Ava Stone & Nicole Locke

Dazzled by enough to fall in love, three couples meet their mates with ghosts, pixies, brownies, water sprites, mermaids, a god and perhaps others lurking, watching and perhaps prodding. This is an excellent addition to the previous books (six I believe) that take place on or near the Castle Keyvnor premises. In this collection the locale is Bocka Morrow, a village that is down the hill from the castle. All hree stories take place during the time of a scheduled wedding though the characters have little to do with the actual event.

What I liked:
* The magical beings
* Being reminded of previous stories in the series
* The strength of the women
* The delightful romances
* Each story had a flavor of its own with the common themes magic and romance
* Hezekiah & Malakia: So right for one another and that Hezekiah was so much MORE than he first seemed to be
* Garrett & Franny: Loved how Garrett was able to “see” Frannie and appreciate her. Also enjoyed Maddie, Lucy and the trip to the Gypsy camp
* Hugh & Abigail: Abigail had Hugh’s head spinning with her question for each of his questions. Loved the house as a thwarting device.
* The time that I was taken away from thoughts of covid-19
* Being reminded of how much I used to love fairy tales as a child.

What I didn’t like:
* Having the book end and wondering what would happen to the characters in the future.

Thank you to the authors for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars… (mere)

Excellent conclusion to the series, as the last pieces of the puzzle begun in the first book are revealed. The year is 1293, and there have already been generations of hostility between the Lochmores and McCrieffs. Now that the English king granted a piece of the McCrieff's land to the Lochmores, it is time to claim that land. After months of their missives being ignored, Rory Lochmore, heir to the clan chief, is on the way to confront the leader of the McCrieffs. Fully expecting to meet resistance, Rory is deeply disturbed by the lack of it.

Rory has spent all his life trying to prove his worth to his father and feels that successfully handling this matter will go a long way toward doing so. When he arrives at the McCrieff castle he is met by the chief's second-in-command, the Tanist, as the chief is dying and invited in for a meal instead of a battle. There he discovers that the Tanist is prepared to accede to the king's demands, under one condition - that Rory marries his daughter, Ailsa.

Ailsa, besides being his daughter, is also the clan's healer and has been caring for the gravely ill chief. She is beautiful, headstrong, and blunt, and none too happy with her father's plans. But Ailsa is also very intelligent and loves her people, and after considering the ramifications agrees to the marriage. When Rory's best friend is poisoned right after the marriage announcement, she must race against time to save him and prevent all-out war.

I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Ailsa and Rory. Ailsa is no meek and obedient miss but is keenly observant and outspoken when she needs to be. Neither one trusts the other at first, thanks to the long-standing feud between their clans. I thoroughly enjoyed Rory's reactions to Ailsa's words, as he is unused to having women speak their minds quite so freely. However, it doesn't take long for him to appreciate her honesty and inability to beat around the bush. Rory is cautious about the marriage, unsure of his father's reaction, and tries to keep Ailsa at a distance. This is increasingly difficult, as the sparks between them are impossible to ignore, and when they finally give in, the results are incendiary. But there are obstacles that hold Ailsa and Rory slightly apart. Rory has some deep-seated insecurities stemming from his doubts over his place in his family. Ailsa, who is privy to some explosive secrets learned from the previous healer, suspects that some of what she thought was myth is, in fact, true. I ached for Rory, who hesitated to take Ailsa home, believing that his parents disapproved. There were some tense moments upon their arrival back at Lochmore, with a roller-coaster of emotions as secrets were finally laid to rest. I adored Ailsa's support of Rory during this time and loved the effect it had on him and his confidence in who he was. It was easy to see how this couple became the legend that they were for both families through the ages.

The epilogue was written by Janice Prescott, author of the first book in the series. It was beautifully done, bringing the story in a full circle. The depth of emotion as Rory and Ailsa were finally reunited was incredible, and I loved seeing how all four couples had a part in it. Lachlan and Flora's final words were perfect.… (mere)