The Key (Deed Book 2)

I really enjoyed reading this book. Lynsay Sands has real inside into male female relationships. She gets the differences in the communication between men and women and those differences are hysterical. I highly recommend this book you won't be able to put it down.

After reading "The Deed"...I was pleasantly surprised with "The Key". What an astonishingly refreshing idea for a story...thoroughly enjoyable even though Duncan's character is outrageously underdeveloped. Laird Duncan Dunbar (29) takes Lady Iliana Wildwood (how old is she again???)...to wife to save her and her mother from evil villain Lord Greenweld and more importantly for her generous dowry. It would be pretty helpful to have more descriptive details about Duncan's history (where does he get his knowledge..did he go to school??)...his character ...and just to be reminded throughout the story of his physical features now and then....(Bring it on home Ms. Sands) Descriptive details of him are sadly and tragically ignored and grossly underdeveloped. The Author wraps up all the loose ends rather abruptly and haphazardly at the end and I found myself going "huh"? towards the final few chapters...having to backtrack and reread. Confusing at times. Still, a wonderful story played out with deliciously humorous scenarios and dialogue so well told that leave you bustin' up more than once. (I LOVED Laird Angus!!)...Hilarious fun.What year is this anyway? I mean, I know it takes place in Medieval times...and Richard II is King (1367 - 1400) but unless you know this, you're fresh outta luck cause this Author never tells.SPOILER ALERT:I found it rather confusing at the end of this book when Duncan saves Iliana's life, after he's been away for a few days...after all the fear and trauma that Illiana has gone through...and instead of finding comfort in each others arms...she walks out of the tent away from Duncan (her husband!). Just walks away! Didn't make much sense.

Hilarious! When was the last time you've read a romance with a hero with bad body odor -ah NEVER! This book is really funny, I've never been so amused reading a historical. The characters are well drawn, the plot moves along at a solid pace and the love scenes are right on target. If you liked The Deed (I personally didn't -funny, but I hate stupid heroines) or Bliss (loved that one) you'll like this one.English woman, Lady Iliana flees her evil stepfathers castle with the help of the english king who has had her betrothed to a lairds son in Scotland for her protection. Duncan Dunbar accepts to terms of the betrothal for it will bring in the needed money from her dowry to improve the keep and the king has agreed to a favor for Duncan's sister in return.Iliana is thankful of the match at first, she believe's Duncan and his warriors will keep her safe from her evil stepfather. She then sees the conditions his people are living in -filth. The people wear tattered clothing and bathe only twice a year! And the keep is down-right gross. Disgusted, Iliana sets about making reform, cleaning and providing new clothing. But, she can't seem to get her husband to bathe -and he SMELLS BAD! So, what is a lady to do with a stinky hubby? Wear a chastity belt until he bathes of course! No bath = no consumation. This is what all the humor in the story revolves around. Its funny when the tables are turned too!There's a secondary romance with her mother, who escapes from her evil husband, and the laird, Duncan's father. Also, there's a murder plot with a slight surprise. I had no idea who the murderer was till close to the end.Sands is a very good writer, if you haven't read any of her books you can start with this one. I also enjoy Garwood, Kleypas, Julia Quinn, Paula Quinn, Kinely MacGreggor, Maxwell and D'Alessandro in the historical romance genre as a comparison.The Chase is the next book in this series about Duncan's sister. Looking forward to reading that one.

Lady Iliana Wildwood needs protection from her mother's husband and she needs to be as far away from southern England as possible, which finds her at Dunbar Castle and to be wed to Duncan Dunbar. Duncan has agreed to marry the English woman because of her large dowry that he plans to use for repair of Dunbar Castle. Upon meeting her future husband and his father, Iliana finds both of them in worn, stained clothes, shaggy hair, sweaty and odiferous with dirty faces. Duncan has trouble seeing his bride-to-be due to the fact that his father has splashed whiskey in his face to bring him around; both men had been on a two week drinking binge since the betrothal agreement. As bad as her betrothed and future father-in-law looked, the inside of the keep was far worse. Iliana does not think she can go through with the marriage but has no other choice, especially since the king has also agreed to the union. However Iliana tells her husband that he will not share her bed until he takes a bath, to which Duncan tells her that he will not be taking a bath until July. Iliana takes it a step furthur by donning a chastity belt. From there the ground is set for a battle of wills. Duncan attempts to wear his wife down with seduction and it almost works but then she gets a good whiff of his body odor and her ardor cools.

No really, he only bathed twice a year. Tht was kind of hard to endure. I almost didn't make it through. The story is good, and gets evn better about half way, but Tht first love scene, after the haphazard manure incident, and shabby bath by the lady, least of all he fell in, so I guess Tht qualified as a bath for him back then, was all but stomach churning. Not the sex, but the filth. She couldn't possible have washed enough, and he didn't wash at all. There's no way I could have stomached it. He had to have a layer of dirt Tht just smeared with water all over her during the mating. Ruined sheets. I know these are fantasy stories, and probably they only bathed rarely back then, but I like to pretend men have better habits than Tht. Especially my highland hunks. I almost didn't finish after Tht. But it turned out ok Afterall.

Sadly this book is only OK, I struggled to connect with Duncan, I understand that hygiene was not high in people's mind during the middle age but usually Ms Sands male character are better described than being a smelly oaf, it was hard to fancy when all you can imagine is a smelly man, not the kind of Hero I like in my romances. Now from what I gathered this book is quite old and since its been written the male Heroes have vastly improved in Ms Sands historical romances. Also the book only gets better from around chapter 6 or 7 and the last few chapters are a bit strange where Duncan is not even written into them. Again it an OK book to read but definitely not the author's best.

Iliana has been compelled to marry Duncan, a Scottish laird, and while not overly happy, is determined to make the best of things. However, her new husbands' personal hygiene leaves something to be desired, and she refuses to allow him to go to bed with her until he changes.Obviously, there is some element of suspension of disbelief here, and I'm not entirely sure I approve of the sexual politics, but this is a romance novel - if I wanted to read politically correct stuff, I'd read Erica Jong or something.This is a very funny story, with lots of mishaps and misunderstandings, but true love & cleanliness win the day.

I loved the character's. Duncan and Iliana are great together. The only shame is I knew who the baddie was and that seemed an after thought. I just wish Lynsays books had anepilogue... I want a glimpse of the future

I have really enjoyed this book as I have the other books I have read by Lynsey Sands. I love the humour in her stories and I love how I become immersed in them.

Really funny exciting and well worth the purchase ..... these two characters interaction was highly amusing the second instalment of historical romance is well worth a shot