Author: Barbara

Avid reader/reviewer of historical romance and historical mysteries.

The Highlander’s Secret Avenger by Heather McCollum

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Part of a Series, Scottish/Highlander, Tudor Era (1485-1603)Leave a comment

The Highlander's Secret Avenger (Brothers of Wolf Isle #4)

Barbara’s rating: 4.4 out of 5 Stars
Series: The Brothers of Wolf Isle #4
Publication Date: 8/21/23
Period: Tudor – 1548 Highlands of Scotland
Number of Pages: 237

Be still my heart! Those five Macquarie brothers are all large, handsome, brawny, intelligent, honorable, and determined to break the curse on their clan while reclaiming their home – Wolf Isle. The outward manifestation of the curse – an ancient willow tree – is showing more and more signs of life as each brother finds his true love. Will Drostan find his HEA or will he seal the fate of the Macquarie clan? You’ll just have to read this exciting, well-paced, excellently written story to see!

Amelia MacLeod has been sorely mistreated by her family – especially her two brothers. Since her mother died, Amelia has no protection at all and is being offered up as the prize to win an alliance with the powerful MacLean clan. Well, she’ll have none of that – she’ll prove how valuable she is to her clan by single-handedly defeating her clan’s biggest enemy, the Macquarie brothers. She knows the curse – and she knows how to use it. She just has to seduce one of the Macquarie brothers. Then – one of them rescues her and perhaps they aren’t the monsters she’d been told they were. OOPS!

Drostan Macquarie has always known he would be the one to bring his family down – the one who would allow the curse to come to fruition. Knowing this, he took measures to circumvent it, but – can the curse be circumvented by trickery? He may find out because the young woman he just rescued is definitely tempting. Sparks fly when he sees her – he cannot stop himself. Uh Oh!

What will happen when Drostan finds out about Amelia’s betrayal? Can he stand by and let her go? Then, there is the dastardly Jandeau who seems to have more lives than a cat – what will he do?

This was a lovely, fast-paced, exciting read and whets the appetite for the next, and final, book in the series. Yes, Eagan is the last man standing, and, to completely break the curse, he must find his true love. I wonder which lady will snare him.

I can definitely recommend this book; however, I would recommend reading the entire series in the order they were released to get the full enjoyment and understanding of the curse and Jandeau who is the overarching villain of the series. Happy reading!

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

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The Heron’s Cry by Ann Cleeves

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Contemporary, Mystery, Part of a SeriesLeave a comment

The Heron's Cry (Two Rivers, #2)

Barbara’s rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Series: Two Rivers #2
Publication Date: 9/7/21
Period: Contemporary North Devon, England
Number of Pages: 400

I thoroughly enjoyed this English Police Procedural with its team of quirky, talented police investigators. There is Detective Inspector Matthew Venn who heads the team and was raised as part of a religious cult. Jen Rafferty, his colleague, is divorced, has two children, and often parties much too hard. Ross May, the third member of the team, is married and is the golden boy of their Detective Chief Inspector. They all manage to work and solve crimes together despite their disparate personalities. If you enjoy J.L. Ross’s books, you’ll probably enjoy this series.

The team is called to the scene of a murder where the victim’s daughter discovered him with a very large piece of art glass through him. The glass was handmade by his daughter. The victim, Mr. Nigel Yeo was a gentle, caring man. So, who would want to murder him? Could it have something to do with his employment in the healthcare system?

It seems the victim had tried to speak with Jen at a party the previous night, but since she had overindulged, he decided not to do so. Was he going to tell her something that led to his murder? It seems they’ll never know.

With more victims, the team becomes more and more perplexed. What are they missing? What has it to do with old suicides?

The case will perplex you and it will keep you guessing throughout. There are many false trails and red herrings to keep you wondering.

One thing I enjoyed was learning more and more about who each member of the team was – especially with straight-laced, uptight Matthew Venn who was raised within the confines of a religious cult before he left as a young man. Matthew firmly compartmentalizes his life between work and personal, but in this book, those lines crossed several times when a number of witnesses and victims were acquainted with his husband Jonathan.

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

View all my reviews