Once in a while you come across a book that leaves you longing for more. As the last word rolls through your mind, your imagination takes up where the author left off. Catherine Coulter crafted just a story with The Scottish Bride, the fourth and final book in the Bride Series.

Tysen Sherbrooke, the widowed brother of Douglas, Ryder, and Sinjun, must leave his vicarage to see to a newly acquired inheritance in Scotland. A man of the church, Tysen is stoic and serious. He does what needs to be done because it is his duty, but his life lacks joy. He doesn't even recognize the joy brought to him by his three children. But Tysen is a good, kind, godly man and so must see to his new responsibility in Scotland.

Mary Rose Fordyce, the local bastard, has been out-casted all of her life. Her mother, who succumbed to madness, left Mary Rose without protection, and so she's spent the last few years trying to escape the advances of Erickson MacPhail who tries to compromise her and force her hand in marriage. On one such occasion, Mary Rose runs into the forest at the edge of Kildrummy Castle, the new Baron Barthwick's property. Believing MacPhail to be chasing her, she trips and falls into a crevice, and along comes the Baron Barthwick to rescue her, Tysen Sherbrooke.

Mary Rose and Tysen immediately share a connection. Theirs is a sweet love story that wraps the reader like a cozy sweater on a cold day. While Tysen and Mary Rose fall in love, Tysen begins to recognize joy in the world and happiness in his life. And just when he doesn't think he could be any happier, he is forced to look at himself and find out who he really is as a man threatening the love he has built with Mary Rose.

Coulter maps out a journey that includes mystery, action, adventure and, most importantly, love. The Scottish Bride has characters that are endearing: especially Tysen who is written so dynamically that you can't help but fall in love with him yourself. Coulter reintroduces the rest of the characters from the Bride Series and uses them in a way that makes them feel like wonderful friends with whom you get to spend some more time. I feel that while all the ÒBrideÓ books in the series were wonderful, The Scottish Bride was a fantastic closure as the strongest of the four stories.

The Scottish Bride is a fantastic read. Coulter proves again that she is utterly superb at her craft. When in doubt, a Catherine Coulter book will never leave you disappointed and some times will exceed your expectation like The Scottish Bride did mine.

Reviewed by Maci Walker
© 2004