Thursday, October 6, 2011

Highland Storms by Christina Courtenay

Highland StormsI don't know how this woman does it.. one fabulous historical romance after another and as usual, Courtenay does the male POV wonderfully. And as usual I fell in love with the hero myself. (I'm super picky so this is not a easy feat!)

Highland Storms is a sequel to Trade Winds, but if you haven't read Trade Winds, this could stand alone without major confusion. The hero, Brice, is the son of the couple previously in Trade. He leaves Sweden and heads to Scotland where he has a family home and land and a suspicious landlord, Seton. Seems Seton has been "skimming off the top" and not doing his duties. Brice means to get to the bottom of it. 


Seton is an evil cretin. His crimes may not stop at just thievery when Brice shows up threatening all his plans. He was Marsaili, the lovely housekeeper. Will he stoop to rape or abduction to get her? Marsaili fends him off as well all other suitors, but can she fend off Brice? He does something to her.. (giggling)


What seems like a slow plot in the beginning becomes super exciting in the last half. There's false accusations and arrests, beatings, hidden tunnels, lies revealed, abductions, escapes, and a ship briefly with a docking in Amsterdam. And the best part??? The dog. There's this dog named Liath and his role isn't minimal. The lovable hound even saves the day at point. I absolutely loved this scene! I stayed up till 4am reading this scene. I couldn't put the book down.


And the hero and the heroine must not only survive all that, but come to terms with the fact that they just may love each other.. (They are both hesitant for their own reasons to fall in love...) 


Favorite quote: "Love is when you realise a part of you will die if you can't be with a certain someone. That life isn't worth living if you can't share it with that special person. That you want to kill, with your bare hands, anyone who comes between you."


I wholeheartedly give this five stars, five well deserved stars. I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 


4 comments:

  1. Five stars - can't wait to read it Tara. Fab review. I have Trade Winds on my Kindle to read first though but the anticipation is building!

    Thanks for your comment on my blog today. Pronunciations and local dialect can make some mind-boggling changes - some are easy to decipher whereas others ...

    Shaz
    @ Jera's Jamboree

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  2. Thank you! They are both great books. You won't be disappointed.

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  3. When you say, "He was Marsaili, the lovely housekeeper. Will he stoop to rape or abduction to get her? Marsaili fends him off as well all other suitors, but can she fend off Brice? He does something to her.. (giggling)", do you mean "He wants...."?

    And I suppose that you, being Tara, are going to make me read the book to find out what he does to her to make you giggle!

    I am going to have to read this book anyway, just to find out why Liath is such a hero.

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  4. Great review and agree with the 5 stars as that I what I also gave it!!

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