No, it wasn't perfect (few things are), but I did enjoy it 5 stars worth. Definitely preferred this to the predecessor although I did enjoy that one as well. IMHO, the heroine in the first novel was nothing compared to this heroine.The odd thing is that this had a few elements that I'm not particularly fond of in a romance and McCarty completely made it work for me.*** SOME SPOILERS BELOW ***I like the virgin heroine trope. It's not a moral judgement at all. I think it's mostly because I enjoy the wakening of sexuality part and because there's a certain implied vulnerability factor. For someone who loves vengeful heroes and/or heroes with ulterior motives the virginity factor fits in perfectly. However, McCarty was able to make the heroine even MORE vulnerable due to her experience without using a previous rape/sexual trauma, as is often done in these cases.The heroine (who I loved) was seduced and lost her virginity to a man who wanted her for her dowry and she finds this out in a heartbreaking scene. The heroine was someone who struggled with a stutter and was shy because of it. By all accounts she was pretty, but not the kind of flashy traffic-stopping beauty that some heroine's are. Combine that with a stutter, shyness and a very powerful and over-protective family and you get someone with a limited amount of suitors and little self-esteem where men/relationships are concerned. After what happened with her POS of a former fiance, she is terrified of relationships and also afraid no one will want her once they find out she has been "ruined" - sadly a real possibility in those days/times.The hero (who was just yummy) instantly found her beautiful, however. There was so much chemistry between the two. Even though he had ulterior motives in seeking her hand it was clear from the prologue that he was drawn to her in a way that he'd never been drawn to a woman before.I knew the big reveal where the heroine realizes she has been deceived had the potential for a great scene if you like those sorts of story lines and I was not disappointed. I could feel her pain and the hero's remorse.Also, again, as in the previous book I give kudos to McCarty for addressing the gritty, sometimes downright brutal reality of those times. The actions of the heroine's cousin and older brother (mentioned in the first book) are hard to swallow and I'm not sure the cousin will ever get a comeuppance. There do seem to be shades of gray with him though. I still have hope for the brother, Colin's reckoning. He has no redeeming qualities that I can see. But, I think he does love the heroine in his own way and she loves him. So, still dealing with shades of gray and a time where men did horrible things and not only got away with it, but they were often considered heroes because of it. Looking forward to book 3. ETA: Audio Review - Roger Hampton is one of the few male narrators in romance that I can tolerate. Most men make the heroine sound like a linebacker in drag (YMMV). I think he does an exceptionally good job of doing the female voices. It has to be be hard to voice another sex. Not sure of the accuracy of the accents, but sounds good to me. The heroes sound bone-meltingly sexy. So, I loved the two main characters, Patrick and Lizzie. I loved their presonalities, their morals, and how they 'looked'. I liked the idea of this plot, his land has been taken from him, his laird killed leaving him as laird. his brother insane with jealousy, her brothers tough and angry. Their two clans warring. It was like romeo & Juliet meets cinerella and the frog, sort of.But for some reason I couldn't get into the story. Don't get me wrong, I liked it overall, but for some reason I had to skip around in order to finish it, and at the end I didn't feel like I missed anything. Think of that what you will, but Idk :s
What do You think about Highland Outlaw (2009)?
So, I loved the two main characters, Patrick and Lizzie. I loved their presonalities, their morals, and how they 'looked'. I liked the idea of this plot, his land has been taken from him, his laird killed leaving him as laird. his brother insane with jealousy, her brothers tough and angry. Their two clans warring. It was like romeo & Juliet meets cinerella and the frog, sort of.But for some reason I couldn't get into the story. Don't get me wrong, I liked it overall, but for some reason I had to skip around in order to finish it, and at the end I didn't feel like I missed anything. Think of that what you will, but Idk :s
—manu8888
3.5 stars. Mostly because the story's a bit heavy to me and didn't bring closure that I expected. I liked Patrick solely to his protectiveness. He knew that the plan's going to hurt Lizzie in the end and he tried to push his feeling. I liked him for that. But overall, I didn't feel the joy I felt when I read the previous book. Maybe because the author's vivid details about MacGregor past kind of distract me so I want to taste their 'revenge' instead of focusing to the romance. Can't wait to read Duncan's story.
—trent
