Maria's Reviews > The Earl's Enticement

Adaira Ferguson is a wee bit out of control. The younger sister of Ewan, the Earl of Sethwick —and hero of Highlander’s Hope, Cameron’s debut—she is impulsive, reckless, and has grown up mostly indulged by her large and loving family. Initially, she comes across as very immature but I believe she represents the anger and unfairness that many women of her time often felt living under the power of a world run by men. She longs for the freedom to be herself at all times but, as the sister of a peer in 1817 Scotland, she cannot. She must adhere to her station and all the strictures and expectations that come with that privilege. She’s a completely free spirit and these rules confine and frustrate her to no end.

Roark, the Earl of Clarendon, is Yvette’s stepbrother—the heroine of Highlander’s Hope—who is visiting Sethwick’s estate in Scotland after Yvette’s recent marriage. Adaira, dressed as a boy in comfortable breeches when she meets Roark in town, mistakenly believes he’s Edgar, his nefarious brother, who is suspected of murdering their parents and who was once cruel to Yvette. She comes up with the harebrained scheme (with the help of her oafish childhood friend, Brayan, who harbors an unrequited crush on her) to capture Roark and hold him in the family dungeon. Completely insane! Instead of going directly to her father, she takes matters into her own hands and it’s a total disaster. This part of the book is almost farcical and I almost shook my head at Adaira’s crazy scheme. Roark’s experiences in the dungeon are not for the faint of heart and this part of the book is a little too dark and realistic for my taste.

For my full review on my historical romance & history blog: http://bit.ly/1xcFV8f