Minor plot spoilers - but nothing that will ruin the story for anyone.The Biblio-gods must be smiling down on me because the last few books I’ve read have been “cannot put it down” fabulous. On A Highland Shore is no exception.About the story...When you’re the laird’s daughter, what you want is not as important as what is best for your people. Margaret MacDonald learns this heartbreaking lesson the hard way, when she finds her future husband in the bed of her very best friend, Fiona, and is expected to marry him anyway. Refusing to listen to those around her, including her own parents, who tell her that “for the good of her people” she must marry Lachlan despite his “lack of judgment,” Margaret tries to find ways out of the betrothal without breaking her marriage contract and shaming her family. As it turns out, that is the least of her problems and she finds herself working to reunite her family, while helping overthrow a barbaric Norseman who has begun terrorizing Scotland. Of course she can’t do it alone and finds herself having to put aside her social and cultural biases, while learning to trust a man she barely knows, yet finds herself falling in love with.My thoughts...This was my first read of Kathleen Givens’ writing and it won’t be my last. While On A Highland Shore is a romance novel, it is also so much more. Not your run of the mill fluffy historical romance novel – which I love as much as the next gal – it is a complex novel full of twists and turns, political maneuvering and treachery. I appreciate the detail Givens gave to historical accuracy, and at the end of the book she lists those events that were real and how she was able to weave them into her own story.Using these actual historical figures and events to fill out this tale, Givens takes us to a time and place of great turmoil. Years of peace have left the Highlanders complacent, vulnerable and an easy target for one greedy and power hungry Norseman who has decided that the best things in life are his for the plundering. Who cares if a few lives – or a few thousand – are lost in the process? He’s just the kind of bad guy you love to hate and by the end of the story, as far as I was concerned, there was nothing brutal enough or too heinous that could have been done to him in the pursuit of punishment or revenge.On A Highland Shore has a strong cast of characters, too many to name, but memorable all the same. In ways it reminded me of The Lord of The Rings in that everyone was willing to do their part no matter how difficult, trusting in their fellow men (and women) to also be doing their own parts as well. And because everyone did what they needed to do and trusted in each other, it all came together and worked out beautifully.Kathleen Givens took what could have been mere words on a page and breathed life into them. The characters are wonderfully developed and are all people we care about. Margaret, the eldest daughter, is such a strong, opinionated woman yet so full of love and trust. I cried at the loss of her innocence, sharing the pain she felt upon learning of the betrayal. To see her so vulnerable and so hurt is heart wrenching. She loved and trusted both Lachlan and Fiona and could never have imagined what was going on right under her nose – then to learn her mother and others knew of it... I can’t imagine what she must have felt, another level of betrayal by her mother, the woman who was supposed to love and protect her and look out for her? I can't imagine how hurt she must have felt.Though Margaret no longer wants the marriage, and knows it was for her own personal reasons – pride being one of them, she would never turn her back on her people. She understands the necessity of uniting clans for the betterment of all, but she isn't going to lie down and be Lachlan’s doormat, either. I was completely invested in her and cheered her on as she kept stating her case, exhausting every avenue available to her so as not to have to marry Lachlan.Gannon MacMagnus is the perfect hero. Strong, compassionate, honorable and committed to aiding the Highlanders in rebuilding what they had lost and ridding them of the constant threat of more attacks, he was a force to be reckoned with. Having endured much loss in his own life, he well understood the emotional pain Margaret was going through and was one of the few people who knew how to help her.Do you love a good battle, or two or three, mixed in with your romance? Then this is the story for you. The battle scenes were so well described that I could truly see, in my mind’s eye, the fighting as it played out. I could see the layout of the shore, the men defending the keep, the ruthless Vikings as they charged up the hill and the brave Highlanders who awaited them. *sigh* Again I am rambling on. The bottom line...While I wouldn’t compare this to War and Peace or The Lord of The Rings on the greatness scale, On A Highland Shore is an amazing tale of love, loss and the willingness to risk everything you have and everything you are in the fight for freedom and all you hold dear.
