ARC REVIEW Highland Betrayal by Alyson McLayne

The Sons of Gregor MacLeod #3, I'm glad we didn't have to wait long for Maggie and Callum's book, this can be read as a stand alone Callum was in the previous book and only mentioned Maggie was his betrothed and what kind of woman she was and that has no impact on this story but it sure was a nice tease for the story. Maggie and Callum have been betrothed since childhood but when they met again as teenagers Callum knew he would love Maggie forever. The untimely death of Callum's father kept him from going back to claim Maggie as his wife and with the unrest going on he figured she would be safer with her family then with him. Three years later he's no closer to finding his father killer and now he receives word that the betrothal between him and Maggie has been broken, but something seems wrong with the letter and they decide a detour to MacDonnell land is warranted.

Maggie MacDonnell can take care of herself, being the only girl and raised by her father and two older brothers she can shot an arrow and throw a knife better than any man. Her home is in turmoil, John is nowhere to be found and Ross is drinking himself to death after the deaths of his wife and child and now her cousin is trying to take over the lands and instal himself as laird. Maggie is no damsel in distress she can save herself after months of preparing and weeks spying on Irvin trying to find out his exact plans she finally makes her move and escapes if only she hadn't of run across that pack of wolves she would have made it to Edinburgh, lucky Callum and his men ran across her soon after. Things don't get any easier now that Maggie has Callum and his family to help they still have to escape MacDonnell land and when they do make it back to Callum home they still have to find the spy before anyone else dies.

Callum is relentless when it comes to Maggie, he's not going to give her up easily. Maggie has had so much loss in her life she's worried about letting Callum back in afraid he'll leave her and not come back again. Callum's love is steadfast throughout the book and Maggie it's not like she needs all that much convincing she's just scared she makes it harder than it needs to be. I love that Callum respects and loves her all the more for her strength, that's always been there he was always bragging about her talent throwing knives. They are great characters and a fantastic plot, very exciting at parts, with a heartfelt romance. Alyson McLayne has a great style and narrative description. Overall, this was a really good read.         

ARC REVIEW Highland Conquest by Alyson McLayne

The Sons of Gregor MacLeod #2, This can be read as a stand alone. This is my first Alyson McLayne book and it won't be my last, I want to read the first book in the series because that brother sounds just my type of hero. Lachlan McKay is a good character, I love how he got awkward around Amber when he would give her little trinkets to try and win her over. Lachlan is the second born son he wasn't supposed to become the Laird to his people but then his brother and sister in law were murdered, Lachlan has never given up looking for the murderer and now it seems he finally tracked him down. Amber is smart and stubborn and hates to her own beauty, it's caused her nothing but trouble. She's even more so stubborn when it comes to Lachlan because she's trying to guard her heart. Amber Macpherson has spent the last five some odd years protecting her clansmen and herself from the evil Machar Murray who killed their Laird, all his lieutenants, and anyone who stood against him; including Amber's father. For the first couple of years Amber had her grandmother there to help her thwart off Murray's unwanted attention, pretending to a witch and threatening to curse Murray kept him away from Amber. After her grandmother's death Amber was only able to fend him off for so long and now she's faced with leaving her clansmen or Murray finally getting his hands on her.

Amber cuts her hair and dresses like a boy and manages to escape over the keep's walls. Amber's escape is waylaid by a group of big highlanders who were getting ready to storm the keep and kill Murray, Amber has no problem with that she just doesn't want them to either hurt or kill her people. Still thinking she's a boy and a risk to their mission leave her tied up. That doesn't hold her she gets back to the keep just in time to learn Murray's escaped. Lachlan feels oddly protective over the woman who dressed as a boy, he admires her skills as a healer and how she treats people and he wants her more than anyone else. With Murray gone the MacPherson's finally have their home back but no laird, Amber kind of bullies Lachlan in to the job, but since he is still trying to kill Murray and Lachlan knows Murray's obsession with Amber is going to keep him close so he becomes the MacPherson's new Laird. They devise a plan to lure Murray back but Murray is smart and sneaky and has had five years to make an escape plan, and all that just makes you hate him more.

The romance between Lachlan and Amber is kind of funny, the attraction is there and Amber almost doesn't know what to do with it after fighting off Murray she has started to view intimacy as a form of abuse, she's scared of it. Lochlan sees how she treats her other men in the compound when they give her things and so Lochlan tries to be smart about it and just ends up acting like a teenager with his first crush, it's adorable. They can't help but fight with each other and it really build up the sexual tension between them. Lochlan little by little shows Amber by action and by words that she can trust him with everything even her heart.

Overall, it really was a great read. It was funny and romantic, and there were some scenes in there involving Murray that were pretty intense. I loved the writing, the active setting was well done the character building really brought them to life and the dialogue was witty.