The Soldier’s Daughter
What if William Wallace has a child? What if Jilliana is also Edward the First of England’s granddaughter? What if the only way to avenge her father’s death is for Jilliana to wed a man who may have betrayed Wallace to Edward? Schooled by her father to be a warrior, she learns her lessons well, but she is ill prepared to assume the role of a young maid in service to her aunt, a nun, or the wife of John Carlisle, a Scottish earl. Yet she must do both to kill the man responsible for her father’s death.
Ms. James neatly weaves the facts of this turbulent period in Scottish history into a story perfect for a dismal damp day–if the reader accepts that Robert the Bruce readily trusts a woman as his most loyal soldier and seeks her counsel about military strategy. The romance is less satisfying. The story becomes mired in Carlisle’s struggle to break the psychological barriers impeding Jilliana’s venting of emotion. Once love flourishes, it comes too late to snare the reader. The biggest drawback, however, lies with the price. Will readers pay that much for any romance?
Cindy Vallar
