Review - - The Highland Rogue

The Highland Rogue
by Amy Jarecki
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: March 24, 2020
Reviewed by Hellie
 

After a vicious attack on his ship, Sir Kennan Cameron washes ashore on a deserted Scottish island, nearly dead. But he soon finds he's not as alone as he thought. Kennan knows he can't stay on the island, but neither can he leave the brave and bonny lass who has nursed him back to health -- even if she is from a rival clan.

Abandoned by her family, Divana Campbell is both terrified and relieved when a rugged Highlander drags himself from the surf. Trusting Kennan is her only chance for survival -- and by the time they arrive at his castle, she can barely imagine life without him. But as the heir to a powerful chieftain, Kennan could never marry the likes of her.

Together, they'll brave tempests, pirates, betrayal, and ruin. But soon Kennan must decide what matters most: his thirst for vengeance or the woman who's won his heart.

Hellie’s Heeds:

This book grabs you from page one and does not let go. I have read several of Jarecki’s books--and though they are more hit than miss for me--this one is easily my favorite in the series. The more I read, the more I was impressed by the characters, the pacing, and the plot. In the first chapter, the hero’s ship is taken by pirates--and the crew is lost--and you think the hero will be lost (but obviously can’t be--we know he’s the hero!) Then the next chapter shows us the heroine, a young woman who has been exiled to an island to die because she and her family had had smallpox, but she’d lived and had been surviving there for two years. Who are these characters? The hurdles these two overcome are riveting.

Kennen takes Divana with him when he’s able to get a ship to come save them, and he takes her to his family home, promising her a life better than what she had, one with all the blankets and food she could want. It’s clear that he as a laird-to-be and she a young woman of very humble circumstances would never work out to be together, and this conflict of the Lord and the Maidservant is a hard one to overcome in an era where young lords married women of wealth and land. Both characters deeply know they can never be together in that way, but they cannot help but be drawn to each other. For Divanna, she knows she loves him and a life with him would be unheard of, but she is willing to be with him in whatever capacity. 

When Kennan is healed enough to return to the seas to seek revenge on the pirate who nearly killed him, he is surprised to find a stowaway, the sweet and troubling woman who saved him more than once in their short time together. He disguises her as a cabin boy (ha, ha, ha!) and the crew sails on, on the tail of Jackson Vane, determined to get back the stolen treasure as well as kill the man who betrayed Kennan to Vane in the first place. Divana soon finds her stride on the ship; and it’s not long before she and the Captain are sharing more than sleeping quarters. 

When Divana is kidnapped by Jackson Vane, Kennan truly realizes how important she is to him--and that when he gets her back, he will move heaven and earth to keep her. It is ever so satisfying...and Divana is really the perfect match for Kennan in every way. I highly recommend.

Excerpt from The Highland Renegade by Amy Jarecki

The Highland Renegade
by Amy Jarecki
Lords of the Highlands - Book 5
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: January 8, 2019

She is the daughter of his sworn enemy.

Famed for his fierceness, Laird Robert Grant is above all a loyal Highland clan chief. But when redcoats capture his rival's daughter, he sets aside their feud and races to her rescue. Aye, Janet Cameron is beautiful, cunning, and so very tempting, but a Cameron lass is the last woman he should ever desire.

He is her one hope of happiness.

Janet refuses to meekly surrender, not even when surrounded by foes. She takes every chance to escape, first from the English soldiers and then from the wickedly handsome Robert. Yet with each day they spend together, his unexpected gallantry chips away at her reserve little by little. As danger and treachery loom, can she trust him enough to choose love over vengeance?

Excerpt 

THE HIGHLAND RENEGADE 

by Amy Jarecki

Janet awakes in the mountains

Janet’s head throbbed while she dreamed of running. Warmth surrounded her, though her mind hovered beneath the threshold of consciousness. Something told her the morn had come and she must wake. But every time she began to stir, the pounding in her skull grew worse.

When something shifted against her back, her eyes blinked open for a moment, then lazily closed. She winced at the pain not only from the megrim, but because her entire body ached.

Dear Lord, please let me sleep for a few moments longer.

Something was clamped around her waist, and a deep voice sighed. A very deep, masculine voice that in no way should be behind her when she was sleeping. Janet’s eyes popped wide while her body stiffened. Not daring to take a breath, she slowly turned and looked back.

Holy snapdragons!

With a jolt she drew her fists beneath her chin. Of all the people in Christendom who could be slumbering alongside her, it had to be Laird Grant. Deliciously handsome, rugged-looking Mr. Grant. The wound on his cheek oddly served to add to his allure while he breathed through slightly pursed lips. Soft, gentle, masculine lips. Were they as kissable as they looked? Her tongue tapped the top of her mouth as she considered how wickedly delicious he might taste.

