Her Forbidden Highlander Husband by Allison B. Hanson

On By TracyIn Part of a Series, Restoration Era (1660-1714), Scottish/Highlander, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Her Forbidden Highlander Husband (Clan MacKinlay Book 3)Her Forbidden Highlander Husband by Allison B. Hanson

Tracy’s rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: Clan MacKinlay, #3

Release Date: November 16, 2021

Liam MacKinlay was taken and raised as family after he was found alone and wandering on MacKinlay land as a young child, and since that day he has tried to be worthy of the honor the MacKinlays did for him by taking him, and more than anything, he wants his own family. But after meeting Evelyn “Ev” Stewart when he was part of the rescue party that saved her from the McCurdys that abducted and held her captive, he added another wish to his list – Ev as his wife. Over the past few years, he has asked her father for her hand and been refused twice. Now he plans to ask a third time, but this time he comes as the War Chief of the MacKinlay clan and hopes the title will hold some sway with her father. Sadly, it doesn’t and Liam is rejected once more and sent on his way. As he is leaving, Ev confronts him in the stable and tells him that she will marry him – now.

Liam can’t believe his good fortune, he marries Ev, and just as they are setting out to return to his home at Dunardry, Ev runs to a cottage in the village and returns with a small girl, who she introduces as her daughter Gwendolyn. Liam takes this surprise in stride and accepts Gwennie as his own without question. Ev then makes it clear that after the abuse she endured at the hands of the McCurdys that she cannot abide a man’s touch and in doing so, shatters Liam’s dreams of children of his own, but he takes this in stride as well, happy to have Ev in his life any way he can have her. But things go from bad to worse when they arrive at Dunardry and Liam realizes that what he thought was love was just a fantasy, he couldn’t love Ev because he never really knew her and with the patience of a saint, Liam sets out to get to know his wife.

Slowly, Ev warms up to Liam and even begins to desire him, something she never thought would happen, they not only become intimate, but they also take in more children and form the family Liam always dreamed of having, but Ev is keeping secrets from him, secrets that could cause a multi-clan war. Even when her father demands Liam annul their marriage and Ev’s return, Ev doesn’t reveal the real reason – that her father has promised her hand in marriage to the heir of the Morgan Clan. Instead, she breaks Liam’s heart by agreeing to surrender to her father, rather than let the MacKinlays go to war. But Liam isn’t willing to let her go and after making some emotional realizations, rides out with his “brothers” to confront her father and gets the shock of his life in a twist that will change everything!

I am not sure how to rate this book because while the story was excellent, I had a really hard time liking Evelyn and I found Liam to be a bit too beta, but as the story progressed, they both began to grow on me and by the end of the story, I loved them both. This is not your run-of-the-mill historical romance, Liam is a beta hero with a huge heart of gold and Evelyn is a survivor of rape and captivity. In the beginning, Ev is very hard to like, she uses Liam and treats him very badly, but slowly, Liam’s innate goodness prevails and she learns to trust and love him. The book has a lot of emotion, some triggers, warm love scenes, surprising revelations, shocking twists, familial love, acceptance, and finally a very sweet HEA. This book is the third book in the series, but I didn’t read the previous stories and I was able to follow the backstory with no problems.

*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.*

Mrs. Jeffries and the Midwinter Murders by Emily Brightwell

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, Part of a Series, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

Mrs. Jeffries and the Midwinter Murders (Mrs. Jeffries, #40)Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Series: Mrs. Jeffries #40
Publication Date: 11/16/21
Period: Victorian London
Number of Pages: 304

Who can believe that this fun, entertaining, and well-written series now has forty books? It is amazing to realize how far our very naïve, backward, and unworldly Inspector has come since that first book. It is also amazing to see how his unknown crew of helpers has grown and matured in their means and methods of helping THEIR Inspector solve crimes – especially without letting him know he is being helped.

Christmas is rapidly approaching and everyone at Inspector Witherspoon’s is hoping their Inspector won’t catch any cases before the holiday because they are all looking forward to the celebrations. Sadly, that isn’t to be the case. Inspector Witherspoon is filling in for someone else when he is called to the scene of the murder of very wealthy Harriet Andover.

Harriet certainly had no intention of dying and spoiling anyone’s Christmas, but it seems that is just what happened when she is found in a locked room with the plaid belt to her husband’s robe wrapped tightly around her neck. Her husband seems grief-stricken – but is he really? Her step-children don’t even pretend they liked her, but the servants were all fond of her and appreciate her. She was a pleasant woman who treated the servants with respect and definitely improved their lives when she saw that they had proper food to eat and proper wages. It seems nobody really loved her though. At the same time, nobody seemed to hate her either.

There is, as always, much more to the inner workings of the family than is visible at first. While Inspector Witherspoon is quickly sure the servants aren’t involved in the death, there are five other residents in the household who could possibly have a motive. Mr. Jacob Andover, the husband, says he loved his wife – but did he? Her step-son, Percy Andover, was angry with her because she refused to keep supporting him and made him get a job. Mrs. Ellen Swineburn, Harriet’s step-daughter, felt Harriet was common and beneath the Andover’s social status – even though it was Harriet’s money that saved them all. Harriet’s best friend, Marcella Blakstone, is staying with the Andovers while her own home is having renovations done. There is also Harriet’s nephew from the United States, Reverend Daniel Wheeler, who has only just met his aunt for the first time. Is the murderer one of the house residents or guests? Or, is it someone from one of Harriet’s many and varied business dealings?

Inspector Gerald Witherspoon, Constable Griffiths, Constable Reed, and Constable Barnes will have their work cut out for them if they want to solve the case before Christmas. Of course, none of them other than Constable Barnes knows that they are also getting a massive dose of behind-the-scene help from the people who consider Inspector Witherspoon THEIR inspector and always want him to succeed. Mrs. Jeffries is the housekeeper and ring-leader of the group whose other members are: Luty Belle Crookshank – a wealthy American who loves bright colors; Hatchett, Luty Belle’s butler with benefits; Lady Ruby Cannonberry, widow of a peer; Smythe, the secretly very wealthy groom; Betsy, Smythe’s wife; Mrs. Goodge, the cook; Phyllis, the parlor maid; and Wiggins, the footman. With their wide set of skills, knowledge, social strata, and acquaintances – both home and abroad – they’ll fan out and gather clues they can surreptitiously pass along to the Inspector – especially through Constable Barnes.

This was a fun locked-room mystery and it took all of the skills and resources of our intrepid crew to solve the case and put the culprit where they belonged. We also get some good news and some upsetting news for our characters and we’ll just have to read the next books to see where it all goes.

I can definitely recommend this if you want an interesting mystery and some fun interactions with some lovely people. Now, I have to wait for the next one.

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

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