Tag: Allison B Hanson

His Secret Highland Bride by Allison B. Hanson

On By TracyIn Check Content Warning/Triggers, Jacobean/Stuart Era (1603-1714), Part of a Series, Scottish/Highlander, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

His Secret Highland BrideHis Secret Highland Bride by Allison B. Hanson

Tracy’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars

Series: Clan MacPherson, #1

Release Date: May 13, 2024

After fighting abroad for five years, Shane MacPherson, now a guilt and grief-stricken widower is back in Scotland and must take over as Laird of his clan now that his father has passed away. He must also honor an agreement made by his father to marry the Laird of the Wallace clan’s daughter. He is on his way home to Cluny Castle to face the responsibilities bearing down on him, when he comes across a woman being assaulted on his lands, he is horrified to realize the men are MacPhersons and intervenes. This is when he meets Lindsay and with her, he finds peace for the first time since his beloved wife died. She seems to understand his grief and helps him heal. Yet neither is quite honest with the other, Shane believes Lindsay to be a maid and she believes him to be a simple soldier. They find a bit of happiness together and though they both think they are promised to others thanks to their fathers, they plan to defy them by marrying. But eventually Shane must return home and it is there that his short-lived happiness ends.

Lindsay Wallace was sent to the MacPherson clan by her mother to tend her ailing aunt, but when she arrived it was to learn that her aunt had already passed. She tries to help her uncle and his children, but is treated horribly by them and wants to return home. Her parents refuse and inform her of her impeding nuptials to the Laird of the MacPhersons. After the way she has been treated by them, Lindsay wants nothing to do with the MacPherson clan and certainly doesn’t want to marry their Laird. Shane is the only MacPherson she has met who seems honorable and they form a friendship of sort. She agrees to marry him to save herself, but wonders if she is doing the right thing, since he clearly still loves his first wife. When they return to Shane’s home, Cluny Castle, the truth comes out and any chance of happiness she might have had vanishes.

I am torn about this book, the writing was good and the characters likable, but the pace of the story was slow and the misunderstandings and misassumptions dragged on way too long to be truly enjoyable. The story has a lot going on and a lot of action, but relies heavily on misunderstanding, secrets and lies to keep the story moving forward – all of which become tiresome to the reader, especially when the issues could have easily been resolved with a bit of honest conversation. Personally, I didn’t feel any chemistry between Shane and Lindsay – he was still in love with his wife and blamed himself for her death, making it almost impossible for him to move on and then when he decided that it was time, he found something else to feel guilty about – UGH! And Lindsay wasn’t much better, she was a hypocrite who was quick to jump to conclusions and to judge and very slow to forgive – Double UGH! I didn’t hate this book, but I didn’t love it and wouldn’t read it again. This is the first book in the and while I didn’t care for this story, I would definitely read the next book.

*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. *

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.*