Review: Torn Between Family Duty & Love
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 5, 2011
The Wedding Vow by Jillian HartBran The Fair known to Gwyneth of Blackthorne as the murderer's bastard son. Born to a leman he carried that disgrace along with a leg deformity. Bran was returning to Blackthorne, the keep his father had after he betrayed and murdered Gwyneth's parents. His father was dying and in his final words were that Blackthorne would be Bran's. After a life of being a good Knight under Sir Simon, Bran now had a title and land. His brother Geoffrey told him that the king demanded he marry Gwyneth as well to settle the unrest of the villeins.Gwyneth had been married to Geoffrey but threatened to kill him rather than let him touch her. The keep belonged to her family and she would not seal a marriage with those who murdered her parents. And Geoffrey was a cruel man as well and fond of his drink. The king had allowed him an annulment from her but he was still not allowed a new wife. And now Gwyneth was to marry another of the murderer's sons. Right before the wedding Geoffrey offers her the keep and money if she kills Bran on their wedding night.Bran was determined to prove to Gwyneth he was not like his father or brother. He showed her love and kindness. He was a gentle man and held to honor as a true knight would.Gwyneth worked hard at restoring her family home and trying to resist Bran's kindness. Her relatives had been stealing from the keep while under the command of the old baron and his son. When her Uncle stole their horses he was caught and put in the dungeon. Bran had been helping the  villeins by giving them cows for milk and much needed food. Unlike his family before him who were greedy and took from the villagers he tried to help them.A really good story. Even after Gwyneth accepts Bran as her husband in full she still does not share her deep secret. And her family refuses to stop trying to kill Bran.**Contains sexual situations within marriage.