by Paula Quinn
Publisher: Grand Central
Release Date: May 1, 2010
"Do you know how difficult it is to know your family exits, living their lives every day without you, without wanting you in it? I used to pray for him to come for me – him and my mother. But he never did. Later I understood why, but it did not lessen the isolation. I filled my days with dreams of being someone else. Someone not vital to the kingdom. Just me – out there, living, loving, with no fear of tomorrow. I languished over how different my life would have been if I wasn’t the daughter of the Catholic heir to the throne, until I finally hated that I was, and accepted my fate without a fight.” She turned in his arms, the shadows gone from her eyes as she looked up at him. “And then you snatched me from the ashes and stirred by dreams back to life.”
Davina Montgomery is the true firstborn daughter and the heir to the throne of the newly crowned king, but only a handful of people know she exists. Hidden away from the world when she was an infant, Davina has grown up at Saint Christopher’s Abbey. The sisters and the small group of the King’s Royal Army tasked with keeping Davina safe are the only family and friends she has ever known. Feeling deserted by her family, especially her newly crowned father, Davina dreams of a different life. One full of family, friends, and a special man who will never, EVER leave her. But the weight of responsibility seems to crush those ever precious dreams. When enemies of the crown attack the abbey, Davina doesn’t run to the chapel to pray or hide away in fear. Oh no! Instead, Davina races to the top of the bell tower and with a steady hand shoots her arrows with accuracy. As the battle turns bloody and the abbey is ablaze, a man appears in the mist of the smoke just as Davina prepares to meet her maker.
Robert MacGregor is the firstborn and heir apparent to Callum MacGregor’s title as Clan Chief of the MacGregors of Skye. Raised from birth to know the duties of a clan chief and to act as leader with the best interest of the clan foremost in his mind, Rob is a strong and determined man of honor. Riding with a small group of men to London to join his father for the coronation celebrations, Rob and his men arrive at Saint Christopher’s Abbey as the bloody battle is raging. Determined not to join in a fight that is not his or to bring any wrath upon his clan, Rob prepares to skirt by the battle but is cut off from his intentions by the searing pain of an arrow piercing through his shoulder. An arrow shot from the bell tower! Yes, the bell tower. As Rob and his men enter into what has now become their fight, Rob comes face to face with a captain in the King’s Royal Army. The captain begs Rob to save Lady Montgomery at all costs. Being the honorable man he was raised to be, Rob rides through the burning abbey and locates Lady Montgomery. He pulls her into the safety of his arms just as exhaustion and despair takes over her body.
As Rob follows the code of honor to the letter and does everything in his power to keep Davina safe from harm, emotions having nothing to do with honor bubble to the surface and test Rob in his resolve. Does the life of a woman he barely knows come before the safety of his entire clan? Every day spent in the company of lovely Davina makes answering this question all the more difficult.
And just as Rob is wrestling with emotions and the consequences of decisions made by those emotions, Davina is caught between the world she has dreamed of and the world of her royal responsibilities. Being held in the arms of a tender Highlander has awakened her dreams of wanting to be loved more than anything, but the fear of abandonment opens the doors to doubt and possibly a self-sacrificing decision.
Even though both Rob and Davina wrestle with some pretty tough decisions, this book is filled with love, laughter and of course passion. The journey to love seems to have many twists and turns, but these two navigate the obstacles fairly well and learn from the mistakes they make. The love shared between Rob and Davina is not only filled with passion (you know those Highlanders!), but an all encumbering sweetness that at times left me in tears.
He dipped his mouth to hers and carried her to the bed. “Does it please ye, Davina?”
She nodded, unable to form the words without weeping. Yes, yes, it pleased her. Oh, God, yes! Everything he did pleased her. Every button in her gown that he loosened, every tender kiss he pressed to her exposed flesh, pleased her. He saved her life and sheltered her in the safety of his capable arms. She didn’t think anything could make her love him more – until he picked flowers for her!
Yes, this strapping hunk of a highlander actually picked flowers for his bride to have in the bedroom on their wedding night. Now if that doesn’t bring a sigh to your lips, then you just can’t be a woman!
Ravished by a Highlander is the first in the Children of the Mist series. For those who loved Laird of the Mist, you will be so happy to read this new series as it focuses on the four grown children of Callum and Kate MacGregor, the hero and heroine of Laird of the Mist. And if this book is any indication of the caliber of this series, then we are all in for a wonderful treat!
~ Buffie
