Good book. I enjoyed this story very much. I have a weakness for highlanders ( )

It always angers and saddens me when I read about what happened to the MacGregors in Scotland. In 1603, James VI proclaimed that the name MacGregor was abolished which meant anyone with that name had to change it or die. Alasdair MacGregor and sixteen of his chieftains were executed. MacGregors and anyone who sympathized or aided them were hunted down and killed. Women's faces were branded too. Charles II repealed the laws against the MacGregors in 1661 but William of Orange reinstated them in 1693. They weren't repealed again until 1774.

In this fictional story, Paula Quinn brings some of the horrors of being a MacGregor to life but gives them a champion named Callum MacGregor who puts fear into the hearts of those who persecuted his kin, namely the Campbells and the Earl of Argyll, Duncan Campbell.

Katherine Campbell was raised away from her uncle, the Earl of Argyll, in Glen Orchy because he never wanted much to do with she and her brother until she grew into a great beauty. Then her uncle had perverted interests towards her.

Her father was long dead at the hands of the Devil MacGregor according to her uncle and her mother had died giving birth to her yet Katherine lived a happy life. The two elderly warriors who had raised she and her brother had taught her to fight using a sword and other weapons and her brother had told her tales of gallant knights in King Arthur tales.

She liked her life in Glen Orchy until raiders came and almost killed her but she was saved by Callum MacGregor just to be abducted by him so that she could be traded for the life of her uncle. But she highly doubted her uncle would give his life for hers.

It was an eye opener for Katherine, who had been told horror stories about the heathen MacGregors, to see how the MacGregors were persecuted and hunted as she traveled through Scotland to the Highlands.

Luckily, this story wasn't all gloom and doom. There were a lot of lighthearted moments amongst the cast of characters. ( )

This is my first from Paula Quinn, and I'm already looking forward to reading the next. This was engaging and enjoyable. A couple small complaints, the heroine was daft sometimes, not TSTL, and she had enough redeeming qualities that I still ended up liking her, but there were definitely some facepalm moments. And several times a character's martial prowess fluctuated wildly. A great fighter with quick reflexes will suddenly be caught off guard by a punch from an opponent that just threatened to punch them, lol. Or someone without great skill somehow takes out a half dozen soldiers as if they all just stood there waiting to be cut down in turn. ? A small detail thrown in can help it seem more reasonable, like the good fighter dodging the punch but having their foot get caught on a rock or something. The end result is the same, but the execution is a little more buyable and consistent. Still, I had fun reading it, and look forward to more. ( )

This novel was like a cup of hot chocolate on a snowy night. Despite the book's being relatively short, Quinn was able to bring the characters together very well. I think that is the reason the conflict (read: noble idiocy on Callum's part) was shorter than it might have been in a longer book. I enjoyed all of the supporting characters, and, even though the mystery (if you can call it that) was pretty easy to solve, the plot remained engaging throughout the story. ( )

I kinda of started to lose focus. So many books and all that.