No, no, no, no! This is an abominable state of affairs.

She inched up the stiff blanket and peered out. Good heavens, they weren’t alone. Men covered with snow lay around the embers of a fire. Oddly, she was warm and dry, yet snow continued to fall. Shifting her gaze upward, she understood why. She’d been sleeping beneath a rock shelter—with Mr. Grant.

Lord have mercy, what if my father learns of this?

Suddenly panic seized her chest, making it impossible to breathe. If she didn’t escape this very instant she might die of utter mortification. How had she ended up in such a precarious situation? Yes, Mr. Grant had ridden to her rescue. He’d given her his cloak when she was on the verge of freezing to death. Thank the stars for his kindness, but she hadn’t given him leave to do…to do…good glory!

This state of affairs might ruin her for the rest of her days. She could ill afford to stay wrapped in a cocoon with Mr. Grant a moment longer.

Janet kicked her feet, but they wouldn’t budge. She pushed against the blanket, but it was as stiff as oak bark. Had they bound her in this contraption? Had they taken advantage and accosted her while she was out of sorts?

Her megrim throbbed tenfold while she thrashed and kicked. “Let me out!” Gaining a bit of room, she jabbed her elbows into the big Highlander behind her. In her panic, Janet’s chest tightened, making it harder and harder to breathe.

“God’s blood, woman!” Mr. Grant bellowed. In a heartbeat the blanket released her.

She sucked in a gulp of precious air.

Sitting up, he threw the blanket aside and sprang to his feet. “Have you caught fire?” he demanded, grabbing her shoulders and looking her from head to toe, his eyes wild and filled with alarm.

Janet gave him a hearty push as she scooted away. “No, you brute!” Looking down, she froze. Her life was all but over. How could he have removed her clothing and left her wearing nothing but a shift and stays? She was practically bare, and now she had nearly a dozen men staring at her. In her undergarments of all things. Swiftly hopping to her feet, she grabbed the leather blanket they’d been wrapped in and clutched it beneath her chin, trying to shake away the miserable pounding in her skull. “I demand you tell me why I am in such a compromising state of undress.”

His Lairdship spread his palms to his sides as if pleading innocence. “I beg your—”

She shook her finger. “You—you—you have taken advantage of a helpless maid. My brother was right. You are a scoundrel of the worst sort.”

“I did no such thing! If I had not taken action and removed your damp garments, you would have succumbed to the cold.”

She spotted her cloak and gown draped across a big rock under the shelf. Careful to ensure the blanket covered as much as possible, she scooted toward them.

“Beg your pardon, Miss Janet,” said Jimmy, shaking the snow off as he stepped toward them. “But Robert speaks true. You were half-dead when we arrived last eve. And he bellowed at us all, telling us to mind our own affairs and leave ye be.”

The lad’s words only served to make her shudder. She snatched her cloak and threw it over her shoulders. Had they all stood by and gaped while the laird removed her outer garments? She reached for her gown, suddenly realizing her stays had been loosened as well.

How dare he?

“I bid you all turn your heads whilst I dress,” she said in a commanding voice—at least she sounded as commanding as possible given her disgraceful state of dress.

Once all backs were turned, Janet pulled on her gown and tied the laces as best she could. Thank goodness her clothing was dry—even her shift and stays had dried, though they were as frigid as ice. When certain her cloak covered every possible loose string, she glanced to the laird’s satchel. “May I have my shoes, please?”

“If Your Ladyship will allow me to turn.”

“I am composed.”

“Very well.” He retrieved the shoes and gave them to her. “We have a bit of dried meat. We shall eat and be off.”

She slipped her feet inside the shoes, the fit a bit snug with Mr. Grant’s stockings. Janet looked down. No, I’m not giving them back until I’m safely home. “Are we heading for Achnacarry? My father will have a word with the colonel at Fort William. I’m certain he can set things to rights with the lieutenant.”

A rider approached from the glen, the snow making him look fuzzy at first. “Redcoats spotted!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Have you read any of Amy Jarecki's books? Do you have a favorite?

Review - - The Highland Chieftain

THE HIGHLAND CHIEFTAIN

By Amy Jarecki

Publisher: Forever Grand Central

Release Date: July 31, 2018

Reviewed by Hellie

Lady Mairi Mackenzie might have been jilted by her fiance, but she doesn’t want or need any pity proposals from her fiance’s right-hand-man, Laird Duncan MacRae. Sure he’s handsome and rock hard and steady as the day is long--but as her father likes to remind her, she can do so much better. And again, she doesn’t want a man who only offers marriage just because he watched her get jilted.

