The Border Hostage

Clan Kennedy #2

by Virginia Henley

Heart-stoppingly romantic, powerfully sensual, Virginia Henley's New York Times bestselling novels have captured the hearts of readers and the raves of critics everywhere. In her breathtaking new novel, the award-winning author once again brings us her trademark blend of historical intrigue and sizzling romance.

Here she transports us to medieval England and Scotland -- at a time when bitter border wars raged throughout the land -- to weave an unforgettable tale of a headstrong Englishwoman abducted by a Scotsman seeking passionate revenge....

Raven Carleton is every inch the English lady. But on this glorious morning, as she gallops along the seacoast -- her hair streaming behind her -- Raven is thinking about her freedom, not her imminent betrothal to aristocratic Englishman Christopher Dacre. Suddenly Raven is forced to draw rein when a man appears directly in her path. Silhouetted against the predawn sky, he is magnificent -- a darkly powerful stranger who will alter the course of her life.

Heath Kennedy is a loyal Scot who will defend to the death those he loves. After narrowly escaping his own death at the hands of highborn conspirators, he awakens on the banks of the River Eden ... and sees a creature of infinite loveliness riding toward him. Knowing that this wild English beauty can never be his, Heath devises a plan of revenge against his royal enemies. Raven will be the ultimate bargaining tool -- his exquisite ransom.

Yet from the moment he spirits her to his ancestral castle in Scotland, nothing goes as planned. Heath is irresistibly seduced by his headstrong captive, a woman who knows no fear and who calls him enemy ... even as desire flames between them.

In a land divided, there is nothing more dangerous than falling in love. But Heath Kennedy is a man beguiled. Risking the wrath of two realms, Heath does the He offers Raven her freedom. He asks only one thing in return....

Set against the passion and savagery of a tempestuous age, The Border Hostage captivates us with a truly unforgettable love story. It is yet another dazzling work of romance fiction from the incomparable Virginia Henley.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Scotland, Fiction, Medieval, Medieval Romance

352 pages, Hardcover

First published July 3, 2001

About the author

Virginia Syddall was born on December 5, 1935 in England, where her father, Thomas Syddall, taught her to love history. She obtained a degree in History in the University. In 1956, Virginia married Arthur Henley. They moved to America, and now they live most of the year in St. Petersburg, Florida, and they spend the hot summers in Ontario, Canada, where they have their two adult children and three grandsons.

Virginia Henley is a New York Times bestselling writer of historical novels. Her work has been translated into fourteen languages. She is the recipient of more than a dozen writing awards, including a Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award, a Waldenbooks' Bestselling Award, and a Maggie Award for Excellence from the Georgia Romance Writers.

Reviews

[Regan Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 and 1/2 Stars: Great Sequel to TEMPTED and a Wonderful Scottish Love Story

I love Virginia Henley's ability to immediately put me in the middle of an exciting story involving people with strong passions dealing with difficult circumstances. THE BORDER HOSTAGE is no exception. It reminds me of the pirate stories I love: a strong hero who takes what he wants though he has a gentle and noble heart; and a heroine who will not be captured even if her heart longs for the man who abducts her. All this and Scotland, too! I do recommend reading TEMPTED first as this is the 2nd in Henley's Clan Kennedy Saga and is truly a sequel with some of the same characters as the first.

THE BORDER HOSTAGE is set in 1514 on the Borderlands between Scotland and England after Flodden Field where King James IV was killed. Young James V, still a toddler, is being raised under the watchful eye of his English mother (Henry VIII's sister) and the Earl of Angus, acting as guardian for the young king. Tina who is married to Black Ram Douglas (their story told in TEMPTED) is about to give birth to twins and her half brother, who is a bastard and half Gypsy, Heath Kennedy, is raising horses at the Douglas Castle. A raid by Scottish Borderers hired by the English heir to Lord Dacre, Christopher Dacre (the Douglas' enemy), to steal Heath's prize brood mares, nearly costs Heath his life. In an act to recover his horses and have his revenge, Heath captures the Dacre heir (for ransom) and his betrothed, the dark-haired Raven Clarendon. Heath has seen Raven before and wants her for his own, so he decides he will not let her go when the Dacre heir is ransomed. Raven is a wonderful heroine, fiercely independent and innocent (though not unaware of the ways of men). She is a free spirit who is trained by her grandmother in the ways of the Craft, a natural healer and (unusual for a woman), a falcon trainer.

