Caught by the Scot

Caught by the Scot (Made to Marry #1)- Karen Hawkins
Pocket Books/ Simon and Schuster
Release Date: September 26, 2017

Rating (out of 5):
📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: New York Times bestselling author Karen Hawkins is back with a brand-new, sizzling series featuring three unforgettable, untamed brothers who must marry or risk losing their inheritance.

Dashing Scottish privateer Conner Douglas must marry a respectable, well-born woman—and soon, if he wants to secure his rightful inheritance. Determined to still explore the high seas as well as his mistresses’ beds, he aims to find a pliable wife who’ll turn a blind eye to his antics. And he knows just the woman—childhood friend and mousy spinster Miss Theodora Cumberbatch-Snowe. 

Unbeknownst to Conner, meek and plain Theodora has been hopelessly in love with him for years. But unwilling to wait forever for what will never happen, Theodora plans to wed a kind—if unexciting—local landowner, leaving behind the wild Highlander of her dreams.

Yet Conner refuses to let his perfect wife get away. He chases her to Gretna Green and is shocked to discover the real Theodora is an ardent and wildly sensual woman. Soon he realizes his passion to win her has nothing to do with securing his inheritance and everything to do with earning the love of the unforgettable woman who has vowed to leave him in her past forever. But have his wandering ways chased the woman he loves away for good? Or can Conner convince Theodora to give him one last chance before she marries the wrong man?

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When Connor Douglas and his brothers are given an ultimatum: marry a respectable woman (in the next four months!) or lose their inheritance, Connor looks for a way to have his cake and eat it too.  How does a man remain a privateer, travel around the world, keep mistresses, enjoy life, AND marry the right woman to keep his inheritance? Clearly by marrying a plain, manageable, undemanding woman. He instantly thinks of his best friend's sister Theodora, who is 'on the shelf' and therefore will be thrilled to get a proposal from him.  By the time he gets to Thea to inform her of her good fortune, she's eloped with another man.  Now Connor needs to track the couple down, prevent them from marrying, and convince Thea to marry him instead.  But will Thea teach Connor that love is necessary, or will they become two ships passing in the night?

Karen Hawkins (The Oxenburg Princes series) introduces readers to a new series and a new set of rakish Highlanders in Caught by the Scot, the first in her Made to Marry series.  Connor and his two brothers have spent their adult lives sailing the high seas, living adventures and raising scandals wherever they go.  Coming home at the death of their sister Anna, the brothers learn that Anna has tied their inheritance with a clause: marry respectable women. Her husband gives them four months to do it, or lose their inheritance to the clan's enemies.  While they'd be fine if the money went to charity, they aren't about to let the Gordons get their hands on the money!  Connor sets himself up from the beginning as an arrogant jerk who needs taking down a few pegs.  Given 4 months to marry he choses his best friend's sister, then waits more than two months to go find her and tell her he's decided they'll get married.  Being currently unwed and no longer under 20, Thea will of course be thrilled. He'll get his inheritance, then go on with life as usual.  

Thea has been in love with Connor forever.  He's never seen her as anything other than his brother's kid sister.  She finally decides its time to move on with her life, maybe even have a little adventure and romance.  So when the local squire proposes to her and suggests eloping because it will be romantic she says yes.  But the more time she and Lance spend together, the more Thea starts to wonder if she's making a huge mistake.  Connor showing up and asking her to marry him doesn't help matters!  What I loved about Thea is that she was determined to be her own person, and she recognized that she deserved a lot more than than Connor's selfish proposal.  Even though she'd loved Connor forever, Thea didn't instantly say yes.  She didn't assume she'd change him after they got married.  She recognized that they both wanted very different things out of life and that she didn't want- or deserve- less than happiness. How Connor thought this strong, independent, and fiery woman would be a meek and manageable wife is beyond me.

