Review: Never Love a Highlander by Maya Banks

Posted December 21, 2011 by Holly in Reviews | 3 Comments

Review: Never Love a Highlander by Maya BanksReviewer: Holly
Never Love a Highlander by Maya Banks
Series: McCabe Trilogy #3
Also in this series: In Bed with a Highlander, In Bed with a Highlander, Seduction of a Highland Lass, In Bed with a Highlander (McCabe Trilogy, #1), Seduction of a Highland Lass (McCabe Trilogy, #2), Never Love a Highlander (McCabe Trilogy, #3)
Publisher: Ballantine
Publication Date: October 25, 2011
Point-of-View: Third Person
Genres: Historical Romance
Pages: 305
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four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

In a tale of strong ties and true love, Maya Banks' trilogy comes to its conclusion, as the youngest McCabe brother uses sword and seduction to save his clan - and seal his heart.

Caelen McCabe’s young, reckless heart nearly destroyed his clan. Now, putting family loyalty above all else, he steps up to marry his older brother’s jilted bride and salvage the uneasy alliance between two clans. While beautiful Rionna McDonald is a fit wife for any man, Caelen trusts no woman, especially not this sweet temptress who torments him with white-hot longing.

As the sacrificial lamb in her father’s power game, Rionna will do her duty but vows to protect her heart and her pride from humiliation. Despite everything, though, the heat in Caelen’s touch melts her defenses, and she craves the sensual delights of a husband who guards his emotions as fiercely as his clan. But when the ultimate battle for the McCabe legacy is upon them, Rionna’s true warrior spirit emerges. She will risk the wrath of her father, the fury of her enemies, and her life to prove to Caelen that his wife’s love is too precious to lose.

We met Rionna in the first novel and she played a large part in the second novel. While I think it can stand alone, I would suggest reading the entire trilogy in order.

My heart really hurt for Rionna. She just wanted to be accepted for who she was. It was hard watching her and Caelen find their way with each other. Especially since Caelen was such a man. He would say and do things without realizing the impact he was having on her. It wasn’t that he was cruel, he just didn’t think. That almost made it worse, because his intentions were good. Had he taken the time to explain himself, a lot of heartbreak could have been avoided.

Once Caelen realized how hurt Rionna was, he made a real effort to temper his words and understand her. This is the reason I loved him. Despite his man-like tendencies in the beginning, it wasn’t long before he thought of himself and Rionna as a team. Despite his penis-driven stupidity, I really liked his character. He was a man’s man, but he wasn’t afraid to show his softer side. Is there anything sexier than a man willing to be soft with his woman?

While I enjoyed the story, I did think it was bogged down with too much “Scottish” dialect. Every other sentence started with ‘Tis or ‘Twas. Over time I found myself focusing on that more than on the story. Oddly enough, I didn’t notice this in the first two novels.

I also found the ending to be a little bit cheesy and over the top. Sweet, to be sure, but..maybe a bit too much for the story.

Having said that, I did enjoy the novel. Both characters were interesting and the plot was engaging. It really tugged at my heartstrings.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

McCabe Trilogy

four-stars


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3 responses to “Review: Never Love a Highlander by Maya Banks

  1. I didn’t love love the first book, but I did the second. I’m hoping to love book three. What do you think? Is it a keeper like Garwood?

  2. @Scooper – no, I wouldn’t say it’s as good as Garwood. I wasn’t left with the same warm fuzzy when it was through. Although I enjoyed it, I don’t think I’ll still be re-reading it in 15 years.

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