Highlander Ever After (The MacGregors: Highland Heirs, #8) by Paula Quinn – Review

Tags

4 stars, Book Review, favorite series, historical, historical romance, Paula Quinn, Scotland, series

About Highlander Ever After by Paula Quinn

They tried to resist a marriage of convenience…
As the clan chief’s son, Adam MacGregor is duty-bound to marry a royal heir. Yet when he meets his bride—a beautiful but haughty young lass who thinks he is nothing more than a common savage—he realizes she’s more than he bargained for. But the more Adam gets to know his new wife, the more intent he is on proving her wrong about him.

But can they resist each other?
Sina de Arenberg wants nothing to do with the unsavory MacGregors, especially the fierce Highlander she now calls husband. But the more time she spends with the man she married, the more she sees his honor and courage. Just when she thinks there might be a future for her and Adam, Sina is called back to court. England isn’t the place she remembers, though, and soon she’ll be forced to choose between the life she once knew, and the Highlander who has captured her heart.

**********************

Review of Highlander Ever After

First I am going to say something that might sound critical, but it will be followed up by praise, so hang in there. There is a sameness to the Highland Heirs books. With slight twists on character backgrounds and the conflicts that arise within and without the relationship between the heroine and hero, each book in the series takes a predictable path.

So why do I keep reading this series? That is easy. Paula Quinn is a master storyteller with the ability to grab my reader’s heart and give it over to witness a new MacGregor couple in the making. Her characters are strong and bold and passionate and make me want to follow their tale to the ultimate happy conclusion. With plenty of bumps and jolts between the initial meeting of the couple and their happily ever after, the result is a can’t-put-it-down historical romance that often manages to make me tear up at least once. Sometimes more often.

This time, in Highlander Ever After, the bleary eyes came when one of the dogs endeared himself/herself to Sina or Adam (and me). I’m sure dog lovers will appreciate the beast Goliath.

I have read many of Paula Quinn’s McGregors Highland adventure/romance books, include several in the Highland Heirs series. Each and every book is full of passion and heart combined with just the right amount of adventure to make a truly great tale. Highlander Ever After is no exception.

**********************

Links

Add Highlander Ever After to your Goodreads shelf:

Pre-order Highlander Ever After (releases December 18):

 

**********************

Advertisements

Vesta’s Clockwork Companions by Juli D. Revezzo – Review

Tags

4 stars, Book Review, clockwork, historical, Juli D. Revezzo, romance, Steampunk

About Vesta’s Clockwork Companions

When Vesta Bartlett, a wealthy alchemist and inventor, arrives in England to finalize an arranged marriage and help overhaul a family friend’s outdated ironworks, she never expects to find the family so secretive, nor to develop feelings for her fiancé’s younger brother, Henry.

But the growing attraction between Vesta and Henry is just the beginning of their troubles. Things really heat up when they’re drawn into a secret project for Queen Victoria’s military, one that requires Vesta’s knowledge of clockwork and Henry’s iron.

An epidemic has wiped out all the dogs in Britain, and beyond. If the military fail in their effort to restore the species, a clockwork creation may be all that stands in the way of a world without canine companionship.

Are Vesta and Henry up to the challenge?

 

Review of Vesta’s Clockwork Companions

Vesta is a young women, trained by her father in metallurgy and alchemy. She needs more practice to develop her skills, but thanks to her very talented father, Vesta is on her way to becoming one of the best. She is not only skilled, but also quite inventive. Vesta creates clockwork pieces. She is also curious, compassionate and highly intelligent. Everything you want in a heroine.

Henry is the younger son of the Colchester family. It is obvious he has a thing for Vesta from the beginning, but she is betrothed to his older brother Percy. Henry is smart, book smart and street smart, and is the only one in the family that can make sense of the family business. Henry and Vesta share the traits of both common sense and a sense of adventure. They get along just fine if you know what I mean!

I would have liked more background on Vesta’s father, Jonathon Bartlett. There were quite a few hints about his past, but the details were not really filled in. And I think he is potentially a cool character, since he is such a talented alchemist and all round good father.

I would also like more background on the relationship between the two families – the Colchesters and the Bartletts. Yes, they knew each other before, but again, the details are vague. The Bartletts are from America and the Colchesters reside in England. More history would really add to the character development. Exactly how did Vesta and Percy come to be betrothed? It is obvious the two are not suited for each other. Considering the American culture, it does not make sense that Vesta would be forced to marry someone she not at all suited for. (Thank heavens, they all come to the same realization by the end of the book.)

