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The Spellbound Bride
Twice widowed in her marriage bed, and now suspected of witchcraft, Sorcha MacIver must find a man who can overcome the curse that haunts her and keep her from being burnt as a witch by her own clan. Mercenary Ian Hunter thought marrying the lass would be an easy way to collect the money he needs to save his inheritance and escape his brother. But he finds more than he expected in his bride. Unaware she is the pawn in a deadly play for the throne of Scotland by King James? cousin the Earl of Bothwell, Sorcha and Ian uncover political schemes between the treacherous lords of Scotland, where witch-hunts are only the beginning. Once they discover who is behind the deaths of Sorcha's husbands and family, no one can stop the vicious game of death, deceit and power.
Paperback
First published April 20, 2010
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About the author
Theresa Meyers
25 books223 followersThe progeny of a slightly mad NASA scientist and a tea-drinking bibliophile who turned the family dining room into a library, Theresa Meyers learned early the value of a questioning mind, books and a good china teapot. But it wasnt until third grade that Theresa overcame her dyslexia and learned to read, going on to make words her lifes work. With a degree in Mass Communications she became first a journalist, then a public relations officer in both the corporate and agency realm. But by far the most challenging has been using her writing skills to pen paranormal and steampunk novels in the turret office of her Seattle-area Victorian home. Shes spent nearly a quarter of a century with the boy who took her to the Prom, drinks tea with milk and sugar, is an adamant fan of the television show Supernatural, and has an indecent love of hats. "
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 6, 2014
(★½) NOTE: For most potential readers, a 2.5 to 3-star rating may be more accurate. But for me, certain little and not-so-little things snowballed to the point where cumulatively, it killed whatever good parts there were to the story.
MEMORABLE QUOTE: "To tell the truth of it my lord, aren't all men basically the same under their breeches no matter from whence they hail?"
A closet fan of (non-Regency) historical romances and unfamiliar with Theresa Meyers, I had high hopes for "The Spellbound Bride" based on the blurb, the reviews and per the author, "over two years of research". However, after struggling to the finish, I felt as if I read a book different from some other reviewers. It bothered me on so many levels, I actually felt insulted.
Apologies in advance if this review seems harsh but in order to justify the 1-star rating (a very rare personal rating), I have to touch on areas that I generally avoid (partly to suppress my personal preferences but mostly out of recognition of the hard work writers put into their stories). Another personal dislike but... MINOR SPOILERS ahead.
(1) CHARACTER/PLOT POINTS—HUH? I willingly suspend disbelief and critical thinking in order to enjoy fiction but sometimes, certain things are so jarringly wrong that they leap out and smack me in the face. Occur early enough in the the story and my continued reading is forever tainted.
Four major "smack" moments (without giving too much away):
—heroine's belief in being "cursed by some dark deadly poison that dwelt insider [sic] her" despite receiving numerous notes;
—heroine so skilled/knowledgeable, she brewed sleeping potions for her "da"—at age 4;
—Archibald is the 14-year-old Earl of Argyll yet on a trip, only Ian and Sorcha travel with him (around a storyline that was so implausible that I was rolling my eyes); and
—apparent short passage of time in the second half of the book yet the heroine already had a "slight swell".
(2) UM, WRITING STYLE? I can generally look beyond most writing styles but I simply couldn't understand the rationale behind splitting the speaker with the person's dialogue into separate paragraphs (ie, 1st sentence/paragraph is "He frowned." Next sentence/paragraph is the person's dialogue). Also, the one- or two-sentence narrative paragraphs became annoying. Maybe I'm old-fashioned but I expect such short paragraphs to be limited to crucial thoughts, information or turning points; too many and it becomes almost stream of consciousness, lacking cohesion and/or transitional writing skills. (At first, I though the foregoing was due to formatting/download error but nope, appeared throughout in parts to the end. The wasted space (resulting in many more pages to turn) then made me think of "Kindle abuse".)
Also, get a little too fancy with imagery and it can lead to output such as "...an edge to his voice that was filled with both unsympathetic cold and hot anger..." (I still can't figure this out) and "...concern marring the dark trusting line of her brows..." (what does a trusting browline look like?) As a reader, I don't want to be distracted like this. This is not Nietzsche, for goodness' sakes!
