What do you think?
Rate this book
Hearts and the Lands #1
The Heart and the Heather
Separated from his infant bride since the time of their arranged marriage, Scots Highland chieftain Malcolm Kirkpatrick is unaware that the beautiful lady he rescues during his fight against the Normans is his own wife.
374 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1994
43 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 1, 2026
Read: 1/1/26
Setting: 1263 Scotland
Trope: MOC, Revenge, second chances
This a very good hr!
plot: Sorcha has never known peace. Her demented grandfather won't rest until she's dead. The man has already murdered her father and mother. So for protection, 3 year old Sorcha was married to Malcolm. She lived in seclusion, until the night Malcolm rescued her from her grandfather. He places her under the King's protection and promises to return once he kills her grandfather. 7 years later, and Malcolm has still not returned for her. Sorcha's idealistic love has now turned to hate. She'll make him pay for abandoning her!
Malcolm has spent his whole adult life trying to fulfill the deathbed promise he made to his father. He promised that he would keep Sorcha safe. Unfortunately, her grandfather is not easily caught. The rebel has a knack for disappearing without a trace. Malcolm's tired and craves a home and family, but he must fulfill his duty. He is not happy when the King orders him away from home to attend a wedding as his representative.
On the road, Malcolm saves two women from a band of bandits and offers to escort them to the wedding. There is something about the green eyed maiden that he can't seem look away from. He soon falls madly in love with her, unaware that the beautiful lady is his own wife. When Sorcha learns his identity all hell breaks lose and she runs back home. Malcolm, on the other hand, couldn't be happier. He finally has found happiness and he's going to brace it with both hands. For once, he found something more important than duty.
Unfortunately, Sorcha's grandfather is still bent on revenge. Her grandfather has joined forces with the King of Norway to invade Scotland. The madman will have his vengeance and all of Scotland will pay in blood.
liked:
1. Sorcha was fiesty, clever, and resilient. While she had a temper, she wasn't ruled by it like other romance heroines. TG!
2. Poor Malcolm has spent his whole life trying to fulfill a deathbed promise to his father. He cares deeply, but hides it well. I love how Sorcha helps him realize that there is more to life than duty. They were wonderful together!
3. Sorcha was furious when she discovers Malcolm's true identity. Thankfully, her anger doesn't last long. She is already madly in love with him. So this lead to no TSTL moments. TG!🙏
3. The secondary characters were interesting, especially one particular viking with green eyes similar to Sorcha.
4. Loved the historical setting!.The story ends with the Battle of Largs. This was a very important battle, because it marked the end of Vikings dominance over Scotland.
5. I liked that King Alexander played matchmaker by forcing the unknowingly pair together. It was silly, but sweet.
dislike:
I can't think of anything right now
Conclusion: This was a pretty solid old school romance! Not 5 star great, but it was entertaining. I'll definitely be continuing with the series
Setting: 1263 Scotland
Trope: MOC, Revenge, second chances
This a very good hr!
plot: Sorcha has never known peace. Her demented grandfather won't rest until she's dead. The man has already murdered her father and mother. So for protection, 3 year old Sorcha was married to Malcolm. She lived in seclusion, until the night Malcolm rescued her from her grandfather. He places her under the King's protection and promises to return once he kills her grandfather. 7 years later, and Malcolm has still not returned for her. Sorcha's idealistic love has now turned to hate. She'll make him pay for abandoning her!
Malcolm has spent his whole adult life trying to fulfill the deathbed promise he made to his father. He promised that he would keep Sorcha safe. Unfortunately, her grandfather is not easily caught. The rebel has a knack for disappearing without a trace. Malcolm's tired and craves a home and family, but he must fulfill his duty. He is not happy when the King orders him away from home to attend a wedding as his representative.
On the road, Malcolm saves two women from a band of bandits and offers to escort them to the wedding. There is something about the green eyed maiden that he can't seem look away from. He soon falls madly in love with her, unaware that the beautiful lady is his own wife. When Sorcha learns his identity all hell breaks lose and she runs back home. Malcolm, on the other hand, couldn't be happier. He finally has found happiness and he's going to brace it with both hands. For once, he found something more important than duty.
Unfortunately, Sorcha's grandfather is still bent on revenge. Her grandfather has joined forces with the King of Norway to invade Scotland. The madman will have his vengeance and all of Scotland will pay in blood.
liked:
1. Sorcha was fiesty, clever, and resilient. While she had a temper, she wasn't ruled by it like other romance heroines. TG!
2. Poor Malcolm has spent his whole life trying to fulfill a deathbed promise to his father. He cares deeply, but hides it well. I love how Sorcha helps him realize that there is more to life than duty. They were wonderful together!
3. Sorcha was furious when she discovers Malcolm's true identity. Thankfully, her anger doesn't last long. She is already madly in love with him. So this lead to no TSTL moments. TG!🙏
3. The secondary characters were interesting, especially one particular viking with green eyes similar to Sorcha.
4. Loved the historical setting!.The story ends with the Battle of Largs. This was a very important battle, because it marked the end of Vikings dominance over Scotland.
5. I liked that King Alexander played matchmaker by forcing the unknowingly pair together. It was silly, but sweet.
dislike:
I can't think of anything right now
Conclusion: This was a pretty solid old school romance! Not 5 star great, but it was entertaining. I'll definitely be continuing with the series
October 17, 2023
3.75 stars. Read this for Regan Walker’s Historical Romance Review blog, Oct. is Medieval month. I read this series backwards because I owned book 3 so I started with it first. It was very good so I continued on with book 2 and bought book one. This book got off to a rather slow start and I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it much beyond a 3 star book. However, about 100 pgs in it picked up as the H/h realized who the other was. The rest was pretty good and had me turning pages. So overall not quite as good as the other two for me, but still a pretty good book. I can recommend the whole trilogy and each can be read as a stand alone. I’d start with book 1.
May 20, 2021
4.5
So surprisingly good! I was ready for this to be a badly written cheese fest but I was pleasantly surprised by the skilled writing and the depth of character in the heroine. I loved the setting and though the plot faced the usual speed-run at the end, the twists and turns had me going “WHAT”. Though it wasn’t without the melodrama 😏
So surprisingly good! I was ready for this to be a badly written cheese fest but I was pleasantly surprised by the skilled writing and the depth of character in the heroine. I loved the setting and though the plot faced the usual speed-run at the end, the twists and turns had me going “WHAT”. Though it wasn’t without the melodrama 😏
April 19, 2025
she went to my college and that's why I originally read the books but they are incredible
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews