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 Laird of the Black Isle by Paula Quinn

The MacGregors: Highland Heirs #7, I am Loving this series. Lachlan MacKenzie is such an anti-hero and the whole feel of the book is very Beauty and the Beast. Mailie MacGregor is very head strong and fierce but also kind hearted and very loyal. Lachlan doesn't think much of himself anymore, not since his wife and daughter were murdered. In seeking their justice and murdering the blackguards in the same manner they killed his wife and daughter Lachlan became severely burned. Afterward he stayed hidden on Black Isle secretly helping his tenants only really having contact with his old nanny.  Mailie is ready to fall in love and get married but being constantly surrounded by her intimidating brothers and cousins it's hard to meet a guy who's worthy enough to stand up to her notorious family. Lach is told that his daughter is still alive but that only way to find out where she is is to kidnap Mailie MacGregor. Lach knows it's stupid but to have his little girl back he'd do anything; just to know she was alive gives him reason enough to risk his life. 

Mailie makes it as difficult for him as possible and she's determined she'll get away until she finds out his story. She sees him through the eyes of the villagers who look up to him and a little boy who idolizes him. She sees him take in an orphaned brother and sister even though it hurts him. She sees that way her father's fiercely loyal dog easily follows him. She knows he is a man who can stand up to her brothers a man who is worthy of her love and affection. After losing his wife and seeking revenge in the manner that he did Lach never thought he would be worthy enough for another woman's love but for some reason Mailie does. Mailie makes him want things he hasn't wanted in a long time but there is still the fact that he still has to choose, give her up for his daughter or keep Mailie and never know if his daughter is still alive.

Overall, out of the ones I've read this is probably my new favorite. I loved the character, I loved the romance, I loved the storyline. Even the bad guy was appropriately evil. The dog and the kids added a bit of humor to a tense situation and Mailie once you've earned her loyalty you will never lose it, she is brave and beautiful and willing to go out on a limb for those she loves. The romance and the suspense it's all well written, it pulled me in and wouldn't let me go.

ARC REVIEW Lost to a Spy by Sharon Cullen

All the Queen's Spies #3, Yay, it's Tristan! I was looking forward to finding out who would be a match for the closed off Tristan. I was very excited to get this one. I love the series even though I usually try not to read historical romance with real historical figures as secondary characters. Not much of this one actually take place in the Scottish Court but in Tristan's print shop and the streets of Edinburgh. Tristan's job is to use the print shop to influence what the common people of Scotland think of Queen Mary and to turn them against her insuring that Queen Elizabeth remains in power of England and soon Scotland. Lady Emma has been friends with Queen Mary since she found out of the gross mistreatment done to Emma by her dead husband. Mary took Emma in so she would have a place to live and replaced all her inheritance that her husband squandered away. Mary has earned Emma's loyalty. 

Lady Emma is waking home with her ladies maid after a dinner with a friend, as cold as it is she soon regrets not taking them up on their offer to ready the coach for her. When they are almost home something happens and Emma really regrets not taking that coach now. There was an explosion and Emma got caught in the blast. Tristan after hearing the noise rushes to where the commotion is and finds an unconscious Lady Emma. Not knowing who she is or if she had any part in this mess he thinks it best he takes her with him so the royal guard doesn't just arrest her because it is said that the King died in the explosion. When Emma finally comes to she has no idea where she is, Tristan explains what happened and that it's best if she stays where she is until she's better. In there time together Emma has never felt more comfortable talking to someone and being with someone. During her somewhat brief marriage she was verbally and physically abused she never thought she could trust another man, but Tristan makes her want to feel again. Tristan never thought he could fall in love, after his failed marriage he thought he would be a spy for life, Emma makes him want more but he feels he isn't good enough for her because after all is said and done he is still just a stable master's son and she is connected to two of the most powerful families in Scotland. It isn't until after she seduces him that she realizes he is a spy for Elizabeth and he's been spreading the flyers speaking out against Mary. Her time with Tristan opened her eyes and she sees for more than she did in court than she ever did before. She realizes it's not safe anymore and with the death of the King and Mary in turmoil and the people speaking out against her and her adviser, Emma must pick between her loyalties and her heart.

