Sandy M’s review of When a Laird Takes a Lady (Claimed by the Highlander, Book 2) by Rowan Keats
Historical Romance published by Signet 6 May 14
I’m always eager to try new historical authors when they take me away to the Highlands of Scotland. So it was great pleasure I began this foray into a new-to-me author’s work. The result? Come on along for the ride.
While I like the backstory of Aiden and his clan – outlaws after he’s accused of murder and stealing royal property – and his need to take care of them all, which makes him a very honorable man, there’s something missing to put him over the top to be the type of romance hero I enjoy reading. It may be his early activities from killing Isabail’s guard when he kidnaps her to his treatment of her, running from attraction to stomping off when she refuses to help him discover the man he seeks to clear his name.
Isabail also gives me some issues to get through. She does, however, have the smarts to try to escape Aiden and then realize she needs to rethink things when all doesn’t go well. Basically taking over as chatelaine within days of being in Aiden’s home gets her in trouble early on, another way for her to go head to head with Aiden. For me it takes much too long for her to put two and two together and put her faith in Aiden and his innocence.
I think the biggest bridge for me to get over is the way these two start out, there’s nothing that happens between them to account for the attraction. It just is. No fireworks, no chemistry. After bizarre happenings over the months Isabail is held captive, they still haven’t talked to one another about their “relationship,” each doing their own thing until Isabail has to finally face the truth and Aiden finally makes his most important decision.
There is the feel of the Highlands throughout the book, and I was never pulled out of the story for any reason. You feel Aiden’s anguish at not being able to protect his clan better. I just wish his and Isabail’s feelings had come through better so I enjoyed the romance more.
Grade: C
Summary:
In the Highlands of Scotland, honor and loyalty are worth more than life itself. But when a haunted woman meets a wronged warrior, love will prove more powerful than anything they have ever known.
Isabail Grant has had to be strong all her life. Over the years, she has lost everyone close to her, and now she’s seeking justice for her brother’s murder. But en route to Edinburgh to petition the king, she is kidnapped by a fierce warrior—and is shocked to find herself irresistibly drawn to her captor.
Aiden MacCurran is an outlaw. The laird of a small clan, he’s been falsely accused of killing the king’s courier and stealing the Crown’s property—and the key to clearing his name and redeeming his clan lies in Isabail’s memories. But Aiden and Isabail must first weather deceit and treachery before they can find the truth and claim the love that’s growing between them.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