Simply Superb! One of My Favorites From a Favorite Author!Kathleen Givens was an award-winning author of Scottish historicals, each rich in historical detail and each a story I consider to be a "keeper."Set in 13th century Scotland, this tells the story of Margaret MacDonald and Gannon MacMagnus, who find love out of misfortune and the changes that take their lives from the paths they were to take. In both this book and its sequel, RIVALS FOR THE CROWN, Kathleen Givens does a superb job of weaving English and Scottish history into an epic romance and a tale of Scottish Highlander families swept up in the great themes of Scotland's history. I grew to love these men and women and felt like they could have easily been real people--people who experienced deep, lasting love, demanding challenges and heartrending losses. Her writing is so believable, I often found myself reading these tales late into the night. These are not formula romance books but sweeping historical novels well worth the read. You won't be disappointed. There are fewer love scenes than in some romances but the ones included are tender and well worth the wait. The sexual tension she creates fits the story well and is consistent with the characters. When I finished the two books I mourned the ending of the stories and craved more from her. She has two other 2-book series out--all Scottish historicals (THE LEGEND and THE DESTINY and KILGANNON and THE ROSE OF KILGANNON. They are all we will have of her work as she passed away in early 2010. It's a loss for all her readers. I think she was a great talent.
What do You think about On A Highland Shore (2006)?
Kathleen Givens breathes life into history & her characters, creating a moving & captivating story. Set in 13th century Scotland Margaret MacDonald is preparing to marry Lachlan Ross, (cousin to King Alexander.) When Ross betrays Margaret, she refuses to marry him and travels to England with her sister Nell and her brother Rignor to ask the King to break her betrothal contract. On returning home, Margaret finds viking raiders have destroyed her home in Somerstrath, decimated her clan & murdered her family. Gannon MacMagnus, a half-Irish, half-Norse warrior offers Margaret hope of defeating the barbarians & reuniting her clan.I couldn't turn the pages of this book fast enough; the pace was frantic but beautifully developed and I was caught up in Margaret & Gannon's developing love story. Givens weaves the story with breathtaking clarity, showing the raw beauty as well as the brutality of the time. The depictions of the viking raids are violent & graphic as is the carnage in the battle scenes. Difficult to read but it is not just violence for violence's sake. I found the Author's note referring to which of the characters and events are real, informative & an appreciated addition. Givens admits to mixing fact and fiction but hopes her "depictions are close to the spirit if not the letter of the past." This novel was pure escapism!
—Sheree
On a Highland Shore begins with a young Margaret MacDonald's palm being read - "You'll be torn from your home, and you'll face dragons. If you choose the right partner, you'll slay them together. And together find the love of legends." Margaret asks what will happen if she doesn't choose the right partner - "You'll perish". All righty then, seeing how Margaret has been betrothed to Lachlan Ross since early childhood, what kind of choice is that? Those betrothals are signed contracts that take an act of the King and mutual families to get out of. Not easy. Margaret is perfectly happy with the arrangement until her eyes are rudely opened to what kind of person Lachlan truly is. When she tries everything to get out of the betrothal. A lot of this story is centered around that and family loyalty, duty, forsaking a marriage built on love in order to achieve or maintain status, gain lands, property, family security. It's a tough one. The other part of this story is about how dangerous life was back then in in Scotland and Ireland with all the raiding going on - attacks on clans by the Vikings, Orkneymen and such.Margaret, her younger sister Nell and older brother Rignor return home to Somerstrath only to find their world turned upside down. That is when they meet Gannon MacMagnus and his younger brother Tiernan from Ireland. Gannon is wearing a torque with dragons engraved on it. Is this what the fortune teller meant by "you'll face dragons"?This is a wonderful historical romance novel that doesn't contain a ton of detail, just enough to flesh out the characters, the scenery and pull the reader into the story and the romance. A perfect weekend read.
—Lisa
This novel has been on my physical book shelf for a while. This is an extraordinarily well written book of 13th century Scotland with Vikings and the beginnings of Scotland as we know it. This book unfolds slowly but the pace is perfect in my opinion. It is more historical fiction than romance but the love interest between Margaret and Gannon is strong. Well written, Gabaldon-esque type read. Will read more by this author and hope it doesn't take me 3-4 years to get to it! Well done, lovely read of a time period that I have not really read about before.
—Ellen W-S