Overall, this was such a good read. The romance between Emma and Tristan is easy and even with the whole he's a spy thing their romance is pretty smooth and well Tristan shows her what it's really like to make love. The majority of the book is them getting to know each other and falling in love and Tristan opening Emma's eyes up to the possibility that things are not what they seem at the palace. The whole spy plot and internal struggle of power within Mary's court is such a tangled web, I can't wait for what I think is the conclusion with Lagrange (finally) and Lady Margaret who has had small parts in all the books.          

RELEASE DAY LAUNCH Devil in Tartan by Julia London

   

From New York Times bestselling author Julia London, comes DEVIL IN TARTAN—the fourth novel in her Highland Grooms Series!

DEVIL IN TARTAN is now available. Order your copy today!

   

DEVIL IN TARTAN Synopsis:

Lottie Livingstone bears the weight of an island on her shoulders. Under threat of losing their home, she and her clan take to the seas to sell a shipload of illegal whiskey. When an attack leaves them vulnerable, she transforms from a maiden daughter to a clever warrior. For survival, she orchestrates the siege of a rival’s ship and now holds the devilish Scottish captain Aulay Mackenzie under her command.

Tied, captive and forced to watch a stunning siren commandeer the Mackenzie ship, Aulay burns with the desire to seize control—of the ship and Lottie. He has resigned himself to a life of solitude on the open seas, but her beauty tantalizes him like nothing has before. As authorities and enemies close in, he is torn between surrendering her to justice and defending her from assailants. He’ll lose her forever, unless he’s willing to sacrifice the unimaginable…

   

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The Reulag Balhaie was not in the business of saving other ships. It was generally considered unwise to ap­proach another ship unless one was prepared to have a hull shattered by cannon fire. But their curiosity was aroused. The burning ship was just a spot in the dis­tance now, so they’d set course for the starboard side of the smaller ship, a gun pointed at the forecastle in the event there was trouble.
 Aulay watched the smaller ship slowly come into view, its outline muted against the darkening sky, the clouds weighing down on the masts. It wasn’t until they were almost on the ship that they could see it was listing.
 Iain the Red was studying it as they approached. “No’ a fly boat, no,” he said. “A bilander.”
 “A bilander!” Beaty blustered. “What nonsense!”
 Whether a fly boat or bilander, neither were partic­ularly well suited for the open seas. “Is there a flag?” he asked.
 “No.” Iain the Red paused, then laughed. “Look at them now, trying to lower the sail.” He laughed again with great amusement. “They look like children romping around a bloody maypole! Look at them trying to un­tangle those shroud lines, aye? They’re twisted up every which way—oof, there went one, down on his arse!”
 The men gathered at the railing to watch, and laughed at the blundering of the crew on the other ship as they tried to free a sail from a broken mast with what looked like a lot of pushing and shoving. “Aye, give it over, Iain, let’s have a look,” one said, and they began to pass the spyglass around, all of them doubling over with mirth.
 The spyglass came back around to Iain, but when he held it up, he stopped laughing. “Diah, de an diabhal?” he exclaimed and lowered the instrument, turning a wide-eyed look to Aulay.
 “What, then?” Aulay asked, feeling a mild tick of alarm, imagining a gun pointed at them, or a pirate’s flag being raised.
 “A lady,” Iain said, as if he’d never seen one.
 A lady? It was not unheard of for one to be on the high seas; wives of captains sometimes sailed with them. If it were anyone else, a lady of importance, she’d not be sailing on a rickety boat like that.
 “In a proper gown and everything,” Iain said, his voice full of awe.
 Aulay didn’t know what a proper gown meant to Iain, so he motioned for the spyglass to have a look. He could scarcely make her out, but it was definitely a woman standing at the railing, holding a white flag that almost matched the color of the hair that whipped long and unbound about her face. There were a few men beside her, all of them clinging to the railing, all of them looking rather desperately in the direction of his ship.
 Aulay instructed Beaty to maneuver closer, and when there was nothing but a small bit of sea between the two ships, the men’s frantic attention to the sail on the other ship was forgotten in favor of lowering a jolly boat down the hull. There was more chaotic shoving among them until four men scrambled down a rope ladder into the boat and began to row with abandon toward the ReulagBalhaire. The woman remained behind on the ship’s deck with a few men, including one that was the size of a small mountain, towering a head above all the others.
 When the smaller boat reached them, one of the men grabbed on to the rope ladder to steady them, and one rose to standing, bracing his legs apart to keep his balance. “Madainnmhath,” he called up, and with an affected swirl of his hand, he bowed low. And very nearly tipped over the side when a swell caught him unawares.
 “Scots, then,” Beaty said. “That’s something, at least.”
 “We are in need of your help, kind sirs!” the man called up, having managed to right himself. “We’ve been set upon by pirates, aye?” He spoke with a strange cadence, as if he were a town crier delivering this news to a crowded venue.
 The men did not carry swords or guns that Aulay could see. It seemed all they could do to keep the jolly from tipping too far to one side. “That ship flew the colors of the king,” he called down.
 The spokesman looked startled. He squatted down to consult the other men in his small boat. A flurry of shaking heads and talking over one another ensued, until the man stood up again and said, “She flew no such flag when she fired, on me word, sir! She fired with no provocation from us!” He pressed his hand to his chest quite earnestly.

