The Warrior Laird

Highlander Brothers #1

by Margo Maguire

Haunted by horrors of his childhood, Dugan MacMillan has sworn to protect his clan at any cost … even if he must search for a rumored treasure and kidnap a beautiful thief to do it.

The MacMillan laird has never crossed paths with anyone quite like Lady Maura Duncanson. After he saved her from certain death, the comely vixen had the audacity to disappear with his treasure map, his only key to restoring his clan. Dugan has no qualms about taking Maura hostage, especially when he learns she is to wed a wealthy old baron who will pay him a fortune in ransom… a fortune his people desperately need.

But, of couse, Maura has no intention of returning to her despicable fiancé. And the longer Dugan spends in the bewitching hellion's presence, the less willing he is to surrender her to an man … at any price.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Medieval, Historical Fiction, Scotland, Adult

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 31, 2012

About the author

As a nice, sane break from the drama and fast pace of working as a registered nurse in an intensive care unit, Margo Maguire returned to college to study history, and fell in love. Writing about the historical characters she encountered in her classes was a good way to unwind from a crazy day in the unit. She soon started creating her own fictional characters and putting them into historical settings.

Margo is the author of twenty historical romance novels. Her books have been published in numerous languages, and have even come out in Japan as manga—animated books. She is the mother of three grown children and lives with her scientist husband in southern Michigan.

Reviews

[Scooper Speaks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorite Lines: "You are a beautiful lady who deserves a man of means who will take you to wife. Not a rogue who lost his head for a moment here in the moonlight. And so I do apologize, though I will ever regret the experience." (p. 37, egalley)

If you enjoy classic Scottish romance novels The Warrior Laird is the book for you. It takes a damsel determined to save herself and her little sister and pairs her with a laird who is just as determined to save his clan. The two battle their attraction for one another while on a treasure hunt which takes them across Scotland.

Maura comes from a vindictive family which wants to forget she ever existed. Her family is greedy though and offers her in marriage to a dirty old man. Dugan is the head of a clan which was demolished by Maura's family. He just wants enough money to buy the land his clan is currently renting. His clan's needs must come before his personal desires, just as Maura places her baby sister's needs before her own wants.

The Warrior Laird is a slow burning romance with a dose of lust thrown in. It isn't an instant jump into bed book, or I saw you across the room and knew I loved you story. Sure there's instant attraction/curiosity between the hero and heroine, but there is no unbelievable interaction early on in the book to turn me off. It's a good book for one of those days when you're craving a historical romance set in Scotland.

[Naaytaashreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Ach, sweet Maura. You are so very beautiful. Do not hide from me."

I JUST LOVE ROMANCE SET AROUND SCOTLAND.
Didn't realise how much I will enjoy this until I read it.

The plotline is so good. It builds up fast. A balance between romance and adventure of finding the treasure.
There wasn't much side character involvement directly.
The steamy romance was wow. Shock me for a moment but I love the relationship between the characters. It's not really rush but still not yet too slow.
I think throughout the romance, I smile like a crazy person while reading the book!

I am in love with Dugan. He can be a softie and a alpha male at the same time.

"You are a beautiful lady who deserves a man of means who will take you to wife. Not a rogue who lost his head for a moment here in the moonlight. And so I do apologize, though I will ever regret the experience."

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful Highland Romance!

The story of two people drawn together by fate, both searching for a treasure and both needing it to protect those they love.

Maura Ducanson is running from an unwanted marriage to a Baron , who is fifty years her senior and in search of her younger sister exiled by her father to the northern highlands.

Laird Dugan MacMillan , is a man who will do everything he can to protect his clan and at this point in time protecting his Clan means coming up with a large sum of money to pay Lord Argyll the clans rents even if that means searching for a buried treasure.

