Category: Scottish/Highlander

The Warrior of Clan Kincaid

On By TracyIn Middle Ages / Medieval (476-1454), Scottish/Highlander, Tracy's Reviews3 Comments

The Warrior of Clan Kincaid (Highland Warrior, #3)The Warrior of Clan Kincaid by Lily Blackwood

Tracy’s rating: 4/4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Highland Warrior, #3

Release Date: July 31, 2018

Derryth MacClaren is sent away from Inverhaven by her sister Elspeth for her own protection, rumors suggest that the Earl of Buchan aka the Wolf has once more set his sites on Inverhaven, so she is being sent home until the threat has passed. But their plan is thwarted when a few hours into the journey, they are captured – by Cull the Nameless, a member of the King’s Guard.

Cull saves Derryth from being raped but he cannot let her or her kinsmen go, he takes her back to his tent to keep her safe and tells her she and her kinsmen will be set free once they have taken the castle. Cull is acting on orders from Buchan, the man who rescued him from slavers as a child and trained him as a warrior. He hasn’t seen the orders to take Inverhaven, but he trusts Buchan.

Derryth keeps her identity a secret and at first tries to escape Cull, but when that doesn’t work she torments him. When Cull arranges for her to see Fiona and Deargh, Deargh suggests that she could be useful by keeping her eyes and ears open for information that will help her family beat Buchan. She changes her tact with Cull and soon discovers he is not the beast she thought he was. As they grow closer and she learns of her, her secrets weigh on her – she cares for Cull and desires him, but giving into her desire would be a betrayal to her family.

Cull is falling for Derryth, when he learns part of her secret, he will have to decide if his loyalty to Buchan and the promise of his greatest desire is worth more than his love for her. But when he believes Derryth has betrayed and used him, he tries to forget her and focuses on taking Inverhaven and the promised reward that comes with his success. However, all is not as it seems and when Robert (Buchan’s son) questions the orders to take Inverhaven, Cull realizes he is being used and goes to see Buchan for answers. When he gets to Craven, he finds more than he ever imagined and the truths he has known his entire life will be turned upside down. Truths will be revealed, promises will be made, secrets will be shared, jealousy will be rampant and others will interfere to keep our lovers apart and help will come from an unexpected source.

Of the three books, this one is far and away my favorite, it is a well written, fast paced, steamy read with a lot of secrets, twists and turns, betrayal, shocking revelations, a little heartbreak and finally a very satisfying HEA. There are a couple of things that kept this from being a 5 star read for me, but none of them are major, a dropped storyline, a couple of scenes that did nothing to move the story along and an unbelievable love scene – nothing that ruined the story, but did distract me, but please note, the copy I read was an uncorrected edition, so issues I encountered, may well be corrected before publication. This is the third book in the series, but it can definitely be read as a standalone title. I am happy to recommend the book and hope Ms. Blackwood is planning a story for Robert, because that is a book I definitely would like to read!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an uncorrected eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher.*

The Highland Chieftain by Amy Jarecki

On By TracyIn Jacobean/Stuart Era (1603-1714), Scottish/Highlander, Tracy's Reviews1 Comment

The Highland Chieftain (Lords of the Highlands)The Highland Chieftain by Amy Jarecki
Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Highland Lords, #4

Release Date: July 31, 2018

I enjoyed this addition to the Lords of the Highlands series. When we last saw Lady Mairi MacKenzie, she was reeling from being jilted by Reid MacKenzie, the Earl of Seaforth. They had been betrothed as children and Mairi grew up believing she would be his countess, but instead, he breaks their betrothal and marries Audrey, his ward. Mairi isn’t exactly heartbroken, but she is feeling sorry for herself and turns down a proposal by Duncan “Dunn” MacRae, believing the highland laird, a man who swears fealty to Seaforth is only proposing out of pity.

Dunn has long desired Mairi, but as Seaforth’s betrothed, she was off limits. When he proposes and is rejected, he knows he should just move on and forget about her, but the heart wants what the heart wants and forgetting her is just not possible. When Mairi is in danger, Dunn risks his life to save her, he kills three English dragoons that were intent on raping her and rides away with her when more soldiers show up. He had planned on returning her to her home immediately, but her father convinced he abducted her, has placed a bounty on his head and he cannot safely return her.

They hole up in his favorite spot, the Cavern of the Fairies and Dunn does his best to keep his desire in check. They spend time talking and Dunn offers to teach her how to defend herself. All is going well until Mairi gets ill and Dunn is forced to leave their sanctuary to get her to a healer. He takes her to his home Eilean Donan Castle and nurses her back to health.

Mairi has always been attracted to Dunn, but she never acted on it, first she was betrothed and later didn’t want to be pitied by him, but now she has come to realize there is much more to Dunn than she believed and she would like nothing more than to explore the feelings he has invoked. Before they become lovers, Dunn again proposes and she accepts, she is aware her father has other plans for her, but she is sure she can convince him to accept Dunn.

They enjoy their time together, but they long to get her father’s blessing and when pleas to Seaforth to intervene come to nothing, they decide to confront her father. But things take a terrible turn and Dunn is imprisoned. Mairi is devastated, she loves Dunn with all her heart and is forced to go to London with her father to save his life.

It seems all is lost for our lovers, but Dunn is not willing to lose Mairi again, he is relentless in his quest to marry her and more than once, his life is put in jeopardy. But when all seems lost, help comes from unexpected sources and Mairi will have to decide if her love for Dunn is enough to give up her family.

This was a fast paced, very emotionally driven story with a sigh worthy hero who loves Mairi with steadfast devotion rarely portrayed in romances these days. The story has action, steamy love scenes, a really vile villain, heartbreak, cameos from Reid and Audrey and a truly beautiful soulmate type love. The only thing that really bothered me was that the villain really didn’t suffer any repercussions for his treatment of Dunn and Mairi. But that aside, it was a good read and had a completely different feel from the previous books in the series. This is the fourth book in the Lords of the Highlands, but I think it could be read as a stand alone with no problems, however, if you want to go into this book with a better understanding of the relationships between Dunn, Mairi and Seaforth, I would highly recommend at least reading Highland Guardian first.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher.*