     

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    About Julia London: Julia London is the New York Times and USA TODAY best-selling author of more than thirty romantic fiction novels. She is the author of the popular Cabot Sisters historical romance series, including The Trouble with Honor, The Devil Takes a Bride, and The Scoundrel and the Debutante. She is also the author of several contemporary romances, including Homecoming Ranch, Return to Homecoming Ranch and The Perfect Homecoming. She has over 100,000+ Facebook followers, is the recipient of the RT Book Reviews for Best Historical Romance and a six-time finalist for the prestigious RITA award for excellence in romantic fiction. You can visit her website JuliaLondon.com. She lives in Austin, Texas.      

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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.         

ARC REVIEW A Devil in Scotland by Suzanne Enoch

Book three of the No Ordinary Hero series, it kind of plays out like it's the last one since the antagonist in all three books finally gets his just due. Even though all three books have the common enemy they can be read as standalones; there is very little character crossover and when there is it's only pertinent to this storyline. Suzanne Enoch definitely has a way with words, the characters really came to life for me, and the mystery and the little bit of suspense were very well done, this is probably my favorite of hers so far.

Callum, Ian, and Rebecca all grew up together. Ian the stoic, studious older brother; Callum the fun one and also risk-taker. Rebecca was a neighbor the daughter of a shipping merchant who got rich. Rebecca loved both brother's but when it came time to marry she choose the older not just because the title but because he was who he was and everything Callum was not. Callum was a drunkard who would tup any pretty girl and took nothing seriously. That is until Ian and Rebecca announced their engagement and not only that but a deal between Rebecca's father and the Duke of Dunncraigh. Callum knows Dunncraigh is bad news and after he finished insulting his brother and Rebecca, because how could she want Ian when she can have him, Rebecca insults him back basically saying he's a drunken loser and then Ian kicks him out of the house and the family, but before Callum leaves he tells them what a bad idea it is to get into business with Dunncraigh and if anything bad happens he knows it will be Dunncraigh's fault and he will seek his vengeance. 

Callum left Scotland dejected and heartbroken, he never realized how much he loved Rebecca until he realized she wouldn't be there any more and with the truth of her words ringing in his ears he travels to America to create a new life for himself, and he does with his Kentucky Whiskey. A couple of years into in banishment he starts to receive letters from his brother, Callum never even bothers to read them until almost ten years later he sees the obituary for his brother in a months old newspaper, the latest letter goes unburned and Callum finds himself finally going back to Scotland after all these years because he promised he would get his vengeance.

