Review - The Laird Takes a Bride by Lisa Berne

The Laird Takes a Bride by Lisa Berne
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Laird Takes a Bride, the second Penhallow Dynasty novel by author Lisa Berne, is vastly different than the first novel in the series, You May Kiss the Bride, in the best way. From the beginning, I was hooked on the characters of Fiona Douglass and Alasdair Penhallow, and couldn't wait to see how they got to their happily-ever-after.

It was another long, kind of winding story, similar to the first, however the characters felt much more fleshed out and three-dimensional, which made all the difference. Berne gave the reader perspectives from both protagonists both together and apart, which was great at developing them into real people.

An archaic clan law stipulates that Alasdair Penhallow, the laird, must wed one of the unmarried daughters of the clans. Fiona Douglass is one of those daughters, and has no interest in marrying the laird. A series of events take place (along with some truly well-written banter by Berne) that lead to Fiona being the only choice available, so reluctantly they wed.

What follows is a series of ups and downs in their relationship that will leave your head spinning, culminating in a very satisfying happily-ever-after. Would recommend.

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Review: You May Kiss the Bride - Lisa Berne

You May Kiss the Bride by Lisa Berne
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

You May Kiss the Bride is the first in Lisa Berne's Penhallow Dynasty series. The story focuses on Gabriel Penhallow, a very wealthy and prominent gentleman in search of a bride, and Livia Stuart, the orphaned country girl he accidentally gets engaged to.

The plot of this novel is very long and rambling, and seems to get lost completely at times. Overall summed up: guy reluctantly gets married, girl agrees. Unfortunately I could not bring myself to like either of the main characters. Gabriel seemed for the majority of the book to be nothing more than a puppet of his overbearing grandmother, and it never felt like the reader got a good sense of who he was as a person outside of interactions with Livia. Livia, the heroine, started out plucky and courageous, eager to stand up for herself, but it felt like a quarter of the way into the book she became a whipped puppy who only lashed out occasionally, and blended into the woodwork the rest of the time.

I will be continuing the Penhallow Dynasty series, and am hopeful that the subsequent books are a little better.

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