A Warrior's Honor - Margaret Moore

Ms. Moore has written many historical novels for Harlequin and currently has over twenty five books out with more to come. Warrior's Heart is the second of her books I've read as I managed to pick up The Viking a year or so ago. And although I don't actively hunt out her books, I've found them to be an enjoyable read.

A Warrior's Honor was released from Harlequin Historical 1998 and might be a little hard to find, but if you do stumble across it, the book is well worth the read.

Abduction was but a prelude to marriage, or so Bryce had been led to believe when he'd kidnapped the Lady Rhiannon to be his liege lord's mate. Though never had he seen a more reluctant bride...

The custom of abduction of the bride which appears in this book, is something I've only come across in the legends of Arthur. I did a search for the custom, but couldn't actually find anything about it other than that. Instead I found references to the custom of love spoons and bidders. The courting of the bed is one I knew about, but if someone does stumble across a link on Welsh bride abductions I'd love to read it.

But back to the book.

Bryce is impoverished. He has neither lands nor fortune and makes his way through the world by earning money at tournaments. At one such event he meets Cynvelin, a Welsh noble who hires him on as his man. One thing quickly stumbles into another, as Norman Bryce cannot speak Welsh, so has no clue that the abduction he's charged to take part in is the real thing, not a bridal custom. Rhiannon wants nothing to do with Cyn. And who can blame her. The man is cruel beyond reason and seeks to claim her as his bride due to a mix of lust and revenge against her father.

There's another complication. Rhiannon is a woman who command's Bryce's heart, though he would deny it. How can he sit back and let a woman he loves be forced into a marriage with a man she doesn't want, or love?

Ms. Moore does an excellent job of setting the scene in the book. The problems of a man who is impoverished nobility, in a time when rank, title and money were everything, come across clearly in the story. The foolish mistakes Rhiannon makes at the start of the book come back to haunt her and that she realizes her mistakes prevents her from falling into the realm of a too stupid to live character. For which I am sorely grateful.

If you enjoy reading historical romances, set in the thirteenth century, then Warrior's Honor is well worth the read.

ISBN 0-373-29020-9