Series: Four Horsemen of the Highlands, #2
Tropes & Traits: Forbidden love; alpha hero; strong heroine
Genre/Setting: Historical, Medieval; Scottish Highlands; 1332
Publication Date: 08.06.20
Heat Level: 4/5
Rating: 5 stars!
After a near miss with the hangman's noose, Gregor MacLeod, better known as "the Black" MacLeod, has tasked himself with raising an army to oust the Pretender King Balliol and secure the Scottish throne for David, son of Robert the Bruce. But when men are loyal to the cause, but don't wish to fight after the latest massacre, Gregor relies on his greatest asset to recruit his army: brute strength. He ventures to various festivals throughout the Highlands, putting out word of a wager- any man he bests in single combat must pledge himself to Gregor's cause. But when the challenge is turned against him by the most beautiful woman he's ever seen, he finds himself in her service temporarily. Gregor is determined to keep his word and see his obligation through as quickly as possible and return to his true goal, but a growing connection with the lass makes things complicated.
Lady Roberta "Birdie" Morgan needs help for her clan. Their borders are being harassed by a neighboring clan and she's at her wits' end as to how to solve the problem. She needs strength to protect her people and the Black MacLeod is perfect for the task. What she doesn't expect is to care for the fierce warrior, developing a passion between them that threatens the peace she brought him to fight for. They must either deny their feelings for the sake of their people or fight for each other and risk destroying the accord they've fought to establish.
I adored this book! It took a couple chapters for me to get into it, but once I did, I couldn't put it down. This wound up having all the elements I enjoy in a romance and even though there was some angst and a lot of uncertainty for these two, I thought it was handled brilliantly. I really appreciated that the forbidden love trope was so well-executed here and not taken too far. These two had a lot of time to get to know each other off the page, but I never felt short-changed by that. Gregor was essentially the definition of a good Highlander hero. He was a strong, protective alpha, but he also had past trauma and abuse to deal with and he was not the slightest bit intimidated by a strong woman. Gregor was also surprisingly romantic and quite the dirty talker, which made him memorable and all the more likable for me. I want my own Gregor now as I spent the whole last half of the book sighing over him and how he's always downplaying himself as nothing but a brute, but here he showed great skill at diplomacy. I found that to be excellent character development. Birdie also showed great growth in her leadership skills and I think these two made a great couple.
Also, surprisingly for me, not a single one of the characters annoyed me. This was an excellent book and I can't wait for the next installment in the series.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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