Sarah McKerrigan - Knight's Prize

She certainly seems meek and soft-spoken, unlike her warrior sisters. But once the sun goes down, Miriel of Rivenloch becomes "The Shadow," the bold, mysterious renegade who robs the rich to give to the poor. But can she outwit the devil-may-care mercenary Sir Rand la Nuit, who has been hired to unmask The Shadow? Miriel doesn't know Rand's mission-only that his sudden, amorous courtship is hiding something. Rand doesn't know who The Shadow is-only that the lovely woman in his arms heats his blood. Touch by silky touch, kiss by sizzling kiss, the stakes-and their passions-mount. And once Rand and Miriel disrobe in his bedchamber, both can lose everything they live for-including their oh-so-vulnerable hearts.

Comment: Following my attempt to read some loose titles I have in my shelves, this is the last book by this author I have. The first one in the trilogy was a birthday gift and I enjoyed the story enough to keep going. 

This one is the third and last.

Miriel is the younger of three sisters. She is known for her quiet personality and for her delicate manners. She's the sister that takes care of the castle and everything in it because her older sisters were always more interested in fighting. However, Miriel isn't without secrets. She and her Chinese maid, Sung Li, have developed in secret the scheme of robbing the money from rich nobles to give to the poor and they did that by creating an outlaw, the Shadow. Since she was a young girl, Miriel has been trained by Sung Li in the Chinese fighting arts and she can do things her sisters have no idea, and with her softer side being the one she shows in public, she is safe from being discovered as the Shadow.

The problem is, as time goes by, the Shadow has become known and although the people salute him by his actions, the noblemen want him arrested. A group of men hire Rand la Nuit, a mercenary, to find and stop the Shadow by arresting him. 

Rand knows the Shadow acts around Rivenloch, Miriel's castle, and so goes there to investigate and uses the idea of courting Miriel to hide the real reasons for his presence there. Rand is a mercenary but he's tired of his life and while pretending to court Miriel, he realizes maybe he could do it for real and be a respected man in the castle and also marrying the woman he starts to fall in love with.

I liked the book, it's something you read pretty fast. The plot is rather predictable, but I already expected that before reading. the fun part is actually the situations both Miriel and Rand get themselves into while playing hide and seek. I think some scenes were very amusing and gave the book a certain light feeling, like historicals don't need to be very serious, even medieval ones.

The romance wasn't that amazing, although it was fun to see them fall in love despite thinking they wouldn't and how they reacted because of jealousy. I liked how they thought things were wrong and how emotional they become when they thought their relationship was doomed but even better was to see them accepting the other and admitting their feelings.

In terms of plot + romance + writing, I can't say this was the best book I've read, but it's a simple story, easily read and it offers a solid HEA and entertains. It's a book to relax and perhaps read between more serious things but it doesn't leave a mark in the reader, at least I didn't end up wondering about it or about what would happen...it's just a readable book.

The writing was fine, easy to follow. The author's style is the usual for this type of books, and I didn't think it diminished the book's value. It's just that, the book is very bland. Still, a relatively enjoyable read.

Sarah McKerrigan - Captive Heart

A warrior born and raised, Helena of Rivenloch is desperate to save her youngest sister from a fate worse than death: marriage.

After trying--and failing--to murder the groom, she does the next best thing. She takes his right-hand knight, the dashing Colin du Lac, as her hostage. And discovers that her new “captive” is chivalrous to the core, highly amused by her behavior, and far more dangerous than any warrior she has ever fought.

Du Lac is soon trading quips instead of sword thrusts, exchanging glances that turn to kisses, and laying siege to Helena’s untried passions. But du Lac has no use for a warrior wife, and Helena will not wed. How long, then, can they revel in the pleasures of the bedchamber before they forge an alliance between their warring hearts?

Comment: This is the second book by this author that I've read. Once again, it was amusing to see some of the situations described and the clash of wills of both main characters. I didn't like it as much as the first, Lady Danger, because I didn't find as much sympathy for the main characters as I did for the ones in the previous book. In this one, Helena and Colin did have some interesting attitudes and thoughts, but I don't think there was much improvement in their behaviour.

They did grow up, but only as a way to conclude the story, not from a real learning. I'll eventually read the final one, but I'm not sure when.

Hopefully the plot will live to its promise and be very good.

Sarah McKerrigan - Lady Danger

BORN TO THE BLADE... Raised to fear no man, Deirdre of Rivenloch never backs down from a clash of steel or a threat to her lands and family. But when she tricks Sir Pagan Cameliard into marrying her in order to save her younger sister, she's faced with a new kind of enemy: a husband who would turn her resistance into a fire that heats her blood...and who would use all his cunning to make her cry his name in ultimate abandon. For Pagan has made his own wedding vow. He will best his sword-wielding bride in the field by day and make her surrender in his arms by night. Her heart will be his...even if it means being conquered by hers.

Comment: This book surprised me because it was more fun and interesting than what I imagined. The heroine's resistance to the male character, to surrender, amazed me and in the end when she gives up it's not a defeat, it's a recognition of mutual feelings. I liked it a lot.
I also liked the book doesn't focus too much on either aspect: the romance or the plot. It has a good balance of the two things.