Connor and Thea both grew a lot over the course of their adventure, and I loved how Hawkins reminds us that growth (and occasionally compromise) are as important to a happily ever after as love and passion.   I liked how, until the very end, you aren't quite sure how Hawkins will get these two stubborn people to work things out.  Connor and Thea learn that love doesn't mean changing someone,  but sometimes it means they change how they see themselves.  And in the end, I think that was what Anna wanted for her brothers when she set the conditions of her will.

Caught by the Scot is a fast-paced, well-written and enjoyable start to a new series. A great read for Karen Hawkins fans and newcomers alike!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Falling for the Highlander

Falling for the Highlander- Lynsay Sands
HarperCollins/AvonBooks
Release Date: January 31, 2017

Rating (out of 5):
📚📚📚📚📚

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

Synopsis: Lady Murine Carmichael has known her share of bad luck. But when her debt-ridden half brother tries to sell her off in exchange for a few Scottish horses, it’s the final straw. If keeping her freedom means escaping through harsh countryside alone, so be it. She has barely begun her journey when she lands an unlikely escort—the brawny Highlander who just refused to buy her virtue.

Dougall Buchanan was disgusted by Lord Danvries’ shameful offer, but Murine tempts him beyond measure. Even bedraggled and dusty, the lass glows with beauty and bravery. Dougall wants to do more than just help her flee. He wants to protect her—with his life and his heart—if she’ll only let him. For Murine may be pursued by a powerful foe, but nothing compares to the fiery courage of a Highlander in love.

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The latest in Lynsay Sands' historic Highlander series follows Murine Carmichael, who readers familiar with the series will remember as the woman who was fainting all the time in previous books.  Readers less familiar with Sands' work will wonder if it is possible to turn a woman known for fainting into a heroine strong enough to match one of Sands' fiery Highland heroes.  Fear not- it can be done!

Heroine Murine Carmichael may have had more than her share of bad luck over the last few years (both parents dead, several siblings dead, getting stuck with a reprehensible English half-brother as a guardian, her father thinking she was too weak to lead her clan and leaving it to a cousin she's never met . . .) but she has finally reached the end of her patience.  Her half-brother and guardian has not only gambled away her dowry, he is now trying to barter her off in exchange for some horses.  When horse-breeder Dougall Buchanan refuses to accept the deal, brother Danvries starts thinking about who else he could loan Murine out to in order to get enough coin to pay for the horses.  Murine isn't stupid and knows even after Dougall refuses to do business with him, Danvries isn't going to let this new money-making idea go.  She takes the only option she can and runs away.  Her plan is to get to her friends Saidh and Joan, but she quickly lands an unlikely escort- Dougall Buchanan and his brothers!  The Buchanan brothers are gentlemanly enough to offer to help Murine get to safety, but aren't sure how to handle a weak woman on a journey. When they realize Murine is their sister Saidh's best friend (and the woman who saved Saidh from being murdered), they have a hard time reconciling Murine's different facets. Brave, strong, and weak?  As they get to know her they realize the fainting fits are more a lack of food than anything else and that Murine is as brave and strong as any Highland warrior.  Dougall is attracted to her from the beginning and soon the idea of marrying her to protect her from Danvries seems like the perfect solution.  But mysterious accidents, disappearances, and attempted murder soon have them realizing that nothing is as simple as they thought! 

Murine is the type of heroine that I like best- someone who doesn't believe she is brave or strong but is obviously that to those around her.  The more time she spends seeing herself through the Buchanan's eyes instead of her half-brother's the more she comes to believe in herself.  She acts when there is trouble and doesn't depend on others to save her.  These very things appeal to Dougall while at the same time drive him crazy- how can he fall in love with a woman so prone to trouble and so determined to help herself instead of letting him do the rescuing?  It takes the poor man a little while to figure out his emotions and for Murine to believe he's genuine, but in classic Lynsay Sands style, after the mayhem settles, our heroes are confident in both themselves and each other's love.

