And the Bride Wore Plaid

Talisman Ring #4

by Karen Hawkins

Devon St John has never had a problem in his life—until now. Born to wealth and privilege, surrounded by a warm and loving family, he has pursued a life of leisure, chasing the most beautiful women London has to offer. All told, he has the perfect life and no intentions of ever settling down in any shape, form or fashion. So resolved, he heads to his friend’s Scottish castle, unaware that fate is already hard at work.As the illegitimate half-sister to Viscount Strathmore, Melody Macdonald refuses to reside under his roof and instead lives in a thatched house on the edge of the forest that borders Strathmore Castle. Ever since she ran off at the tender age of twelve to become an apprentice to a master of stained glass, Melody has been deplorably independent and wild. When Devon arrives at Strathmore Castle, he is taken aback by the rude, overbearing, illegitimate Scotswoman who refuses even to pretend to possess any feminine wiles. But Devon is determined to teach the strong-willed Melody a lesson in love ...

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Regency, Historical Fiction, Scotland, Fiction

384 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Karen Hawkins writes novels that have been praised as touching, witty, charming, and heartwarming. A native Southerner who grew up in the mountains of East Tennessee where storytelling is a way of life, Karen recently moved to frosty New England with her beloved husband and multiple foster dogs. The Dove Pond books are a nod to the thousands of books that opened doors to more adventures, places, and discoveries than she ever imagined possible. To find out more about Karen, follow her at:
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Reviews

[Maura · Rating 2 out of 5]

The re-read. I had originally read this book a ways back and figured that I'd liked it. Reading it this time, I'm pretty much disgusted by the hero and his views towards women. Fearing the influence of the St. John Talisman ring, Devon tells himself that he can't give up women entirely, so he'll just focus on unmarriageable women, that he won't fall in love with. So isn't he just pleased when Kat MacDonald is in his room when he wakes up as a guest of her brother - thinking her a simple maid he sets about trying to seduce her then and there. He's pretty offensive in his arrogance, just assuming that she'll just fall into bed with him. I was so happy when she kicked him to escape. Despite this rather obvious rejection on her part, Devon is right away thinking about how he'll lure her to his bed. Really - that wasn't "no" enough for you? Then he finds out that she's actually his host's half-sister and is disappointed that he can't go off and have sex with her. Then he discovers that she's illegitimate and he's off and planning a dalliance with her again..and she's absolutely perfect for him since she's also ruined and a ruined woman can't demand marriage after a dalliance. How disgusting is this guy that he's planning on seducing the sister of his host just because she's ruined and illegitimate? Has he no respect for women as anything but sexual objects? Clearly no. This guy is an absolute creep. I haven't liked a single St. John brother yet, and this guy is probably the worst. (And Kat's brother Malcolm isn't much better - when faced with the fact that Devon practically assaulted his sister and was gearing up to seduce her, he just laughed. Any halfway decent brother would have punched his lights out, friend or not.)

Obviously this is a romance, so his feelings end up going a bit deeper later into the story, but I couldn't get past this initial impression and his manipulation. He plans to win her trust, then woo her and take her to bed, just so long as she doesn't fall in love with him. She's insecure about her passionate nature and he, recognizing that it serves his goals, assures her there's nothing wrong with it. And of course, as much as I like Kat at first, she gives in way too easily. I just didn't care for how manipulative and sordid it all felt...

Then there's that whole subplot between Malcolm and Fiona - it makes no sense. She's terrified he'll stop loving her after they have a child, so she refuses to have children and bans him from her bed. He's beyond pissed that she won't have children so he forces her to stay at the castle where they make themselves miserable. Fiona would rather he be pissed off with her and she never gets to spend a happy moment with the husband she love because she's afraid he'll stop loving her. What does she think the outcome of this standoff is going to be? He's going to stop loving her obviously because she's clearly an idiot with no ability to reason. And she's going out of her way to make him miserable.

[Darbella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Devon and Kat's Love story

[Susan Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off, let me say that I have no idea who wrote the summary of the book because:
1) the heroine's name is Kat (short for Katherine) NOT Melody.
2) nowhere in this book did it say that she ran off at the age of 12 to be an apprentice with a master of stained glass (which would have made the story more interesting).
3) she doesn't wear plaid at her wedding because there is no wedding scene.
4) Kat is not rude, wild and overbearing, she is a strong, creative and independent woman who pays her own way.

