In Bed with a Highlander

As the illegitimate daughter of the King, Mairin Stewart possesses property and a dowry men would kill for. Her worst fears are realized when Laird Duncan Cameron's soldiers abduct her from the abbey she has been hiding in and tries to wed her by force. When she refuses him, Cameron savagely beats her. Mairin escapes Cameron's keep in the dead of night, only to be captured by Laird Ewan McCabe, Cameron's arch enemy and nemesis. Realizing that she must accept the protection of a husband, Mairin voluntarily weds Ewan. Her new husband treats her with kindness and respect, and they share a powerful attraction. But the lure of her riches and Cameron's hatred for McCabe are too strong to be so easily thwarted. Both Ewan and Mairin know he will seek his retribution and try to claim Mairin, her dowry and her lands--it only remains to be seen when, how and will he succeed? While this novel has all the elements of a good Scottish historical romance--passion, intrigue, betrayal, etc.--the elements that set the scene and the dialogue are somewhat lackluster. As previous reviewers have noted, the story bears a disturbing similarity to Julie Garwood's work, but lacks the authenticity, fire and fluidity of those novels. This is an entertaining read, and I will probably give the next book in the series a try, but it is not among my favorites.

Grumpy Laird meets young feisty virgin lass with great dowery that will save the keep. but on the simple path there are a lot of stones- There is hate, violence, sword fighting, love, lust, anger, betrayals, revenge, and triumph. Sure there is that, but there is so much more. Duncan the biggest man meat turd bucket to walk the Scottish lands. He takes the award for most hated character I've read this year. Grrrr... he is such a slippery nasty thing. The story is about three brothers trying to bounce back from a terrible blow from Mr. Turdbucket (see above) unleashed on their families keep years before. The eldest Ewan must deal with this virginal rocket of a woman after his son promises her safety. Unfortunately, there are many men who want her dowery which brings a rushed resolution to the problem. Ewan and Evil Turdbucket both race to bed her and plant their seed. She understand this reality and deals with it the best she can. Greed brings dangerous times to them all. I really enjoyed this story. I liked the characters, I wanted good things for them. My only problem was the sex/kissing scenes. They took over too much of the story for me. "lusty" a word used and then used again and....well you get the picture. I know it's a romance, what did I expect. I don't know but I felt like it was presented almost like a lesson. 'School time kiddos" " you hold it like this and..." I liked the out of bed time better, the adventure was more interesting. I am on the fence about continuing with the series. I have heard it is tear jerker. I know if is of Alaric and his quest, which makes it tougher because I really loved his character. So we'll see.

What a great book is all I have to say. All three books of the Macabes were great. The women are brave, passionate, unique in their own ways. They fight for what they believe in. The men warriors, but kind hearted. It was hard to put these books down once I started reading.