This medieval historical romance is the third book in the Highland Secrets series. It is well written and very engaging. It follows a healer and guardian of Scotland during the reign of King Edward I. It tells of war, political issues, historical landscape, magical healing stones, complex and strong-willed characters, and so much more interest that kept me entertained. I recommend reading!

I jumped right into this read without reading the first two books, I know, I know...

I truly enjoyed this book, as it was also the first time I had read this author. The pacing was well done, the dual POV were perfect and help to bring depth to both healer Lady Rowena Keith and Sir Aedan MacDuff, along with helping to build the world around them. I loved their first meeting and how it was still mysterious about what was really happening / how they were connected. I felt this was a wonderful read, and worth a cozy weekend reading.

A brilliant story wrapped around the historical Scottish struggle to have the Bruce as king while Edward Longshack of England tried to crush. The third book in this series is as fabulous as the first two books. Rowena is targeted as a person of interest by Edward due to her special skills. Aedan is also targeted as well as he stands with the Scottish. This is a fasted paced, yet engaging story that will transport you back in time to the magical period of healers, struggles to power and beautiful romance. This author has great creativity when blending history with fiction. She will keep you on your toes with this story, so don't miss the opportunity.

This medieval romance is set in a particularly difficult time in the history of Scotland. King Edward is hammering his way against its people. The new Scottish king, Robert Bruce has tasked one of the Guardians with protecting something very special. He is our hero and takes his position very seriously.
Our heroine comes from a highly respected family line. Many of them have "gifts" said to come from the fae realm.
There is a lot of danger and excitement in this story. It is hard to see how our characters can ever get a happy ever after. An adventurous journey is ahead for everyone.
Very exciting.

The third story in the Highland Secrets, healer Lady Rowena Keith and Sir Aedan MacDuff have both been accused of things they did not do. A well written story with a very good storyline that kept me turning pages. This is the first book in this series that I have read and I want to read more. I received a copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

The Guardian’s Bride by Susan King is a medieval Scotland novel which revolves around King Robert Bruce although he isn’t actually involved. Who does appear is King Edward, known as Longshanks, who was a determined and vindictive ruler who died trying to conquer Scotland. All this is true. Rowena Keith was a healer and herbalist. She was the great granddaughter of Thomas the Rhymer, widely known as a man of magic and wisdom who could see the future. For this reason Edward wanted any of his descendants and any material things he might have left behind. Rowena had a magic stone he had given her that she kept hidden. It had the ability to heal and she used it, sparingly. She used it on a gravely injured man she later learned was Aedan McDuff who was a member of the family whose responsibility it was to crown kings of Scotland. Since Edward had stolen all the king’s regalia, it was up to Aedan to reassemble suitable substitutes and then guard them until they were needed again. His niece, Isabella, performed the ceremony crowning Robert king, and then Aidan hid the regalia, sharing its location with no one. These things made both of these people of interest to Edward.

The pair met for a second time when Rowena was tossed into a prison cell, a storeroom, really, only to discover another prisoner, filthy and the worse for wear. It turned out to be Aedan, who had been planning his escape. Rowena hastened his determination and he convinced her to join him. As they get to know one another, the reader comes to know them, too. It was a delightfully rocky journey with all kinds of twists and turns leading to them making a firm connection. Rowena was no one’s fool, but she was honorable to her core so things were very black and white for her and she felt injustice keenly. She was a fabulous character, as was Aedan, although he saw everything through the lens of a free Scotland with their own king. The base of this story is history, the details are from the fabulous mind of Susan King who have woven a magical story around the current events of the time. Wonderful read!

I was invited to read The Guardian’s Bride by Dragonblade. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #Dragonblade #SusanKing #TheGuardiansBride

Lady Rowena is the great - great grand daughter of a famous Scottish healer. She has possession of one of his magical stones, which have healing powers. Several months ago she helped an injured and sick Sir Aedan. Currently they are both on the wrong side of King Edward's laws, and are both in the same dungeon. After a daring escape, they start to get to know each other for real, this time.

I love these two mmcs. They both have a sense of humor and are the perfect couple. Neither of them take themselves too seriously and they crack bad jokes even when in dire situations. They're one of couples that I'm genuinely happy that they found love with each other, and they certainly deserve the HEA.

Thank you to netgalley for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

This book follows the historical background of the time (King Edward I rule) and adds a bit of faerie lore into it. Rowena is a healer and Aeden is a keeper of Scotlands freedom. Their lives get entertwined and love blooms despite the difficulties. A very nice read for fans of the genre

This was a very stereotypical historical romance, about a swoony Scottish knight and a beautiful healer avoiding capture and on the run from the king. With tropes that include: one bed, second chance romance (kind of), and fake marriage. I liked that while the FMC did present as a damsel in distress in need of saving during a lot of instances in this book, she saved the MMC in the beginning. It did really bother me is that while she was saving him, she was ogling him as he was literally injured and incoherent (and her patient!). Which just gave me the ick. Overall, this was a fun read, and anyone who enjoys historical romance will probably enjoy this. Thanks Netgalley for the e-ARC!

I found this an exciting and suspenseful novel as two people who were always meant to be together repeatedly cross paths. Despite the dictates of men, fate, and angels keep bringing them together in situations where they have to depend on one another to stay alive. Rowena is gifted with healing powers, while Sir Aeden MacDuff is a guardian of Scotland, however, that makes no difference to their enemies who would see them brought low. Set in a period when King Edward I, also known as the Hammer of the Scots, sat on the British throne, the anger of the Scots is aroused by his merciless pursuit of power. The historical background to the story is well-researched, however, I was frustrated by the overuse of discussions that did not necessarily advance the plot. Nevertheless, the book does come to a successful conclusion with Aedan and Rowena finding their own peace, even though Scotland's struggle continues. I received a copy of this romance as a gift through Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

This was a decent read. I found my mind wandering while reading the book. I did like the characters Rowena and Aedan have great responsibilities. He's the guardian in search of relics, and she holds the healing stone. Together, they are on the run and, on the way, find love and trust.

#netgalley #TheGuardiansBride

This was a strong third entry in the Highland Secrets series, it had that element that I enjoyed from the previous two books. The characters had that feel that I was looking for and enjoyed the plot of this book. I was engaged with what was happening and though it worked as a medieval historical romance going on. Susan King wrote this perfectly and left me wanting more.

Historia interesante y encantadora. Los personajes te caen bien desde el principio.
Lo que no me encantó fue el insta love, pero no me molestó tanto como en otros libros.
No es necesario leer los libros anteriores para entender esta historia.

Posted on Goodreads: 12/29/24

This book follows a healer and guardian of Scotland, as they find themselves seemingly brought together by fate. Within the story of fiction, the author stays true to the historic landscape, while also creating an entertaining story that includes bits of faerie magic. For those out there who love historical fiction, and down-to-earth characters, this is definitely a book you should give a try. I was given the opportunity to read this book through NetGalley, and hope it finds other readers that enjoy it.

The Guardian's Bride is third in the Highland Secrets series by Susan King, following The Scottish Bride and The Forest Bride. The series follows three sisters who are great-grand-daughters of a man who lived with faeries for seven years and came back a "truth-teller" (he tells prophecies). As you may have guessed, based on the series' titles, the books are set in Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence. Several of the characters - most notably, I think, Edward I - are real historical figures. (I am not a history buff so I count it in this book's favor that I actually looked some of this up because it sparked my curiosity.)

The plot follows Rowena, a healer whose skill is aided by a stone given to her by her great-grandfather (of the faeries), and an interim Guardian of Scotland, Aedan MacDuff. Aedan witnesses the crowning of Robert the Bruce and is given the royal vestments for safekeeping, but is gravely injured after doing so. Rowena saves his life but is then summoned by the king and has to leave him before he is fully healed and before she knows that he will survive. (Also, Edward I really died of dysentery, isn't that interesting!)

I should warn you that I am biased by my love of healer characters. Something about them gets me every time and Rowena is no different!

Rowena and Aedan meet again when she is accused of poisoning the king and is thrown in the same cell as him. There are immediate sparks between the two, especially once they both realise they were almost betrothed when they were both very young. Both are widowed, however, as Aedan's guardian disagreed with the betrothal and each ended up marrying other people. Aedan has a five-year-old son and by all accounts Rowena was widowed almost immediately.

I really enjoy a low-drama romance like this. The plot is moved along largely by forces external to the characters themselves: they move from point A to point B pursued by King Edward's forces. Sir Malise Comyn is a repeat villain (I went ahead and read the first book in the series, though they are all standalone) who is desperate to marry someone but too comically evil to seal the deal. Aedan and Rowena are extremely sweet and due to the aforementioned almost-betrothal they pretty quickly give in to their attraction to each other because they see it as Fate.

Aedan himself is very sweet and the interaction between him, his son, and his family members are adorable.

Overall I would recommend this book. I'd give it 3 and a half stars (rounding to four) - it's well written and isn't boring. If you like Highlander romance, that's what the genre is for. Quick and fun read.

what is delightful story. Even with the best planning, things may not go as smoothly as One would hope. But if it’s meant to be, it will be and that’s how I like the story.

The Healer and the Guardian, Fae Magic, Politics and Desire:
This is certainly a complex story that deals with the fate and luck of two intriguing characters that captured my heart.
Rowena a healer with the magic healing stone and Aedan the guardian of Scotland takes us into their incredible journey of discovery and finding a deep love that helps them conquer many situations with some being extremely emotional, and many being terrifying such as pirates, accusations, imprisonment, escapes where all of these and more kept me on the edge of my seat until the heartfelt endearing end of this enthralling love story.
The main story is deeply intricate, although bit long in details with a multitude of verbiage that just lengthened the story.
My biggest disappointed was the low flame of desire that the author could have ignited the pages with at the end but instead left me disappointed with the lack of any kind of sizzle.

Historically accurate Highlander romance full of adventure (we’ve got pirates, we’ve got prison escapes!) and tonnnssss of hurt/comfort!

The first fifty pages were a little slow to get through but after Aedan is officially on the page we were off to the races!

I really enjoyed the characters and their slow burn yet insta love for each other. Very fun story and am excited for more to come

I read this as a standalone and it worked great if you haven’t read earlier books in the series

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The Guardian's Bride by Susan King is a third person dual-POV historical romance with light fantasy elements set in 1306 in Scotland. Rowena is widow and a healer to the English king Edward accused of poisoning the king. When she meets her former betrothed, Aedan, a Scottish knight and guardian, in prison, the two escape to Aedan’s home and start the relationship they could have had years ago.

Because Aedan and Rowena never met prior to the story opening, this isn’t quite a second chance romance because they don’t have those shared memories and hurt that they need to move past. It does hit on some of the same notes as Aedan’s aunt and sister both encourage him to pursue a relationship with Rowena and the couple do bring up that they were almost together several times. I think someone who loves a second chance romance could still be fairly pleased with how the story plays out because of the tropes used later and the connection between Rowena and Aedan.

One thing I really appreciated was how Aedan and Rowena are both widowed and their story is about finding love after the death of a partner. Rowena almost had a family with her former husband and Aedan has a five-year-old son from his previous marriage, so neither are going into a relationship without experience of the heartaches and joys, though Aedan has had more of the joys as he had more time with his wife than Rowena did with her husband. There is a real maturity to their relationship because of this as neither are jealous or possessive or resentful of their former partners. Instead, there’s a shared understanding that helps them grow closer.

The other thing I liked was that there is no bashing of the former spouses. Sometimes romances feature an ex or a deceased spouse who was toxic or downright abusive and it’s very important to depict those things as they do happen in real life. But it’s also important to depict people who had content or happy marriages, who hold no resentment towards their old partner, and yet are finding love once again because sometimes we find our soulmates after we’ve already had a lifetime of experiences.

Content warning for mentions of miscarriage

I would recommend this to fans of historical fiction who also like a second chance romance and those looking for more romances between widows and widowers

Rowena is content as a healer in thirteenth century Scotland....until she is taken hostage on charges of poisoning the English king. While imprisoned, she joins fellow prisoner MacDuff in a breakout. She has to make her way home without attracting English attention, but her feelings for MacDuff provide a complication.

I love romantasy, so I was very excited to see that this book had fantasy elements. You could also see the influence of Outlander, especially with Rowena's healing career, but I do really appreciate a FMC who has a passion and a vocation. I loved Rowena's dedication to healing, as well as the setting. Far more romance novels are set in during one of the latter Jacobite rebellions, and I loved that this one was set in the also chaotic, earlier reign of Robert the Bruce.

The book was a quick read and would really recommend to anyone who wants a romance between two equals set in historic Scotland.