Seduction of a Highland Warrior by Sue-Ellen Welfonder

Alasdair is a fierce warrior with a love for the glen that runs deep and he's sworn to protect the peace at all costs. His honor is everything to him and he soon finds himself challenging everything he holds dear when his greatest enemies sister captures his heart. Even a year away hasn't diminished his need for her. 

Marjory has loved Alasdair from the moment she first saw him and has set her mind and heart to having him. She's as fierce a woman as he is a warrior so there is bound to be some head butting here. Yet her brother is determined to see her wed to a Viking, anyone but Alasdair, and she does everything in her power to shoot down each suitor. 

These two are constantly needling each other even as their hearts are begging them to give in to the love they feel. Just as soon as they do, treachery strikes and threatens the peace in the Glen of Many Legends. It all comes to a head and where Alasdair thinks the trouble lies turns out to be his salvation. There are several scenes that stand out to me. One had me howling with laughter and involves a spider outside of the joy woman tents. One is the entire 4th chapter in the book where I was on the edge of my seat with anxiety as I read it and I'll leave that to you to find out when you read the story. The other is the moments in the caves both when they're alone and when there is a celebration. The caves are simply amazing and were brought to life through Sue-Ellen's wonderful writing.

This has been another fantastic read with touches of legend and a ghostly couple who made my heart cry for them as they found their peace. Sue-Ellen painted medieval Scotland so clearly for me that my senses came alive while reading. There were many a scene that had me laughing loudly leaving me with lingering smiles. I will miss the Glen of Many Legends and the people who play a part in this series whom I came to love. I'm sure I'll get a glimpse of them in the future and look forward to that day. This series of highland warriors and the women they love will stay with me for a long time to come!

ARC provided by publisher

**Reviewed by Leah**

Highland Warriors series

The Chieftain by Margaret Mallory

Prologue - Dunscaith Castle, Isle of Skye, Scotland 1496....

Conner and his mother, Catriona, are very close. He watches one night as she circles the fire chanting and cursing his father, Donald Gallach Chieftain of the MacDonalds, for betraying her. A friend, Anna, comes upon the scene and begs her to take the curse back. Catriona swears her husband will pay when she leaves him for another man. She leaves her children with Anna to look after them as the children always stay with the father, the Laird. She sneaks out one night never to return alive. One day a galley returns with her drowned body, Donald turns his wrath on his son and speaks for him to never be in his sight again. Conner and his sister Moira grow up with Anna's  children Duncan and Ilysa. 

1516 - 20 years later....

Conner is now Chieftain of the MacDonalds. His father and step brother are dead. Duncan has married Moira. Conner asks Duncan to stay at Dunscaith while he travels to Trotternish Castle to hold his lands firmly out of the hands of the MacLeods. Ilysa, who has the sight, goes with him to help run the household. The clan's future depends on Conner wedding the right lass and he plans on looking into several clans to find the best alliance. On the way out, they stop by the old seer, Tearlag. She tells him that his lass will pick him and to look to the fairies.

It seems nothing but treachery lies in wait for him at Trotternish Castle. Ilysa keeps seeing visions but can't understand them. Lachlan is sent in to gain the trust but kill Conner. She keeps seeing good in Lachlan but also sees a darkness that she begs him to let go of so the good can come through. Each day brings Lachlan closer to putting his allegiance with Conner and pulling back from what he was sent to do. Ilysa has been in love with Conner forever and he just can't seem to see past his nose. She continues to speak to him of her visions but he refuses to listen so she locks him up for several days to prevent him going to his death. He is furious with her when she releases him and speaks of sending her away. He later changes his mind but finds her gone and he feels the loss. They meet again at a gathering where Conner has gone to make plans for a marriage alliance. She has changed from the drab clothing and into beautiful gowns and he's amazed at her transformation. He falls hard but keeps talking himself out of it. The gathering is where Alastair Macleod comes into play. He finds Ilysa alone outside and makes a discover about her that he keeps to himself but watches over her none the less to Conner's dismay. 

There are several attacks that happen, one that severely wounds Conner, and they are all coming from information from someone within his own walls. As he lay wounded in the woods, he dreams of a fairy dancing around a fire chanting only to awake the next morning with the strength to make it home. Conner and Ilysa are drawn to each other so deeply that they let their hearts take over and this only brings heartache to both when his intended arrives. Before the final confrontation between the MacDonalds and the MacLeods, he follows her to the fairy glen and watches as she dances and realizes that it was she he saw the night of his wounding. He then watches as she meets with Alasdair who has walked into the light of the fire. He refuses to ask out right what happened and jumps to conclusions that it is she who is betraying the clan. The final confrontation is smack full of sit on the edge of your seat suspense as Ilysa brings the MacDonald and the MacLeod together in a small kirk for a truce that neither find they can ignore because of their love for her.

