The Highlander’s Tudor Lass 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 Tudor Lass (The Brothers of Wolf Isle Book 3)My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Barbara’s rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Series: The Brothers of Wolf Isle #3
Publication Date: 8/22/22
Period: Tudor England – 1547

I have been looking forward to the release of this book for a while now. I’ve read the first two books in the series and they were non-stop action and excitement with a romance just as exciting as the action parts. Not this one. It is a nice read but is missing the action and excitement of the other books. In the first two books, the pirate Claude Jandeau was a fierce, mighty, nasty pirate who stole away innocent women and children and sold them into slavery to men who wanted them. He is bound and determined to get the Montgomerie sisters into his nasty hands. So far, the only thing that has stood in his way is the Macquarie brothers. One of the brothers married the older Montgomerie sister and now, since their father’s death, she wants to bring her sisters to Wolf Isle to live with her. Callum and Drostan (twins) Macquarie were dispatched to Hawick to accompany the four sisters back to the isle. When they arrived, two of the sisters had left for England. Drostan accompanied the two sisters (Kat and Agnes) who were at Hawick back to Wolf Isle and Callum continued to Sudeley Castle in England to retrieve Anna and Dorothia (Dora) and then accompany them north to Wolf Isle.

Since the pirate Jandeau escaped before he could be hanged, the Montgomerie ladies cannot be left unprotected. Anna and Doro are in the employ of the Dowager Queen Katherine Parr Seymour as Ladies to Princess Elizabeth. When Anna refuses to leave, Callum knew he had to stay until he could convince her to leave.

We spent several months or about 70% of the book at Sudeley Castle with Callum trying to convince Anna and dealing with the English who looked down upon him. This part went on much, much too long. When they were deceived and ended up in the hands of Jandeau, it was a tad more exciting, but not by much. Jandeau was a mere shadow of himself and really didn’t pose much of a threat at all.

I enjoyed the book; it just wasn’t the exciting, page-turning, swashbuckling read I had expected. I wanted some exciting cross-country chases, or sword fights onboard a pirate ship or … something. It did get livelier; it just wasn’t that bone-tingling excitement from the previous books.

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

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Reign of Wicked Temptation by Jen Bradlee

On By TracyIn Medieval (1066-1540), Middle Ages / Medieval (476-1454), Part of a Series, Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Reign of Wicked TemptationReign of Wicked Temptation by Jen Bradlee

Tracy’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Prince of Whispers, #3

Release Date: August 9, 2022

After the cliffhanger ending of book two, left the fate of Ruby, Henry, and Crispin in question, the wait for answers is finally over, and be prepared to pick your jaw up off the floor!!! Please be warned, if you have not read the previous installments and plan to, do not read this review as parts of it may be spoilerish to those who haven’t read books one and two.

At the end of the last book, Crispin’s older brother Francis returned from the dead, badly scarred and posing as Ruby’s friend the monk known as Brother James. Despite his return and his position as the rightful heir to the throne, he swears he has no desire to take his rightful place as king. Crispin doesn’t trust him but his fears seem pointless, especially when Francis/James returns to the Monastery. But shortly thereafter, Ruby and Henry disappear, leaving Crispin frantic.

Ruby wakes to learn she is being held captive by Francis, who has finally shown his true colors and does in fact plan to reclaim the throne and force Ruby to honor their betrothal – but first, he wants to make Crispin suffer. She soon learns that Francis is also holding Henry captive and that they were betrayed by Ivy.

Crispin questions Ivy and learns that she is an assassin from the “Guild” but she refuses to tell Crispin who her master is, she admits to helping him capture Ruby and Henry – he forces her to take him to her meeting place, but when a badly beaten Henry arrives in place of her master, she once again betrays them, by taking them by surprise and turning them over to Francis. It seems as if all is lost and Francis will succeed in his plan to destroy Crispin, force Ruby to marry him, and claim the crown. But help comes from an unexpected source and secrets are revealed that change everything.

OMG – this entire series has been fantastic and this final installment is by far the best of the collection. I loved Ruby and Crispin and especially loved watching Crispin transform from the self-centered lothario that he was into a just ruler. This book was filled with heartbreak, betrayal, secrets, lies, shocking revelations, forgiveness, healing, a soulmate-type love, and finally a hard-won HEA. This is the third installment of the series and the books really need to be read in order. I absolutely loved this entire series and if you like bad-boy heroes, then this is the series for you!

Important Note: This book does contain a scene that might be a trigger for some readers – I will not say what it is as it is a spoiler, but if you would like to know, feel free to contact me privately.

*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.*