Book Review: Highland Captive by Alyson McLayne

Highland Captive by Alyson McLayne

Publisher & Release: Sourcebooks, July 30, 2019

Time and setting:  Mediaeval, Scotland Highlands

Genre: Historical Romance

Length: 448 Pages

Heat Level: 1 Flame

Rating: 4.5 Gold Crowns

Book Description: 

She'd saved his son.
Could she save him as well?

Laird Gavin MacKinnon is a changed man—and not for the better. Ever since his young son, Ewan, disappeared two years ago, Gavin has grown callous and bitter. Scouring the countryside, his search leads him to a mysterious woman who maintains the boy is hers. He decides to take them both and ask questions later. 

Deirdre MacIntyre will go with the brooding laird if it will keep her son safe. Gavin has to admit that the beautiful lass has a bond with Ewan, and things aren't adding up. When Deirdre's clan comes to claim her under threat of war, Gavin has a choice to make: fight for her or let her go. 

Buy Link:

https://smile.amazon.com/Highland-Captive-Sons-Gregor-MacLeod-ebook/dp/B07MZH8553

Add to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42366191-highland-captive

Vikki’s Musings

Highland Captive by Alyson McLayne is book 4 in the Sons of Macleod series. When I received an invitation from the publisher, via Net-Galley, to read and review this book, the premise sounded intriguing, so I accepted the offer. My opinions are my own and are not influenced in any way.

I quickly became enmeshed in the story from the first page and remained thoroughly entranced until the last. The writing is emotional, and the characters are enthralling. I did have an issue with the storyline, but it did not take away from my overall enjoyment.

I enjoyed Deirdre MacIntyre’s character a great deal, but she does have flaws which makes her human. She is a nurturing mother who will do whatever is needed to protect her son. That’s clear, when she gathers their belongings and flees a gathering. I admired her determination to protect her son since her encounter with Laird Gavin McKinnon leads her to believe he’s violent and could possibly be the father of the child she’s raising as her own.

Laird Gavin McKinnon is a hero to be reckoned with, a brave, menacing warrior at first glance. However, once he has his son, his softer side comes out. He remains the fierce Laird throughout the story as he seeks vengeance against the individuals who kept his son from him for over two years. While he has reason to distrust the woman who’s been raising his son, he recognizes her deep love for Ewan. His desire for her is overwhelming, but his honor keeps him from acting on that desire.

The romance between Deidre and Gavin is complicated. I struggled with the moral dilemma of their attraction. I will refrain from stating what the moral issue is as I don’t want to give anything away, but it is the reason I can’t give a full 5 gold crowns for this remarkable story. However, the chemistry is so strong it’s palpable, and I could understand why they did come close to giving in to it. And of course, the sexual tension is amazing.

If you enjoy a highland romance with plenty of action, a fierce Scottish warrior and a compelling plot, then you will enjoy Highland Captive. While this is the first book I’ve read by Ms. McLayne, it will not be my last. Happy reading!

Virtue and Valor by Collette Cameron

Publisher & Release Date: Soul Mate Publishing, June 24, 2015  

Time and setting: 1818, Scotland

Genre: Historical Romance

Length: 226 pages

Heat Level: 1 Scorching Hot Flame

Rating: 4 Gold Crowns

Book Description:

Bartholomew Yancy never expected to inherit an English earldom and had no intention of marrying. Now, the Earl of Ramsbury and last in his line, he's obligated to resign his position as England's War Secretary, find a wife, and produce an heir. Only one woman holds the least appeal: Isobel Ferguson, an exquisite Scotswoman. Brought to Scotland to mediate between feuding clans, he doggedly woos her.

Disillusioned with men pursuing her for her attractiveness, rather than her unusual intellect, Isobel has all but abandoned any hope of finding a husband in the Highlands. Not only does she believe Yancy no different than her other suitors, he's a notorious rake. She's been told he's practically betrothed. Therefore, his interest in her cannot possibly be honorable, and so she shuns his attentions.

When Isobel is mistakenly abducted by a band of rogue Scots, Yancy risks his life to rescues her. To salvage her compromised reputation, her brother and father insist she marry him. Yancy readily agrees, but Isobel--knowing full well she's fated for spinsterhood by refusing his offer--won't be coerced into marriage.
 
Can love unite a reluctant earl and a disenchanted beauty? 

Buy Link:

http://smile.amazon.com/Virtue-Valor-Highland-Heather-Romancing-ebook/dp/B00ZPBVG66/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1436832263&sr=1-1&keywords=virtue+and+valor&pebp=1436832777743&perid=1JRWYERRS49PHY75CXKB

Add to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25784435-virtue-and-valor

Vikki’s Musings

This is the first book by Collette Cameron I have read, and it will not be the last. I enjoyed her witty dialogue and the intrigue in Virtue and Valor. This is an excellent example of a Scottish regency historical with a good feel of the time period.

Bartholomew Yancy, Earl of Ramsbury is in need of a wife, and he wants Isobel Ferguson, the sister to Viscount Sethwick, Laird of Craiglocky Keep, a man he has called friend since their school days. When the opportunity arises for him to travel to Craiglocky in service of the Prince Regent, he immediately accepts. However, his pursuit will not be easy. The lass has given him a cold shoulder since the previous Christmas.

Isobel Ferguson has been in love with Yancy since a young girl of nine, but she learned at her sister’s Christmastide ball that he has an agreement to wed his ward, a young woman he knows in an intimate way. When Yancy arrives at her brother’s keep, she must control her emotions. He must never know how she feels. Her pride will not allow it.

