Review, Interview & Giveaway: The Bannockburn Spell by Nancy Adams

The Bannockburn Spell

The Bannockburn Spell
Nancy Adams

Genre: Erotic Romantic Fairy Tale
Publisher: Total-e-Bound

Date of Publication: January 6, 2013

Number of pages: 345

Cover Artist: Posh Gosh

Available at the following retailers:
Amazon     BN     Sony     Kobo     ARe

With the help of a bet, an eight-hundred-year-old marriage contract, and a spell, ex-SBS soldier Will might just have enough in his arsenal to capture Meghan’s heart.

Since arriving in Little Glen, Scotland, Meghan Kennedy’s life has got decidedly more interesting. She enters into a bet with hunky ex-SBS soldier, William MacKenzie, discovers an ancient marriage contract and to top it all off, she learns that she had a spell cast on her…eight hundred years before she was even born. None of it matters, because she refuses to make the same mistake twice. Will’s hard body and sexy grin don’t matter, his beautiful hypnotic eyes don’t matter, and it doesn’t matter that every time they kiss her body calls out for his, as though denied of his touch for hundreds of years.

Ex-SBS soldier William MacKenzie is disciplined, trained to be an efficient soldier and he takes the same approach with his life as he does his business. Then Meghan arrives, with her fiery temper and hair to match, all he can think about is Meghan. Her feisty temper bemuses him, her beauty astounds him and her stubbornness annoys the hell out of him. Lucky for him, he doesn’t know how to quit, he can be just as stubborn and occasionally ruthless, and he will use any means necessary to get her. Of course the ‘means’ at his disposal just happen to be a bet, a marriage contract and an ancient spell, but if in the end Meghan belongs to him, who is he to argue?

Excerpt: 

“Why are you running away from me?”

“I wasn’t running, I have work to do, I’d like to get back so I can finish it.” Not really a lie, she always had work to do, but she wanted to be away from him too.

“You’re lying. You’ve been avoiding me, and you haven’t spoken to me or Duncan in days.”

“How would you know?” Was her voice higher? “And even if I haven’t, it’s none of your business.”

“I went over to speak with Duncan this morning. He told me what you said to him. He didn’t deserve that, Meghan, it was my decision to use the contract. It was my choice. Get mad at me, not Duncan. He loves you very much, he wants what’s best for you.”

Will froze when he saw the shimmer of tears. He didn’t want to see her cry. He only wanted her anger directed at him. Duncan was regretting his decision to tell him about the contract, worried it had ruined his relationship with her. The moment Duncan had mentioned that Meghan was coming to Little Glen, the changes in him were immediate. Sure, he was still grumpy, but there was that spring in his step and the pride in his voice whenever he talked about Meghan. Will wouldn’t be responsible for Duncan losing that, she had just come back into his life.

“And you’re what’s best for me?”

“Yes,” he answered honestly as a tear slipped down her cheek. He hated seeing her cry, he would rather have her yelling and screaming at him, he could handle that, these silent tears were killing him. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.” He stepped towards her, but she backed away placing a hand on her stomach.

“Yes, you did. You want me to feel guilty about what I said to Duncan, and you got your wish, I do feel guilty and I will go home and try to set things right. Satisfied?” she snapped.

He sighed. “My only intention was to clear Duncan of any wrongdoing.”

He couldn’t blame her for feeling angry. He had dumped a bombshell on her. And then to hear that Duncan had been the one to tell Will about the contract?

“Let go of this stupid contract, Will. Things could get back to normal, back to the way they were,” she pleaded, her turquoise gaze burning a hole in his armour. “Please?”

He was willing to give her anything, but not that. “No. Our bet still stands.”

She threw her hands in the air and shouted, “You’re driving me crazy. Do you really want to do this? You don’t even know me.”

He sighed contentedly, she was back to yelling. “I know enough.”

“You don’t know anything. I could be some loony who hacks up her lovers.”

He couldn’t help but laugh. “You won’t have time. I’ll be keeping you busy.”

Interview: 

Today, we welcome Nancy Adams to Musings and Ramblings. Let's all give her a big Geeky welcome!