My heart felt warmth as I read the epilogue. I enjoyed watching their love come to fruition and talk about HOT!! I loved the mystical parts of this story. Tearlag and Ilysa and their sight, the fairy glens and the chants..... the ghostly sightings and the legends surrounding them all call to my heart. Scotland is full of lore and Margaret Mallory does an excellent job of bringing it to life. She left me aching to walk the fairy glens, graveyards, and hills with standing stones.

5 Stars!

* Reviewed by Leah Weller*

Review copy provided by publisher

Return of the Highlanders series

One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah MacLean

Lady Phillipa Marbury is to be married in fifteen short days and with her inquisitive, scientific mind she wonders about some of the logistics of the marriage bed.  Doing her research, she determines that Cross, one of the owners of London's most notorious gaming hells, is the perfect person to help her with her questions.  To help with her ruination.  Unfortunately, Cross finds this a horrible idea and tries to usher her out before anyone sees her (she is, after all, sister-in-law to one of his partners) but Pippa has questions that require answering and is not easily deterred and she makes Cross feel, feel more than he has in seven years...ever since his brother died and his life got turned upside down in an instant.  He has regret and determination to avoid the past but that past has come back and now he is determined to change it.  And to change it he must keep Pippa away, keep these feelings buried.  The attraction burns as do the promises of what is to be discovered together.  Can Pippa discover that the heart is more than just an organ and will Cross let his wall down?

 Oh Sarah MacLean.  I adore your books.  Just adore them and I adored this couple you created.  Pippa is bespectacled, odd...more interested in scientific experiments than the latest fashions and her frank nature appeals to Cross very much.  Cross has tried to bury his past, so much so that Pippa does not even know his true identity, and it has shaped him into the man he is today...a man who thinks he does not deserve happiness.  The pull and tug between this couple was such a treat to read and their conversations charmed me to no end.  I really enjoyed how this book focused mostly on Pippa and Cross but their is an underlining tension brought by Cross' past that added quite a flair at the end that I really enjoyed.  It really was a perfect ending for this story (though I did want to smack Cross at the end for a bit until he finally came to his senses).  One Good Earl Deserves a Lover is a sensual, heart breaking romance that is also fun, smart and sexy.  I loved it and can not wait for Temple's story now.  5 stars

eARC provided by Avon via edelweiss

The Rules of Scoundrels
Could be read as stand alones, best enjoyed in order because they are wonderful!

No Good Duke Goes Unpunished  August 27th

The Duchess War by Courtney Milan

Miss Minerva Lane lives her life quietly and recedes to the shadows, keeping the attention away from her.  When she was a child being the center of attention ended very badly for her and it has scarred her for life, physically and emotionally.  Now the Duke of Clermont catches her hiding from a would be suitor and Robert is instantly intrigued by this woman who is quiet yet leaves a mark with her clever remarks.  As Minnie starts to piece together Robert's involvement in a possible workers movement she finds new layers of him and in turn, he starts to peel back the shell that Minnie has so carefully constructed around herself.  But when Robert's brother suddenly becomes accountable for all of Robert's actions, how can Robert help him while protecting Minnie and not revealing all her secrets?

Now, I will start off by saying I am a total Courtney Milan fangirl and I (im)patiently await each new release of hers and the wait for The Duchess War was worth it!  It is so well crafted and written in a way that you just savor each word and you are sad when it is over.  Minnie is determined to keep her scandalous past in the past and she portrays herself as a quiet, mousy type woman but Robert makes her start to hope again, to want to be her true clever, interesting self.  Robert is a refreshing duke.  He refuses to be like his father, cold and expecting everything handed to him just because he is a duke but in the process, his father pushed his mother away (since she controlled the purse strings) so Robert currently has a very strained relationship with her and all he wants is a family to love him.  In the process to prove he is nothing like his father, he tries to right all his wrongs and if that means treating the workers in the factories more fairly and letting them know through handbills, than so be it.  He expects so little for himself that he can not believe that Minnie could ever forgive him for his actions after her previous betrayal.  Together they make a complex yet beautifully simple couple that fit together perfectly.  The ending is sure to tug on your heart strings and I just loved it.  And even though I don't like a lot of history in my romance books, the workers movement information was threaded in in a way that did not overwhelm the story for me and it provided a nice backdrop.  Overall a beautiful, heart breaking romance with humor, love and forgiveness written by one of the finest historical romance authors.  Just lovely.  5 stars

eARC provided by the author, thank you!