When Isobel is kidnapped, Yancy races after her, determined to save her. Once he rescues her, her reputation is in tatters, so he asks her to marry him. After all, he planned to wed her anyway. Even though her family urges her to accept, Isobel turns him down. Will Yancy uncover the reason for her refusal, or will he lose her without ever learning why?

I thoroughly enjoyed the banter between Yancy and Isobel. Ms. Cameron has woven a charming story with plenty of sexual tension and intrigue. This is an action-packed tale that kept me flipping the pages on my Kindle to see what would happen next.

Now for my reason I did not give Virtue and Valor 5 Gold Crowns. I would have liked a bit more depth in the characters, especially Isobel. At times she is very antagonistic to the point that I wanted to shake some sense into her. While on the other hand, Yancy’s character is terrific, and I fell in love with him from the very beginning. His character is why I enjoyed the story as much as I did.

Nonetheless, this is a great story, and I will want to read other books by Ms. Cameron. If you enjoy an adventurous tale with enough action to make this a fast read, then you will enjoy Virtue and Valor. Happy reading!  

I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Highland Guard (Murray Family Book 20)

by Hannah Howell

http://smile.amazon.com/Highland-Guard-Murray-Family-Book-ebook/dp/B00M4ASQFK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1424452256&sr=1-1&keywords=highland+guard+hannah+howell

New York Times bestselling author Hannah Howell brings back the daring Murray family in a brand-new tale of dangerous love rekindled. . . 

Lady Annys MacQueen has no other choice. The deception that enabled her to keep her lands safe is on the verge of being revealed by a cruel kinsman. To shield her young son from the sword and her people from devastation, she must turn to the one man she could never forget... 

He lives for duty and honor. So the only way Sir Harcourt Murray could repay the laird who saved his life was to agree to father a child with Sir MacQueen's wife...Lady Annys. 

Now the passion he still feels for the lovely strong-willed widow is as all-consuming and perilous as securing her lands. But to convince her that his love is forever real means confronting her most wrenching fears--and putting everything they treasure most at stake...

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23208808-highland-guard

Published & Release Date: Zebra, February 24, 2015

Time and setting: Scotland, summer

Genre: Scottish Historical Romance

Heat Level: 1

Rating: 4 Gold Crowns

Vikki’s musings

I have been a fan of Hannah Howell’s ever since I read the first book in the Murray series. When the opportunity came up to review Highland Guard, I looked forward to reading it with great anticipation. I could not wait to be re-united with the Murray clan. That did not happen. This reads more as a stand alone than a book in that amazing series. I was a bit disappointed, but I still enjoyed the book, just not quite as much as I have enjoyed her other stories.

Sir Harcourt Murray comes to Lady Annys MacQueen’s side when he receives a message that she is experiencing great difficulties with one of her late husband’s cousins and believes her life and her son’s is in jeopardy. Harcourt and Annys have a past. Her late husband sustained an injury making it impossible for him to father a child, and he desperately needed an heir.

What follows in this review is the set up for the story and is expertly told in back story without being intrusive. When Sir David MacQueen found Harcourt gravely injured on the side of a road, he took him back to his Keep, and arranged for him to be nursed back to health. Once Harcourt recovered, he asked Sir David what he could do to pay him back for saving his life. Sir David told him that he wanted him to impregnate his wife. Although this went against all his principles, he agreed. After all, he did owe Sir David his life, and his attraction to Annys was more than he could resist.

Once Annys was with child, he took his leave even though it was one of the hardest things he had ever done in his life. Out of respect for his agreement with Sir David, he felt that he had to leave without biding the fair lady farewell.

When they are re-united again five years later, while this time Sir David does not stand in the way of them being together, Lady Annys is wary of Sir Harcourt since he left without a word to her. She harbors deep anguish and some resentment from this.

Sir Harcourt realizes that he has an upward battle winning the lady’s affections again. While he tries to find and end the problems with the evil cousin, not only is he constantly with Annys, he also has a chance to get to know his son.

After some time, he breaks through her shield, but so many things standing in the way of them having a lasting relationship with each other. Lady Annys must stay at Glencullaich to guard her son’s inheritance as Laird, and he has his own keep to protect. Can Harcourt find a way to fulfill Annys’s obligations without compromising his responsibilities to his brother and the rest of his clan?

As always, I enjoyed Ms. Howell’s writing style and her ability to bring her characters to life. She has such an astounding grasp of the Scottish dialect that her dialogue rings so true and helps to pull me in, putting me right there in the life of a keep during the time period. I would have liked a bit more information concerning the year, but this did not take me away from enjoying the book immensely.

I loved Harcourt’s character from the very beginning, and liked Annys a great deal and enjoyed their romance. Their little boy, Benet, stole the show, what an endearing little guy, and his lamb is just too precious, and the cat, Roban is charming. Who ever heard of a cat riding on a lamb’s back. It added greatly to the story, which did need a bit of help.

This is what gave me a bit of a struggle. The plot just did not ring true for me and was quite predictable. I easily figured out how the story would turn out well before the ending. Now it does have a very satisfying ‘Happily Ever After’, just very predictable.

Also I wanted to hear about the other amazing characters from the other twenty books, but none of them were in this story, which was disappointing. Hearing about these characters is one of the things that I enjoyed in her other books. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this character-driven tale and look forward to reading other books by this incredibly talented author. Happy reading!