Henry’s friend Acton is an interesting figure. He seems a bit of a gangster, but maybe that is a role he plays. He also seems a bit of a bleeding heart. So what, exactly, is he? Like I said, interesting. It is Acton that leads Henry and Vesta into their clockwork adventure with the upper echelon of England.

It took quite a while to get to the actual “clockwork companions” part of the story. You may call it build up. I’m not sure it was all necessary. There was a whole secondary plot line in addition to Vesta’s clockwork creations. The story of the Colchesters and their ironworks and the story of Vesta’s clockwork creations do overlap a bit, but the connections existed pretty much due to Henry. That is, he is in the Colchester family and he is involved in the clockwork aspect of the story.

The cover image for this book shows a man with a mechanical arm. Vesta is not the arm creator, nor is the man with the metal arm Vesta’s love interest Henry. The man is an incidental minor character. So the cover is a bit deceptive. Still, it is a cool cover.

I don’t know if a series is intended. Vesta’s Clockwork Companions is a standalone novel. But there is potential for more, since there is a dramatic scene near the end. There is plenty of room for character growth and there may be some conflict coming from the Queen of England. So….. I’d like to see more of Vesta and Henry and the fate of the clockwork companions.

Family matters, steampunk, national security and romance make up the tale of Vesta’s Clockwork Companions. I found this book to be sometime humorous, always engaging and entirely entertaining.

The author provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

Links

Add Vesta’s Clockwork Companions to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase Vesta’s Clockwork Companions:

King’s Highlander (Highland Wishes, #4) by Jessi Gage – Review

Tags

5 stars, Book Review, fantasy, historical, Jessi Gage, romance, series

About King’s Highlander

Danu, goddess of Wolfkind, has fallen for a mortal. Ever since fate thrust her into the body of a mortal woman, potent desires have plagued her. Surely, returning to her true form will cure her of the longing to fall into bed with the handsome King Magnus. Unfortunately, in her current state, she has no power to transform herself. Worse, she has no power to save her people from the wicked demigod intent on subjugating them.

King Magnus has waited fifty years for Seona, the human woman prophesied to become his queen and the mother of his heir. Now that he has her, she wants nothing to do with him. Until a terrible accident steals her memory. Where Seona once hated him, she now flirts with him. Where she once fled his protective custody, she now marvels at every nuance of life within his castle walls.

Magnus has been betrayed too many times to trust easily. Seona’s new behavior is suspect. But try as he might, he cannot deny his growing passion for her. Just when he begins to believe Seona will finally be his in every way, he learns a truth that rocks him to his core and puts his kingdom in peril. To save his people, he must rely on a new, fragile faith that challenges everything he thought he knew, and risk losing a love that transcends mortality.

Warning: Two pairs of “happy ever afters” are on the line in this wild ride of a fantasy romance. It is recommended that readers experience The Wolf and the Highlander (Highland Wishes, Book 2)

Review of King’s Highlander

In 2015, at an online Facebook party, I received the audiobook of The Wolf and the Highlander from author Jessi Gage in exchange for an honest review. I absolutely loved it (review here). That book was #2 in the Highland Wishes series, but the nature of the series makes book 4 more of a sequel to book 2.

I don’t often go directly to authors to ask to review a book, but I made an exception this time.  I had great expectations for King’s Highlander and I was not disappointed one bit. The situation with King Magnus and Seona took such an immediate and compelling turn that I could not put this book down.

Danu, in the body of Seona, is both goddess and mortal. Both aspects of her personality appeal to Magnus but he is in the dark about how Seona changed from hating every fiber of his being to flirting at every opportunity. Magnus is suspicious but also terribly attracted to the new Seona.

Sadly, his attempts to act on that attraction will be thwarted by an attack on his kingdom. All the children disappear overnight. To understand how terrible this is, you must realize that the Wolfkind are a dying race. They have very few females and many are past the age of child bearing. So to lose the children is a horrendous blow.

While Danu is in the body of Seona, Seona is in Danu’s body and therefore, in her prison. Put there by the demi-god Hyrk, Danu was despairing of escape. It must also be hopeless for Seona, though she does have a friend. Fae Duff promises to help her escape, but she must make a promise in return.  Because that is just the way of the Fae.

The subsequent story of Magnus going after Danu’s enemy is full of energy and action and high emotions. I would not miss this story for the world! Add the story of the children and of Seona and Duff and you have a full course dinner of passion, tensions and excitement, with an ending that brings in an unexpected blessing. King’s Highlander is such a well told story. You can read this book without reading The Wolf and the Highlander, but reading the two in order would make for a fuller experience.

The author graciously provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Links

Add King’s Highlander to your Goodreads shelf

Purchase The Wolf and the Highlander and/or King’s Highlander: