Author: Barbara

Avid reader/reviewer of historical romance and historical mysteries.

The Highland Rogue by Amy Jarecki

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Medieval (1066-1540)2 Comments

the highland rogueBarbara’s Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Series: Lords of the Highlands #7
Publication Date: 3/24/20
Number of Pages: 368

This book sucked me in and held me captive from the exciting, heart-pounding opening scene to the last beautifully romantic scene in the epilogue. I couldn’t put it down! I was totally transported to another time and place: I existed on the deserted Hyskeir isle with Kennan and Kivana; I fought pirates along with Kennan; I was panic-stricken and vengeful when Kivana was threatened; and I was triumphant when I returned home with Kennan, Kivana and their crew. Yes, I was there and it was wonderful!

Sir Kennan Cameron, heir to the Laird of the powerful Cameron clan has been a supporting character in several other books in the series and I’m glad to see him in his own book. He is, of course, a large, imposing golden god who also happens to be smart, shrewd, and an excellent captain to his crew. You’ll love Kennan – you won’t be able to help it; you’ll just love him.

Divana Campbell, the daughter of crofters, was always poor – they couldn’t even afford shoes. When she was seventeen, she and her family were dragged from their beds and then dumped on Hyskeir isle. They were left to die – there was no food, no shelter, nothing. Her parents and siblings soon succumbed to smallpox (the reason they were dumped on the island), but miraculously, Divana survived. She managed to survive, all alone, on that island for two years. Until, one day …

The opening scene is so exciting! Kennan and his crew are returning to their homes in Scotland – loaded with treasure. They are less than a day away when the impossible happened. Kennan ended up swimming for his life, fighting sharks, and washing up, half-dead, on a very small isle. As he stumbled ashore, he caught sight of a young woman – digging for clams – as he stumbled to her small shelter and collapsed.

Divana reluctantly tended to Kennan and helped him survive. Kennan began to recover and they told each other the tales of how they came to be on this island from which there was no escape. Kennan, however, was determined to escape and find his revenge – even if he had to swim from the isle to the mainland. He lit signal fire after signal fire until finally, they were rescued. Had they just jumped from the frying pan to the fire? Hmmm… Their adventures had only just begun.

I loved the excitement, the chase, the romance. I loved that the romance felt truly genuine and that it developed as they got to know each other. I also loved that Kennan acted honorably toward Divana – really, really, really tried to do what he thought was the right thing. I was also happy to see that she thwarted him at every turn.

You’ll love Divana as well as Kennan. She is smart, brave, determined – yet she isn’t foolhardy as so many of our historical romance heroines are. Well, she did one foolhardy thing, but – if she hadn’t, we wouldn’t have a story.

I can definitely recommend this fast-paced, well-written, well-plotted and excellently written story. Now, to begin the wait for the next Highland adventure.

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

I Love The Earl by Caroline Linden

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Novella1 Comment

I Love the Earl (The Truth About the Duke #0.5)Barbara’s rating: 4/4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Truth About the Duke #0.5
Publication Date: 8/2/11
Number of Pages: 147

This was a lovely introduction to the ‘The Truth About The Duke’ series, we meet the Duke, learn about him unexpectedly becoming a duke, but we don’t really see much of him. We learn to like him, dislike him, and then like him again. We learned that he was troubled and that it had something to do with a youthful romance, but no explanations beyond that. The other books in the series feature his sons (many years later) as they fight the scandal the duke left behind and find their HEAs along their journey. This novella features the duke’s sister Margaret.

I listened to the audiobook which was narrated by Gildart Jackson. His characterizations were consistent – you always knew which character was speaking. He has a nice voice and accent consistent with the time and place. Personally, I thought the pacing was a little slow, but after I increased the playback speed, it worked out just fine.

Let me start by telling you that I loved both of the main characters in the book. One of my favorite things is that you never have to overlook or forgive either the hero or heroine for anything. They are both so very true to who they are. They are honest and straightforward with each other. One of the best things is that there is absolutely no angst nor any TSTL moments. It was a lovely, fairly light-hearted, romantic read.

Margaret de Lacey has long accepted that she is a spinster. Once, she dreamed of love, marriage, and children, but no longer. She is content living with her brother and managing his household. Then, her brother unexpectedly inherits a dukedom and her whole world changes. She’s gone from the plain, uninteresting, drab woman in whom nobody was interested, to a very wealthy heiress with all of the penniless fortune hunters chasing her. Well, she’ll not accept any of them without being very, very sure they are as interested in her as they are in her fortune.

Rhys Corwen, Earl of Dowling is probably the most destitute of those looking for a fortune. He is very, very reluctant to marry for money, but he’s exhausted all of his options – even selling the furnishings in his homes. He’s agreed to go through a list his friend has of eligible heiresses. He’ll meet them, then he’ll decide whether he can go through with it or not. He’s met two or three of the ladies on the list, and then he meets Margaret de Lacey. Goodness, she is intriguing and he is drawn to her. He decides right then that she will be his.

Rhys constantly turns up wherever Margaret happens to be and they always have at least a brief interaction. Will he manage to change her mind about him? Will she ever accept him? What dastardly thing does her brother do? Can they find their HEA? You’ll just have to read this fun novella to find out.

I do wish the epilogue had been just a tad more fleshed out, it seemed just a bit rushed. I would also have liked to have seen more of a reconciliation between the siblings – a visit would have been so much better than a letter. I understand this was a novella, but just a few more pages would have made it absolutely perfect.