Seduction of a Highland Lass by Maya Banks

On his way to formerly propose to the woman he must marry to secure an alliance for his clan, Alaric McCabe is attacked and barely flees alive.  He and his horse somehow make it to a cottage in the woods and he promptly falls off his horse and passes out.  Keeley is stunned to see a mysterious man near her home but as she is a healer, she knows she must tend to his wounds.  Her first problem is how in the world to get this man into her home and I have to say, it was pretty funny.  As Keeley is tending to Alaric, he goes in and out of consciousness calling Keeley his angel or his devil but he sorely loves when she curls up to him to stay warm.  Alaric is quickly discovered by his brothers and Ewan, with his typical high handedness, takes Keeley with to tend to Alaric and also his wife.  Keeley is very upset by this, but as she has been tossed out by her clan and she has already developed feeling for Alaric, she goes.

Alaric is stunned by the feelings he feels for Keeley, they are unlike anything he has ever felt before but he knows his duty is to his clan and it is tearing him up.  When Keeley learns of Alaric engagement, and to whom, she is very saddened as she has already grown to love this strong, fierce man but also knows that nothing can come between them as the woman he is to marry, is Keeleys sister in heart.  As time passes and their attraction grows, they decide to live in the moment and cherish the memories they will make forever.  And those memories are smokin!  When the truth of what happened to Keeley and her clan is finally revealed, it is a huge source of anger for Alaric and his brothers.  But as the king has now approved of Alarics marriage and is planning on attending, Alaric knows his duty is to his clan, not his heart.

Oh, the ending of this book.  Sigh...have some tissues handy because you are going to need them!  You hope you know how it will play out but there is always that bit of uncertainty and Maya Banks will take you through the ringer to get the answers you want.  Alaric, sigh....really, thats all I can say, lol.  He is just sighworthy by the end.  And Keeley, in search of a sense of belongness is so happy to finally fit even though her heart breaks.  Together, they are a couple you will root for even while you don't want to see the clan falter as a result.  Overall, since I needed some tissues for tugging my heart strings, 5 stars.

Series note:  This is book two (following In Bed with a Highlander ) and I would recommend you read in order so you get more of a sense of the deep bond between the brothers and their duty for the clan.  The third book, Never Love a Highlander, will be released on Oct 25th and I am really hoping WalMart has it a few days early again as I can not wait to read it!!

And again, holy smokin hot cover but his hair seems wrong.  Its supposed to be longer with a braid.  I know I'm a bit picky but I really love when the cover matches the book perfectly :)