Barbarian Slave (The Warrior Brothers of Skye #2)

Tarl mac Muin desperately wants to distinguish himself in the raid against the Caesers besieging his homeland and earn his older brother’s admiration. Unfortunately, when he impulsively saves a Roman woman from a Pict ally, he wins a slave, earns an enemy, and loses his heart in the process. Lucrezia is unhappy in her marriage to a Roman soldier posted along Hadrian’s wall, but she never expected her life to change so drastically when the Picts attack. Determined to gain her freedom, Lucrezia is not interested in submitting to the temptations Tarl presents, but as his warprize, she must go where he takes her, and in learning about the Pict culture, so different from her own, she finds that she might not just be the decoration she was brought up to be after all. 

The second book in the “The Warrior Brothers of Skye” series, “Barbarian Slave” takes on the romance of the second of the Eagle clan brothers, introduces some new characters and brings back some old. Following his older brother’s romance in the first book, Tarl and Lucrezia are a different couple with clashing cultures. The story presents both cultures as accurately as possible, including languages, places, and traditions of the time period that give the book a lush setting and background to help the romance progress. Although the plot is fairly predictable, the characters themselves are interesting, the romance smoldering, so lovers of historical romance will find this wilder story a fun read.

Sarah E Bradley