Reviewed by PJ Ausdenmore
Publisher: Forever
4 stars

I’m a long-time fan of medieval romance.  Once upon a time, medievals were in abundance with new books being released every month but they’ve become a bit scarce in recent years so you can imagine how excited I get every time a good one hits the market.  Toss a sexy highlander, a feisty heroine and a touch of paranormal into the medieval mix and my reader’s heart dances with delight.

The beloved younger daughter of Duncan MacKenzie, the Black Stag of Kintail, Lady Gelis MacKenzie has begun to wonder if she will ever be allowed to marry.  She dreams of being swept away by a handsome, passionate man while watching her over-protective father spurn suitor after suitor…until an offer arrives from the one man that honor demands he not refuse, sending Gelis into the arms of the handsome stranger whose face she has seen in a vision and who she firmly believes she is meant to love for the rest of her life.

Ronan “Raven” MacRuari is a proud, passionate man living a cursed life.  He has buried two wives and refuses to consider a third, believing with all his heart that to do so would be to consign another woman to death.  His wily grandfather has other ideas.  Calling in an old debt of honor, his grandfather sends for Lady Gelis MacKenzie, a beautiful, spirited woman who he believes is the one woman with a chance to win his grandson’s heart and end the curse of the MacRuari clan.   He just neglects to mention the fact that he has betrothed Ronan to Gelis until the blushing bride-to-be arrives on their doorstep.

This book has so many elements that I enjoy in historical fiction.  The story is set in Scotland, has a proud and stubborn hero, a heroine with the gift of magic in her soul and enough belief in her destiny to withstand, and eventually overcome, the hero’s doubts, an ancient curse, mortal (and some perhaps not so mortal) beings with sinister intentions, a loyal dog, intriguing secondary characters and a wily grandfather.   Welfonder masterfully injects the dialogue with enough local inflection so that I felt as though I could “hear” the characters’ Scots brogue but not so much that I was pulled out of the story by attempting to pronounce the words or guess at their meaning.   The story progressed smoothly and held my attention throughout.  The author also did a terrific job of dropping hints here and there as to the identity of the villains and reasons for the curse while keeping me guessing until close to the end of the book.  I adored Buckie, Ronan’s elderly dog.  It is, in large part, by observing Buckie and Ronan’s relationship and Ronan’s concern for and loving care of his beloved pet that Gelis, and the reader, gradually begin to better understand the man.

Seducing a Scottish Bride is part of an ongoing series but stands well on its own.  It’s the first Welfonder book that I’ve read but I’m already looking forward to reading the earlier books in this series as well as the next book, A Highlander’s Temptation which is due out in October of this year.