This is book 4 in the author’s “Highlander” series. Having
not read the previous books in the series, I was still able to enjoy it. This
book was given to me by the author to review. Although I do love historical
romances, I usually stay away from highlander books. I hate when the Scottish
accent is very pronounced, and sometimes the hero is a bit too gruff for my
tastes. I decided to take a chance and read this because I have enjoyed other
books by this author. Happily for me, I ended up really enjoying this book and
looking forward to reading others in this series.
The heroine of this story is Edana Chattan, daughter of the
chief of the Chattan clan and rumored to be touched by the fae. I liked Edana
and did not find her obnoxious or whiney. She was clever and caring. At the
opening of this story, Edana is woken by her brother Kayne’s call for help in
her mind. He says the word “dungeon”, and she knows that all five of her
brothers were on their way to visit their cousin. She worries that all of them
might be trapped in a dungeon and in need of her help. She tries unsuccessfully
to convince her father to take action, so she takes matters into her own hands.
I liked that rather than rashly heading out on her own, she at least takes her
maid and companion Una as well as two castle guards. For me, this was a classic
“hero’s quest” story. Early in her journey, Edana gets separated from her
traveling companions and encounters Angus MacNeill, his cousin Niall, and their
friend Gunnolf. The men have actually been out looking for Edana. They have
heard of her disappearance from her father’s home and have set out to make sure
she’s safe and to return her. Edana and Angus know each other. They both had a
secret crush on each other when they were younger. Angus always regretted not
saying something to her at the time. Edana always worried for her safety if
anyone found out about her special abilities. Angus is how I wish all highland
heroes were – an all-around good guy, cares about his family and others, he’s a
hottie, and he is so sweet to Edana. I enjoyed their romance. I thought there
was the right combination of sweet, sexy, humor, and good story-telling. The
rescue/search party runs into a few obstacles along the way. Edana’s gift is
only as good as the person she is able to mentally communicate with. They
follow the clues her brothers send her as they get them. Another obstacle comes
in the form of Keary, the newly minted Laird Lockton. He ended up being a
villain in this story, but something of a complex one for me. He chases the
good guys, but helps hunt down the villainess Oppida. He has murderous
intentions toward Angus intending to get Edana for himself, but you feel
sympathetic toward him for having an abusive father growing up. I was very
conflicted about how he ended up. I found the two women, Oppida and Zeneva, to
be almost succubus-like – especially Oppida. I found the part in the story when
they finally find Edana’s brothers to be very exciting. I liked the character
Pol – he was a sweet boy. I look forward to reading more books in this series –
especially books about Allison, as well as Niall.
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