The Price of Freedom (Scottish Crown, #2) by Carol Umberger

The Price of Freedom (Scottish Crown, #2) Reviews

• 
  Gretchen

  Wow. After rereading this after 10years & reading plenty of CF set in Scotland since then I can easily say this is one of the best Scotland historical romances I’ve read. This is another marriage of convenience story with the perfect amount of romance & sparks ⚡️ as well as action & secrets.
  
  Kathryn has made a mistake that affects her whole life & makes a former lover an enemy. Bryan is known as The Black Knight, a renowned fearless warrior who is ordered to marry her after she surrenders to him when he overtakes her castle. Bryan has to fight his attraction & desire for her despite his wish to remain entanglement free since he may die in battle. As they form trust & secrets come out they may decide to keep the marriage for real instead of annulling as originally planned. 💗
  
  A strong theme of this book is forgiveness, specifically for physical intimacy out of wedlock. I think that the author did a wonderful job of shedding light on this topic & making the reader feel for what the heroine emotionally went through consequentially; I appreciate the author making the hero’s response to this news realistic while endearing.
  
  I’m loving rereading this series & just want to recommend them to all historical CF lovers. They are so good; they read like a really good film. I think I may love this second book more than the first! 💕💖
• 
  Abigail Harris

  I found I liked this one just as much as the first... But why do two books in a row deal woth sexual stuff?
  
  Content: pregnancies outside of wedlock, seduction, and such.
• 
  Shantelle

  The Price of Freedom was a captivating tale of the ousted Scots' desire to get their freedom back. Bryan, the legendary Black Knight, is illigitiment son to the King of Scotland (who currently lives in a cave). Kathryn is a young woman with a child, desperately trying to escape an unwanted suitor after her father dies. She finds her escape in surrendering to the Black Knight.
  
  With action and drama, malicious suitors and marriages of convenience, The Price of Freedom caught and held my attention from almost the very first page. Bittersweet romance. Mistrust and anger battling to top love. A crown to take back.
  
  I did wish that Bryan would have took a bigger step, spiritually speaking... that was kind of a disappointment at the end.
  
  But all in all, it was an interesting and captivating read.
• 
  Elysa

  An entertaining, closed-door, historical Christian romance. I felt like Umberger bungled the ending a little bit by attempting a bit more drama than was necessary, but it was a quick, enjoyable read, better, I think, than the first in the series. Perfect for young women just beginning to have a taste for romance.
• 
  Fenixbird SandS

  This story is set in 1310 in Scotland of Kathrryn de Lindsay a young woman bears her child out of wedlock supported by her father, the Earl of Homlea With the the passing of her father perils of property ownership are raised...
• 
  Charline Romine

  Kathryn ❤️ Bryan
  
  Kathryn yielded her home and her heart to the Black Knight Bryan Mackintosh. So much happening that leads to the Battle of Sterling. Great story!
• 
  Mountain Mama

  Beautiful story! Love Carol Umberger!
• 
  Jennifer Lara

  A great continuation to this series!
• 
  English

  Where to start with this novel! It seems to be one those ‘historical’ romances that is corny and clichéd, rather formulaic, as well as being historically questionable and implausible.
  The representations of both Scottish and English people and culture consist mainly of silly anachronistic stereotypes.
  Hence, there are men in kilts galore (at a time when these likely did not even exist in the form that we know them today) bagpipes and lots of bonnie lasses and all speaking with exaggerated accents. All that was missing was the haggis.
  Then there were the English, with accents resembling those of their counterparts in Braveheart and other Hollywood movies with seemingly little or no regional variation of accents at all, so that the moment the characters travel a few miles over the border, everyone speaks like Queen Elizabeth II.
  
  The simple fact that the majority of the English and much of the Scottish aristocracy would likely have spoken French as their first language in the early part of the fourteenth century when this novel is set does not even seem to come into the equation.
  
  The English bad guy is no less ridiculously stereotypical and his character is so exaggerated and unconvincing that is hard to take him seriously even as the villain. He has no real motivation for being bad (expect being English) so he has to do lots of really bad things to emphasise his badness like seducing Scottish girls, beating up a Scottish squire and repeatedly trying to kidnap the heroine.
  Most of the Scottish characters seem sickly sweet. They are not perfect admittedly, but the Templar knight undergoing a crisis of faith, and religious doubts of the hero just appear unoriginal and contrived, and it is so predictable that he and the heroine will overcome their initial hostility to fall hopelessly in love by the end.
  The device of 'beautiful lady locked in tower who has to be rescued by knight in shining armour' was actually used. Yet for all his efforts, the villain leaves her virtually unguarded for---- reasons.
  
  Other aspects of the historical content of this and novel fare little better, as it is riddled with errors and inconsistencies, some of them seemingly deliberate. Yes the period details are there, but sometimes just seem superficial. For instance, at least one character seems to change sides in each of the successive stories, an act that is presented in high minded moral terms when they ‘see the light’ and come to realise the righteousness and justice of Scotland’s cause. None of the nuance of war or human nature is here. Its just nationalism all the way.
  
  More significantly, historical figures who never supported Robert Bruce, such members of the Comyn family and their kinsmen of Clan MacNab are depicted as going over to Bruce’s side in this series, when they never did anything of the kind in reality, and suffered greatly at Bruce’s hands for their opposition to his rule.
  
  In the Bannockburn battle scene Edward II King of England is depicted as having sat on his horse behind the lines for the entire duration of the battle, when in reality he was in the thick of the fighting, as a King was expected to be.
  Edward may have had to be physically forced to leave the battlefield when it was obvious that the English had lost, and he did not run away like a coward at the first hint of danger to his person, as this novel makes out.
  
  Throughout the novel and series, the English characters are condemned for ‘unchivalrous’ or dishonourable conduct which are highlighted in a really awkward way in the narrative.
  Yet, towards the end of the novel the Scottish characters deal with the villain in an act that would have been regarded as a total breach of chivalric practice and convention. The characters make absolutely no mention of this deed being dishonourable in a fairly obvious double standard applied to he Scots.
  
  Such a double standard applied to history and morality strikes me as not only hypocritical, but also misleading and perhaps even dishonest. This for me was one of the most objectionable aspects of this series.
• 
  Brandi

  Once again, the story was awesome, the characters were well-written, and the setting was perfect. But. (There it is, that ominous, heart-pounding word. The one that adds a twist in what you have already read. The one that adds a change in opinion. The word that lets you see the whole picture. Here it comes!) I do not like the faith. You can't call a book Christian if it's Catholic. They are not the same! Not at all! I really do not like picking up a book labeled Christian fiction that has a different religion.
  Other than that, as I said before, the book was great!
  I can't recall laughing or crying.
  Another thing I don't care for too much is the cover. It's not bad, but (there it is again)... What in the world is up with the cover model's (the guy) expression?! That is just weird. It describes him (Bryan, hero) as a scowling warrior. Was that suppose to be a scowl maybe? It doesn't look like one to me. I'd don't know how I'd explain that expression.
  I saw that the author thanked Lisa Tawn Bergren in the acknowledgments. :) She's a great author too. If you've never read any by her, read the River of Time Series. It takes place in medieval Italy. Totally awesome series!
  (*SPOILER ALERT!!!*)
  Bryan was a pretty sweet character. He was kind, and gentle, and strong, and brave, and loving, and wonderful. The constant guarding of his heart (fierce attitude, schooled expression) was a bit annoying though. And he was so distrusting. Oh, whatever! He was still a good character.
  Kathryn was sweet, and independent, and loving, and gracious, and kind. I thought she was a little too independent though. I mean, there are some things that Bryan would tell her not to do (traveling to the convent to visit Isobel) but she'd do anyway and then she'd get in trouble and I'd be like “Duh. It was common sense that that was a bad idea.” The thing is, I can see how it's a stupid idea but I think I probably would have done the same exact thing were I in her place.
  Rodney was a total idiot. Yes, I know I say that about every single bad guy. But it's true every single time. I do wish Bryan had been the one that killed him though. I mean, I understand how it taught him that about trusting God, but when two enemies are fighting you expect one to kill the other. Not for one of the dude's friend to kill the opponent. That just destroys the purpose.
  Fergus was a sweetheart. He was so loyal, and strong, and kind. I hope he finds a sweet wife to love him. He deserves one.
  Adam was sweet, of course. He seemed funnier in this one than in the first. Maybe because the troubles belonged to Bryan this time instead of him. I was glad it gave me a peek of him in there. I wish it had talked about Gwenyth more though.
  My favorite scene in the book was the part when Bryan held the baby. That was so utterly sweet! I bet seeing that could melt the coldest heart like butter on a burning stove. Absolutely adorable! The author probably knew that and put it in just so the readers would go “Awww!”
  It worked.
• 
  Tiffany

  I wont go into detail about what the book was about (there's several reviewers that have done an excellent job of that already). But this book...just makes me mad. First, there are so many historical inaccuracies throughout the series, its sad (the biggest one that stuck out like a sore thumb to me was the discussion of the "corn harvest" and "corn feast" from Mark of Salvation. Really? Corn? In Scotland? In the 1300s?)
  