Maura's actions in escaping her fathers men sets Dugan on her trail and when he catches her , Maura becomes yet another means by which to secure his clans safety and land . Dugan captures Maura and decides to ransom her to the baron for the money he needs to pay Argyll . Maura and Dugan though both become caught up in the hunt for the French treasure but every danger and crisis in their journey brings the to of the closer together and makes it harder and harder for Dugan to consider going through with the ransom trade.

I really enjoyed this book , it kept my attention with the story line and th characters were endearing .

[Sandi *~The Pirate Wench~* · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Setting:1717 Scotland

The story starts out with Laird Dugan MacMillan receiving a devastating demand: pay the Duke of Argyll 3,000 pounds,or his entire clan will be evicted. The only way to pay this demand to Argyll is to find a hidden cache of gold. Since he inherited part of a treasure map and knows where the another part can be obtained,Dugan sets out to claim that and the fortune. Enter Lady Maura Duncanson,exiled by her father,she is then summoned by him to wed a ruthless Lord. No one knows she has the other half of the map fragment. She and Dugan join forces and are one step ahead of her fiance and the ruthless Argyll. Maura and Ducan come to appreciate each other and fall in love. However..there is much for them to overcome before they can find peace and true happiness.
This was a very emotionally moving book,replete with adventure,passion and two characters that quickly grab the readers heartstrings. Not just another"fluffy" historical romance and a first read for me by this author which I enjoyed and will check out her other books.

Steam factor..I didnt have to get the fan out,but Id say about a 4.

[ᑭᑌᑎƳᗩ [Punya Reviews...] · Rating 3 out of 5]

My review contains spoilers and they're mostly my thoughts as I went with the book...

The Warrior Laird is my first book by Margo Maguire. While I did love the author’s writing and the historical aspects, the rush of fortune hunting and Highlands, overall, somehow, I didn’t find the book excellent. MM can write without a doubt, but I had trouble with the characters. Both Logan and Maura were too confused over what to do with each-other throughout the story. Also, there was repetition of information all over the book which bugged me too much.

I was really saddened by the opening scene of the book, reading how Dugan lost his father, the Laird of Maclain and his eldest brother, at a very young age, by the hands of the Duke of Argyll’s men. These men were Campbells and supposedly, the orders came from one Major Duncanson. The killing was done under trust, which means, killing/attacking the host while accepting his hospitality. Dugan, his mother, younger brothers Robert and Lachann, along with an infant sister, Alexandra fled somehow. But, Dugan’s pregnant mother died of cold and hunger on the way to their maternal grandfather’s keep, to the MacMillans. After they reached, Dugan and his siblings lived with their grandfather. In time, Dugan, being the eldest, became the laird as his grandfather had no other heir to pass on the title. Now, as Dugan knows how painful it is to lose his family and members of his clan, he’d save his new home, Braemore, the land of the MacMillans now matter what. I, at first, welcomed his devotion to his land but when this came to play in his relationship with Maura, it became a bit unbearable for me. I’ll explain that later. So, Dugan’s life revolves mostly around his clan. He’s fought in a war or two and doesn’t really want his family or his clan to fall under the swords every again. Robert has already married and has kids of his own. We meet neither Robert nor Alexandra in this book, but only by mention. Now, after 17 yrs. of Glencoe massacre, Argyll sends Dugan to pay up his rent with a really exorbitant price. Dugan is very worried about how to pay up. He doesn’t have a lot of time. No cattle raid could bring him this huge amount so he thinks up something; very farfetched but a solution nonetheless. He would look for the French gold his grandfather always talked about. About two years ago, the French helped the Highlands in their ‘rebellion’. Before the French left, they hid a big stash of gold somewhere in the Highlands. The history of how Dugan’s grandfather came by the information was somewhat vague but apparently, some French soldier gave him a part of a map, that had been torn neatly into 4 pieces, which are now scattered. Dugan decides to look for the pieces of maps since there have been rumors of another piece are whirling around. Lachann doesn’t like this idea at all, of course, because it’s so unbelievable. There’s no telling what would happen but that this search would go all but in vain. I thought Lachann was very practical, even if a bit grouchy. He was called as the one with the ‘auld eye’, the one with the better instincts. Anyway, despite Lachann’s obvious displeasure, they set out to find the other piece of the map. Dugan knows that otherwise, there would be war. His hands are tied either way so whatever it takes to help his clan.

