Reviewer: Holly Highlander Unchained by Monica McCarty
Series: MacLeods of Skye Trilogy #3
Publication Date: September 25th 2007
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 384
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Series Rating:
Lachlan Maclean will do whatever it takes to protect his clan–even if it means abducting the most willful woman in the Highlands with the secret intention of wooing her for marriage. A born searing sensual leader possessing brute strength, and an imposing command, Lachlan is unprepared for the beautiful spitfire Flora MacLeod, who jeopardizes his plans to save his clan, and digs beneath his hard, chiseled exterior to expose a tenderness that may be his undoing.
The greatest marriage prize in the Highlands, Flora is determined at all costs to avoid her mother’s fate of being bartered away as a political pawn. Vowing to make her captor pay for his ruthlessness, she boldly engages him in a battle of wills, sweetening the challenge with dangerous passion–even as the lingering curse and deadly ghosts of a past tragedy reach out to thwart a tender love that has yet to be spoken.
From the Paperback edition.
I got this in eBook format, and didn’t bother to look at the cover. I have to say I’m rather surprised at how..hot it is. I checked out the covers for her other “Highlander” books and I’d say Monica McCarty got blessed by the cover fairies. Niiice.
I decided to pick this up after reading some great online reviews for the series, and I can’t say I’m disappointed.
Flora McCleod is regarded as the biggest marriage prize currently on the market, not only because her powerful family connections, but also because of her extreme wealth. As such, she’s been courted by all sorts of men. The problem is, she isn’t interested in any one of them, and more than that, she isn’t interested in being married off for duty’s sake alone. Her mother suffered that fate – not once, but four times – and expressed to her daughter the need to choose a husband on her own. So Flora does. Only on her way to elope, her carriage is set upon by Highland Barbarians, and Flora is taken hostage.
Lochlan is a Highland chief who’s willing to do whatever needs done in the best interest of his clan. To protect them, he needs to secure Flora’s hand in marriage. But due to a bargain he made with Flora’s cousin, he can’t just force her into the marriage. She has to come into it willingly. But wooing the Holyrood Hellion (as Flora is so aptly nicknamed) turns out to be much harder than Lochlan ever anticipated. Because though she’s willful and stubborn – and delights in pushing him as far as possible, and because as he comes to care for her, he understands her reasons for pushing him, and her need to be in control of her future – or as much as possible.
The chemistry between the two was good, and though I understood her reasons for not wanting to be forced into a marriage not of her choosing, I think Flora took her stubbornness just a bit too far. Because his brothers life is in danger, Lochlan has to do what he has to do, and I think it took Flora just a bit too long to see past her own fears and preconceptions and to recognize that even Lochlan, a Highland Chief, is bound by duty.
But in the end, though it took her awhile, Flora was finally able to move on and see that she was letting her mother’s life dictate her own, so the book was saved.
Overall, a good read. Not absolutely fall out of your seat amazing, but nice enough to spend a few hours with.
4.0 out of 5
Apparently this is the 3rd book in a trilogy (or perhaps series??), which I didn’t know when I started reading it. Isn’t that how it always is for me? The series is as follows:
Highlander Untamed
Highlander Unmasked
Highlander Unchained
I have the other two books waiting TBR, and I’m planning to read them soon. You should, too.
You can buy it here or here in ebook format.