Ride with the Moonlight
(Thunder On The Moor, Book 2)
By Andrea Matthews
(Thunder On The Moor, Book 2)
By Andrea Matthews
Publication Date: 25th November 2020
Publisher: Inez M. Foster
Page Length: 387 pages
Genre: Historical Time Travel Romance
After rescuing sixteenth-century Border reiver Will Foster from certain death at her family’s hands, time traveler Maggie Armstrong finally admits her love for the handsome Englishman, though she can’t rid herself of the sinking suspicion that her Scottish kin are not about to let them live in peace. What she doesn’t expect is the danger that lurks on Will’s own side of the Border. When news of their plans to marry reaches the warden, he charges Will with March treason for trysting with a Scot. Will and Maggie attempt to escape by fleeing to the hills, but when Will is declared an outlaw and allowed to be killed on sight, they can no longer evade the authorities. Will is sentenced to hang, while Maggie is to be sent back to her family. Heartbroken, she has no choice but to return to Scotland, where her uncle continues to make plans for her to wed Ian Rutherford, the wicked Scotsman who she now realizes murdered her father in cold blood. With Will facing the gallows in England, and herself practically under house arrest in Scotland, she continues to resist her uncle’s plans, but her efforts are thwarted at every turn.Will’s family, however, is not about to stand by and watch their youngest lad executed simply because he’s lost his heart to a Scottish lass. A daring plan is set into motion, but will it be in time to save Will’s life and reunite the lovers? Or will Ian’s lies prompt Maggie’s family to ensure the bond between them is forever destroyed?
After Maggie discovers that Ian Rutherford, her uncle’s intended husband for her, murdered her father instead of Will Foster, she acts to save Will from her family. Saving him seems like the only logical choice since he has done nothing wrong. Running away to England is the only viable next step. Now that Maggie knows the truth, she cannot deny that her heart already belongs to Will. Furthermore, her family is unlikely to accept her decision to run away with an Englishman, especially a Foster.
Before the Fosters can get word to the warden, asking for his blessing over Will and Maggie’s union, the news reaches the warden from another source. And the version of events the warden is told is far from the truth. The warden charges Will with March treason for trysting with a Scot, and calls for his arrest. Maggie has only just saved Will from her own family, but now with the law after him as well, people seem to be closing in on them from all sides. The Fosters do all they can to save Will from the gallows, but how far can their attempts to save Will extend to keeping Maggie with them as well?
A thrilling fight for true love, Ride with the Moonlight (Thunder On The Moor, Book 2) by Andrea Matthews is a novel that will truly captivate you, and whisk you away to the 16th Century on the Scottish border, amidst clans at war and deep rivalries that extend much further than simply matters of the heart.
A battle for survival is one thing, but is it worth it if they can’t be together? Maggie and Will may have had a rocky start to their relationship, but once the truth behind her father’s death comes to light, Maggie puts aside all the reservations that she might have had about Will. She’s saved his life once already, but now she is the very reason his life might be in danger. Maggie is an incredibly independent woman and is certainly not afraid of fighting for what she believes in, or for those she loves, and her bravery in the face of danger is commendable. She is an incredibly adaptable and endearing character, and you can’t help but love her as you read. Equally, Will is a character who is impossible not to adore. Many times throughout this novel, he is referred to as charming, for it is well known that the Foster lads have a way with words that makes the ladies fall over themselves to get their attention. This charm is not reserved for just Maggie, though, for the reader certainly feels it too. It is impossible for Will not to charm his way into your heart while you are reading. This immense feeling of love you start to feel for the characters truly wrenches your heartstrings while reading, as brushes with death come all too close, and at times you are almost holding your breath while reading, desperate for the happy ending that seems hopeless.
While there are characters in this novel, namely Maggie and Will, that you will adore with all of your heart, there are also characters that you will absolutely despise. Ian Rutherford, for all intents and purposes, is a gentleman worthy of taking the hand of Georgie Armstrong’s niece, Maggie. Behind the scenes, though, there is a vile man hidden behind a false charming personality. However, while Maggie and the Fosters know the truth behind Ian’s intentions, Maggie’s family, the Armstrongs, are still in the dark and believe that Will has kidnapped Maggie away, and are certain of keeping their promise of Maggie’s betrothal to Ian. For the reader, having all the different perspectives of each situation, and finding out what each character believes to be the truth, only makes the novel more intense. Even when everything seems okay to one character, the reader knows that something is about to happen, and not being able to jump into the book and warn Will and Maggie to be careful is agonising. The pacing of this novel, giving the reader insight into the plans made by both Foster’s and Armstrong’s, makes this book next to impossible to put down. There is no moment of guaranteed safety, and that is enough to keep you on the edge of your seat while reading, hoping for the best outcome while expecting the worst.
In the first novel in this series, Thunder on the Moor, there is a lot of attention on the time travel aspect of the story. Maggie comes from the twentieth century, and finding herself back in the sixteenth century, and her father reunited with his family after many years of him being missing, is a lot for her to take in. There is not too much mention of time travel in this story, though, for Maggie has adjusted to life on the border in the 16th Century, and is used to the ways of living. What she doesn’t understand, though, is how the law works, and with her modern ways of thinking, the laws seem barbaric. The intricacies of the law, of what loopholes can be found and what is impossible to get around is something she can’t quite understand. With her lack of understanding, somewhat mirroring the reader who relates to her modern morals over those of the Fosters and Armstrongs, who have no understanding of how Maggie might view their world differently, the situations Will and Maggie find themselves in seem even more impossible to escape. The historical detailing in this novel is outstanding, and anything the reader might not know about the time period is explained when Maggie asks questions, keeping the reader engaged without the need for stretches of text explaining the historical facts to the modern reader.
Transporting you to the 16th Century and capturing both your attention and heart, Ride with the Moonlight (Thunder On The Moor, Book 2) by Andrea Matthews is a novel that you live rather than read. While it is advantageous to begin with book 1 in the series, it is not absolutely necessary, for there is explanation enough to pick up the backstory. If you begin with this novel, though, you will absolutely want to go back and read the previous one, for the characters will truly capture your heart, and you will want nothing more than to rejoin them again as soon as possible.
Review by Ellie Yarde
Yarde Reviews & Book Promotion
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Ride with the Moonlight
Andrea Matthews
Andrea Matthews is the pseudonym for Inez Foster, a historian and librarian who loves to read and write and search around for her roots, genealogical speaking. She has a BA in History and an MLS in Library Science, and enjoys the research almost as much as she does writing the story. In fact, many of her ideas come to her while doing casual research or digging into her family history. She is the author of the Thunder on the Moor series set on the 16th century Anglo-Scottish Border, and the Cross of Ciaran series, where a fifteen hundred year old Celt finds himself in the twentieth century. Andrea also writes historical mysteries under the pen name I. M. Foster. Her series A South Shore Mystery is set in the early 1900s on Long Island. Andrea is a member of the Long Island Romance Writers, and the Historical Novel Society.
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