This is a case of love at first encounter. Heath was quite clear about his desire to possess the lovely Raven. He'd had many women but she was the first to capture his heart. For Raven, although she was attracted to Heath, she was trying to please her parents and marry the man she thought she was supposed to. That is so very believable. So I had no problem when Raven realizes she loves Heath and can't live without him despite his questionable heritage. It was a matter of finally hearing her heart's desire and acting on it.

I believe this was a worthy sequel to TEMPTED. Frankly, I enjoyed the two books so much I was hoping there were more in this saga. Henley does a superb job of weaving in the history of a tumultuous time in Scotland's history with compelling tales of love. She created such wonderful characters I wanted to see more of them. So, it's no wonder I recommend these two books.

[Jo Bennesch · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5⭐️
3.5/5🌶

En este libro Virginia Henley nos narra el romance de Heath Kennedy, (medio hermano de Valentina, la protagonista de Condena de amor), y Raven mientras continua la línea histórica de Escocia después de la muerte de Jacobo IV.

Heath es medio gitano y Raven es una inglesa cuya abuela la inició en la antigua magia celta, por ende esta novela tambien tiene toques paranormales como la anterior, solo que más relacionados a la intuición, premonición, y sueños.

Como siempre la trama es muy ágil y pasan muchas cosas todo el tiempo. Es bastante hot y la relación de los protagonistas es muy intensa.

Lo recomiendo.

[Maria Jose · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mi parecer si este libro no existía,no hubiera pasado nada.
No esta mal es entretenido,pero no termine de conectar con los protagonistas.

[Elsa Bravante · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me ha gustado, más que la anterior. Lo mejor son sus personajes protagonistas, mejor construidos que los del libro anterior. La historia es entretenida y aunque hay trama histórica la historia de amor no se pierde en ella como ocurre en la anterior. Lo más flojo son los diálogos, no tienen agilidad y no transmiten todo lo que deberían.

[Geovanna Maya · Rating 5 out of 5]

(4.5)
El segundo libro que leo de la autora y me encanta como maneja la historia de Inglaterra y Escocia en este libro uniéndolo con la historia principal, donde conocemos a dos personajes un poco diferentes pero con cosas tan similares que hicieron que me emocionara, incluso esta el tema de magia gitana.
Es una historia que vale la pena leer y recomiendo porque hay personajes que puedes amar y otros a esperar que la justicia caiga sobre ellos; así como un romance que hace que quieras más.

[Lady Whitbrooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sadly I didn’t care for this one much. I loved the first book in this series, but this one just got weird with witchcraft, mental powers ect which is not real weird in itself just that the H was a big part of the first book and none of this crazy was I introduced. It just did hum for me. Plot 5(1-10) steaminess 6.5(1-10)

[Nandy López-Pérez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Raven Carleton, inglesa, conoce al escocés Heath Kennedy, que aunque al principio le obliga a estar con él, poco a poco se enamorará de él.

[Elis Madison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Raven Carleton is busily trying to get herself betrothed to the fictional son and heir of the historical Thomas Dacre, who “romantically” abducted Elizabeth Greystoke and made her his bride (and "incidentally" made himself heir to her father’s barony and lands). We get the impression that the Dacre menfolk take what they want, and that they don't like being challenged.

Half-gypsy bastard Heath Kennedy (his father is laird of the Kennedys, and while it’s rumored the man handfasted with Heath’s mum, the old fart isn’t admitting it) is mistaken for his brother-in-law Ram Douglas and abducted by some outlawed Scots. At first he assumes it’s for ransom but he learns they plan to kill him. They also steal his prized horse herd. His abductors leave him floating in a river, but he turns out to not quite be dead. When he awakes, he encounters Raven, steals her horse, and heads out to recover his own herd and figure out who wants Ram dead.

Oh, and while he's at it, abduct the girl of his dreams and engage in some "rough wooing."