Rebecca was content with her life until Ian died and suddenly followed her Father. The Dunncraigh's had been nothing but generous with their sympathies and their offers to help with the business. The sudden appearance of Callum a year after Ian's death has her all confused she doesn't know what to think of this brisk and brutish man who use to be the boy she knew and what he wants is his inheritance and to make her life miserable. Callum wants to hate Rebecca for what she said all those years ago, he wants her to be a social climbing vixen who had a hand in his brother's death but it's clear she's not and she every bit a beautiful and headstrong as ever and he loves her all the more for it. Now she just needs to stay out of his way while he proves the Dunncraigh and his son are the reason his brother and Rebecca's father are dead. If only it was easier said than done. 

Overall, it was a wonderful story, very well done nicely paced. Rebecca could be a little annoying with her stubbornness but her entire world got turned upside down I don't blame her for not believing Callum's suspicions in the beginning. Rebecca and Ian's daughter Mags is so adorably precocious and Callum's wolf and that walking mop of a dog of Mags, that's funny. It has a wonderfully satisfying ending, and I look forward to reading more of Suzanne Enoch. 

ARC REVIEW Campbell's Redemption by Sharon Cullen

Yea! Sharon Cullen's book three of her Highland Pride series. Iain Campbell and his "English sympathies" are fully explained. I knew Iain's story would be a good one, mysterious Lord who helps out his fellow Scottish people behind closed doors but plays nice nice to the brutal English army. It takes place a short time after the other books, after Culloden when the British were using any means necessary to control the Scottish rebellion and abusing the power they had. The people of Scotland were split in two groups, people who were tired of persecution and just wanted to be left alone and those who wanted to fight back and get Scotland back from British control. Iain was working both sides, he used his British birth right and connections to help the rebels where he could, all without their knowledge. They viewed him as a traitor and he was fine with that he helped where he could and hated the English just as much as his people. Cait hated Iain, she hated the fact that her husband was so loyal to Iain that he died protecting Iain. Cait is a healer and she will turn noone away not even the English soldiers her impartialness allowed a bit of leeway when it came to her they left her alone for the most part. But that was just a show for the English she helped the rebels hide out until they could escape on the ship to Canada.

Iain needed the help of Cait on of his men had been shot and she was the closest healer. He hasn't seen her since her husband's death he felt to guilty that he couldn't save him, that he died taking an arrow meant for Iain. Finally after five years Iain has the chance to apologize and he's going to start fulfilling his promise to look out for her. Cait doesn't want or need help from Iain or even her own stubborn Grandfather's who basically disowned her after she married. But now someone is going around killing English soldiers on Campbell land and very close to Cait's house it's causing the English to look a little to close at her. Iain is falling in love with Cait and when one English soldier tries to take liberties Iain is there to protect her he' willing to risk it all even if it means leaving her all alone again.

Overall it was a good story so very enjoyable, very emotional there at the end.    
    

ARC REVIEW A Highlander's Christmas Kiss by Paula Quinn

Book Five in the MacGregors: Highland Heirs series is not the cheery happy Christmas book you think a book with a title like A Highlander's Christmas Kiss would be. There was quite a bit of the two main characters falling in love and dealing with their angst. It felt like filler because they fell quickly in love and it was just Temperance dealing with her grief and need for vengeance and Cailean dealing with his grief and guilt. Once your get to the good part the book is half over and then it goes quickly. I liked the characters and the best ones were the secondary character, Patrick and Grams. It's fine as a standalone but to really understand the the pain and grief Cailean has suffered you have to know what he's gone through, first he lost his beloved dog Sadie and then he finally started to fall in love when he lost her to shot in the back by a bullet that was meant for him. Alison's death pushed him over the edge and now with no reason left to live he joins a group of bloodthirsty mercenaries, The Black Riders. His cousin Patrick doesn't know the details of why Cailean is so unhappy but he doesn't want to leave him alone, he's trying to convince him to return home but what happens sents Cailean on a much more painful path but one with such a sweet reward.

