The Highlander’s Lady of Loch and Sea by Heather McCollum

The Highlander's Lady of Loch and Sea (Brotherhood of Solway Moss Book 3)The Highlander’s Lady of Loch and Sea by Heather McCollum

Tracy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Brotherhood of Solway Moss #3

Release Date: January 27, 2026

After escaping with three other men from an English prison, Cyrus Mackinnon and his fellow inmates, have been working hard to build an alliance among the clans of the Isle of Skye. To that end, he has engineered a wedding between his sister Grace and Iain Macqueen, the chief of the Macqueen clan. His sister seems happy and adding the Macqueen to the alliance, makes for a stronger Skye. But trouble starts almost immediately when Grace’s wedding is interrupted by an otter! Once the otter is shooed out, Cyrus sees a woman throw a note into the church, a note that warns Grace not to marry Iain. The wedding takes place, despite Cyrus’ unease. Later at the wedding feast, he meets an enchanting woman, and they spend an amazing night together, but he wakes up to find himself tied to the bed and the woman holding a knife to his throat. But instead of killing him, she begs his forgiveness and escapes, leaving him nude and tied to the bed. When he is found by Rory MacLeod, he is determined to find his enchantress and get some answers.

Widow Laria Macqueen is the daughter of a previous chief, but now is the champion of the clan members who have been cast out by Iain. Laria is certain that Iain murdered his mother (her aunt) and that he has an elaborate plan to take over the Mackinnon plan. He promised her aid for the outcasts if she would kill Cyrus. She planned to do it, but after sharing an amazing night with him, she just couldn’t go through with it and leaves him tied up and angry. She joins her outcasts in the woods and isn’t overly surprised when Cyrus finds her. She tries to explain and warn him of Iain’s treachery, yet it is clear that he doesn’t trust her, but she won’t stop trying to make him see the truth. He finally begins to believe her, and deeper feelings develop, but as much as she would like to give into those feelings, she cannot afford to indulge herself when her people are in danger. will they lose everything they have been fighting for, or can they find a way to save her people and keep the alliance?

This installment of the Brotherhood of Solway Moss is a well written, nicely paced story that has a lot going on and a lot of familiar faces. Cyrus and Laria have an amazing chemistry, and you can’t help but root for them. Their story is filled with emotion, secrets, murder, prejudices, steamyish love scenes, heartache, sacrifice, answers to some questions from the previous installments, a lot of new questions, a bit of magic and finally an ending that will warm your heart and leave you wanting more. I am now really looking forward to the final installment and finally learning the truth about Asher MacNicol! This is the third book in the series and while it could be read as a standalone, you will have a much better reader experience if you read the books in order.

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

The Highlander’s Fallen Angel by Heather McCollum

The Highlander's Fallen Angel (Brotherhood of Solway Moss #2)The Highlander’s Fallen Angel by Heather McCollum

Tracy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Brotherhood of Solway Moss, #2

Release Date: April 29, 2025

Widow Tierney MacNicol’s father betrothed her to Ranulf Matheson, and now that her father has gone missing, her cousin Asher MacNicol has left and her clan has been decimated by war and sickness, Ranulf is insisting that she marry him, but lucky for Tierney there was a clause in the betrothal contract stating that the contract would be void if Tierney marries another clan chief. To save herself and her daughter from another brutal man, Tierney needs Kenan Macdonald, and desperate times call for desperate measures! During the wedding for Kenan’s sister Sara and Rory MacLeod, Tierney steals Kenan’s flying machine and crashes it into the ocean, which leads to Kenan saving her and ultimately leads to her taking him captive. She needs to convince Kenan to return with her to Scorrybreac and pretend to be her husband. But nothing could have prepared her for Kenan Macdonald…

Kenan Macdonald has the weight of the world on his shoulders, he was held prisoner for 18 months by King Henry after the Battle of Solway Moss and returned home only to lose his father, be betrayed by his own brother, watch his castle burn and now have his flying machine stolen – again! All Kenan wants is a united Scotland and the bonds he made in prison with his fellow captives are a good start to that, in fact he is on the brink of making an alliance with the powerful Mackinnon clan by marrying Cyrus Mackinnon’s sister Grace. Things are finally looking up, until Tierney MacNicol crashes into his life – literally. She threatens everything he has been working for and her interference could drag his clan into a war, but there is something about her that intrigues him and question everything he has planned.

I am not sure how I feel about this story – I loved Kenan and Tierney, but I didn’t really care for the inequality of the characters. Both Kenan and Tierney have suffered at the hands of others and have been subjected to life-altering horrors that reforged both of them. Overall, this was an interesting story with a strong heroine, a hero who really is a hero, a lot of action, emotion, heartache, betrayal, warm love scenes, wonderful secondary characters, evil villains, redemption and finally a HEA. The problem I had with this story is that while their experiences have changed them both, the reader is still urged to believe that Tierney’s needs and wants are more important than Kenan’s – I just don’t care for stories where one character surrenders their desires to make the other character happy rather than coming to a mutual compromise. This is the second book in the series and could be read as a standalone title, but I would recommend reading the series in order for the best reader experience. It should also be noted that readers with sensitivity to spousal abuse, imprisonment, and spousal rape should read the content warnings before reading this book.

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