I loved this one!!! OMG. The conflict was fantastic & for most if the book I found myself thinking "How the heck will they work this one out?" It was a toughie!!! I abso adore Rosalin. From the start her inner strength was fabulous & I love that she had the guts to stand up to her big tough guy. Seeing Robbie in the other books, I didn't know how I would feel abt him in his book. He's always been kinda a jerk & I love Alex Seton so I didn't know. But I adore him too. Robbie is a big tough guy but the bigger they are the harder they fall holds true. Loved it & look forward to The Arrow!! My second book by her and I'm wondering if Ms McCarty can do no wrong!There is so much going on in my head about this book that I've started and restarted this review at least half a dozen times. All of a sudden I seemed to have lost my ability to put together something (anything) that truly makes sense. A review shouldn't be this difficult so I'm forgoing my usual paragraph review style and just doing bullet points.....1) Robbie--an amazing hunka burning Highlander Love. The strongest man in Scotland and completely smitten with someone he should hate. A bit too pigheaded when it came to his hatred of the English.2)Rosalin--a tad naive but in an endearing way, she quickly understood that the war between England and Scotland was not completely black and white. Her compassion for all, regardless of nationality or rank, was one of her greatest assets. She was smart and I never wanted to thwack her in the head because she did something to stupid to live.3)The rest of the Characters--extremely real and well drawn.4)Rich in history--love McCarty's additional information after the Epilogue. She lets us know where she has taken liberties and why. Her usage of real places and people in her books add much more to the story than a typical historical romance. Those pale in comparison.5)The Sensuality--I'd say through the 70% mark the sexual tension between the H/h was pretty amazing. There was one bath scene in particular that I thought was a whole lot of awesome sauce although it was not a typical sex scene as Rosalin remained fully clothed. However, once Robbie and Rosalin actually had sex they had so much of it during the last 25% of the book it no longer felt sensual but more gratuitous.6)The Forever Be Thine Enemy shtick-- it made the book feel longer than necessary to be truthful.7)Robbie's declaration of Undying Love--I would have liked to have seen him brought to his knees in a more literal way when trying to prove his love for Rosalin. As it is written, I think it's a bit lackluster.8)Rosalin's acceptance of Robbie's declaration of Undying Love--she should have let him squirm more.9)The Ending--all resolved quickly with little fanfare. How did Clifford's and Robbie's negotiations effect the war? I'm not sure they did other than to help us get our HEA.In A Nutshell: Such an enjoyable book despite some minor issues I had with it. I will 100% continue reading this series because I love me some Highlanders and Monica McCarty knows how to write amazing ones.
What do You think about The Raider (2014)?
Received an ARC from Netgalley. Review to follow closer to publication date.
—Ofir
Another exciting trip to the Highlands.Full review to follow soon.
—Dalal