Woven into the story is a good deal of intrigue surrounding a number of inheritance issues, as well as bits of the story of Archibald Douglas and Margaret Tudor (the mother of the infant King James V). Add in the infamous border conflicts between England and Scotland, which were quietly encouraged by Henry VIII. Once again, the actual history seems to be revised where convenient—for example, Margaret’s “escape” into England took place under quite different circumstances.

Not a bad story, though my emotions weren’t fully engaged. 3 stars.

[LJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Border Hostage - Ok
Virginia Henley
When high-strung English beauty Raven Carleton runs into Heath Kennedy, the bastard son of a Scottish border lord, trespassing on her family's lands, she's lucky Heath only divests her of her favorite horse and the shirt off her back. But when Raven runs across Heath again while out riding with her betrothed, she doesn't get off so easily. Taken hostage and held for ransom by the rugged Scot, Raven vows to escape as soon as she can. But Raven fails to reckon with her own attraction to the fiendishly handsome Heath. Erotic visions haunt her as Raven attempts to deny her Celtic roots and the images her heritage brings--dreams of passionate embraces shared not with her fiancé, Christopher Dacre, but with the smug Scot Heath whom she cannot abide. Even worse, Heath's knowing grin makes Raven believe he can read her unruly mind. Machinations of the English court and Scottish loyalists threaten not only Heath and Raven's happiness, but their very lives.

Definitely not one of her best.

[Monica]

excellent as all Henley´s novels

[Maribel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heath Kennedy es hermano de Tina, la protagonista de «Condena de amor». Nació fuera del matrimonio y el hecho de ser un bastardo y que por sus venas corra sangre gitana, lo han condenado a tener una posición social y económica muy diferente a la del resto de sus hermanos.

Raven ansía la libertad. Los planes que sus progenitores han trazado para ella incluyen un matrimonio con el hijo de algún noble y el principal candidato es Christopher Dacre, un hombre ambicioso, engreído y cuyo interés por Raven también responde a sus propios intereses personales.

Un escocés y una inglesa a los que les une su pasión por los animales -a Heath, por los caballos y a Raven, por los halcones- y les separa todo lo demás: la frontera que divide sus respectivos países, su estatus social... y las rencillas que enfrentan a sus dos familias.

Está narrada de forma impecable y tiene una bonita ambientación, pero como en la anterior entrega, aunque por motivos diferentes, la protagonista femenina me ha fallado. Raven se comporta de una forma que no corresponde en absoluto con una dama de esa época y como no me ha convencido su actitud, tampoco me he creído su historia.

Heath me ha parecido un personaje mucho más interesante y ha sido gracias a él que la lectura se lleva un aprobado. Es un hombre muy astuto, con un corazón de oro, cuyo espíritu de sacrificio por sus seres queridos no tiene límite y que, para hacerlo aun más interesante, ha heredado de su abuela gitana algunos poderes mágicos que le ayudarán a ganarse el corazón de Raven.

«Fronteras de pasión» es una novela romántica de dos personas que pertenecen a mundos totalmente opuestos y cuya trama se ve fortalecida por la complicada situación política que existe entre Escocia e Inglaterra durante el siglo XVI. Pese a contener muchos de los ingredientes que busco en una lectura, por algún motivo que se me escapa, no he logrado conectar con ella. Me ha faltado química entre los protagonistas y su relación, realmente más basada en la pasión que en el amor, no me ha hecho vibrar como yo esperaba. Es una novela entretenida, sí, pero os aseguro que no se quedará grabada en mi retina como una historia memorable.

[Chikkin Came'first · Rating 2 out of 5]

What did I just read? category, did not really finish

Older book and it shows, reminded me of cheesy 80's romances, it was only missing Fabio on the cover. Surprisingly it was written in 2002.

Overall everything and the kitchen sink of romances - old school style. Too much repeated full names, titles, historical details

read more than half, skimmed rest to fish out the plot, except last 20 or so pages, I gave up.

needs more dialogues and fun interactions, less blocky text of explanations and descriptions.

Show me, not tell me.

[Judith Sherrod · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Border Hostage

Life was filled with constant worries on both sides of the border between England and Scotland. The people that lived there had their own way of life and were not sure at any one time when the other side would come raiding. Sheep and catt!e were the usual targets to steal, but occasionally someone would go farther and blood would be spilled causing clan guess that could last for decades or longer.

