Tag: Heather McCollum

The Highlander’s Pirate Lass by Heather McCollum

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Tudor Era (1485-1603)Leave a comment

Series: The Brothers of Wolf Isle #2

Publication Date: 8/23/21

Period:  Tudor – 1547 Highlands

Number of Pages:  271

Barbara’s Rating: 5-Stars

It has been about two/three years since our last visit to Wolf Isle and the Macquarie brothers.  Adam and Lark (The Highlander’s Unexpected Proposal) are still in newly wedded bliss – driving the rest of the brothers, Beck, Drostan, Callum, and Eagan, to distraction with their canoodling.  Beck has spent the last two years in a labor of love – he’s built his own ship – a three-masted carrack — and she is a thing of beauty.  Beck loves The Calypso more than anything else – well, anything except his brothers.  The Macquarie curse is still in full force.  The half-dead willow tree still has the newly formed buds on it from Adam and Lark falling in love, but those buds haven’t opened or progressed in healing.  It appears that ALL of the Macquarie brothers will have to find love before the curse is broken.

Beckett (Beck) Macquarie is happy to be on his new ship – flying through the water.  She is tight, sleek, light and plies through the water like a hot knife cutting butter.  The mission he has set for himself and the Calypso?  Find and destroy the French pirate Jandeau because he caused harm to Beck’s family.  Jandeau kidnapped Lark and had every intention of torturing her and selling her into slavery.  Beck won’t rest until he destroys Jandeau.

While Beck and his crew are out patrolling, Beck spots a woman signaling from a rock formation on an uninhabited island.  Beck and some of his trusted men row over to the island and find two women and three children who all tell him that a pirate took over their ship and abandoned them there.  After some observations and a few questions, that story just doesn’t ring true, but Beck cannot leave them on the island with no food.  His only option is to take them back to their family seat, Gylin Castle on Wolf Isle.

When she was twelve-years-old, Eliza Wentworth endured a horrible tragedy.  The pirate Jandeau attacked the ship she, her brother, and her parents were on.  They murdered her father outright, violated her mother beyond belief before killing her, and took Eliza and her 3-year-old brother prisoner.  She was so fortunate.  She was rescued by Captain John Pritchert, an English privateer – and she has sailed with him since then.  Captain John’s mission is to rescue women and children who have been taken by pirates, so Eliza has quite a little family now.  Yes, they are all her family – the sailors on the ship as well as the other woman and three children who live aboard ship with them.  When Captain John dropped them off on the uninhabited island, he left them with enough food to last for two weeks.  He’d be back for them before they ran out of food – except – he wasn’t.  Eliza is so very worried about him.  Had Jandeau attacked the ship?  If so, did any of them survive?  She has to find him!

Beck is immediately smitten with Eliza.  She’s unlike any woman he has ever met, but he also knows he has to keep his distance.  First, if he tried anything, she’d gut him.  Second, if they want to break the curse, he absolutely cannot father any by-blows.  Since Eliza fully intends to resume her life aboard Captain John’s ship, Beck knows there is no chance for them to wed.  So, he’ll just have to keep his distance.  HA!  We all know how well that is going to work out.

This fast-paced story will keep you reading well past bedtime.  You’ll absolutely adore Beck and Eliza and you’ll hold your breath right along with them as Jandeau makes an appearance.   There is a heartwarming romance, scurvy pirates, jealous wenches, ship theft (is there a word for that?), sacrifice, and fierce loyalty.  You can’t get much better than that.  I hope you’ll love this story as much as I did.  I can hardly wait for the third book featuring Callum Macquarie and Anna Montgomerie!

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

Highland Warrior by Heather McCollum

On By TracyIn Jacobean/Stuart Era (1603-1714), Medieval (1066-1540), Middle Ages / Medieval (476-1454), Scottish/Highlander, Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Highland Warrior (Sons of Sinclair, #2)Highland Warrior by Heather McCollum

Tracy’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Sons of Sinclair, #2

Release Date: April 27, 2021

After the death of his wife in childbirth, George Sinclair lost his mind to grief and believed that end of days were upon them, in his grief he declared his sons the Horsemen of the Apocalypse and raised them to fulfill their callings. This story is of his second-born son, Joshua, dubbed the Horseman of War.

After his elder brother married, Joshua left Girnigoe Castle in Scotland in search of war and in doing so, lost his desire to battle. He ended up on the Orkney Islands training the Earl of Orkney’s men to defend themselves from the local inhabitants, who resented Scotland’s acquisition of their lands. It wasn’t until after he began training that he realized Robert Stuart, the Earl of Orkney and his sons are cruel tyrants and after a few months, Joshua decides to leave and return to his family. But with close familial ties to King James, the earl is a powerful man and Joshua must withdraw carefully, making sure the earl doesn’t take offense and turn the King against the Sinclair clan. He makes his goodbyes and sets out to find passage back to Caithness. He makes his way to a village and enters a tavern, hoping to find a ship sailing out and lodging for the night, but what he finds is trouble – in the form of a beautiful woman.

When Kara Flett learns that the “Horseman of War” is the man in the tavern, she forms a plan to seduce him into helping her people fight against the earl. Since her uncle, King Erik was taken by Robert, her people have looked to her to lead them, but she knows the only way to defeat the earl is to have her people led by a true warrior and hopes that Joshua Sinclair will help them. After a dust-up with some locals trying to steal his horse, Kara takes Joshua back to her “den” to tend his wounds and they spend the night making love. The next morning, she asks him to lead her people against the earl – Joshua feels betrayed and used and refuses – mainly because he cannot risk the earl’s wrath against his family – as the illegitimate son of the previous king, the earl is the King James’ uncle and fighting against him could see his family ruined. But Kara doesn’t give up and asks him to meet her people. After seeing the conditions that they are forced to live in, Joshua offers them refuge with his family and agrees to train her men to defend themselves.

After consideration, many of the islanders agree to move to the mainland and join the Sinclair clan, including Kara. But after a run-in with Robert’s son Henry and the return of her uncle, everything changes and when her son is taken, she refuses to leave without saving him. Joshua knows he must save her son and he also knows that doing so will endanger his family – so he does the unthinkable and cuts ties with his clan to save Kara’s son. But things go from bad to worse and Joshua’s sacrifice may not be enough to save Kara from the earl’s ultimate wrath.

This was a well-written, fast-paced, amazing read and of all the books I have read by this author, this one might be my favorite. This book is a non-stop adventure from the first page to the last, it is filled with action, steamy love scenes, truly evil villains, amazing secondary characters, nail-biting fight scenes, shocking twists and turns, and an ending that is sure to bring a tear to your eye and a smile to your face! I loved this book, it was very intense, and to be completely honest, it is a bit more graphic and steamier than most of the books I have read by this author – that is not a complaint – more of a heads up to readers that might be sensitive to that sort of thing. This is the second book in the series, but it can be read and enjoyed as a standalone title and I highly recommend it!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own. *