Elizabeth Keys

After the murder of her brother and his wife, the heroine takes her young niece and nephew and flees Ireland to keep them out of the clutches of their parents killer. In her desperation to board the hero's ship, she declares herself to be his wife and kisses him. The hero is not the sort to believe in the Blessing his family is gifted to that allows them to know and see their life mate. He is a lawyer, he's absolutely focused on saving his family from financial ruin but he can't stop himself from taking the panicked woman and her two young children aboard. And each time they go to part ways, he always finds a way to reason his preens and the heroine, whom feels so drawn to the Irishman, longs for his to stay always. But in order to keep the children with her, she must marry so, even though it breaks her heart she seeks out her brothers friend to marry. Although the friend isn't a very decent person, at times he is cold and ruthless, he's not truly a villain. I didn't like how the heroine goes to him with the proposal of marriage and then sleeps with the hero under his roof. I thought it was heartless and mean to play with him like that. I really liked the hero. They say you can judge a man by how he interacts with children and the hero was a kind, tender and protective man. Though he starts out at the beginning of the book as a rather humorous, stone faced man who thinks of nothing but his vow to save his family, He however soon becomes a guardian to the young children and a pillar of strength for the heroine. He truly will do any and everything for either of them though at times, he becomes angry with himself because of his selflessness. Because in order to save and protect his female and her children, he sacrifices an opportunity to save his family.The heroine was something to admire as she defies custom and has interest in learning and reading and she risks everything to save her niece and nephew, though she knows that few will believe the truth she has to tell about the murder. It was a nice book with a very sexy Irish hero and touch of paranormal elements what with the Blessing and all.… (meer)

The hero's family has always known they had the Blessing; which comes to them instantly and lets them know that they've found the woman destined to be theirs. But when the hero lands in America and saves the heroine from a runaway carriage, he less than pleased to be receiving the blessing when it takes him away from his goals. He's got a great deal of Irish pride and, in a world where Irish are thought of as little more than animals, he's lost and unwanted. But he reluctantly agrees to help the heroine bring her injured coachman home and then is sucked into the heroine's life. He simply is too good a person to let her struggle with her evil parents alone. Although he's more than rude to her in the beginning, it's clear that it just gruff, manly stubbornness that makes him act liKe that. He's far too attracted to his Blessing's woman than he deems healthy. When the heroine's grandmother grows ill and her parents refuse to allow her to visit, he helps her sneak off in the middle of the night. In result, she ruins all hope of marriage and the freedom she gains from it, she seduces the hero one night by the river. From there everything changes. The hero is swallowed up by his love for the heroine but he's still plagued by the fact that he still needs money to help his family. The heroine is so kindhearted and selfless that though it tears her apart into, she doesn't fight him when he makes plans to travel to California. This book is just barely a paranormal but I feel confidant in categorizing it as such because The Blessing is such a predominate part of the story and a very real thing. He does know instantly and powerfully that the heroine is meet to be his and though he fights it for most of the book, he doesn't deny that it's the truth. I did find myself bored with the first half of the story but the second half really picked up and became interesting after they sleep together. I did find it a tad unbelievable that the heroine, a weel born lady, would just into bed with a ' servant' but I do suppose she figures she'll never find a husband after running away from her betrothed. I loved the hero's term of endearment which is a Gaelic for My Heart. Overall it was a simple but nice story.… (meer)

Their marriage was a matter of convenience but in her heart the heroine as always longed for a true love. Friends since childhood, the heroine knows that he's the only man she can trust to care for her and her young son and protect them from her tyrant of a father. She has money which the hero desperately needs to save his families company and that is the only reason he would ever agree to take another wife. The first marriage ending badly and has weighed heavily on his soul and the guilt of his selfishness has been eroding him for years. The burden of more responsibility, of knowing 2 more innocent souls must rely on him is almost too much to bare. But he can never allow the business his father started to go under so he accepts her proposal and they are married quickly. Never in his wildest dreams would he expect his new wife to awaken the blessing within him- the ancient knowing of ones fated mate. And if this blessing it expected to make him happy than it's sadly mistaken. It actually makes him ever more on edge and distant. The heroine journeys to the small Irish town where the hero was born and where she can recall the happiness times of her childhood before her mother died in an insane asylum. She's hurt and confused by her new husbands dismissal of her presence and irritably at all her attempts to make him happy but at least she's home again, with her grandfather and a safe place to raise her son. She vows to be a good wife, to ease the burden of her new husband as well as she can but he makes it difficult. Everything she does seems to anger him or displease him and she begins to doubt that she'll ever be welcome in his heart. The hero's restraint and self imposed exile begin to disappear in the face of the desire he feels for her, for the love he feels inside. It takes some time but eventually he realizes the gift he's received and the blessing of having a family, a wife and a son who love him very much. He realizes that he's not an island, that one can't make it alone without a little help sometimes. I enjoyed this book though it was rather slow paced. The heroine was not the feisty woman as described on the back on the book but rather one could call her tenacious. Though she is shy and insecure and timid, in the fight to win over her husband she is relentless. She's hurt by his snappy comments and his mean words but that doesn't stop her from trying to climb that damn wall he keeps around his heart. Every moment spent out of the clutches of her evil father sees her becoming more and more assertive. Not sassy, not aggressive but stubborn and firm in saying and doing what she feels is right. I admired her character and applauded her lady like decorum and grace in dealing with her bear of a husband. The hero was aggravating as all hell and really quite mean in his purist to keep himself away from his wife and the happiness she threatens to bring into his life. He spent most of the book being a dick if I'm completely honest but when it counted, he was always right there even though he claimed to only be capable of letting people down. Together they had hot chemistry and I found nothing wrong with their love story. My issue was the lack of a true villain. The father only appeared at the beginning and at the end and with nothing happening in the middle. Maybe a bit more consistency could have pushed it to a higher rating but I feel comfortable with a heavy 3 star.… (meer)