This is the third book of the Celtic Hearts series. Gawain and his mother escape Scotland and Gabhan becomes an English Knight. Juliana her burning home and Gawain rescues her, calling her the Swan Maiden. Juliana is a fiery and passionate character, loyal to the rebel cause. Her heart is also loyal to Gawain, despite him being on the opposite side of her cause. They both carry their own secrets, but they will need to learn to trust each other in order to escape the people who want to hurt them both and find love with each other.
Though the story started out a bit slow at first, it was well-written and as it progressed it definitely piqued my interest and kept me engaged. There was plenty of action and suspense along with a beautifully written romance.
I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

Can Love Defy the Odds?

He rescued her twice, but he was on the side of the English king. She was with the Scottish resistance. However, Juliana did not know that Gawain was hiding a secret. He was part Scottish. In this enchanting, Scottish historical romance, enemies must find common ground. Love just might light the way, but their journey would not be easy. Danger would dog their footsteps. Would they emerge victorious? I enjoyed this story and would recommend it to lovers of Scottish historical romance.

I'll admit I was bothered by the violence in this book. I knew it was going to probably be like this, since this the English and it was the 1300s. And even the last book had the fmc in an outdoor cage for months! But at least with the last book, once we got beyond that point, it got much better. Here the depravity and sadism of the villains (the english) just lasted way beyond my comfort level.

I loved both of the main characters - Juliana and Gawain and their love story is beautiful. And all the pets!!! Swans and kittens!!! I always love notable pets!

But the sheriff just seemed to be a bit too bad, kind of Black Jack Randell quality evil. He did get what he deserved, but I wish the man would have been dispatched from this earth sooner in the book.

This is a medieval romance set mainly in Scotland. Our hero is torn between his birth heritage and his stepfather's loyalty to King Edward. He has got into real trouble a few times because of it.
Our heroine is the type legends are written about. She uses her talents to rebel against the invaders.
There is beauty and sadness to go with the lovely romance. Its a very unusual story. The swans play a huge part and are just as important as the human characters. An action packed book ,and it's hard to see how their problems can be solved.
Good fun.

I found the concept of a legend wrapped in rebellion interesting, in that it brought the main characters together. Juliana is a warrior in her own right in her defense of Scotland, and although she and Gawain are fated lovers, they are on opposite sides of the battle. Gawain's allegiance to the Crown is tested not only because of his birth but also his love for the Swan Maiden. I had difficulty getting into this book and at times found my attention wandering. Nevertheless, I was glad that it came to a good close, especially as the perpetrator of foul deeds received his just reward. I received this book as a gift through Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

A fantastic end to an intriguing, awesome series. Gawain and Julianna come together on an adventure of a life time. The dynamics between the two of them is wholly engaging. They are strong and determined yet the pain and suffering feels real and authentic. So much so that you may be brought to tears. The villain will have your hate emotions at full peak. I found myself yelling at him throughout the story and wishing I could take him on personally. You can read this as a stand alone yet I'd seriously recommend reading the entire series, it's worth not just one read but repeat readings.

If Robin Hood and the Swan Princess had a Highlander romance baby, it would be this book. More adventure than romance but definitely a bit of spice. It's a relaxing read to transport you to Scotland. I loved it.

This is an edited and republished version of The Swan Maiden which I read years ago, but it's been so long that I don't remember much to compare.

An Oath, A Promise, Challenges, Finding Love
The last book of this intriguing series and what a thrilling complex story it turned out to be.
The characters are deeply intriguing, stalwart and passionate.
We follow Gawain the handsome knight who has secrets and Julianna who is an incredibly dynamitic character who goes through an unbelievable amount of suffering.
This story reads like a whirligig and keeps the reader on their toes. So much is going on and the evil King Edward is just plain awful.
I truly enjoyed the story and the slow building romance that took us through many sweet kisses and to a happy ending that brought tears of joy.
📣Special Mention goes to the swan Artan and Guinevere for adding so much to this wonderful love story.
💖 Loved that the cover gave me a glimpse of the story and characters inside

#BookReview #ComingSoon #ScottishHistorical #DragonbladePublishing

Book:’’ The Swan Laird ” formerly ‘’The Swan Maiden”
Author: Susan King
Series: Celtic Hearts, Book #3
Release Date: April 26, 2024
Publisher: Dragonblade
Length: 312 Pages
Overall Rating: 5/5 Stars
Blog Rating: 5/5 Saltire Flags

This is the third book and the conclusion of the Celtic Hearts series. It is another revised edition originally titled “The Swan Maiden.” The hero is Sir Gawain the Knight, not the goshawk, who was last seen in “The Hawk Laird” but like the previous two books the author has upgraded and rewritten.

Scotland, 1300-1306

Sir Gawain Avenel makes sure no one knows he is really Scottish born and birth name was Gabhan MacDuff, as his Scottish Laird father and Grandfather were killed by the English. They burned down their castle, his mother and he escaped to her homeland in England, changed his name, was not allowed to speak gaelic, and he could no longer wear his plaid either and had to wear English clothes. His mother eventually met his loving step-father Sir Henry Avenel, now Gawain had three step-brothers, eventually his mother and his step-father had two twin daughters. If his Scottish origins were discovered it could easily put his very life in danger and his entire English family would be accused of being traitors! He pledged himself to the Hammer of the Scots, King Edward the I of England and became a Knight especially having a step-father who was so very respected and well connected among the English nobility. The King is now testing Gawain to see if he will be loyal or betray him again!

Although trouble seems to find Gawain where he had spent some time in an English prison for running with rebel Scot’s and helping James Lindsay and his wife. He had a soft spot for the Scots; he had a lot of guilt as it cost his English family some problems and tragedy. He had also saved a young girl who was Juliana Lindsay-from drowning some six years ago while trying to escape the English who were pursuing her. Somehow all the swans in her loch seemed to protect her, he had named her the Swan Maiden and she named him the Swan Laird. She would not see him until six years later under very different circumstances.

Six years later the King wants to humiliate Juliana Lindsay and eat one of her favorite Swans cobs she named Artan! All the men at this feist try to make a fool of her to make her an example to force her to obey King Edward, except it only makes her despise all these Sasseanchs even more with a passion! The cruel sheriff Sir Walter de Soulis had arrested her and her little brothers as rebels from The Abbot who was their Guardian. They had her in a dungeon and now in golden chains and dressed like a swan. It was Gawain who was kind to her and her swan cobb trying to protect her against the men who were unkind and trying to humiliate her!

Gawain is shocked when the King orders him to marry this bonny lass! Juliane is even more beautiful than she was six years ago although she looks at him with such hatred! He would be bringing her back to Scotland to her castle at Elladoune though eventually there will be a garrison something Juliana will loathe and they want her to sign an oath of loyalty to the KIng. Gawain wants a real marriage and Juliana just wants to escape plus they both carry secrets not trusting each other. Will they ever trust each other and be able to escape people that want to hurt them both and discover love? Read and find out.

Susan King has been one of my go-to-authors for close to thirty years! I think I have read every book she has written. She does amazing research on all of her stories that is always so awe-inspiring and impressive. I seem to always learn something new in each of her books. In this book I learned a lot about swans in this book that I did not know and I found so fascinating. I loved the Arthurian names for the swans and our hero Sir Gawain too! I look forward to reading “The Scottish Bride” next coming in June in her new Highland Secrets series!

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy and an advance reader copy from Dragonblade publishers. I voluntarily agreed to do a fair review and blog through netgalley. All thoughts, ideas and words are my own.

Celtic Hearts
Book 1 - The Hawk Laird
Book 2 - The Falcon Laird
Book 3 - The Swan Laird

Buy Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Swan-Laird-Medieval-Historical-Romance-ebook/dp/B0CZ7KWHMN

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-swan-laird-susan-king/1145381949?ean=9781963585414

This is just fantastic and I just could not put it down! It’s well written, well crafted, full of imagination, full of humour and had me laughing out loud with tears! A fast-paced, spellbinding romance complete with outrageous and hot hot hot characters, this is another hit for this author!