Medieval (1066-1540) – Page 15 – Flippin' Pages Book Reviews

Highland Heartbreaker by Julie Johnstone

Series: Of Mist and Mountains, #4

Release Date: January 17, 2023

After years of waiting for her betrothed to marry her, Elena MacLeod has had enough and plans to use the terms of the contract which say if they don’t marry by her 22nd birthday, she can withdraw from the betrothal. But the day before her birthday, Rolland MacKay aka the Highland Heartbreaker shows up to claim her. Elena is furious, she has no desire to wed a man who has tumbled practically every lass in the highlands while betrothed to her. But when she shoots him in the butt with an arrow, everything changes. They get to know each other, and love blossoms, a wedding is planned, but the night before they were to exchange their vows, Rolland leaves without a word. Later she hears that he was called away to a battle and acted dishonorably and was labeled a coward and a traitor by the king and that he took up with the king’s son, Lord Carrick. Elena is heartbroken, how could she have fallen for such a man? She needs to forget Rolland and move on, but each time she comes close to marriage, she breaks the betrothal – after 4 years and just as many broken betrothals, Elena begs to go to court. But trouble from her last betrothal follows her and when her life is in danger, her father betroths her to Rolland’s cousin, the new MacKay laird. Elena never expects to cross paths with Rolland again, but to her shock, that is exactly what happens and to make things worse, and tasks Rolland with delivering her to him. Could things get any worse?

Rolland never wanted to marry Elena, something he made clear to his father and hers when their parents betrothed them, but after years of rebelling, Rolland realizes that he is being selfish and that the marriage will help his clan, so he puts aside his rakish ways and travels to Dunvegan Castle to claim his bride. He was not prepared for the lovely woman who disguised herself to compete in the archery competition, who stands up to him and then shoots him in the butt with an arrow. This is not the biddable, boring wife he was expecting and suddenly marriage doesn’t seem like the nightmare he envisioned. But when the king demands his help in exchange for his brother’s life, Rolland will have to seemingly betray the only woman he has ever loved and give up not only his love but his title and his honor as well. And now four years later, he is finally closer to completing his task than he has ever been, but not close enough to reclaim his old life or Elena. And when he learns that someone is after her and she needs the protection of marriage, he agrees to deliver her to his cousin, even if it is the hardest thing he has ever done. He expected her wrath, but he never expected to fall deeper in love with the one woman who he can never have.

This was another incredible installment in a wonderful series. The book is well-written, nicely paced, and filled with amazing characters and lots of page-turning excitement. If you have read the other books and wondered about Elena and her broken betrothals, then this is the book you have been waiting for! This second-chance romance has intrigue, murder, betrayal, lies, secrets, wonderful secondary characters, action, life-and-death moments, steamyish love scenes, a little heartache, surprising twists, and finally a hard-won HEA complete with an epilogue. This is the fourth book in the series, but it could easily be read as a standalone title. I was delighted to finally read Elena’s story and it was everything that I could have hoped for and more! I enjoyed this book and was a little sad to see it end, and hopefully, this won’t be the last we see of Elena and Rolland! I highly recommend this title and hope you love it as much as I did.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*

In Her Highlander’s Bed by Lynsay Sands

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Highland Brides, #11

Release Date: January 24, 2023

Allissaid MacFarlane wakes to learn that Maldouen MacNaughton tried to kidnap and marry her elder sister Claray for the sole purpose of killing their family and taking over the MacFarlane’s holdings, but thankfully she was saved by the man known as the Highland Wolf, who is actually Bryson MacDonald, her thought-to-be-dead betrothed. Now married to Bryson, Claray is safe, but it seems that MacNaughton has decided to turn his attention to the next sister – Allissaid. To save his family, her father has decided to marry off all the sisters and has sent for their betrothed as well as his nephews Aulay and Alick Buchanan. Ordered to stay in the keep and prepare for the arrival of her groom, Allissaid is trying to make sense of everything when she is told that her brother Eachann is missing. Against her father’s orders, she slips out of the keep to look for him and is soon captured by the MacNaughton and learns that he murdered her betrothed, he then tries to force her to participate in a marriage ceremony, but Allissaid refuses to speak, he then tries to force himself on her, brutally beating her when she fights back, but when the MacNaughton leaves her alone, she escapes by jumping out of a window into the Loch. She is on the run when she sees a man swimming and tries to steal his plaid and is tackled by him.

Calan Campbell is Laird of the Kilcairn Campbells and his lands border those of the MacNaughton. Calan and his cousin are out investigating a recent raid on their lands – by the MacNaugtons – and on the way back to the keep, Still recuperating from a recent injury, Calan decides to take a dip in the loch and sends his cousin Gillie back to the holding. he is in the loch when he sees a young lad trying to steal his plaid and takes off after them, knocking the boy to the ground, only to find out that it is not a lad, it is a badly beaten lady. Thankfully, Gillie comes looking for him and between them, they sneak Allissaid into his keep. He hides her in his chamber and has his sister Inghinn come and examine her. When she wakes, Allissaid isn’t sure she can trust them and pretends to have amnesia, but when his mother Lady Fiona gets involved and recognizes Allissaid, she tells them the whole story of her abduction, attempted wedding, and the beating. The Campbells vow to help her and decide it is best if she remains hidden until the MacNaughton is defeated. Lady Fiona insists that Allissaid stay in Calan’s room and that he must stay and protect her, a task Calan is happy to perform, as he has come to admire Allissaid. They are getting to know each other and attraction blooms but is brought to a halt by the arrival of her cousin Alick, who takes his job to protect her very seriously – much to the annoyance of Calan, who has already decided that Allissiad will make the perfect wife for him. He just has to convince her and defeat MacNaughton…

This story picks up exactly where Highland Wolf ends, but there is more than enough backstory given to read this book without having read that one first. Allissaid and Calan are very likable leads and the passion between them burns brightly, making it easy to root for their HEA. The story has a lot going on, some of it quite dark, but Ms. Sands manages to keep the story from turning too dark by the use of her signature humor and witty banter between characters. In addition to that you will be treated to action, great secondary characters, lots of Buchanans, murder, a matchmaking mother, steamy love scenes, betrayal, and finally a HEA that sees the villain getting his due. I enjoyed this book, it did drag a little in the middle, but the ending more than makes up for that in my opinion and I am happy to recommend this title. This is the eleventh book in the series, but it is a loosely connected series and as I mentioned before, it can be read as a standalone title.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*

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