Forbidden Alliance

Scotland 1308 Knight Templar, Sir Callen was determined to oust her vile uncle posing as Laird, the Earl of Dallkirk, and take back his home. His uncle had killed his father and mother and tried to have him killed. But fortunately he had survived and joined the Templars who really had saved him. Now he wants what is rightfully his and justice done. Elspet McReynolds had watched her stepmother and father murdered by the hands of their Laird, the Earl of Dalkirk. Burning her house and taking her stepbrother, he almost ravished her but she was lucky to escape. Desperate to get her brother out of his clutches, she ends up robbing a man who helped her of his broadsword and tried to sell it for coin. Wow, this was a great story tht held me from the beginning. Murder, betrayals, angst and a journey to a happy ever had a few twists and turns. I highly recommend this exciting tale and cannot wait for more in this series! I read this through NetGallery and the publisher!!

3.5 Stars After her family is slain and her home seized, Elspet McReynolds flees into the forests surrounding Tiran Castle, where she resorts to thievery to survive and save her sole remaining kin. There she finds an unexpected protector and ally in Sir Cailin MacHugh, rightful heir to the earldom of Dalkirk. Sir Cailin owes his life to the Brotherhood for saving him from a murderous plot. This is the first book I’ve read by the author & it won’t be the last, I do need to go & read the earlier books in the series as it took me some time to get into this book & there were questions I had that I felt I would have known the answers to if I’d read the earlier books. I found it to be well written with strong characters of depth. The pace varied throughout the book & I must admit I did skip through some of the slower pages. My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

This is a story of two evenly matched people, both fighting for what they believe is right when destiny decides their paths to cross. Elspet seeks to free her brother from the Earl of Dalkirk. The earl is a wicked man and will not stop to get all he wants, yes, even his earldom. Elspet lost her mother and father by his hands. Desperate and naïve she trusts a guard of Tiran Castle to help her free her brother. Her problem? She hasn’t coin to pay him. She turns thief. Elspet doesn’t have luck stealing. Her first forage ends very close to rape. Her second she pulls off, but has a change of heart. That change of heart changes her life. Sir Cailin, still very much a Templar Knight, even after the knighthood was dissovled, seeks his birthright, to regain his claim as the Earl of Dalkirk. His uncle has taken the title after killing Cailin’s mother and father and got rid of Cailin. He meets a fiery lassie with an agenda of her own. His Templar instincts kick in -- to protect her when he finds her fending off some men. Elspet doesn’t need to be protected as much as he thinks. She's quite the warrior. Keeping her out of his bed, however, becomes increasingly difficult as they work together, she to achieve her goal to save her brother and he to regain Tiernan castle. Author Diana Cosby wields her pen as deftly as Sir Cailin does his sword. She interlaces a historical setting of danger with tender, blossoming love. Her characters and their challenges drive the power of the telling. Scenes of love making don’t get in the way of the story, rather they contribute to the understanding that flows between Sir Cailin and Elspet. Cosby’s choice of words describing the feelings between the two was poetic. I loved the read with its fast-paced and meaningful dialogue, its boldly descriptive scenes, and its characters, each with difficult and very believable inner conflicts, pulling at my heart strings.