I was pretty baffled reading about Maura’s family. It seems like parents (especially the men) chose to love siblings or discard them as they will! WOW, but that was horrible even to read about. Maura has 14 siblings in total but she’s the one just before the youngest sibling came. Her father, a Duncanson, it seems like has the heart of a granite. Her mother never says or does anything to displease him. So when her youngest sibling, a sister, Rosie was born with physical defect, Laird Aucharnie, ordered to leave the child somewhere so that it dies. Maura, of course, couldn’t let it happen. Even though she was barely a teen herself, she save her little sister and somehow made sure that she’s well taken care of by a woman in the village with whom Maura had good relationship. I don’t know how she did that for at least 10 long years, seeing how young she herself was to begin with but she did it, until her father found out that his unwanted (and a source for their ‘embarrassment’) youngest child didn’t die. Maura fell out of favor with her father for defying his orders. He then sends her away to one of his friends, Lord Ilay’s home ‘to learn ladylike behavior’. Rosie was taken away in a remote area of the Highlands, with only a horrible nurse to take care of her. It’s been 2 yrs since Maura has been in Ilay’s house. She tried once or twice to run away, her only concern to save her youngest sister. But, she failed. Today, she has another plan. Her father has recently betrothed her with an old man known for bad habits, Baron Kildary. Aucharnie’s man, Baird will arrive to take her to the Baron. Maura plans to escape as soon as she gets the chance. Because she needs gold to travel up to the place where Rosie is, Maura sneaks in to steal some gold from Ilay’s study and sort of accidentally finds a piece of a map. She thinks this might help her in her quest so she takes the map as well. Maura’s plans, too, were a little more than farfetched. I rolled my eyes more than once seeing how confident she was that she WILL get to her sister, even though she was all alone, the place was in the farthest corner of the Highlands where she’s never been before. She practically has NO idea where her sister is but she’s confident she’ll save her! Huh?? Highlands isn’t a place one can just travel for fun, and the medieval Highlands was worse. So, I knew from the moment she formulated her plan that she’s going to annoy me throughout, and she did.

Now, Baird, the odd villain of this story, certainly did steal the show for me. At first, I thought he was another of those greedy soldiers who lusted after the Lord’s unwanted daughter and when spurned by her, has been plotting revenge ever since. It seems like his father, a very important General, has given him to Aucharnie for training. Baird hoped that he’ll be promoted soon enough. But that never happened. Baird is ambitious and frustrated with having to nurse the bratty daughter of his Lord. He wants Maura but only as the part of his revenge. He plain hates her. Throughout the journey, he plans to rape and stage Maura’s killing more than once. Yes, he was a hateful character, until something happened along the way...

Maura first meets Dugan on the way to baron Kildary’s. Dugan was with his men and Lachann, and saves Maura from an enraged ram. Later she sees him again in an inn where she was going to spend the night. She flirts with Dugan, in hopes that he might help her escape. Dugan, at first, thinks of her as one of the nobleman’s wife. When he sees Baird, he even thinks her as Baird’s wife and once, thought of having a short fling but discards the notion later on. Nevertheless, he has been in lust with her from the moment he saved her and now, it’s taking a toll on him. Apparently, he’s always hard when she’s around. I liked it that Dugan doesn’t sleep around to ‘take the edge off of him’ and stays true to Maura throughout the story. At night, when Maura goes out to have a look at the inn to smoothen up her escape plan, Dugan follows her. He was studying the pieces of the map (he found and bought the other piece from another man) with Lachann. Maura, beforehand, eavesdropped and heard Dugan’s men talking about a map and became instantly suspicious. She already thought this map she had held some importance because it belonged to Argyll himself, who is related to Maura. When Dugan follows her out, they talk and kiss. Soon, as Dugan and his men fall asleep, Maura slips out again, finds the map in Dugan’s bag. Somehow she knows it’s the same map as hers. Since she’s heard the word gold, a plan has been formulating in her head. What if she can look for the gold and unearth it herself? Then she can take Rosie out of the Highlands and somewhere their father can never find them. She wouldn’t have to marry that old man, who would never let her keep Rosie. Huh woman, are you sane? This bugged me a lot that she just *thought* she can search for the gold, find and dig it out … all by herself. That says something, doesn’t it? Yah, definitely TSTL. So, Maura steals the maps and runs.

