On a Highland Shore by Kathleen Givens

1263: On Scotland’s western shore, the village of Somerstrath prepares for the joyous wedding of Margaret MacDonald, the laird’s daughter. But a dark storm of bloodshed and betrayal is closing in, as a merciless band of Vikings roams the seas. Margaret is determined to hold her clan together and to locate her abducted younger brother. Can she trust the noblemen from King Alexander’s court, who insist that only by adhering to a betrothal conceived for political gain will she find safety? Or should she trust an imposing half-Irish, half-Norse warrior? Gannon MacMagnus alone offers her hope of reuniting her family and vanquishing the barbarous Norsemen. In whom should Margaret entrust the fate of the rugged, magnificent land she calls home?

Because of my recent obsession with historicals (thank you, Jo Goodman), it didn’t take much for me to buy this book after reading this post by the lovely Pamela Clare. I am so glad I did b/c this is one of the best books that I read this year.

Lady Margaret MacDonald has grown up knowing that she was to one day marry her childhood friend, Lachlan Ross. Believing that she’s going to have a wonderful marriage, to say she was shocked after finding him in bed with another woman is somewhat of an understatement. Furious at the betrayal, Margaret beseeches her father to break the betrothal contract. She is heartbroken when he tells her that she will either marry Lachlan or join the order. Giving her a few weeks to think it over, Margaret’s father sends her and two of her siblings off to check on some of their tenants.

What happened next was absolutely horrific. What made it even worse is that Givens did such a fantastic (or not, depending on how you look at it) job of giving the reader a sense of Margaret’s family. She had several younger siblings who were quite adorable, a mother that was pregnant, a father who loved her yet was firm in his duty to Scotland. When Margaret, her older brother, and younger sister return home, they find carnage. There’s no other way to really describe it. Everyone was dead. No one was spared in what they learn was a vicious Viking attack. Women and children alike were slain. Some children were actually taken by the Vikings, including Margaret’s eight year old brother. Men were unable to protect their families. It was chilling.

With the assistance of Gannon MacGannon and his powerful uncle, the Laird of Ulster, Margaret and her remaining siblings are taken to safety. It is there that Margaret and Gannon give into their powerful attraction. Knowing that it’s forbidden, they find themselves unable to stay away from each other. Knowing that Margaret still must marry Lachlan, Gannon still can’t stay away from her.

The romance really added to the story rather than the other way around. This book is about a woman who lost everything in the worst way imaginable. This book is about good defeating evil and that love can really help heal anything. The love story of Gannon and Margaret is not one I will soon forget. The way they got there is something that makes it even more powerful.

I have another author whose backlist I must hunt down.

5 out of 5.