I found I liked this one just as much as the first... But why do two books in a row deal woth sexual stuff?

Content: pregnancies outside of wedlock, seduction, and such. ( )

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Early 1300s Scotland: A Scottish noblewoman named Kathyrn has a predatory English Knight after her, who wants to marry her to inherit her ailing father’s lands. He tricks her into sleeping with him with a promise of marriage, she realises how awful he is and gets him chased off the next day, but becomes pregnant, yet somehow manages to conceal birth of subsequent baby from him.

A while later, Robert Bruce turns up, and arranges a marriage between her and his illegitimate son to make sure the wicked English can’t get her land and ensure her loyalty. Said son does not seem nice, he and Kathyrn don’t like each other at first and don’t want to consummate the marriage so they can separate at a later date, but gradually fall in love.
Meanwhile evil villain still wants Kathryn and makes repeated attempts to kidnap her (why he cannot just find another wealthy heiress to marry I don’t know), making an enemy of Robert Bruce’s son in the meantime before events come to head at Bannockburn....

Where to start with this novel! It seems to be one those second rate ‘historical’ romances that is corny and clichéd, rather formulaic, as well as being historically questionable and implausible.
The representations of both Scottish and English people and culture consist mainly of silly anachronistic stereotypes.
Hence, there are men in kilts galore (at a time when these likely did not even exist in the form that we know them today) bagpipes and lots of bonnie lasses and all speaking with exaggerated accents. All that was missing was the haggis.
Then there were the English, with accents resembling those of their counterparts in Braveheart and other Hollywood movies with seemingly little or no regional variation of accents at all, so that the moment the characters travel a few miles over the border, everyone speaks like Queen Elizabeth II.

The simple fact that the majority of the English and much of the Scottish aristocracy would likely have spoken French as their first language in the early part of the fourteenth century when this novel is set does not even seem to come into the equation.

The English bad guy is no less ridiculously stereotypical and his character is so exaggerated and unconvincing that is hard to take him seriously even as the villain. He has no real motivation for being bad (expect being English) so he has to do lots of really bad things to emphasise his badness like seducing Scottish girls, beating up a Scottish squire and repeatedly trying to kidnap the heroine.
Most of the Scottish characters seem sickly sweet. They are not perfect admittedly, but the Templar knight undergoing a crisis of faith, and religious doubts of the hero just appear unoriginal and contrived, and it is so predictable that he and the heroine will overcome their initial hostility to fall hopelessly in love by the end. The device of 'beautiful lady locked in tower who has to be rescued by knight in shining armour' actually seems to be used in this novel when the villain kidnaps the heroine.

Yet for all his efforts, he leaves her virtually unguarded so that she is easily rescued by a Scotsman disguised as a priest (how many times has that been done before?).

Other aspects of the historical content of this and novel fare little better, as it is riddled with errors and inconsistencies, some of them seemingly deliberate. Yes the period details are there, but sometimes just seem superficial. For instance, at least one character seems to change sides in each of the successive stories, an act that is presented in high minded moral terms when they ‘see the light’ and come to realise the righteousness and justice of Scotland’s cause.

More significantly, historical figures who never supported Robert Bruce, such as the Comyn family and their kinsmen of Clan MacNab are depicted as going over to Bruce’s side in this series, when they never did anything of the kind in reality, and suffered greatly at Bruce’s hands for their opposition to his rule.

In the Bannockburn battle scene Edward II King of England is depicted as having sat on his horse behind the lines for the entire duration of the battle, when in reality he was in the thick of the fighting, as a King was expected to be. Edward may have had to be physically forced to leave the battlefield when it was obvious that the English had lost, and he did not run away like a coward at the first hint of danger to his person, as this novel makes out.

Throughout the novel and series, the English characters are condemned for ‘unchivalrous’ or dishonourable conduct, which the author often highlights and emphasises. Yet, towards the end of the novel the Scottish characters kill the villain in an act that would have been regarded as a total breach of chivalric practice and convention. Yet the author and characters make absolutely no mention of this deed being unchivalrous and dishonourable, though if the author had studied the medieval code of chivalry, she should likely have known it to be so.

Such a double standard applied to history and morality strikes me as not only hypocritical, but also misleading and perhaps even dishonest. This for me was one of the most objectionable aspects of this series.
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Carol Umberger has written another great story in the Scottish Crown Series! I didn’t think book 2 would be as good as book one, but this story was just as good, if not better.
This story is written in the early 1300’s when the Scots under Robert the Bruce are struggling to gain freedom from England. Now to some, like me, that may not sound like an era you would be interested in, but trust me, the story line is captivating.
Countess Kathryn de Lindsay has just lost her father and she desperately needs a protector from an English nobleman who wants her for her land. Although she thought he loved her, she soon discovers he is not the man she thought he was. Along comes what she thinks is her enemy, Bryan Mackintosh who takes over her home and village as they surrender to the Scots. Neither Bryan nor Kathryn want to admit the attraction each of them have for each other. There is mistrust, resentment and also longing, which makes for a great interaction between these two people. (There is also a great battle between England and the Scots throughout this story if you are into that too.)
I once again read this story quickly as it just captivated me and held my interest throughout the book. A lot of times when an author writes a series one or more books will be a little weaker than another. So far the first two books in this series have been equally beyond my expectations! Now I am on to book three! ( )