Category: Part of a Series

To Marry a Highlander by Callie Hutton

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Jacobean/Stuart Era (1603-1714), Part of a Series, Scottish/Highlander1 Comment

To Marry a Highlander (The Sutherlands of Dornoch Castle #2)Barbara’s rating: 4.4 of 5 Stars
Series: The Sutherlands of Dornoch Castle #2
Publication Date: 4/8/22
Period: Jacobean/Stuart Era (1655) – Scottish Highlands
Number of Pages: 189

Conall Sutherland loves women and they love him, so why shouldn’t he take advantage of the favors offered to him? He has probably slept with most of the women in his part of Scotland – and any parts of Scotland he’s ever visited. He has three rules though – no innocents, no married women, and absolutely none of them should expect marriage. He makes that very clear to any and all. However, since his brother’s very happy marriage, those trysts have felt a little less satisfying. Still, he isn’t going to marry, so why not enjoy the bounty? His older brother, the Laird, has told him repeatedly that his lifestyle will come back to bite him – and bite him in a major way. Conall doesn’t buy that at all – goodness – he takes precautions and he always leaves the ladies happy – what could go wrong?

Maura MacEwan and Conall were childhood friends but grew apart when his lifestyle changed to one of lusting after every female in Scotland. Maura has always admired Conall and would welcome a future with him if he were a different man, but he isn’t, so that will never happen. Not being a quiet submissive young woman, she lets him know what she thinks of him and his ways every time they are near each other. He should certainly have no doubt about how she feels.

So, how did Conall get caught kissing the innocent Maura you ask? Well, you’ll just have to read the book to find out, but caught they were! Maura’s outraged brothers were torn between killing Conall and forcing marriage. Fortunately, they chose to force a marriage.

Many of Conall’s former conquests lived/worked at the castle and they harass Maura in hundreds of ways. Maura is up to handling those women, but when something totally unexpected and out of the blue happens – nobody will believe Conall. Why – well, remember his brother’s comments about his lifestyle coming back to bite him? Yep – and it had really sharp teeth!

This was a fun, entertaining read and I definitely recommend it. It is well written, well-paced and the characters are appealing. I hope you will give the book a read and will love it as much as I did.

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

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A Scot is Not Enough by Gina Conkle

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Part of a Series, Scottish/Highlander, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

A Scot Is Not Enough (Scottish Treasures, #2)A Scot Is Not Enough by Gina Conkle

Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Scottish Treasures, #2

Release Date: April 26, 2022

After helping her clanswoman Anne complete her mission, Cecelia MacDonald has become the de facto leader of the group of women committed to restoring some of the things taken from their clan after the Jacobite uprising. With Anne’s mission to find the clan’s gold completed, it is up to Cecelia to find the MacDonald’s ancient ceremonial dagger and restore it to the clan’s chief. And now after years of searching, she knows where it is and just needs to figure out a way to gain access to Sir Hans Sloane’s collection, but first, she needs to shake the man following her.

Alexander Sloane is a man with a dream, he wants to be appointed a Baron of the Exchequer, and to attain that goal he has left his family’s legal practice, where he served as a barrister and has taken a job as the undersecretary to the undersecretary to the Duke of Newcastle. Currently, he is tasked with examining Bow Street’s funds and deciphering a Jacobite ledger. But when the magistrate of Bow Street asks him to follow a Jacobite sympathizer and report her day-to-day activities to him, in exchange for help getting appointed to the Court of the Exchequer, Alexander has no choice but to comply. However, once Alexander meets Cecelia everything changes, and soon protecting this fiercely independent woman becomes more important than any appointment.

Trust doesn’t come easy to Cecelia, but Alexander is unlike any man she has ever known and when he suggests a partnership, she is tempted to believe that it could work. But in her heart, she knows that an upstanding, honorable man like Alexander has no future with a displaced Jacobite sympathizer like her and that she will need to guard her heart. Working together proves they are a good team and she begins to think she might actually succeed at her mission, but when a villain from her past with a score to settle sets, Cecelia, in her sites, any chance for a HEA seems to disappear, and she can only pray that she doesn’t take Alexander down with her.

This second installment of the series is just as intense as the first book and packed with more than one surprise. I wasn’t sure I was going to like this book after meeting Cecelia in the previous story, but she is not the woman I thought she was, Cecelia has lots of layers that she keeps in place to guard her tender heart and she meets her match in Alexander. This book has wonderful characters, a lot of sexual tension, a couple of mild love scenes, a hero that is sure to win your heart as he did Cecelia’s, a bit of betrayal, intrigue, some live and death moments, great secondary characters, cringe-worthy villains, and a sigh-inducing HEA. The story starts a bit slow and if you didn’t read the first book, you might not understand the significance of certain things, but overall it is a good read and I would happily recommend this 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.*