I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Lady Nerissa is trying to recover from the heartache of having her fiancée break things off after her older brother meddled too much. She loves her older brothers but their over protectiveness is stifling her. When she has a chance meeting with an Irish rogue, she is both appalled by his behavior and feeling awakened for the first time. Ruaidri hates the English and as an Irishman fighting for the American cause, he is only in England on a mission from John Adams. He kidnaps the sister of the man who invented a new explosion technique hoping to exchange that knowledge for his hostage. Nerissa and Ruaidri may be enemies on the war front but they soon find themselves wanting to call a truce in the bedroom.

Book five in the de Montforte series, The Wayward One is Nerissa’s, the youngest sister, story. I have not read the previous four books and although her brothers, previous book's heroes, make appearances and two of them are a big part of the story, I never felt like I was missing a big part of the story. I think new readers can start of fine here and continuing fans will greatly enjoy the inclusion of past characters. The de Montforte family members are all mentioned, which helped me gain a clear picture of the family but the author didn't heavily clutter the story with all their backstories, which was wonderful.

"I'm not in the business of ravishin' beautiful young women, even if they are English."
"Sometimes a woman wants to be ravished, Ruaidri. Just once."

Ruaidri and Nerissa's attraction was a little too immediate and I can't say I ever felt it truly evolve. There is not a lot of shallow he/she is hot therefore I love them but there also wasn't a lot of emotional connection and sense of growing closeness. Nerissa is portrayed realistically as a pampered and bit naïve sheltered aristocrat but who wants to break free of her gilded cage. Not necessarily a new trope and I can't say Nerissa ever matured from that. She seems to cling to Ruaidri because he is handsome, take charge, and dashing. She was willing to fight for him but it all felt somewhat milquetoast, as the growth and emotions just weren't there. Ruaidri had more substance to his character with more backstory and general personality. He was the pretty common Irish rogue, charming, witty, sexual, and commanding. There were times where his affability was a bit much but he was definitely likeable. That was maybe what the problem or nonproblem I had with this book overall, together, our couple was likeable. Their passion doesn't jump off the page, they won't emotionally grab you, but they are likeable.

And he saw the way he treated her, with free and easy abandon instead of the status-conscious, fawning deference to which she was accustomed…and that in itself gave her a certain liberty to be the person she had never really had the chance to be: Herself.

The plot of Ruaidri kidnapping Nerissa to get her brother to give him his new explosion technique started off ok but the English enemies and their arrogance, the brother joining them, then the older brother getting manic over controlling the situation, Ruaidri's secret that Nerissa gets dramatic over, and the very quick resolution to Nerissa's brother refusing to give anything to the colonials, kind of unraveled at the seams. From the characterizations to the moving plot, it was all fairly loose. What kept me in the story was the wonderful nautical feel. The vast majority of the scenes take place on Ruaidri's ship and the author did a great job of describing the ship and setting the feeling of the atmosphere without making it feel like I was looking at a diagram or being lectured to. If you like a nautical feel, you might want to read this for that alone as they are few and far between in romancelandia lately.

The last 30% or so lost a lot of its momentum as our couple was basically together and the story had to rely more on how would Nerissa's brother get out of giving away his explosion secrets, which was resolved pretty much out of sight and very quickly and then her older brother coming to take her back home, which felt forced but maybe continuing fans will enjoy more of his involvement. The book cover is gorgeous and if you're a continuing fan of the series you'll enjoy the younger sister getting her story, but as a newcomer, I was underwhelmed with the depth and emotional aspects. However, like I said, the nautical feel was fun and could scratch any seafaring itches.


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This is book five in the de Montforte series and many fans of this series will be overjoyed to finally read Nerissa’s story. I’ve read all of them and this one is my least favorite.

That said, I must say that the story is well written and with some great prose.

"The night wasted no time in swallowing him."

~~~~~ *** ~~~~~

"She was, in short, unreachable. Untouchable. Unobtainable."

