Thirteen different authors.
Thirteen different tales of love.
The first in the Legacy of the Brooch series by Tarah Scott whisks the reader back to the treacherous fourteenth century Scottish Highlands in The Pendulum.
Can a woman bring an earl to justice for the murder of her sister?
Lady Airin Keith will not rest until Lord Jason Bothwell is tried and convicted for the murder of his young wife. An unexpected marriage proposal brings an opportunity to prove Bothwell’s guilt, but the knight who appears with her great grandmother’s lost brooch threatens to interfere with Airin’s brand of justice when he demands the agreed payment of marriage.
A classic tale of murder, deceit and fraud that can be exposed only once the pendulum stops.
EXCERPT
She backed up a step. “W-what are you doing here?”
He stopped before her.
“Do you not have business elsewhere?” She winced at the squeak in her voice.
“Aye,” he replied distractedly.
“What sort of business?”
Deryll reached behind her and lifted her braid over her shoulder.
“The kind that does not concern you.”
“What sort of business does not concern me? Sir Gewain is—”
Deryll’s head snapped up. “Nothing I cannot handle,” he finished.
The heat in her cheeks spread through her belly as, his gaze glued to hers, he lifted the end of her braid to his nose and breathed deeply. Airin’s heart pounded against her chest. Hands, calloused and brown from years in the sun, held the braid as if it were a fragile flower. He breathed deeply again, as though to inhale her very essence.
“Is there any battle you can not handle?” she asked.
Deryll shifted his gaze to her face. “I am a man, Airin. No man is invincible.”
Her girlhood hero was invincible. The hero who always saved his lady from all harm, who knew when to bestow a kiss, and never pressed her into an uncomfortable situation. This man was anything but those things.
Deryll’s gaze dropped to her mouth. Would he kiss her?
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE PENDULUM
The Pendulum by Tarah Scott introduces a treasured silver brooch to The Wild Rose Press garden. A tale of greed and murder, love and revenge, it is the first story in the The Legacy of the Celtic Brooch series.
Set in the Scottish Highlands in a time when knights rode white horses, damsels were often in need of rescue and debts were paid with blood, The Pendulum is a gripping tale. Ms. Scott has woven love and mystery into a a story that is sure to intrigue.
When Lady Airin Keith seeks justice for the murder of her beloved sister, she finds both help and hindrance in the form of Sir Deryll, a man some call The Scarlet Knight. Airin knows the scarlet in his name is reference to the blood he has shed, and balks at his claim of marriage. But he arrives bearing a lost family heirloom, the silver brooch, and all know the prize for its return is Airin. Unraveling a mystery while battling one's heart is never an easy task, but Lady Airin does just that in this expertly written tale.
Tarah Scott's The Pendulum is a story that should not be missed. It will entertain and amuse and will, I am sure, be read over and over again. I highly recommend it!
-Sarita Leone, Author
NOW AVAILABLE AT THE WILD ROSE PRESS
REVIEWS ARE STARTING TO ROLL IN
This series, introduced by The Wild Rose Press, will be challenged to keep up the standards set by Ms. Scott in this first offering. The first saga of the brooch is that it is missing in 1388; Lady Airin Keith’s father, Sir Douglas Keith, Earl of Arbothnott, has promised her hand in marriage to the one who can produce the original brooch.
Overall rating: 5 HEARTS
Sensuality rating: Very sensual
WHATS NEXT IN THE SERIES?
The next tale of love throws us into the tumultuous Civil War in the poignant story Freedom's Touch, by Sarita Leone.
Karyna Da Rosa's Tempted Fate find us a few years later on America's new railroad system.
Learn more about the Legacy of the Celtic Brooch series
Read Tarah's Interview at Inside the Writer's Mind with Carol Ann Erhardt.
MORE TITLES FROM TARAH
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Passionate, heartfelt and a bit spooky, When a Rose Blooms is a short and poignant tale of one man’s struggle with the price of his choices.
Fallen Angel Reviews
Voted #7 on Preditors and Editors 2006 Reader's Choice Poll. |
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Excerpt
Nathaniel emerged from the trees onto Rothesay Castle road. He glanced toward the streak of gray light hinted at in dawn’s overcast sky. He started for the castle, hesitated, then turned suddenly to the east and the perpetual thrash of the waves against the cliffs. Up the incline he strode, his hands moving in listless rhythm with his body. His gaze remained ahead, where the heavy sky met earth. It seemed a storm always prowled about Rothesay Castle. But then, he thought, it had always been so. Only before, it hadn’t mattered.
He crested the hill and froze at the sight of a female figure at the cliff’s edge. Her cloak snapped violently in the wind, yet she stood staring out over the sea, her body so steady, it seemed rooted to the earth.
Maggie.
God in heaven, she had escaped the underworld. In those early days, he had prayed—nay, begged—for her return from Tir Na Nog. Had those supplications freed her at last? His heart leapt. Or was this just another version of the familiar dream? When had he ceased roaming the night and slept? No answer came, and he realized, it mattered not. What mattered was holding Maggie before reality yanked him back. Fate would not cheat him this time. This time, fate would bow to him.
Nathaniel bound forward, but lurched, his progress hampered by the unseen pull that entangles mortals within the subconscious world of dreams. She turned and tilted her hooded face as if fascinated with his struggle. Onward he drove himself and, coming near, at last, reached for her.
“My sweet love,” he whispered.
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Now available on Amazon's Kindle |
REVIEWS
TOP RATING FROM SWEETER ROMANTIC NOTIONS
Where Ms. Scott truly excels with this book is in the ambience--mist-shrouded hills and cemeteries are the prevailing images. The image that will stay with a reader is that of a tortured man kneeling on the ground by his wife's grave, mourning two women he loves--neither of which he can have.
FOUR CHAMPAGNE GLASSES FROM COCKTAIL REVIEWS
Favourite line: The name washed over him in a dark whisper. Nice wording here. It fits perfectly with the scene it belongs in. With a sharp twist I really didn’t expect, When a Rose Blooms is a gripping, though short read. I wished it had been longer. Much, much longer.
FOUR ANGELS FROM FALLEN ANGEL
Passionate, heartfelt and a bit spooky, When a Rose Blooms is a short and poignant tale of one man’s struggle with the price of his choices. Tarah Scott uses wonderful language here, and her portrayal of Nathaniel is well done and brims with feeling. With a unique twist on the ending, When a Rose Blooms walks the line between the worlds of reality and spirit.
FOUR RIBBONS FROM ROMANCE JUNKIES
Nathaniel Moncreiffe lost his wife five years ago. While most people believe she died of fever, he knows differently. Nathaniel knows that if he’d listened to his beloved wife, she’d still be with him today. In all the time since her death he has been unable to forgive himself; often finding himself in front of her gravestone, unable to move on with his life.
FOUR HEARTS FROM THE ROMANCE STUDIO
This is a very short story with a unique slant. Ms. Scott does not clutter the story with too many characters. Her writing is precise, very informative and meticulous. This is the type of story that makes you think
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