Review + Giveaway: Blue Bonnets by Marie Laval

Blue Bonnets by Marie Laval

Series: Dancing for the Devil Trilogy: Book 2

Release Date: 28th January 2016
Publisher:  Accent Press

Genres:  Historical Romance

BLUE BONNETS - Book 2

Cape Wrath, Scotland, November 1847.
When her ship is caught in a terrifying storm off the far north of Scotland and she catches her first glimpse of Wrath Lodge, Rose believes she has reached the gateway to hell. Her encounter with Wrath's laird Bruce McGunn does nothing to reassure her. A reckless officer discharged from the army, McGunn holds a bitter grudge against her husband's family, the wealthy McRaes, and Rose is soon horrified to find out that he means to hold her to ransom in order to save his estate from financial ruin.

Bruce's health is failing fast, and he fears he is descending into madness with terrifying hallucinations tormenting him every night. Soon something else is keeping him awake - a growing attraction for his feisty and exotic captive, and the gruesome discovery of two women's bodies washed ashore near the castle. One of them, Malika, is a childhood friend of Rose's she last saw in Algiers the day before her marriage to McRae. How the women died, who killed them and disposed of their bodies is a mystery Bruce now has to solve.  

Determined not to miss the ball where her darling Cameron promised to announce their wedding he has until now kept a secret, Rose manages to escape dark, gloomy Wrath. She takes with her a posy of pine sprigs she believes was given to her by the Dark Lady, Wrath's resident ghost, and confused feelings for Wrath's brutal and tormented master - the man she calls McGlum...

Blue Bonnets (BOOK 2) Excerpt

‘Why did you lie to me?’

            ‘I didn’t.’ She didn’t even look at him but carried on stacking the dirty tumblers up. She then snapped shut the lid of the jam jar and brushed the crumbs off the table top into the palm of her hand. When she threw the crumbs into the fire, the flames hissed and flared.

            Like his temper.

            He strode towards her, stopping only a couple of paces from her.

            ‘You did lie. You heard the McKenzies…The question is why.’

            The rush of heat to her cheeks didn’t escape his attention, and neither did the trembling of her hands as she caught the sides of the plaid slipping off her shoulders. So she wasn’t that cool and composed after all. He narrowed his eyes, hardened his voice.

            ‘I want answers, and I want them now. Who are you? McRae’s mistress? A whore he picked up in the docks in Algiers?’

            She gasped, the plaid dropped down from her shoulders onto the floor but this time she didn’t seem to notice. The fire behind her outlined the contours of her body, the curve of her waist and the swell of her hips. Her blonde hair fell in tight curls and ringlets down to the small of her back, her lips parted, her breasts stretched the thin fabric of the nightdress with every breath she took. She looked as innocent as an angel, as tempting as sin.

            He clenched his jaw and stepped closer. Some angel she was. She would damn well explain herself even if he had to pull the truth out of her the hard way.

Blue Bonnets is the next exciting installment in the Dancing For The Devil Trilogy and what an exciting rollercoaster this series is turning out to be. Not only do we have historical romance but we also have suspense and mystery too! The book immediately starts into the story again, taking up where book 2 left off so it is essential that you read book 1 in the series.

Rose and Bruce still have that love / hate thing going on with the desire for one another just oozing out of them! Things do hot up a little for them in this book but frustratingly so and the sexual tension is almost palpable. 

Bruce is on a mission to save Rose when she stupidly decides to try to find her husband herself and gets into all sorts of trouble. There is no doubt that she has an incredibly strong personality as does Bruce and this is where a lot of the difficulty lies. They are actually more alike than they care to admit. Rose sees first hand Bruce's vulnerabilities in this book and her kind and caring nature kick in rather than her fight or flight mode and she helps Bruce. Rose is beginning to have her eyes opened to the reality of who her husband is and soon realises that Bruce has been right all along. She also realises that Bruce is more than she thought he was.

I love Marie Laval's writing and the way she has incorporated little clues to the mysteries within Bruce and Rose's story. Its like a literary treasure hunt! Some things are definitely starting to add up not only for Bruce and Rose but for the reader too! The secrets held within Rose's father's military journal hold the clue to Bruce's past. There is much excitement within this book and Rose and Bruce are constantly in peril with danger coming at them at every turn. It seems Cameron McRae will stop at nothing to protect family secrets and to stop Rose from destroying his plans with another woman.

I cannot wait to read book 3!! 

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ABOUT MARIE LAVAL

Originally from Lyon in France, Marie has lived in the beautiful Rossendale Valley, Lancashire, England, for the past few years and likes nothing more than dreaming up romance stories and handsome, brooding heroes. She writes historical and contemporary romance. Her contemporary romance A SPELL IN PROVENCE, as well as her historical romances, ANGEL HEART, together with the award-winning THE LION'S EMBRACE, and the DANCING FOR THE DEVIL Trilogy (which includes THE DREAM CATCHER, BLUE BONNETS and SWORD DANCE) are all published by Áccent Press.

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Twitter:  Marie Laval @MarieLaval1