The Brothers Sinister series

 
                                     Dec 2012                                2013

A Week to Be Wicked by Tessa Dare

When Colin Sandhurst, Lord Payne, is forced to answer his door one rainy night he does not expect the proper Minerva Highwood to be there.  When the decidedly quiet, bookish Minerva then asks for his assistance to travel to Scotland...to attend a gathering about rocks no less...he is a bit stunned.  After all, Minerva and himself do not exactly see eye to eye on any matters.  So he decides to thrown in a few conditions that will be sure to scare her off but when they don't, Colin finds himself helping Minerva achieve her lifelong dream.  He just can't understand how she is ok with being ruined, because nothing but that will come from their unchaperoned, fake elopement even if nothing were to happen and she has no desire to marry him.  But when the nights force them to be together and Minerva's inquisitive scientific mind full of curious questions, passion quickly arises and true feelings are discovered.

Minerva is determined to attend the Royal Geological Society of Scotland to show her discovery of a unique footprint set in stone.  Obviously her flightly mother is not going to take her so she decides to go to a man she dislikes, a man supposedly set to propose to her sister.  Her sister is much to good for Colin so she must convince him to go with her and the prize winning money should be enough to hook the broke lord.  However, she does not expect to encounter his morals (who knew he had any?) or in the process, discover a caring, gentle, sexy as all get out man underneath a rakish persona.

Oh, sigh.  This book.  I sighed, laughed, cheered, and wanted to hug my Kindle.  Such a wonderful, lovely romance!  I adored Colin.  He is always calling Minerva by some other name starting with 'M' making her believe that he can not remember her true name and there is a scene later in the book that is just going to make you sigh with happiness!  The banter between these two is just delicious and hilarious at the same time!  Minerva takes Colin to show him why it is so important for her to attend the geology gathering and her way of doing it takes Colin quite unawares and it literally had me dying of laughter at his reaction!  But then it also showed a much deeper side to Colin that he has tried to keep hidden from the world and as time passes, he learns that Minerva is the one person who can finally complete him.  And we can not forget the sizzle factor between these two!  Being forced to share a bed--naturally--leads to some smoking hot 'exploration' lessons that will leave little doubt as to these two compatibility together.  Overall, I adored this book.  It is a wonderful blend of romance, heat, laughter and proof that opposites can be absolutely perfect for each other.   I just skimmed the preview chapter for the next book and I can not wait for it!  Tessa Dare is a new auto-buy author for me following this book!  A delicious 5 stars

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via edelweiss.com

Spindle Cove series
(This one can be read as a standalone)

A Lady by Midnight August 28, 2012

The Rogue Pirate's Bride by Shana Galen

Revenge is the name of the game for Raeven Russell.  The daughter of a British admiral, almost her whole life has been at sea and she loves it but when the pirate Captain Cutless kills her fiance, she is out avenge his death.  Raeven has heard tales of this 'privateer,' as he refers to himself, and feels like it is her job to teach the scoundrel a lesson.  So she stuffs her long black hair into a cap, drags her friend with her to a bar where Cutless will be and challenges him to a duel, which she is confident she will win as she is very hand with a sword.  The tables are quickly turned though as Cutless brushes her off as a mere boy, which just infuriates Raeven even more but the final straw is when her removes her cap.  Oh yes, then the sparks start to fly!

Sebastian Harcourt, marquis de Valere, aka Captain Cutless, is a bit surprised with the hatred rolling off of Raeven towards him.  But he can understand seeking out revenge all to well as he is also on a quest to avenge his mentors death.  The added addition of the feisty Raeven is just a surprising bonus...until he finds out who her father is.  He watches Raeven disappear thinking he will never see her again.  Naturally, fate has other ideas and watching all the zings between this couple was a delight!

Sigh, what an excellent pirate, high-seas adventure this book is!  There are battles between ships that will have you flipping the pages and casualties that will make you cry.  There is a sense that you are there on the ship as well, you can almost feel the ship rocking but not enough that it overpowers the romance end of the story.  And what a hot romance it is!  There is a mutual attraction right away but as Raeven believes Bastian is a murderer, her feelings are all jumbled up.  Bastian's feelings are not as clear cut either.  He believes his entire family is dead and he is alone, save for an old servant.  But as his attraction for Raeven grows, so does love and respect...especially after she proves her abilities with a cannon :)

Overall, another winner from Shana Galen!  This is book three in this series and can truly be read as a standalone.  I would have liked to have seen a bit more of Bastian's family at the end but it is a wonderful conclusion to a truly fabulous series.  This book is sure to have something for everyone--romance, danger, revenge, betrayal, deceit, and an attraction so sexy and smart it will make you laugh and sigh over and over.  I truly believe Ms Galen has a very bright future ahead of her and I can not wait to see what else she delivers!  5 stars

Favorite LOL quote

"There's nothing complicated about our relationship.  I hate you and want you dead."

eARC provided by Sourcebooks via netgalley.com and quote subject to change in final book

The Sons of the Revolution series