~~~~~ *** ~~~~~

"Velour, Virtue, and Victory was the family motto."

~~~~~ *** ~~~~~

Although it starts off a bit slow, the pace picks up fairly quickly and the action and addition of de Montforde brothers, especially Lucien, had me enjoy it to the max.

The only reason I haven’t fully enjoyed this story as much as I did the previous four, were the principal players.

As much as I liked them separately, together they had absolutely no chemistry. I honestly couldn’t figure it out. The hero was someone who had strength, charm and allure, but when it came to the scenes with them together, he came off boorish, overbearing and callas. By the time they were falling into bed, which was way too soon, I should have felt the connection, and I just didn’t.

In contrast, I liked the heroine much more and thought her characterization well done and much more believable, until she was in a scene with the hero, at which point she becomes naïve and at times, silly. I wish the author had given this relationship more time and space to grow, maybe become friends and allow the passion to develop in a slow burn. I believe that this would have made their first intimacy much more believable.

What I loved the most in this story was the action on the ship. It was written exceptionally well and I felt the tension as I was reading it. Now, I’m not well versed in anything nautical and most of the jargon was over my head, but I L.O.V.E.D. all the running around, dialogue and fighting. That I understood!

Another thing I loved was the appearance of Nerissa’s brothers. It made me realize how much I adored those books and now I’m ready to reread them all. Oh, and how can I forget Brendan and Mira?! Listen, if you’ve not read ‘Captain of My Heart’, then you better get to it. That was a romance for the ages! When I encountered them here, I just let out one of the most loudest sighs …

If you’re a fan of this author and this series, then this is a no-brainer! You have to read this story. It completes the series well. But if you’ve never read this author, then I would urge you to get the first book in this series, ‘The Wild One’, which has been FREE for a long time now. That was the book that had added Ms. Harmon to my ever growing list of favorite authors.

Melanie for b2b

Complimentary copy provided by the author
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It was with great pleasure I returned to this delightful series. The author doesn’t play favorites in this tale of the turmoil between the British and Americans who were seeking freedom and justice for its citizens. Emotions high on both sides make men do the unthinkable.

On deck of the Tigershark, splattered in blood with gore at my feet, mangled bodies with severed limbs…my captain down, I was helpless, defeated, despairing. With my hears still ringing, I lifted my eyes from the page, drying my face of tears and sea spray and swallowed hard. What prey tell, could be worse and how were we to survive? Yes, dear reader, these are my feelings. This I saw, heard and felt. It's wonderful when a writer can transport the reader in this way.

Ms. Harmon’s style of writing and scene progression is totally riveting. She’ll show us what happens, but doesn’t tell us the outcome. So no point is a convenient stopping point—I had to know what was to come. Besides writing great battle scenes, in detail, Ms. Harmon tantalizes our senses with a scene where Lady Narissa discovers the feel of a man’s body with her fingers and hands, in her innocent fashion.

On both sides of the Atlantic, Brits and American were made of strong fabric. Those who had been downtrodden, as our hero, Captain Ruaidri O' Devir, learned to fight for what they want, or in this case, for who he wanted. Ruaidri is a man much changed since last we read of his exploits earlier in the series. But does his past come to haunt him when he realizes his love for Lady Nerissa?

Reader, certainly there is merit in such a man: opinionated, driven, with a powerful physique, yet beneath this veneer an Irish heart of love and passion.

There comes a time in a person’s life, if encaged, even though a gilded one, the spirit of the individual must spring free. Lady Nerissa feels her worth is in her lineage and dowry her person possesses. But she’s always had a wayward spirit smothered with the trappings of breeding and convention. Once she realizes her situation and reputation are ruined by being abducted, it gives her the freedom to choose her path. But by doing so, will she lose her family, those who matter most in her life?

Even though I knew what Lady Nerissa would do to save the day, (and she did a splendid job of it), it nevertheless, did not reduce the thrill of her heroine action. If I were she, I would do the same. Love of another pushes her forward, to do the unthinkable. I cheered her on. Bravo, Lady Nerissa!

I cannot say enough about this author and this series. Her books are rich in history, full of action and suspense and with the added layer of romance, they are perfection. Don't delay reading her. This book is the final in the series. If you'd like to see my reviews of each book in the series, please browse my blog. ( )