[Wanda Gibbons · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story rich in detail about life in early England and Scotland as have all of the VH’s books been. Raven is a smart and wild beauty about to be married to someone she doesn’t love to get wealth and title for her family. Then she meets Heath Kennedy. He is her undoing and so the battle of wills, determination and just plain lust begins.

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh … I’m over this story. DNF 60%. It doesn’t make sense how he is in every way her soul mate, they have magical healing powers together, and both love to raise and train animals BUT she has to marry cowardly Chris Dacre when he abandoned her and mistreated her. The story was boring and uninteresting.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, the romance between Raven and Heath was sweet and passionate and I liked both characters equally. It was also good to meet Valentina and Ram again from Tempted and catch up on their story. I would recommend reading Tempted first as The Border Hostage is a true sequel.

[Shabib Siddiqui · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book twice. Just because I love historical settings. Add romance and drama to it, and viola you've got a lethal combination. Virginia Henley takes you back in time to those Scottish clans in this novel. It's a nice read.

[Susan Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book tedious. Way too much sex both real and imagined. The underlying plot was okay but was overshadowed by the sex.

[KC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. Cute story. Henley never fails to disappoint

[Vida X · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75
i liked the mystical-ness of this with celtic magic and nature power

[Syahira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Been rereading this today and I found myself enjoying this again. I find myself falling in love with the characters again. The revenge, jealousy, redemption, pride and stuff. Still refreshing as the first time I read it as a teenager (and here's to folks defending physical book so much, my copy broke apart, literally. Probably because the glue hardened and became less flexible). A story of a forbidden romance between an English lady and a Scottish Gypsy bastard. Unlike the title, the tone of the story doesn't carry those "stockholm syndromes" criteria as a lot of historical romances with similar plot do. I enjoyed the part with the Dacre's animosity towards the Douglas and Kennedy which evolved into a much serious plot that follows the events in the previous book. Neither of the characters are quite one dimensional. The antagonists have great reason to hate the other, plot twist at the right part of the book. I like the part where both main character complement each other as soulmates. Although Tina and Ram are more erotically charged than the couple in this book, I find this book withstood the test of time in my case.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Realistically I would rate this book more like 4.5 stars. I really enjoyed it! At first, I wasn't sure what I would think about the novel. It certainly did start out on an exciting note. And there are a lot of twists and turns throughout the novel. I found that I had great respect for Raven has a protagonist. She was strong, self-assured, and smart. Heath was also a strong male character and very interesting. The two of them paired together are, as always, more interesting than either one of them individually. There were times the plot did drag a little, but it contained a lot of interesting details and elements about Scotland and England at that time. I was particularly interested in the border courts. And learning where the term "get off Scott free" came from was particularly interesting. Anyway, the characters and other elements of the plot, as well as shifting points of view to a variety of different characters from previous novels kept the story moving along. Watching the change in attitude, the humor at times, and all of the other elements found in the story make it a very interesting read.

[Sharon Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

1514 was a tenuous year for people living on or around the border between England and Scotland. Virginia Henley tells a story of that time in her historical romance with war between the countries, people, and between a particular Scotsman and the woman who thinks she only wants freedom with war between the countries, people, and between a particular Scotsman and the woman who thinks she only wants freedom.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as seductive as I thought it would be

Follow me!

[Coronadeofelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The chemistry between Raven and Heath is deep and I couldn't put this book down. I read it in two days and was literally up until 5 am. If anyone knows of any other similar books, please let me know.

[Country Goose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Virginia Henley, and I was yet again entertained by her work with the Border Hostage. I would have like to have seen a bit more conflict and a little less drama, if you know what I mean.

[Julie Dawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Virginia Henley at her best.Heath and Raven are enemies at first but drawn together in magic, healing, wisdom, power, attraction, love of family and finally love for each other. I also enjoyed the tenderness and openness with the love between Heath's sister and Ram as well.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this in 2004. Thought it was a perfect location for a romance.

[Joann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I believe this was my first historical romance novel I read. I thoroughly enjoyed it...any of Virginia Henley's books are great.