‘A Highlander for Christmas’ by Paula Quinn

STORY: A Season of Magic

As the bard of the MacGregor clan, Finlay Grant is a natural-born charmer. He can easily win the heart of any lass . . . but somehow, the right words to express his love for stunning Leslie Harrison have eluded him. Yet as Christmastide approaches, Finn knows he must find a way to propose to the raven-haired beauty who has stolen his heart.

A Battle for True Love

A furious Leslie Harrison could run her brothers through for promising her to another. But she will do anything to save her family from dishonor . . . even though in her heart she knows no other man but Finn will do. When Leslie’s betrothed makes a dastardly deal, putting her family and the MacGregor clan in danger, Finn will prove that he’s just as fierce in battle as he is sweet in song. Can these two lovers find a Christmas miracle that will grant them a happily-ever-after?

REVIEW: Finlay Grant is a mix of Beta and Alpha hero. As a famous bard of the MacGregor clan, his skill with words matches the one with weapons. Females of all ages are smitten with him and would love it if he’d make up his mind to marry one of them and take himself off the market, so long as he doesn’t pick the Lowlander that’s been hiding out with her family among them.

Leslie Harrison has tender feelings for this charming and handsome man, but he’s been forever procrastinating in declaring himself to her. She’s getting a bit frustrated with him!

And that’s where rubber meets the road, sort of! Just when Finn finds the courage to propose marriage, Leslie’s brother decides that by betrothing her to another, would save their family and their home . That’s something that neither hero nor heroine have been counting on and will have to find ways to thwart the bad guys as well as her family…

This is another little gem of a novella filled with fun, adventure and romance and I found its pace quick, characters charming and clever and the story very entertaining. Perfect for a night in.

July RR@H reviews (part 2)

It has been a sauna here in Chicago and we thought to escape the sweltering weather, so Wisconsin trip sounded so good! Once there, we discovered that even all the way up north we couldn’t escape this humidity. Regardless of the weather, we had an awesome time on our road trip. We caught up with our favorite chef Spiro of SPIRO’S restaurant; we went shopping at SHOPKO, and basically just went driving around between Michigan and Wisconsin border. I did get some reading done (in the car only) and the review of this particular book will be done soon. Now, here are the books I’ve read in July and reviewed them for RRAH.

Mary Balogh‘s  THE SECRET MISTRESS was one of those books that will stay with me forever. Once in a while we come across a story that is so good that we just can’t stop talking about it. This is such a story. You’ll love not just our hero and heroine, but you’ll fall in love with their family, their friends and their time. I whole heartedly recommend you read this prequel to the Mistress series, and if you haven’t read the other two books in the series, don’t fret. As it is  a prequel, it stands on its own and after you’re done with it, get to the other two. Our Heroine’s brothers have their own HEA in MORE THAN A MISTRESS (Duke of Tresham’s story) and NO MAN’S MISTRESS (Ferdi’s story), so please get them and read them. You’ll love these guys! Oh, and I almost forgot, but if you have the time, please stop by Kathryn’s Blog REGENCY ERA and find out her thoughts on this story.

Paula Quinn’s TAMED BY A HIGHLANDER was very entertaining story and it made me go out and get all the other books in that series. I’ve discovered that I’m not so happy reading books out-of-order. I must admit that as a story, it CAN stand alone, but I would have prefered reading the others first just so I could get the family dynamic better. That was my only regret about this story. I believe that most of you will enjoy this story that’s fast paced and full of intrigue and a lot of steam!

Caroline Fyffe’s MONTANA DAWN took me by surprise. I really didn’t expect to like this book much. I can take or leave Western Romance. This is such a sweet, sweet story that will sweep you off your feet and truly touch your heart. I’ve made sure to order the first one from this series and I’m looking forward to the rest of the HEA’s from the rest of this brood!

Melody Thomas’ THIS PERFECT KISS is the perfect romance tale. It has everything your heart desires. It has passion; it has romance; it has secrets; it has history; it has action…What else could you want?! It is a perfect story, well told by an author that’s very new to me, but I’m sure not for long. I loved her writing style and plan to read more from her.