On their way back from market Patrick is struck by an arrow, in Cailean's grief and need for vengeance he allows the heinous Duncan Murdoch to convince him to acting upon his vengeance against the neighbouring family Menzie. It leads to the murder of the head of the family in front of his family. Temperance is devastated by the murder of her father. She knows he was innocent of the crime they accused him of, she wants Duncan Murdoch dead and she's going to be the one to kill him. Cailean regrets what happens and as an act of penance he returns to Linavar but while there he is betrayed by Duncan and stabbed in the back and left for dead. Temperance finds him and Grams and her nurse him back to health. Temperance is technically engaged to her best friend but she doesn't love him and doesn't want to marry him, he's not even in love with her either but with another woman who went missing weeks ago. The longer Cailean stays there the more guilt he feels and the more he falls in love with Temperance. Cailean is determined to set things right but is he to late? What will Temperance think of him after she finds out the truth about him?

Overall, it was an entertaining read, it's more of an angsty historical romance that happens to take place at the same time as Christmas.            

ARC REVIEW Highland Temptation by Jennifer Haymore

More sweet,sweet highland spies. Book three of Jennifer Haymore's Highland Knights books greets us with a beaten and desperate Emilia Featherstone. We meet her in the last book, the daughter of the repugnant Lord Featherstone whom the Knights were charged with protecting even though there was something very suspicious about him. Now with Emilia at their doorstep they have proof that he is up to no good. Colin Sterling is a tormented soul and thanks to Waterloo he can't sleep at night without waking up from night terrors. The only thing that seems to soothe him is Emilia.

To get the information they need they need Emilia to be safe, the one person she truly trust is Colin. Everyone is aware of Colin's feelings for Emilia and it the obvious he the only one for the job of protecting her. While the rest of the Knights are taking care of Featherstone and his cronies Colin is taking her somewhere safe. But taking her up to Scotland isn't as easy as they thought especially since they are trying to keep their hands off of each other. Featherstone isn't going to give up easily, he knows it was his daughter who betrayed him and now he wants her back so he can suitably punish her. Colin will stop at nothing to keep her safe.

Overall, this was a good read. I love this series and I am really enjoying seeing each of the Scottish war heroes get a HEA. All though I did miss an in between novella, I'm upset I didn't know about it. I really did like Colin and Emilia they seemed to be perfect for each other, and their romance was unconventional but very nice.

ARC REVIEW MacLean's Passion by Sharon Cullen

The second book to Sharon Cullen's Highland Pride series is just as good as the first. Maggie really makes the book. I really liked this because one Maggie, two sexy scottish brooding loner.

When we last saw Colin he was leading the British away from his friends so they could escape, when we start the book Colin is in a cell waiting for the hangman's noose. Fortunately the unknown element in this Iain Campbell, no one really knows whose side he's on. When Eleanor and Brice ask for his help with Colin he agrees and arranges his escape. Colin would rather trust his adversary Campbell then face the end of the rope so when the opportunity arises he takes it but he's not alone he takes the young man who shared the cell with him.

Maggie was raised by her brothers, they raised her like one of them, she is strong and confident, stubborn and can hold her own against even the British. But when her brother starts making her feel bad about not being lady like and forcing her to marry a snobbish British sympathizer she runs off and fights alongside her fellow Scots at Culloden. Believed to be a young man she is rounded up and locked up with the others, she is smart enough to fade into the woodwork and avoid her captors. She eagerly joins Colin in his escape. When Colin finds out his cellmate is a woman he is honor bound to see her safely home. When he gets her home he isn't so eager to leave her to marry a man who doesn't deserve her or appreciate her as she is. He tries his damnedest but he can't keep his hands to himself or leave her.

Overall, this was quite the entertaining read.

ARC REVIEW Sutherland's Secret by Sharon Cullen

This was a fabulous read. Sharon Cullen is an enchanting writer she captivates and entwines you in the story. It takes place after the bloodbath at Culloden when the English were still trying to bring the Scottish to heel and the Scottish were pretty much okay fine leave us alone already. It was like a giant witch hunt, anyone could basically claim that someone was a Jacobite or a sympathizer just to get rid of them and claim what they wanted. So many people were afraid for their lives they ended up emigrating to Canada just to get away from the English. The characters in the story were great very easy to sympathize with, Eleanor you can see how she changes throughout the book from a scared and tortured young woman to a strong confident woman who won't back down. Brice Sutherland is a great character; he is a good man, a great leader, and very caring for his people; even the half dead British woman he found on the side of the road.

Lady Eleanor Hurst was suppose to be enjoying the newly married life instead she's a widow and on the run from the man who had her husband killed and tried to blackmail her in marrying him. When she refused he locked her up in Fort Augustus with all the other Jacobites. Eleanor changed in that time, watching innocent men beaten, children dying at the hands of the British she was no longer the prim and proper British Lady. After managing to escape Eleanor ran as far as she could go before collapsing on the side of the road. Brice Sutherland the Earl of Dornach, is just trying to keep his people safe. When coming home from a chief clan gathering Brice and his men find a half dead woman on the side of the road, not willing to leave her for the animals send his men ahead so he can take care of her until she dies. But Eleanor is strong and she finally recovers, but she has lost her voice she went so long without talking she forgot how. Brice bring her to his home and offers her sanctuary. Eleanor is scared at first and unsure who she can trust. Once Brice proves she could trust him by not turning her into the British when they come looking for her, she starts to warm up to the environment around her and the people. Eleanor makes a place for herself not wanting to feel like a helpless female again she does what she can. Brice risks his life every night spiriting families and men from house to house until he can get them on a boat bound for Canada. It's easier for Brice to keep an eye on Eleanor if she goes with him, and proved she could be an asset. Brice and Eleanor fall easily in love. Brice has his own fears about falling in love with an English Lady and Eleanor is worried about endangering Brice and all his people.

Eleanor's husband was charged with treason and executed without a trial, she was imprisoned without evidence. All she needs is the courage to confront the right people to fix everything but that means she has to face her worst fear. With the love of Brice and his people behind her, and the sudden appearance of her brother Eleanor finally agrees to do what she needs to do.

Overall this was a really good read. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story was very detailed and really takes you  back. I even had to look up when the Dress Act of 1746 came into effect because the Scots in the book are still wearing their kilts.

ARC REVIEW Night of the Highland Dragon by Isabel Cooper

Night of the Highland Dragon is book three in Isabel Cooper's Highland Dragon series. Don't let that deter you it is quite a pleasant stand alone story. A paranormal shifter story with a bit of horror in it to make it exciting, because scary little monstrous demons tend to make things a bit horrific. I really liked the story I enjoyed the writing, the story and the characters, I just wish there could have been a bit more romance development between the two main characters; and it was predictable I guessed the real culprit from the start.



In the Scottish Highlands is an isolated little village that is the ancestral home of the MacAlasdair family. Lady Judith has stayed there content until a stranger comes to visit. William Arundell works for a secret government agency that handles all the things that normal police don't understand. He and the other operatives handle the paranormal things that do more than just bump in the night. His latest case has brought him to a sleepy little Highland village and the rumors of a strange Lady who does not age.



Suspicious of each other at first but soon they come to a tenuous truce when it becomes obvious that neither of them have anything to do with the mutilations going on around the village. Judith is very forward, after all she is no shy country miss, and she is not afraid to show her attraction to the handsome William. She knows without a doubt she can trust him especially after he inadvertently discovers her true self and he reveals who he works for. They work together to try and discover who is behind the summoning of the demon creatures. Things never go as planned and the realization of whom and the why comes a bit late and William and Judith are almost lost to each other.





Overall it was a really good read; entertaining and a definite page turner.