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Monday, July 5, 2010
title: To Conquer a Highlander
author: Mary Wine
genre: historical romance
published: July 2010 ARC
pages: 347
first line: Fire could be a welcome sight to a man when he'd been riding a long time and the sun had set, leaving him surrounded by darkness.
rated: 3 1/2 out of 5
In To Conquer a Highlander Shannon McBoyd, twenty something daughter of Laird McBoyd, has found out she will soon be married in her fathers attempt for an alliance.
Shannon's father raids rival Torin McLeren's land and Laird Torin has vowed vengeance. With the two clans at odds, and McBoyd about to marry his daughter off in an attempt to gain another clans alliance, Torin kidnaps Shannon in order to deter the plans. However, Torin finds out that Shannon is a bit more than he bargained for.
Shannon is smart, sassy and shows no fear.
Being raised by a cold hearted father has taught her how to be strong on the outside, no matter how scared she might really be, this comes in handy for Shannon when she is kidnapped. However, she is surprised at the decency Torin is showing her, even though she is the daughter of a hated rival. Even Torin's household staff is treating her better than she expected. When Shannon gets to sleep in a room just one floor under Torin's room, she can't help but wonder if Torin plans on taking her to bed. When he unexpectedly kisses her, Shannon finds herself wanting more.
Torin on the other hand, finds himself thinking about Shannon all the time and is feeling protective of her. He doesn't want the time to come where he has to hand her over to her father.
With the sexual tension building up, you begin to wonder when these two are going to get together.
I liked Shannon's character. She doesn't sit around waiting to be married off by her father. She doesn't want to enter into an arranged marriage that will most likely be loveless. So when her father tells her that she is to be married off, she is heartbroken.
At twenty-two, she was getting rather past the age for a first wedding. Shannon didn't lament hear years. In truth, she enjoyed being past the age of uncertainty. After her last birthday had passed and no groom sought her hand, a peace had settled over her. A sense of freedom that seemed to fill her with poise and confidence. She liked who she was and did not need a husband to feel complete.
Torin is your perfect hero, he's tall, dark and handsome and has a Scottish Brogue. What more could you want?
I also liked that Torin was patient with Shannon, and cared about her feelings.
And as per my personal preference, I was envisioning Gerard Butler yielding a sword...wearing a kilt....speaking with his hawt Scottish accent.
"I couldn't bear the thought of ye undressing without me there to enjoy it."
"But...surely there were others..."
"I want ye Shannon. It has never been my way to tumble many lasses, only to tumble the one lass who I consider mine, very often."
The love scenes do not start until about halfway through the book, but they are really steamy once you do get to them.
I enjoyed the tension between these two, Shannon trying to deny her attraction for Torin, meanwhile he teases her for blushing bright red whenever he is near.
To Conquer a Highlander is a good beach read. If you want to immerse yourself in romance, while being transported to 15th century Scotland, look no further.
This is my first time reading a book by Mary Wine and I really enjoyed it.
Special thanks to Danielle over at Sourcebooks for sending me a copy of this book.