Hi! Thank you so much for having me today.

In several places, you wrote about writing ideas down in your notebook. Do you carry it everywhere, waiting for inspiration?

LOL No I don’t carry my notebook everywhere I go, just to places where I can’t recharge my iPad or iphone. Like everyone else on the plant I’ve become iDependent. To answer your question, YES! If I’m waiting for an appointment or getting my hair done I will pull out my iPhone and type out any ideas that suddenly come to me. There have been times where I have written a full scene.

Do you plan and plot the entire story out or do you just have the bare bones and fly by the seat of her pants? A combination of the two?

I totally combined the two. I usually have an idea about the story I want to write, the two main characters involved and the setting(s) yada yada yada...but everything else happens while I’m writing or ideas will pop into my head like while I’m getting my hair done. Remember I’m iDependant! lol

Do your characters ever go "off script"? If so, what do you do?

Yes! My characters always go ‘off script’. So much so, you’d think they had minds of their own. Sheesh!

It doesn’t bother me though. In fact, I usually keep writing to see where they want to take me. If I like it, then I make the necessary adjustments to the story, if not...I start hacking away. I have yet to delete full chapters or paragraphs; there is always something I want to keep. Like a witty one-liner or a character description, or a juicy sex scene. *wink* Those cast-outs get sent to the ‘use later file’.

Review: 

I am a total sucker for a good Highlands story and The Bannockburn Spell by Nancy Adams looked to be a good one.  Set in the the town of Little Glen in the Scottish Highlands, this is the story of two strong willed people leaning to trust in themselves and each other. Once they both read the 800 year old marriage contract, there are echoes of their past life and love. A spell was placed upon the marriage contract, to bring the two meant-to-be souls back together and finally unite the families that was never realized because of the Battle of Bannockburn and the death of young William MacKenzie.

The story begins 25 years ago, with James MacKenzie telling a story to his 4 grandchildren, one of which is Will.  James tells them a story of the Battle of Bannockburn and the marriage contract that had a spell placed on it so that one day in the future, the two lovers might rejoin. Will misses the end of the story, and when he asks his grandfather about it, James tells him that he doesn't know how it ends, that will be up to Will.

The story jumps to present day Toronto and we come across Meghan boarding a plane to Scotland to visit her grandfather. She doesn't realize that her ex-boyfriend Rob, the man she helped put into jail, has followed her there and is trying to get to her. Meghan manages to evade Rob through shear luck, but he warns her via text that he will be waiting for her. Meghan will have a lot of issues to resolve because of her past involvement with Rob.

The story picks up again in Scotland.  Will has just gotten back home after doing some security work in Spain and has agreed to pick up his neighbor's granddaughter.  The first meet between Will and Meghan has
sets the tone of their relationship. Meghan is aggravated and Will is amused with her. Meghan lives up to the fiery redhead stereotype and Will has plenty of opportunities to shop his protector qualities.

I liked this book. I really enjoyed watching Will and Meghan fight falling in love with each other, Meghan more so than Will. Meghan went down kicking and screaming the entire way. I gave this book 3 stars on Goodreads and will be reading more by this author.

Giveaway: 

Nancy will be awarding a $20 GC to Amazon to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour, and a digital copy of "No Matter When" to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

So follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning.

Book Tour Info: 
Don't forget to check out the other stops on the Book Tour:

November 11:
All I Want and More

November 12:
Musings and Ramblings

November 13:
Unabridged Andra

November 13:
Sharing Links and Wisdom

November 14:
Snarky Mom Reads...

November 15:
Books and Other Spells


Author Bio:

My name is Nancy Adams. I am a full-blooded Canadian, right down to the maple syrup running though my veins. I enjoy watching hockey but despise skating...and the cold. I enjoy a good helping of Tourtiere with a side of Poutine as much as the next person, yet I am only bilingual when it comes to swear words.Besides writing, I have three small - but legal - addictions: bed linens, lavender and books. All of which are replenished on a regular basis. Reading into the wee hours of the morning is one of my many bad habits, next to spontaneously rearranging furniture and randomly painting rooms in my house.

To connect with the author online:

Website | Blog | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon Author Page