The Ward's Bride

Border Series Prequel Novella

By: Cecelia Mecca

Narrated by: Benedict Waring

Length: 3 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

Their marriage is forced. Their passion is real.

English knight Sir Adam Dayne is offered the ultimate prize by the earl who raised him: lordship of Langford castle. All he must do is accept a betrothal to the Scottish Marcher warden's beautiful daughter, a match made to keep peace at the tumultuous Anglo-Scottish border. Sir Adam relishes the prospect - until he meets the woman he is to wed.

Lady Cora Maxwell hates everything English, including the self-assured new lord who has claimed her hand in marriage. Desperate to return home to Scotland, Cora displays increasingly outrageous behavior in the hopes of dissuading the Englishman from the marriage. But when Adam proposes a unique challenge, Cora is forced to face her greatest fears and the burgeoning desire he has awakened in her.

The Ward's Bride is a prequel novella in a historical romance series set in 13th century Northumbria. If you like strong female heroines, alpha male types, and sizzling romance, you'll love the first installment of the Border Series. Transport yourself to the medieval world of The Ward's Bride today!

©2017 Cecelia Mecca (P)2017 Altiora Press

Absolutely Brilliant!!

An arranged marriage. Between an English Lord, and a fiery Scottish Lady. She plots to escape the marriage, and he makes lifelong plans.

Full of humor, tension and sizzle. I was so hoping she would fail. Narrated with the appropriate brogue; listening was an absolute delight!!

Steamy Historical Novella

This story was a great start to what promises to be a very good series. I enjoy Cecelia Mecca, she creates characters that you would like to know, and a rich historical story.

Captivating Listen

Both the author and narrator were new to me. I really enjoyed this short listen. The characters are strong and independent, yet they have great chemistry. The forced marriage concept fit the time period for this book. Cora was fortunate that her husband (Adam) was not the brute most English barons were to Scottish brides. I thought the narrator did a very good performance with the various characters and was able to put the right emotion into the story. My review is not a synopsis of the book, but rather my opinion of it. I was provided with this review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily written my review. I will definitely look for more books in this series.

Excellent Series Prequel

This story is a novella, so there is a lot of story delivered compactly. I enjoyed this story and the characters. Not unusual in this time, Cora and Adam's marriage is arranged. This union is set in order to bring Peace between the English and Scott's. While Adam is willing to see his Country's needs met, Cora is no so willing to enter into what she believes will be a loveless marriage especially with an Englishman. This steamy love story will leave you wanting more.

a fun series starter

When the earl who raised him as if he were his own son offers Sir Adam Dayne the lordship of Langford Castle, Adam can’t refuse the man who’s like a father to him. But to keep the peace on the fractious English-Scottish border, Adam must also marry the daughter of the Scottish border warden. Adam is eager to do anything to help his foster father, until he meets his reluctant bride and wonders just what he’s agreed to.

Lady Cora Maxwell harbors nothing but resentment for the English. She comes up with a plan almost immediately, hoping to convince her new husband to send her back to Scotland by acting in increasingly infuriating ways. But Adam is determined not to disappoint his foster father, so he issues Cora a challenge of his own, forcing her to open herself up to the unwitting attraction she’s come to feel for Adam.

This was a fun novella, but I must say I was not a fan of Cora. She was extremely judgmental and wouldn’t give Adam even the slightest chance despite his impeccable behavior towards her. Poor Adam had the patience of a saint and I loved his relationship with Richard. I’m eager to continue my attempt at listening to the Border series in order. This was a new-to-me narrator, but I enjoyed his voice and will look for more of his work.

Love story

A love story of Sir Adam and Lady Cora. He is English and she is Scottish. Sir Adam was given land and castle with a stipulation that he must marry Lady Cora. A forced marriage between Sir Adam and Lady Cora, but their passion was real. Very romance story.

An arranged marriage with a feisty Scottish lass

Any additional comments?

3.5 stars

I love historical stories from this time period and this is a short but entertaining, sometimes humorous and very enjoyable prequel to a series. Hopefully the rest of the series will be available on Audible soon. I'm looking forward to it.

The English and Scottish have been at odds forever. Many tenuous alliances were made through the practice of arranged marriages. Some were lucky and found love others were unlucky and miserable. If Cora gives her union a chance she may discover she's one of the lucky ones.

Interesting and well rounded cast of characters. For being a shorter book the characters had depth. Even though there is an instant attraction I really liked that so much time was spent on developing Cora and Adam as well as the relationship developing between them. Both the H and h are independent and strong characters. Of coarse you can't help but admire Cora's feisty demeanor and tenacity. She's determined to get back to Scotland. Adam was unbelievably patient, considerate and honorable when it came to Cora.

Benedict Waring did a great job with the narration. Nice voice that is perfect for this type of story. His accent lends an authenticity to the story. Clearly spoken with a nice pace. His male voices are great of coarse. His female voices are really good as well. Occasionally there was an odd pause. But it fit the story as if the characters were having a hard time expressing themselves. He was able to bring the characters and story to life. Hopefully he will be narrating the rest of the series. Very enjoyable

You can hear him swallow and take in breaths at times which gets a bit annoying after a while. It was not so much that it took away from my overall enjoyment of the story.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily provided this review.

Cora and Adam two strangers will they love one another

This was such a good story for a beginning of a series. It was a short romantic story about a woman who was to be wed to a man she has never met through a prearranged marriage. She’s determined not to be wed but things don’t turn out the way she planned. The narrator did such a good job with the many different voices and the fact that he had an old Scottish accent only brought the characters to life. I would recommend this to fans of the Author or to those that like historical romances. I was gifted a copy of this audiobook but I am voluntarily leaving my own opinion in this review.

Arranged

When Cora a Scottish lass is given in marriage to Adam an English ward she sets out to make him unhappy. But he surprises her at every turn. Her heart starts to care but her brain does not. Her freedom is what will finally be the decision to stay or leave. I am voluntarily reviewing this complimentary audio.

Feisty Bride

This is a well written and narrated historical that left me with the feeling of wanting to listen to more books in the series. Along with the historical theme, this story is exciting, has delightful characters, is romantic and has lots of sweet moments that left me smiling. I will be checking out more by this author.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily provided this review.