(3) HISTORICAL CONTEXT? This is the least of my problems with this book. I don't give a fig about historical accuracy so long as deviating from it serves some purpose (case in point: love "Braveheart" despite its utter trashing of historical facts). However, given the author's long research in contrast to the actual amount of historical background incorporated into the story, I couldn't resist looking up the North Berwick witch trials after finishing this book. The story begins in 1593 but the actual witch trials occurred from 1590 to 1592. Also, King James VI married Princess Anne in 1589 but the story refers to her as a "new bride".
I hate to say it but unless there was a typo in the prologue's dateline, I read nothing in the story that warranted using the later date of 1593. Such a tiny, simple thing but that alone rendered the historical aspects of the story incongruous.
This final point is truly just me and my upbringing. I try to give as much leeway as I can when foreign phrases pop up in books. But sometimes... FYI, the first known use of the term "tête-à-tête" was in 1696. Could it have been in use before that? Absolutely. 100 years before? Not likely. Its use in this story, let alone in dialogue—well, you decide.
MEMORABLE QUOTE: "To tell the truth of it my lord, aren't all men basically the same under their breeches no matter from whence they hail?"
A closet fan of (non-Regency) historical romances and unfamiliar with Theresa Meyers, I had high hopes for "The Spellbound Bride" based on the blurb, the reviews and per the author, "over two years of research". However, after struggling to the finish, I felt as if I read a book different from some other reviewers. It bothered me on so many levels, I actually felt insulted.
Apologies in advance if this review seems harsh but in order to justify the 1-star rating (a very rare personal rating), I have to touch on areas that I generally avoid (partly to suppress my personal preferences but mostly out of recognition of the hard work writers put into their stories). Another personal dislike but... MINOR SPOILERS ahead.
(1) CHARACTER/PLOT POINTS—HUH? I willingly suspend disbelief and critical thinking in order to enjoy fiction but sometimes, certain things are so jarringly wrong that they leap out and smack me in the face. Occur early enough in the the story and my continued reading is forever tainted.
Four major "smack" moments (without giving too much away):
—heroine's belief in being "cursed by some dark deadly poison that dwelt insider [sic] her" despite receiving numerous notes;
—heroine so skilled/knowledgeable, she brewed sleeping potions for her "da"—at age 4;
—Archibald is the 14-year-old Earl of Argyll yet on a trip, only Ian and Sorcha travel with him (around a storyline that was so implausible that I was rolling my eyes); and
—apparent short passage of time in the second half of the book yet the heroine already had a "slight swell".
(2) UM, WRITING STYLE? I can generally look beyond most writing styles but I simply couldn't understand the rationale behind splitting the speaker with the person's dialogue into separate paragraphs (ie, 1st sentence/paragraph is "He frowned." Next sentence/paragraph is the person's dialogue). Also, the one- or two-sentence narrative paragraphs became annoying. Maybe I'm old-fashioned but I expect such short paragraphs to be limited to crucial thoughts, information or turning points; too many and it becomes almost stream of consciousness, lacking cohesion and/or transitional writing skills. (At first, I though the foregoing was due to formatting/download error but nope, appeared throughout in parts to the end. The wasted space (resulting in many more pages to turn) then made me think of "Kindle abuse".)
Also, get a little too fancy with imagery and it can lead to output such as "...an edge to his voice that was filled with both unsympathetic cold and hot anger..." (I still can't figure this out) and "...concern marring the dark trusting line of her brows..." (what does a trusting browline look like?) As a reader, I don't want to be distracted like this. This is not Nietzsche, for goodness' sakes!
(3) HISTORICAL CONTEXT? This is the least of my problems with this book. I don't give a fig about historical accuracy so long as deviating from it serves some purpose (case in point: love "Braveheart" despite its utter trashing of historical facts). However, given the author's long research in contrast to the actual amount of historical background incorporated into the story, I couldn't resist looking up the North Berwick witch trials after finishing this book. The story begins in 1593 but the actual witch trials occurred from 1590 to 1592. Also, King James VI married Princess Anne in 1589 but the story refers to her as a "new bride".
I hate to say it but unless there was a typo in the prologue's dateline, I read nothing in the story that warranted using the later date of 1593. Such a tiny, simple thing but that alone rendered the historical aspects of the story incongruous.
