Right up front - let's agree on the facts. I received an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) of both of these books in exchange for an honest review. And I've always been up front that I won't sugar coat things, and I won't agree to a minimum number of stars for a book. If you wrote a 1 star book, I'm going to give it a 1 star rating. Reviews are subjective, and personal to each individual reviewer. 

I had a hard time buying the premise of this book. First of all, this involves kidnapping. While the heroine acknowledges that she's been kidnapped, it's otherwise fairly well glossed over. And sure, maybe it was for a good cause - the man's nephew appears to be dying, after all. 

And yet... I enjoyed the book. I like spirited, fiesty Grace. I liked her for leaving behind a life of wealth and privilege in England. I further liked her for recognizing her own worth. I enjoyed getting to know Kier, although he was a bit watered down. It was almost as if, in humanizing him, he just became someone other than who he was meant to be. I don't actually know how to explain it. 

There's quite a bit of foreshadowing involved, and the bad guy is obvious from the first mention of his name. Despite the obviousness, the situation wasn't easily resolved, which I enjoyed. I like to see people actually fight for their Happily Ever After. 

I've not previously read anything by Heather McCollum, but I'm tempted to go back and read the others. I would definitely recommend this one. 

French & English reviews

Une romance sympa dans les Highlands que j'ai lu avec plaisir =)

Grace était un personnage que je n'avais pas beaucoup aimé dans le premier livre mais elle était beaucoup plus intéressante dans ce tome-là !! Et j'ai beaucoup aimé sa romance avec Keir ainsi que tout le drama avec le frère fou, la sœur orgueilleuse etc.

Un seul défaut : l'invraisemblance historique de la romance ><
Grace se comporte vraiment comme une femme moderne et libérée et PAS DU TOUT comme une femme du XVIème siècle ... Dans AUCUNE romance historique, une femme vierge et célibataire ne prend l'initiative de s'envoyer en l'air avec un inconnu dans une cabine au milieu de nulle part sans avoir d'assurance sur son avenir ...

Bref, une romance légère qui se lit facilement =)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A nice romance in the Highlands that I read with pleasure =)

Grace was a character that I didn't like much in the first book but she was much more interesting in this book !! And I really liked her romance with Keir as well as the whole drama with the crazy brother, the proud sister etc.

One flaw : the historical improbability of the romance ><
Grace truly behaves like a modern and liberated woman and NOT AT ALL like a 16th century woman ... NEVER in an historical romance, a virgin and single woman takes the initiative to have sex with a stranger in a cabin in the middle of nowhere with no assurance for her future ...

In short, a light romance that is easy to read =)

This book made me uncomfortable. The “dirty” talking was so creepy. Honestly I had to start skipping that because it made me nauseous.

The characters were ridiculous in this book. I can’t remember but I think I enjoyed the last couple books so I was surprised by how much I disliked this book.

Best book of the 4, imo

This was a really quick read, but one that I enjoyed a lot. When I found out that it was actually the fourth book in a series, I was a little worried that I wouldn't quite get everything going on because I hadn't read the first three. Fortunately, that wasn't the case. While I'm sure that it would have put some of the characters into better context, it did not affect the story for me at all. It was still fun, funny, and very entertaining. Both the characters and the world building were believable and well developed making it easy to get into the story.

I liked Keir. Because he was born the second son, his whole childhood and life he has been raised and trained to be nothing more than the vicious Devil of Dunakin Castle. His name alone instills fear in people. But that is not who he really is. While Keir is definitely a brutal warrior and fierce defender, he also has a solid heart that cares for others. It's not easy, but with the help of his only friend Keir manages to keep this facade up (and increase his evil reputation) while also helping those who he encounters. His current order is to retrieve a healer for his dying nephew.

Grace was great. I liked her personality and how she acted. Raised as an English noblewoman, she left England to make a new life in Scotland. A decision she will never regret because she never enjoyed her life in England but is loving it now. She's been learning how to be a healer, and while maybe not the best, she's actually pretty good at it. Now she's on her way to help a friend deliver her baby.

These two meet in the middle of a blizzard when Grace stumbles upon a wolf den and Keir comes to her rescue. Keir and his horse are injured during the fight so Grace feels responsible to see to their healing. Taking cover from the storm in a nearby abandoned cabin, Grace does whatever she can to help the unconscious Keir get better. It's days before he wakes up. When he finally does, he can actually be himself for a time because Grace has no idea who he is. Their interactions were great, and it was sweet to see them get closer. Keir knows that Grace is on her way to help another, but he never intends to let her go. Grace was even giving thought to going with him to help when she figures this out and naturally feels betrayed.

On the way to the castle, Grace finally sees the Devil that Keir had told her he was and she hates it. But she also sees thru it. She fights herself a lot over her growing feelings for Keir and how she should hate him for kidnapping her. Keir fights his feelings for Grace as well because he doesn't want to have a son who will inherit this title, but he also doesn't believe he deserves the happiness. When they get to the castle, Grace is quickly able to figure out what is wrong with Keir's nephew. And now it's the Devil's job to flush out the traitor.

I liked the ending and how everything went down. How Grace freed Keir of his burden was a little corny but it worked. And now they both have found the one they want to be with and Keir doesn't have to be a Devil anymore.

I enjoyed this book enough that I would love to check out the first ones in this series some day, and no doubt any that might come after.


ARC provided by publisher via Netgalley.

The book begins with a blizzard to bring together our two main characters. I enjoyed the circumstances in which grace needs saving and in turn has to tend to her wounded warrior. Soon after that, it turns into a lustful tryst where the characters act like modern day people who happen to live in the 16th century. I was glad this portion was short lived as I enjoyed the dialogue between Grace and Keir. It was a mix of honest moments and witty banter that played well into overall story.

I found Grace to be too wanton for a maiden of those times. She’s inexperienced and grew up in a proper English household and yet she begs to be taken by a mere stranger (whom she’s known all of a week- most of which he was unconscious for). In all of the romantic scenes I found her character to be too much. I think the purpose was to show her as a progressive, independent young lady. She came across that way in other scenes just fine, but I felt these particular scenes weren’t in keeping with the era.

Keir was a great hero. Outwardly he is big and brawny, striking fear into all those around him. But Grace gets to see his heart and knows that “the devil” he’s made himself appear is really an act.

The plot is heavily centered around Grace and Keir falling for each other, but there are also moments of suspense and intrigue as well that help move the story along.

I’d be remiss not to mention Brodie, Keir’s cousin, second in command, and friend. He brings in a great balance of comedy and truth and I wouldn’t mind seeing him get his own book in this series.

I liked that this book could be read as a stand-alone, but think reading the previous books may give a greater enjoyment when some of the minor characters are mentioned.

I received this book from net galley for an honest review. Thank you.
This is a new to me author and series, this was a really fun read. I enjoyed the characters and the situations they found themselves in.
Will definitely be reading more of this Author.