  I tried to give the author the benefit of the doubt and went on to go ahead and read the whole series since my library had them anyway. But another issue quickly cropped up. In every single book both, the lead male and female characters, are exactly the same across the series. There might be some differences: one lady might be a pregnant widow, while the other is an unmarried mother, etc. The men are always broken warriors. The author seems to be able to lack perspective. The ladies always think the same way and have nearly the same personalities. The same with the men. You're reading the same people, just different names. Many authors seem to be falling into this trap; the inability to write diverse characters.
  
  Every story is essentially the same too. The lead characters always come from tragic backgrounds, they are then thrown together suddenly and are forced to marry under similar circumstances (usually for the "good" or "protection" of the woman), but it's only a faux marriage. The man always plans to abstain so they can part at a later date, after the conflict of the story is resolved. Lo and behold, they fall in love, the lady gives herself willingly to the man and they live happily ever after.
  
  Also the leading women in the series are just....pathetic. Other characters might remark that they are as intelligent as they are beautiful; no they're not. The women are all indecisive, insecure, short-sighted, simple and naive characters. Can we not have a woman who is really secure in herself, who isn't another damsel in distress? There is a lack of rational, complex and intelligent women being portrayed in works of fiction. Can we please do something to change this?
• 
  Rachelle

  Loved this book. Loved the first one. The first one was the Circle of Honor. I read both of these books in a very short amount of time because they are very good and quick reads. It is a series of 4 books but each book has a different set of main charaters so it is not neccessary to read them in order, but I hate doing things out of order.
  They are set back in the 1300s in Scotland when Robert the Bruce is trying to free Scotland from King Edward of England. So some actual historical facts set around a fictional love story...
  Maria, Mom, and Becky you'll like these books, so Becky pass the info on to Jalene, because she would also love these books. I finished the 2nd last night and am starting the third today...
  
• 
  April

  Four and a half Stars
  Book 2 in the Scottish Crown Series held me captivated and delighted within its pages. Another well thought out story that takes place during a very interesting time in Scottish history. The characters are easy to warm to and the story woven holds you in anticipation of what is to come, to the point where you cannot easily put it down. I highly enjoyed this read and think I may have liked it even more than the first book. Either way, both were what I would call a very good read.
  
  Looking forward to the next book in this series!
• 
  Bree Mclaren

  I'm a sucker for love stories (of course different from romance novels, bleh!). The Price of Freedom and all four of Carol Umberger's Scotland Novels are amazing love stories along with the adventure of war. However, I would suggest not reading them all right in a row. The writing can get stale in a way as amazingly descriptive (yet simple!) as it is. The Price of Freedom is my favorite of the four so I would definitly suggest this one if you would want to read any of them.
• 
  Jeannette Garcia

  I really liked this book. I'm still going strong on my Scottish kick and I'm loving Black Bryan Mackintosh. I thought the plot development was solid from page one. My only drawback I have with this book is the little interaction between Isobel and Bryan. The few parts in the book with Isobel and Bryan together were very endearing... I just wish there would have been more. But this was still a great read!
• 
  Anne

  The second inthe "Scottish Crown" stories. This one has a new hero and heroine but brings back a few people from the provious novel. Again, a wonderful read, rich with scotlands history, romance, and Christian values. As with Book1, my only complaint was it wasn't long eough.
• 
  Thefamily

  clean, quick read, not a bad story line, likable characters, its not a history and should not be rated as such- the historical context is there and individual pieces of history that are well known to the masses are included. I liked that, others might not.
• 
  Pam

  Son of Robert the Bruce, Black Knight Bryan, falls for Countess Kathryn in the midst of Scotland's fight for freedom. He was going to NOT attach himself to anyone until Robert was truly King but alas, Kathryn came along...1306-1314 time period.
• 
  elizabeth

  Amazing.
• 
  Tracy

  I actually liked the 2nd and 3rd books in the serious better than the first one; there was a bit more substance to them then pure romance.
• 
  Susan

  Loved this book! I don't know how accurate the Scottish history is, but it was a page turner. The battle scenes were incredible and if true were very descriptive. Can't wait to read the next one!
• 
  Débora

  A nice warm hug in the form of a book. 🤗
• 
  Jill Dominique Nuñez

  read this 6 yrs ago, i remember it being not that bad