This final point is truly just me and my upbringing. I try to give as much leeway as I can when foreign phrases pop up in books. But sometimes... FYI, the first known use of the term "tête-à-tête" was in 1696. Could it have been in use before that? Absolutely. 100 years before? Not likely. Its use in this story, let alone in dialogue—well, you decide.
September 30, 2012
The Spellbound Bride
By Theresa Meyers
Married twice the young Sorcha Maciver is left a widowed virgin on her wedding nights. When Rorick the father of her second husband cries witch on the death of his son Sorcha’s Uncle Maclver fearing for Sorcha’s life betroths her to a man all fear, the mercenary Ian Hunter. Ian known for legends in battle and in desperate need for funds agrees to marry the niece of Maclver not knowing that her clansmen call his betrothed witch. This marriage gives him the funding he needs and the chance of an heir. On his wedding day he finds he has a bride he willingly will not let go.
Sorcha trusts with her heart and doesn’t see the treachery around her. Ian is now her husband and defender. Vowing not to take her to wife without her love he shows her curses aren’t always what you perceive them to be but treachery can destroy you.
Masterfully written by Theresa Myers I had to sit and read this book in a day. I love her description of Clan custom and life in the 1500s. Her words took me to castles cold, drafty yet full of elegance. History is portrayed in her characters lives and I found myself visualizing the experience of Sorcha’s life as it unfolded on the pages of The Spellbound Bride.
By Theresa Meyers
Married twice the young Sorcha Maciver is left a widowed virgin on her wedding nights. When Rorick the father of her second husband cries witch on the death of his son Sorcha’s Uncle Maclver fearing for Sorcha’s life betroths her to a man all fear, the mercenary Ian Hunter. Ian known for legends in battle and in desperate need for funds agrees to marry the niece of Maclver not knowing that her clansmen call his betrothed witch. This marriage gives him the funding he needs and the chance of an heir. On his wedding day he finds he has a bride he willingly will not let go.
Sorcha trusts with her heart and doesn’t see the treachery around her. Ian is now her husband and defender. Vowing not to take her to wife without her love he shows her curses aren’t always what you perceive them to be but treachery can destroy you.
Masterfully written by Theresa Myers I had to sit and read this book in a day. I love her description of Clan custom and life in the 1500s. Her words took me to castles cold, drafty yet full of elegance. History is portrayed in her characters lives and I found myself visualizing the experience of Sorcha’s life as it unfolded on the pages of The Spellbound Bride.
April 22, 2012
I scored this novel on Amazon for free a few months ago and it has been sitting on my kindle ever since. Upon reading the product description I figured it would be worth a shot, and I was right. Even though The Spellbound Bride is not my usual read I found it thoroughly enjoyable.
The characters are very well done. You can easily feel the tension between Ian and Sorcha. Ian starts out as an unlikely hero but works his way into your heart, and of course Sorcha's. I do have to say Sorcha's belief in the curse is at times mind boggling but due to the circumstances and time period it is easy enough to understand why she would believe in something like a curse.
I think Theresa Meyers did an excellent job weaving a story filled with political powers plays and personal vendettas. It is not often that a story without supernatural creatures holds my interest and this one certainly did. Every once in a while you just need to read a feel good, happy ending kind of story and this was a great one.
The characters are very well done. You can easily feel the tension between Ian and Sorcha. Ian starts out as an unlikely hero but works his way into your heart, and of course Sorcha's. I do have to say Sorcha's belief in the curse is at times mind boggling but due to the circumstances and time period it is easy enough to understand why she would believe in something like a curse.
I think Theresa Meyers did an excellent job weaving a story filled with political powers plays and personal vendettas. It is not often that a story without supernatural creatures holds my interest and this one certainly did. Every once in a while you just need to read a feel good, happy ending kind of story and this was a great one.
November 6, 2011
Sorcha has lost tow husbands before she has even been bedded. when her uncle finds another man willing to risk marriage for a price needed to save his French property from forclosure, this tale begins. The last half is the most exciting, and as witchcraft enters the scene, Ian finds himself rushing to save his wife and also trying to unravel mthe mysterious deaths of ther first two husbands before he becomes the third. recomended
June 2, 2014
Beautifully written taken you back in time and keeping you on your toes to who is behind the crimes right up until the last chapter a brilliant read couldnt put it down.
September 6, 2015
Bleurgh. Insta-love.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews