ARC Review: Twelfth Knight’s Bride by E. Elizabeth Watson

My Review:

Desperate to feed her floundering and hungry clan, Aileana steals food from her most hated enemies. Certain they won’t miss the vegetables she took, Aileana is shocked when she is chased back to her castle by none other than Laird James MacDonald. The Devil, as he is widely known, believes he’s chasing a thieving boy back to his enemies castle. When he learns the identity of the thief is one of the Grant sisters, he demands a marriage to compensate for the theft.

Aileana and James handfast and return to his castle with the agreement that they will remain together for two weeks. Unbeknownst to Aileana, James needs to marry a Grant to inherit his fortune, and, like Aileana, plans for the union to end as quickly as possible. Neither expected to develop feelings for the other. Can these enemies put past grievances aside and admit their feelings? How will Aileana react when she finds out the real reason James married her? And how will these enemy clans with a long-standing feud ever accept a union?

Aileana and James have a fantastic enemies-to-lovers romance, and watching them go from suspicious and distrusting to captivated and besotted is lovely! Drawn to each other from the start, they are very attracted to each other, but they also connect on a deeper level. Some of my favorite parts are when the couple talks about their pasts, their families, and their clans. I think they learn a lot about each other and themselves, as well as the long-standing feud between their clan and how destructive it is.

Spending time together forces them to see the feud from each other’s point of view, and, by spending two weeks with James’ clan, Aileana sees first hand how the feud affected James’ people.

It was easy to hate someone considered an “enemy.” It was far harder to see them as human.

I think James and Aileana go through similar revelations, and once they start seeing each other and the clans as human beings and not just enemies, they change. I love how their respect and admiration grows, and their feelings slowly change. Plus, their chemistry is fantastic!

James is so different from the “devilish” rumors that surround him, and his devotion to his family and clan equals Aileana’s. Aileana, like James, is strong, smart, and bold. I love her free spirit, and her willingness to jump in when help is needed. Her actions, kindness, and thoughtfulness show everyone that she is as good a person and leader as James.

Twelfth Knight’s Bride is such a great historical holiday romance. I loved the characters, the enemies-to-lovers romance, and the messages of love, forgiveness, and moving on. Readers who enjoy swoon-worthy historical romance with fantastic characters and an epic love story will adore Twelfth Knight’s Bride! Thanks so much to Netgalley, Entangled Publishing, and E. Elizabeth Watson for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

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Rating:

Favorite Parts:

• The romance!! This is a fantastic enemies-to-lovers romance – totally swoon-tastic!!

• The holiday atmosphere is wonderful!

• The well-developed characters and backstory.

Favorite Lines:

It was easy to hate someone considered an “enemy.” It was far harder to see them as human.

Liking Aileana was too benign a statement. Besotted was a more fitting term.

Recommendations:

I think that readers who enjoy swoon-worthy historical romance with fantastic characters and an epic love story will adore Twelfth Knight’s Bride!!