Dunn MacRae is having a hell of a time persuading the only woman he’s ever wanted--and the only woman he couldn’t have--that his proposal couldn’t be more in earnest. However, the vexing female won’t stand still long enough to even talk to him. It’s only when he rescues her from a brutal attack from redcoats and has to go into hiding that Mairi finally begins to see the man she’s been snubbing this whole time.

I’ve enjoyed Jarecki’s series of highlanders--she is skilled at delivering a hunky, heroic highlander you enjoy crawling in bed with--but hands down, Dunn is the McDreamiest. And possibly the McSteamiest. When it comes to fictional boyfriends--of which I have a new one every week and have had for the last twenty-some years--Dunn is a contender for all things we cheer for in a hero. He’s protective, he’s poetic, he’s kind (though grumpy), and he’s always putting her happiness first. I also gotta say of all the covers that Jarecki has had for this series, this one is my favorite--it’s McSwoony. (I gave a ½ star just for the cover alone.)

As for Mairi, I did struggle slightly with her. I applaud Jarecki for creating heroines who are historically in tune with their times (on the whole) and aren’t Lara Tomb Raider in skirts. However, I sometimes get a little lost in the emotional ride the heroines have gone on and they feel a little immature. Fortunately Mairi’s little rides were infrequent and mostly logical (i.e. didn’t pull me out of the story which is what happens when I think the heroines are being too weepy.) Mairi is definitely an equal partner to Dunn in every way, and makes her loyalties known when the time comes.

So if you’re looking for a Highland boyfriend this summer, make haste and fall in love with Dunn MacRae--and if you haven’t already, the other highlanders in this series.

Review - - The Highland Guardian

THE HIGHLAND GUARDIAN

By Amy Jarecki

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing / Forever

Release Date: December 19, 2017

Reviewed by Hellie

The third in Jarecki's Highland trilogy, THE HIGHLAND GUARDIAN introduces Reid, the Earl of Seaforth, and Audrey Kennet, an English heiress, who is as shy as she is rebellious. On a return trip from France, after meeting with King James of Scotland (a treasonous offense), Reid's ship is attacked, and Audrey's father, Nicholas, is killed when the ship is sunk off the coast. With his dying breath, Nicholas begs Reid to look after his daughter, and Reid agrees. 

Reid's belief he has taken on the guardianship of a wee lass is abruptly corrected when he meets his nineteen-year-old ward, the fair and beautiful, Audrey. His plans immediately turn to finding a husband for the girl so he can go back to his true duties, the cause, putting the rightful heir, King James, back on the throne of England and Scotland. Audrey, recently back home from completing finishing school, is devastated to learn her beloved father has died and horrified to learn she is to be married off to the nearest man with a pulse as soon as it is convenient for the earl.

Of course it proves challenging to marry off a gorgeous nubile young woman with more money than Croesus, and there are various issues that cause the young couple to be in each other's company time and again until the unthinkable happens, and the earl realizes he's in love with his own ward. Audrey is equally vexed when she realizes the same for herself. And because the road to true love hasn't run smooth so far, Reid also has to wheedle himself out of a lifelong family betrothal in order to marry the woman he loves. Breaking off a betrothal with the excuse you're in LOVE is always eyebrow-raising prior to 1850, and breaking off a betrothal to say you're in love with an ENGLISHWOMAN when you're a Jacobite Scottish nobleman is akin to sheer lunacy. Still, not impossible.

For me, the story is 2 stars - and I feel I must explain why the story was not my cup of tea. I started
reading this book no less than three times (the third in which I 'finished' only to complete the review.)
While the young and noble Reid was no challenge to like and fall in love with, I found Audrey more
frustrating. While she is a sheltered, spoiled young heiress, doted on by her father, she feels younger than her nineteen years, especially nineteen year old women in the 18th century. While Jarecki does a wonderful job of creating heroines who are authentic to their time period (I enjoyed the first two in the trilogy), I felt Audrey was more improbable. While it's possible to be painfully shy, yet bold while riding a horse or picking out a heartstopping red ballgown, it felt improbable. I don't know - the painfully shy factor seemed incongruous with someone who was loved and spoiled by her father, encouraged to think and have opinions, and seemed to think it was shocking her father was planning to find her a husband, when she's nineteen, the only child of a coal-mining fortune, and living in a century where that was what women grew up knowing was their outcome as soon as they were of age. Someone who is as intelligent as the heroine proves to be cannot be that dim-witted about the realities of her time. 

