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Ewan McCabe, the eldest, is a warrior determined to vanquish his enemy. Now, with the time ripe for battle, his men are ready and Ewan is poised to take back what is his—until a blue-eyed, raven-haired temptress is thrust upon him. Mairin may be the salvation of Ewan’s clan, but for a man who dreams only of revenge, matters of the heart are strange territory to conquer.

The illegitimate daughter of the king, Mairin possesses prized property that has made her a pawn—and wary of love. Her worst fears are realized when she is rescued from peril only to be forced into marriage by her charismatic and commanding savior, Ewan McCabe. But her attraction to her ruggedly powerful new husband makes her crave his surprisingly tender touch; her body comes alive under his sensual mastery. And as war draws near, Mairin’s strength, spirit, and passion challenge Ewan to conquer his demons—and embrace a love that means more than revenge and land.

A lot of reviewers mentioned the fact that this book reminds them greatly of earlier Julie Garwood's historicals and I agree with them. Unfortunately, because of that, I found myself making comparisons, and this book just fell short.

Ewan is a powerful highland laird, obsessed with taking revenge on a rivaling clan that killed his parents and nearly ruined his entire clan. So when he finds out that Mairin is not only an heiress, but engaged to his enemy he simply can't resist marrying her. I like him. He's not only strong, but gentle as well. He loves his son, and his actions prove it.

Mairin is a totally different story - she's willful, stubborn, highly annoying and sometimes simply stupid. (Julie Garwood's heroines have a lot of these qualities as well, but they never annoyed me, unlike this one). And I refuse to believe she failed to notice that she was shot by an arrow - how can someone not notice the pain from an arrow wound?.

The plot itself was good, I definitely didn't see the twist at the end. :-)

All in all, an OK read, but as I said it might have been a better one if I didn't compare it to the The Bride or any other Garwood historicals that I simply adore.

Rating:

2.5 - 3 stars