Marked by Honor

After losing both her mother and grandfather on the same day, Lady Beatrice Bordel is forced to visit her grandfather’s closest friend in order to persuade him to let her live in his household. But she’s only just begun her journey when a band of highwaymen attack her, and she narrowly gets saved by Raynor Le Roux, a knight of the realm. 

Beatrice lies to her savior, telling him she’s engaged and on her way to her soon-to-be husband’s castle. Raynor takes Beatrice to his own home, Ashcroft, which has fallen into disrepair. Raynor is determined to restore his castle before he escorts Beatrice back to the man he believes her to be engaged to, but all the while, he grows more and more attracted to her. Beatrice’s attractions for Raynor grow as well, but her white lie may cost her everything. 

Although “Marked by Honor” is the second book in a series, it can effortlessly be read as a stand-alone. With a touch of mystery and suspense, this is primarily a romance story. Raynor is wonderfully likable and easy to relate to, but watching him struggle with his honor is frustrating when Beatrice could just tell him the truth. This leave's Beatrice's character rather infuriating because of continued refusal to tell him the truth. While the story starts off slowly, it does pick up until there’s a lot of suspense toward the end that more than makes up for for the wait!

Majanka Verstraete