Although parts of this book were enjoyable, the overall plot was very annoying. Devon St. John is gorgeous, wealthy, charismatic, and a womanizer. He has no scruples. He wants to have sex with Kat and sets about to seduce her with no intention of marrying her. He unintentionally falls in love with her, but has unprotected sex with her before he realizes it. Does he have love-children splattered all over London? Did I mention she's his host's half-sister?

And speaking of his loser host and hostess, the ridiculous sub-plot makes no sense and I didn't care at all about these characters who had no honour or common sense.

I loved Kat except that she stupidly has sex with Devon with no concern as to getting pregnant.

[Romance Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I kind of liked the other three books in this series, but this one just didn't hit the mark for me. The hero (Devon) was kind of manipulative in the relationship, and the heroin (Kat) never seemed to follow through with her beliefs even though she was supposed to be this strong, independent woman. Plus I never understood Kat's relationship with her brother or even why he and Devon were such great friends--Malcolm was a bit of a lightweight and never stood up to or for anyone.

This books redeeming grace was, despite the plot starting off by turning the same tricks (how many times ban the hero and heroin get stuck riding in the rain?), the ending was kind of fun and interesting. And the writing wasn't really that bad, I just would have liked stronger characters.

[Shannon · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wasn't impressed. Both main characters were very flat. In actuality, Malcolm and Fiona were more interesting as secondary characters. Also the bride doesn't wear plaid. She's more English than Scottish and we never see the wedding.

[Jeryl Dildine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sometimes I want a silly romance, than I read it and wished I hadn't waisted the time.

[Rhonda Almodovar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read!!

I love this author. Her books are witty, humorous, engaging, heartfelt, and always has a HEA. Though there were quite a few spelling errors (of Scottish names, where to insert commas and a run on sentence or two), I still loved the book. It was not too distracting as some that I've read, and would definitely recommend this book. It does leave you with questions, such as the status of Devon's (hero) brothers and what led them to the cursed ring and their brides; as well as all of what happened in between (it is set all in Scottland if you didn't catch that earlier). Is the ring really cursed?? (Yes, there is a legend that the ring of their mother's is cursed to have each brother find their wife this way; of whom are all confirmed bachelors), so I may have to read all of the books in the series. This is a stand alone (if you aren't as curious as I am) and has a HEA, as mentioned before. It is an adult book due to innuendo and one whole sex scene, but still adult. I would say 18+. Do enjoy as I did, and laugh out loud, as well as be happy at the ending. It really was great...I'm missing Kat (heroine) and Devon already.

[Iza Soares · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The right man wouldn’t ask me to give up anything. The right man would accept me as I am, and learn to love the things I love, or at least appreciate them.”

Rating 6 of 7

I loved Kat and I totally wanted that sil dead and I'm not ashamed of it. I loved that while we were following Devon and Kat's history, we were also following other couple's fight and I thought is was pretty cute the way they love each other but couldn't make it work without compromising.

And the way Marcus is going to get the ring is already making me pretty happy

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked so much about this story and characters but disliked the hero soooo much! He didn’t change/overcome/achieve anything!! The heroine was freaking awesome and deserved someone as badass as her but nope here is a man who “doesn’t want to get married”....what a shock. The focus on the hero took away from other characters who were interesting! Which made the book feel flat at the end. I would normally say skip but the heroine is so cool! Read it for her and imagine she is living great without her trailing boring hero.

[Carrie O · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lighter story than previous ones in the series. I found it quite an enjoyable read. No impending death or doom, so no adrenaline rushes or panic on my side of the book.

As always, titles don't tell much of the story. This is "plaid" lite. Minimal Scottish involved... mostly referenced. It's the location. More or less. And I'm not sure there ever was a bit of plaid mentioned in the book. lol

[penelopewanders]

It had been several years (over 15 years!!) since I read the previous book in this series, but it was a fun read, even if it was highly predictable.
Nice to have an expert at glass-working as a change from many other heroines.
Also nice to be able to fill the gaps in the series thanks to the virtual library.

[Josi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Talisman Ring series is a lot of fun. This book features Devon & Kat. At the beginning he is running from the supposed curse of the ring and by the end he is embracing it. Ready for Marcus's book next.

[Gm Pd]

It's so weird they titled it this way when
1. We didn't get a wedding scene
2. Kat also never wore plaid. At least not in the descriptions. She wore old worn out gray dresses covered in soot and with burn holes.

Karen Hawkins... Why is this title????

