cover image The Border Lord and the Lady

The Border Lord and the Lady

Bertrice Small. New American Library, $15 (432pp) ISBN 978-0-451-22792-8

Lady Cicely Bowen, confidant of Queen Joan Beaufort at the Scottish court, is determined to marry only a man she loves. However, her plans are dashed when she meets rough Scottish border lord Ian Douglas, who is so captivated by her that he kidnaps her away to his lands, convinced that she will fall in love with him. Despite a tempestuous beginning, Cicely soon is intrigued by the uncouth but gentle Douglas. Ever-popular Small concludes her Border Chronicles (A Dangerous Love, etc.) with this sexy, albeit mostly predictable, romp along the Scottish borders. As readers have come to expect, heroine Cicely is tough, smart and wildly independent. Small manages to keep the romance fresh with fliratations, steamy scenes and political intrigue. Fans of her work will find it entertainingly familiar, which with a writer of Small's talent, is no small thing.