One of the first things she does when introduced in the story is ride off alone on her trusted gelding to clear her head. She doesn't take a groomsman with her to protect her. She doesn't tell Reid she's going out - she's escaping him - and no one questions it. Not impossible, I remind myself, but improbable. She could be kidnapped for ransom or killed by outlaws, but it seems not to cross her mind at all. In fact, she doesn't learn from the first time she rides out alone - she does it again a chapter or two later, but this time Reid happens upon her and tells her to take a groomsman with her from not on. Perhaps I've spent my time reading too many Regency novels where if an unmarried girl leaves her house without the proper retinue of protectors and keepers, her reputation is mud, and maybe things were more lax a hundred years prior, but I don't think so. If she had been anyone but the rich sole heiress of a recently deceased businessman, I would have bought into it more. After all, in the first of Jarecki's books, the heroine travels a lot by herself...but her family is poor and she is the breadwinner. She also has a few more skills for protecting herself than Audrey does.

The camel straw for me was when Audrey was afraid that the ball she was going to would be a disaster because she couldn't dance and no man would possibly find her desirable. She. Who is a fair English rose...and the heiress to a king's ransom? Granted, Audrey had a few mortifying experiences at Court and some balls she was forced to attend that would lend to her mindset, but in a world - which Jarecki alludes to with the scene with the solicitor - where women should be rarely seen and not heard, a beautiful young woman with a fortune and who is so shy she doesn't like to talk or share her opinions can only seem like a 18th century man's wet dream in my opinion. 

However, my issues with how young women should behave - when I'm well past nineteen and unwilling to dwell on what a prat I could be like - is mine; and as a third in the trilogy, it ties up loose ends well enough, closing a door on an interesting chapter in Scottish history. Reid is heroic and delightful; and for some, Audrey's shyness will be a welcome change from the slew of Lara Croft-like heroines who star in many current historical romances. 

Review - - The Highland Commander

The Highland Commander

By Amy Jarecki

Publisher: Forever - Grand Central Publishing

Release Date: June 27, 2017

Reviewed by Hellie

The Highland Commander is the second in the Lords of the Highlands series, set in 1709, just prior to the first Jacobite rebellion. While Queen Anne rules Great Britain, there are those in Scotland who want the true king, Prince James Stuart (the Old Pretender) to assume the throne.

Of course, our hero has other things on his mind than getting the rightful king back on the throne. As Aiden Murray, second son of the Duke of Atholl, makes his way up the Navy ladder, he is determined to be his own man--and in the most immediate future to “become a man”. He’s been a little busy with books and working his way through the ranks to pursue the fairer sex. Ever. But he’s determined to lose his virginity as soon as possible--and the slightly scandalous Hogmanay ball with all those beautiful women in masquerade masks should help relieve him of his inexperience.

He attends the Earl Marischal of Scotland’s masquerade party and meets the beautiful and innocent, Lady Magdalen Keith. While he is enchanted by the fair maiden, his goal is decidedly different than wooing a maiden who would be more suited for marriage than the bedroom, even if she has the most beautiful eyes he’s ever seen and kisses like a dream. A Navy lieutenant on 24 hour shore leave. A masquerade ball on Hogmanay. The illegitimate daughter of an earl with beautiful blue eyes and a kiss to die for. What’s not to love in this set up?

Three months later, when he is given a two-week shoreleave, Aiden travels to London to live in his father’s rooms at Whitehall, and from there, find a suitable widow for his education. Who should he find on his way to Whitehall, in distress and in need of help? Yes, the most innocent fair Lady Magdalen! What does he do when he realizes she has nowhere to sleep because her father’s rooms have been seized due to his treasonous actions? Why he brings her to his rooms in Whitehall of course. That isn’t going to put a cramp in his The Hangover: Jacobite style at all. Oh, wait. It totally does.

When Aiden returns to the ship and has a talk with the captain, his mentor and near father figure, about Magdalen and the dilemma and his virginity, the good captain takes some pity on Aiden and hands him a pamphlet full of the most useful drawings any young man would want. By now, he’s so enthralled with Lady Magdalen, he persuades her to try out some of the less pregnancy-likely options on the page. Lady Magdalen is already half in love with Aiden and has been since the ball. While Aiden assists Magdalen during the day in her quest to have her father released (and not executed), at night they pursue passion in each other’s arms.

