Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Clan Kendrick #3
Publication Date: 5/26/20
Number of Pages: 448

Oh! Graeme Kendrick, the brother who is always in or causing trouble, has grown up and makes the most marvelous hero. I loved him – and Sabrina Bell made the perfect heroine for him. She calmed the restless energy within him, steadied him, while he brought out her courage and spirit of adventure. Add in marvelous visits with most of the other members of the Kendrick clan and you have a wonderful, exciting, romantic adventure. It was particularly fun to see the heroine pursuing the hero – until he caught her. Remember Graeme’s affliction with breaking furniture – not on purpose – he’s just a big fellow? Well, there is a wonderful furniture breaking scene included – just to make you smile – and wonder.

We first met the Kendrick family in The Highlander’s Princess Bride, Improper Princesses series #3. In that book, we met Nicholas Kendrick, Earl of Arnprior, and his six very unruly siblings – Logan, Royal, Graeme & Grant (twins), Braeden, and Kade plus their irascible grandfather Angus. We’ve already had Royal’s story (The Highlander Who Protected Me) and Logan’s story (The Highlander’s Christmas Bride) and now we finally get to Graeme. I had wondered how the author was finally going to mature Graeme and make him into a believable and admirable hero – and now I know. She did it very well!

The Kendrick’s are a very close-knit family, but Graeme has somewhat separated himself from them for the last couple of years. He loves them, but he carries a lot of guilt and blames himself for a number of things that are not his fault – but his biggest secret is the one that makes him feel unworthy. Unworthy of their love or anyone else’s. When he rescues a beautiful young lady in Hyde Park – early one morning – he is immediately drawn to her. When she stands up to him and holds her own with him, he is even more drawn to her. Except he knows he doesn’t deserve her and walks away – all the way back to Scotland. He needs the distance and he has a mission to perform for the Crown.

Lady Sabrina Bell is a wealthy heiress and is totally accustomed to having men pursue her for her fortune. She’s quite sanguine about it and just marches along with her life – and she’s very happy that way. She does need to marry though and has met a newcomer to town who she thinks might be a candidate. Against all propriety, she even agrees to meet him very early in the morning – in Hyde Park. What an ordeal of a morning it turned out to be! It was raining, her assignation didn’t show up, she was wet, she was robbed and pushed into the Serpentine, and then she was rescued by a beast of a Highlander when she didn’t even need rescuing. He is certainly an intriguing man though.

As Graeme and Sabrina come into contact more and more often, both are thoroughly smitten. She freely admits it to herself – and he denies it totally. When he leaves London and heads to Scotland, she finds a way to get herself to Scotland. She’s a determined lass and has decided Graeme is the one for her. He doesn’t make it easy on her – and she almost gives up. He fights it with every fiber of his being, but poor Graeme just isn’t a match for Sabrina and his entire family. Then, add in kidnappings, smugglers, bootleggers, plots against the king and you have a rollercoaster ride of a story.

I hope you enjoy this story as much as I did – even though it does have some very modern situations and conversational styles. You’ll love both Graeme and Sabrina as well as visiting with most of his brothers and their wives.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.