Series: Victorian Rebels, Book 3
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Genre: Historical Romance
Release Date: August 2, 2016
Source: Publisher
Buy it here: Amazon | B&N
They call him the Demon Highlander. The fearsome Lieutenant Colonel Liam MacKenzie is known for his superhuman strength, towering presence, and fiery passion in the heat of battle. As Laird to the MacKenzie clan, the undefeated Marquess has vanquished his foes with all rage and wrath of his barbaric Highland ancestors. But when an English governess arrives to care for his children, the master of war finds himself up against his greatest opponent…in the game of love.
Defying all expectations, Miss Philomena is no plain-faced spinster but a ravishing beauty with voluptuous curves and haughty full lips that rattle the Laird to his core. Unintimidated by her master’s raw masculinity and savage ways, the headstrong lass manages to tame not only his wild children but the beast in his soul. With each passing day, Liam grows fonder of Miss Mena―and more suspicious. What secret is she hiding behind those emerald eyes? What darkness brought her to his keep? And how can he conquer this magnificent woman’s heart…without surrendering his own?
The Highlander is a rich, emotional story that will knock your socks off! Kerrigan Byrne has delivered yet another lush, addictive romance in this third Victorian Rebels book and I loved every bit of it.
Mena has been through hell. She’s been physically and emotionally tortured, terrorized, and institutionalized by her husband, and through all that she hasn’t broken. Mena has an inner strength that I admired greatly, and when you combine that with her generous heart, it’s easy to see why she’s a heroine to root for. She’s vulnerable and in hiding from her husband when she first arrives in the Highlands and you want to see her feel safe and cherished because it’s impossible for Mena not to grab your heart. She deserves happiness, freedom, and love, and she unexpectedly finds all that in the arms of the man they call the Demon Highlander.
Liam also knows evil – he was raised by it. His violent, abusive father tried to mold him in his image, and Liam fears he’ll turn into a monster like his sire one day. It’s clear to readers – if not Liam – that even though he has only known violence, he has a protective heart. He loves his children and will fight to the death for them and Mena. Liam and Mena help each other become who they’re meant to be, and the character growth in The Highlander is wonderful. Equally engaging is the romance. The desire between Mena and Liam is palpable and the two of them have incredible chemistry. But lust doesn’t overtake the romance; the two of them actually learn about each other as they fall in love, adding a level of realism to the story. Their romance isn’t perfect because neither Mena nor Liam are cardboard perfect characters, and I loved that about this story. Instead, they have to have the courage to overcome their pasts and face the obstacles in their present in order for them and their love to survive and thrive.
The Highlander is the third book in Ms. Byrne’s Victorian Rebels series and if you start with Mena and Liam’s book, be warned that there are spoilers for The Highwayman and The Hunter. You’re also missing out if you skip the first two books in the series, because they are flat-out phenomenal. Ms. Byrne’s writing is utterly fantastic and she draws you into each story so well that you might (as I did) have to shake yourself when you stop reading in order to rejoin the real world. The only quibble I had about The Highlander was the ending felt a bit rushed. Even so, I highly recommend this book. Mena and Liam’s story is deeply emotional, incredibly compelling, and, quite simply, a must read for fans of historical romance.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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