[Jennifer Eckel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light romantic read, that takes my mind off of daily issues. Meh! for rereads

[SLW · Rating 4 out of 5]

7

[MH]

btw, the main female character's name in the ebook is Katherine or Kat. Her name is Melody or Catherine in the synopsis at various venues (Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble); very confusing.

[Kasmah Suwardy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love it

[A · Rating 1 out of 5]

The hero's arrogance is so insufferable I DNF'd at 8%.

[Debbie Dodd · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading.

[Reagan Heckathorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was fun for me to read! I love fate ❤️❤️❤️ and heroines who aren’t skinny!

[Marika · Rating 1 out of 5]

⛔️

[Maruša · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not ehat I expected

[Cait M]

DNF
Been sitting on my bedside table for too long now. The MC's don't have enough spark, and the storyline isn't interesting enough to want to pick it up again.

[Jo-Anne Duffett · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking for a lighthearted historical romp, look no further. This delightful book kicks all the boxes. Heat level 4: spicy, open door

[Nicole alphAbet]

winter pile

[Sarah King · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but lacked action and intrigue

[Elisa Vangelisti · Rating 1 out of 5]

lui è depositario di un anello magico che porta sventura... ah, no, intendevo dire "matrimonio". che però per costui ha lo stesso significato. si ritrova in un castello cercando una stanza decente, poichè il suo arrivo non è stato annunciato. eh? boh!
abbandonato

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

I very nearly stopped reading at about the halfway point. Kat and her Seven Giants were the only thing to pull me through.

The idea of Devon fleeing to Scotland to avoid the ring's curse is a good start, but then the whole premise is undone when he decides the only way to truly thwart the ring's powers is to find the most inappropriate woman possible and bang her. He sets his sights on a lady's maid, forces his kisses on her, and then goes about stalking her til he gets what he wants.

Enter Kat: not really a ladies maid, but still a "ruined" woman, so I guess all's fair. For her part she puts him off for a while, until all the attention he lavishes on her breaks through her barriers and she gives in to spending more time with him.

Devon puts a lot of effort into seducing Kat, despite the fact that a) she has very good reasons to be resistant, and he knows it, b) he's planning on leaving soon, without another thought for her, and c) it's his friends sister! He reminds me of a randy college kid with no regard for anyone else.

If all that wasn't bad enough, you have the bickering married couple who placed a ridiculous wager on who Devon would finally choose. This in itself isn't the worst part; the WORST part is that Fiona knows her plans will most likely hurt and embarrass Kat, but shrugs it off as inconsequential in the scheme of saving her marriage. I really wanted to wring Fiona's neck during several of the scenes.

All in all, not the best Talisman book.

[Barbara Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book #4 in the Talisman Ring series. This book is about Devon St. John -- handsome, blue-eyed and from the richest family in England. The St. John's have a family heirloom -- it is a ring and whomever has it in his possession will find their true love. Devon has had three brothers fall victim to this ring and he has no intention of being the next. So, he takes off from his brother Chase's wedding -- before the wedding even happens -- in order to prevent Chase from tricking him into taking the ring. He doesn't give his brother enough credit apparently -- because -- long after Devon's coach has left for Scotland -- Devon finds the ring.

Devon decides to outsmart the ring -- right -- like he outsmarted Chase.

It is a good entertaining read as you learn more about Devon and the kind of man he is.

His heroine is Kat Macdonald, illegitimate half-sister to Viscount Strathmore, one of Devon's best friends. I had a little trouble believing that Strathmore could be one of Devon's best friends yet not know he had a half-sister -- just sayin'. She's been badly hurt and doesn't plan to ever marry (imagine that).

The Villain -- if there is one -- is the conniving sister of Strathmore's wife.

It is a sweet story -- and -- can you picture Devon making stained glass windows in the future? The story doesn't say that, but just something nice to think about.

Lovely story -- read it --

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

And the 4th St John brother falls victim to the talisman ring.

Devon St John feels that he will never marry. He has a problem hold interest for longer than a month or two. When he flees his brother Chase wedding before it has begun he figures he has escaped the curse. However half way through the journey north he finds that he has the ring. So hew concocts a plan to avoid any woman other than one that is totally unacceptable. Little does he know that is his downfall.

Kat has no desire to marry. Long ago she faced humiliation when she was ruined in the eyes of society. She has no room in her life for a man or love. But as she continues to spend time with Devon, at her brother request, she finds herself drawn more and more to him.

In this fourth installment we find 2 characters that are dead set against never marrying. However the ring and their hearts have other things in mind. Can't wait to finish the final novel in this series.