Falling for the Highlander is everything long-time Lynsay Sands readers expect: full of humor, mayhem, disasters, sweet romance, and sizzling chemistry.  Those new to Sands' books will want to read more (each book in this series is stand-alone and they don't need to be read in order, but characters cameo in them all and if you enjoy one you'll certainly enjoy them all).  If asked to choose a favorite scene I'd be torn between a highly memorable waterfall scene and Murine rescuing the Buchanan brothers from a burning building.  The younger Buchanans are great and scenes where we get to see all the brothers interacting are lots of fun! While the mystery behind who is trying to kill Murine seems pretty obvious- brother Danvries seems pretty tailor made for the role of bad guy- I enjoyed how the Buchanans, Sinclairs, and others pieced together their suspicions and helped Murine to realize that she had a lot of people in her corner. Four armies by the end of the book!  Long-time Sands readers will also keep in the back of their minds that Lynsay likes to throw curve balls to her readers and even a straight-forward mystery is never entirely what it seems!

A fast-paced and fun read full of wit, humor, and heart.  You'll fall in love with Dougall and cheer Murine on to a guaranteed and well-deserved happy ending.

How to Train Your Highlander

How to Tra

How to Train Your Highlander (Broadswords & Ballrooms #3)- Christy English

Sourcebooks Casablanca

Release Date: December 6, 2016

Rating (out of 5):

📚📚📚

Warning: Possible spoilers!

Synopsis:   Wild Highlander Mary Elizabeth Waters is living on borrowed time. She's managed to dodge the marriage banns up to now, but even Englishmen can only be put off for so long...and there's one in particular who has her in his sights.

Harold Percy, Duke of Northumberland, is enchanted by the beautiful hellion who outrides every man on his estate and dances Scottish reels while the ton looks on in horror. The more he sees Mary, the more he knows he has to have her, tradition and good sense be damned. But what's a powerful man to do when the Highland spitfire of his dreams has no desire to be tamed...

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How to Train Your Highlander's Highland heroine Mary Elizabeth Waters a character not often found in Regency romances.  While we read about plenty of women who see only the downsides of marriage, who are intelligent, possibly stubborn and headstrong, and don't fawn over money or titles we rarely see all of these qualities armed and dangerous.  Mary's rule is to never have less than three knives on her at any time.  And she knows how to use them.  Refusing to be anyone but herself has scared off all the fine men of Edinburgh and London, so her mother has sent her to Nothumberland to see if Mary can catch a duke.  Mary isn't impressed by dukes, but she rather likes the look of the stableboy Harry.  

Harold Charles Percy, Duke of Northumberland, isn't a fan of the mindless fawning of people impressed by his title.  When his mother's guest mistakes him for a stablehand (eventually upgrading him poor relation of the family) he loves it.  Mary treats him like an equal, like a friend- even if he is English.  No one has ever talked to him the way she does and he wants it to go on as long as possible.  Harry bribes the servants and his mother to go along with the idea and puts off telling Mary for as long as he possibly can.  It only takes a few days for him to fall in love with her- knife throwing, sword wielding, bareback riding and all.  But can he ask Mary to give up her freedom and her Highlands to be a duchess?  And would Mary agree to give up everything she loves if he does ask?

One of the things I really liked about Highlander was that from the beginning, Mary knew who she was and had no intention of changing.  She liked herself, was comfortable with her tomboyish ways, and proud that she could ride rings around any Englishman she needed to.  Her mother wants her to be someone she isn't: a classic, demure debutante. But despite the pressure Mary never considers changing herself to make others happy.

It also drove home some of the difficulties and decisions a woman had when she considered marriage in this time.  Often marriage was the only way of ensuring a future, but when it isn't? Mary has a family who loves her, a home she loves, and can't imagine living anywhere else.  She doesn't fit in with the Ton and has no wish to try.  When she falls in love with Harry she has to weigh that love against leaving Scotland, taking up the responsibilities of a duchess, dealing with the aristocratic English she doesn't care for. 