Later, after Aiden returns back to his ship, Magdalen is invited to stay at Whitehall with Queen Anne and be her harpist. Her (newly released) father uses this opportunity to have Magdalen spy for the cause. Magdalen would love nothing more than return to her home in Stonehaven, to do her good work at the women’s hospital; however, her duty is to her father and his requests to keep him informed of anything the queen and her consorts say. When Magdalen is accused of trying to kill the queen, she is rescued by Aiden who flees with her to Edinburgh. They escape a number of times, each time fraught with peril, until they are finally safe on Aiden’s family ancestral land in a remote cabin.

Now I’m not a fan of virgin heroes, but Lord Aiden is definitely the exception to this rule for me. He’s like a deliciously Scottish Commodore Norrington (i.e. Pirates of the Caribbean) in demeanor and fighting skills. The escape scene on the ship--oh, that’s worth the read alone--I was laughing and gasping in distress, afraid they wouldn’t succeed, but in addition to being brilliant with a sword, he’s an excellent swimmer too. I loved how vividly Jarecki was able to paint the scene and the other escape scenes that followed. While the escape sequences grew a little long (not unlike that action sequence in the third Pirates movie, you know the one I’m talking about), they were well executed and intense.

Both Aiden and Magdalen are new to lovemaking, but the sex scenes were sexy and sensual. I’m usually a fan of rogues, myself, but Aiden was such a quick study, watching Aiden and Magdalen discover passion together was lovely.

This book hit all the right notes for me: swoon-worthy hero (oh, so, swoon-worthy); a sympathetic and capable heroine; intrigue and action scenes (fast paced); witty dialogue and banter; and sensual love scenes that grow the relationship. An excellent read.

Review - - The Highland Duke

The Highland Duke

By Amy Jarecki

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Release Date: March 28, 2017

Reviewed by Hellie

 

Set in the early 18th century during the first Jacobite rebellion, Amy Jarecki’s new series, Lords of the Highlands, The Highland Duke features a lord and servant type of trope with a born-and-raised wealthy chieftain lord and a poor gypsy healer. Geordie, the Duke of Gordon, is wounded in a Jacobite skirmish and Akira, the tinker-healer, saves him and then agrees to continue to treat him until he’s safe back at his Highland home for the exorbitant price of ten shillings. They are from completely different worlds, but are drawn to each other despite the obvious heartbreak headed their way should they give into their desires for each other.

On their heels is an English redcoat (think of Black Jack Randall from Outlander), and Geordie and Akira have to depend on each other to reach his home in safety. Once safely there, Geordie insists on having her escorted back home; however, by now Akira is also being hunted by the men who want to find a traitorous Highland lord part of the Jacobite rebellion--and the traitorous wench who helped the one they had escape. Capturing one such as Geordie will result in wealth, prestige, and lands for someone like the redcoat who hunts him...or even Geordie’s frenemy, the Duke of Atholl.

In addition to these complications, when the couple does admit their love for each other, getting married would be impossible. For one, a duke does not marry a impoverished gypsy, even if he has wealth enough for that aspect not to matter. Marrying a gypsy would be the equivalent of interracial marriage in the 1950s: illegal and unheard of by those with titles. In addition, the duke is divorced from his first wife and a divorce in this time period does not allow for a second marriage, while the first wife is still living.

Full of action and dark complications, The Highland Duke will likely engage readers who enjoy highlander romances and may especially enjoy one set in a time period a little different than the usual mid-1800s or post-Culloden or pre-Scottish Independence. Both characters are likeable and complex, but at times, I felt the romance seemed a bit pushed. (I myself do not like romantic interludes that happen either during or right after one has been escaping for their lives--I don’t think that is the time. However, that is my particular preference. Also as a preference, I’m not keen on the lord and servant trope simply because that kind of power-struggle and the historical/societal attitudes make it hard for me to believe they’d be overcome.) However, Jarecki does a sufficient job showing the evolution of the duke’s struggles in just these areas so one could believe for this couple, a happily ever after was the logical conclusion. And the heroine’s strength of character to not accept less than an honorable relationship is also admirable and made the character a very “rootable” character.

If you can still read books without picking apart plots or characterization* (you lucky thing), this book may rate even higher for you. Jarecki has an excellent author’s note at the end, explaining where she got the idea and what liberties she took when writing. If you don’t care about any of that, then welcome to another delicious series of heroes in kilts!

I do have to say, the final escape scene of near certain death alone makes this novel worth reading. Hilarious and action-packed. Enjoy!

*I was a history minor (junkie) in college and I annoy the crap out of my friends with historical detail that no one likes to focus on, let alone think about in regards to romance. It’s helpful in Trivia Pursuit, unhelpful when it comes to reading a lot of fiction...or conversing with most teenagers.