Veena’s review of To Love A Highlander (Scandalous Scots, Book 1) by Sue-Ellen Welfonder
Historical Romance published by Hatchette Books 29 Apr 2014
This book starts of with an intriguing back story of a handsome Highland laird who impregnates four of the king’s mistresses at the same time and is exiled from court for his lusty efforts. Four abandoned children are raised together in Stirling Castle’s kitchens, of which Sorley the Hawk is one. As a reader I naturally jumped to the assumption that they are half siblings born from these four pregnancies, but until the very end there is no indication of such. This is Sorley’s story, and each of the other three are slated to get their own books in the future, so we’ll wait for the big reveal. Sorley has transformed himself from a poor abandoned bastard into a knight and a warrior of the secret king’s guard known as the Fenris. His claim to fame, however, is his attraction to the ladies at the court. It is this ladies’ man that Mirabelle MacLaren seeks when she beards him in his bedroom with her outrageous proposal….
Mirabelle is a Highland lass born and bred with the courage and freedom that comes with that. She is quite distressed that her father is viewing a loathsome man at court as a possible suitor, and since father knows best and doesn’t want his daughter’s opinion, there’s no help but to get herself taken out of the running by having a very public affair with a renowned ladies’ man whom she herself finds very attractive. So she approaches him with a proposal for him to ruin her.
Sorley himself is a self-confident man, well liked at court and amongst his peers and fellow guardsmen. He’s always had a soft corner for Mirabelle, even if her snub at the tender age of fourteen still rankles in the back of his mind. He enjoys his light flirtation with her as they skirt around the issue of physical intimacy, never realizing that he’s actually already emotionally involved much deeper than any of his meaningless flirts with other ladies.
The villain is watching all of this as he’s intended to, but then he steps out of character and kidnaps her, which is unexpected. Sorley will have to ride to the rescue and bring his princess home, so he can enjoy a happily ever after. I find the story sweet but nothing remarkable. The ghost is a nice touch, but it doesn’t really add anything to the story. I do not like the fact that Archie MacNab has no qualms about abandoning his children and going on to find happiness with a second family. It’s sad that he had to lose his wife and children before he decided to seek out his abandoned children, and I don’t blame Sorley for being angry with him for that. There is no mention about the three other children or even that they might be Sorley’s friends that he grew up with. We’ll have to wait and see.
Grade: C
Summary:
A TEMPTING PROPOSITION
As one of the bastards born to the Stirling court, Sorley the Hawk has never known his mother or father. It’s a burning quest he has devoted himself to uncovering at any cost. But as a roguish warrior who serves at the pleasure of the King, his prowess-both on the battlefield and in his bedchamber-is legendary. So when a flame-haired Highland lass sneaks into his quarters with a tantalizing proposition, he can’t resist taking her up on her offer . . .
AN UNQUENCHABLE DESIRE
Lady Mirabelle MacLaren will do anything to keep from marrying her odious suitor, even sully her own good name. And who better to despoil her than his sworn enemy, the one they call “Hawk?” As they set about the enjoyable task of ruining her reputation, Hawk and Mirabelle soon learn that rebellion never tasted so sweet.
No Excerpt Available.
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