I wasn't as happy with the fact that, haven't not read the two previous books in the series (How to Seduce a Scot, & How to Wed a Warrior), I always felt like I was playing catch up.  I assumed some things mentioned briefly in this book happened in one of the others in the series.  But even though some (like drawing a sword on someone in the park) have serious repercussions for Mary and might have even started of what brought her and Harry together, the reader doesn't get any kind of explanation.  No quick summary or memory. No backstory, or character introduction.  Until almost the end of the book I didn't feel like I knew anything about Mary's family or even her own story.  While what you see is what you get with her, I kept waiting for the hints of her past that showed why she was the way she was.  As open and honest as she is, I didn't feel like I knew her.  Harry gets an equally brief touch of his past so you have to pretty much fill in your own ideas on why he is the way he is. Nor did I understand Mary's relationship with her mother and why her mother was so insistent on Mary marrying the way she was.  Was there some hidden reason? Fear? Money troubles? Did her mother just want to get rid of Mary?  And at the end, when Mary does something that is actually quite intelligent and logical, she does it in an uncharacteristically secretive way that may be a classic bit of non-communication to increase drama, but was totally out of character.

Overall I found How to Train You Highlander a mix of fun and aggravating. Mary and Harry are fun, witty, and have great chemistry, but this is clearly a series that doesn't work well if you read it out of order.  Having started with book 3, I was frustrated enough with the sometimes awkward descriptions and writing style, with the brief mentions of important things that tied to other books that should have been significant (apparently nobody cared other family and friends running off to get into trouble and/or married?) that I wouldn't go back and start the series over. 

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Highland Temptation

Highland Temptation (Highland Knights #3)- Jennifer Haymore
Random House
Release Date: August 23, 2016 

Rating (out of 5):
📚📚📚📚📚

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

Synopsis: When Lady Emilia Buchanan discovers that her despicable father has been scheming against the crown, she turns to the Highland Knights for protection. Spirited away to a safe house on the outskirts of London, Emilia is surprised to find herself sharing close quarters with a soft-spoken, musclebound Highlander. Before long, curiosity gives way to an alarming attraction. Emilia has learned firsthand from her father that men are not to be trusted. She just never met one so honorable and loyal, so powerful and, yes, tempting.
 
Ever since Waterloo, Colin Stirling has struggled with memories that haunt him night and day. Driven near to madness, he no longer trusts himself with meaningful relationships of any kind. At least in this temporary sanctuary, Colin can withdraw from the world—that is, until his stunningly gorgeous charge learns the full depth of his pain. In Emilia, Colin sees a kindred spirit with battle scars of her own. He also senses a chance to heal . . . and to find love.
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The third book in the Highland Knights series picks up where Highland Awakening ended: solving the mystery around the quiet Lady Emilia.  The Highland Knights protected her father from shadowy threats for almost a year, but now she is the one in need of protection- from her father.  She's learned he is behind a devious plot to overthrow the Regent and the entire House of Hanover and he'll make sure she doesn't stop him. The Knights, especially Colin Stirling, instantly agree to help protect Emilia and end her father's treasonous plan.

It would be easy to assume that Emilia, routinely beaten and abused, is a quiet, meek, biddable girl who's only act of defiance was to run away from home.  And Emilia herself believes that for some time.  But Haymore does a wonderful job of bringing Emilia out of her shell and opening up to life and the possibility of love and happiness.  While some readers with a history of abuse might be disturbed by a few of Emilia's memories and situations, Emilia becomes a wonderful role model for someone refusing to give up and determined to not only take back her life but to live it without fear.  The road might be hard, and there are always setback and doubts, but Emilia learns not only is it possible, but that she is stronger than she imagines- especially when it comes to those she cares about.

Colin is another character with a traumatic past.  He's spent 10 years in the army and after Waterloo has a case of PTSD so serious that he's convinced he's slowly going mad.  By helping Emilia, Colin learns that strength comes in many forms, and sometimes that includes allowing someone to help you fight your demons.  These are two troubled people convinced that the other is capable of healing, but they take much longer to believe they themselves are capable of that.

Highland Temptation is a fast paced and exciting adventure, with excellent and deeply drawn characters and sinister enemies to defeat- both from within and without. The series can be read as stand alone books, and readers who enjoy Scottish romance will definitely find themselves tempted by Colin!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley for an honest review.