At daytime, Dugan finds out that both his maps and Lady Maura has escaped. Note that he still doesn’t know that Maura is the kin to his greatest enemies. But he’s incensed anyway and plans to find her out. Meanwhile, Baird is also incensed and because of some misunderstandings, he sets out in the wrong direction, thinking Maura would try to go back to her father’s home. We get to see how Baird’s mind works throughout the story because the author kept us giving glimpses. The man definitely had some psychological problems. He was always hearing his father’s set-downs about how he’s nothing but a disappointment. He would talk to himself and deny his father’s accusations. And he was mad at Maura for making him aware of his own shortcomings; one definitely was his non-existent good looks. But there were more to this...

As she was fleeing, Maura comes across the hovel of an old witch named Sorcha, who invites her in. I have to mention that the environment of paranormal was done really good. It was there all over the story, making its presence known in the oddest of times. Sorcha is blind but can do anything without help. She lives alone, only with a big dog as her companion, who, it seems, understands whatever she says. Maura is a bit creeped out, especially when Sorcha spoke of a quest, dust and wind, of allies and a Glencoe lad whom she’d meet. Sorcha talks about her destiny but Maura doesn’t understand or believe her. She leaves soon enough and is later caught by Dugan, who followed her trail meticulously. Dugan at first wants to punish her for taking the maps, and then as he gleans the information of Maura’s betrothal to Kildary, he makes a plan. The rich baron can afford the money he needs for his rent and so, he decides to hold Maura for bride ransom. This at first didn’t bug me that much. But, as the story progressed, this ransom thing became a huge issue between Maura and Dugan’s relationship. Now, since Maura also stole the maps, Dugan suspected she knew of the gold. Maura tells him that she does but nothing else. Dugan wanted to send her to Braemore but later decides to keep her with him and continue for his search of the gold. In the meantime, fondling and kissing didn’t stop since both were attracted to one another. Dugan doesn’t want to sleep with her because he wants to give her back to Kildary as a virgin. I wish Maura was stronger and rebelled. She did rebel but very half-heartedly. She was mostly drawn away by lust and Dugan’s manliness. I was annoyed by this. I knew she was TSTL most of the times but she could’ve, at least, showed some spirits. This took away some fun. Then, Maura learns of Dugan’s childhood tragedy from one of his soldiers, Archie, and begins to connect the pieces, especially with Sorcha’s words. She was glad that she never told him about her own family since Dugan might decide to kill her afterwards. She also knew he’s the Glencoe lad and dust and the wind was definitely the treasure’s path, as the old witch said. But Maura kept most of those from Dugan since none believed in it for a long time.


Photo of Loch Eriboll, courtesy: Visit and Travel

Soon, one day, Dugan and Maura give into their mutual passion. I didn’t like it since Dugan was still resolute on giving her to Kildary. Maura should’ve been mad at him, sometimes I thought she was but she couldn’t stick to it. Even though I knew Dugan was supposed to do anything for his clan but he was also developing feelings for Maura, too. I wanted him to man up a little and not think of the ransom. But Dugan did. He was very confused too. It would help if they can find the gold. Then he can keep Maura with him, can even marry her (note: he still didn’t know of Maura’s family). Maura made some real TSTL plans to escape from Dugan. I understood her need to get to Rosie ASAP, even respected it but her plans were almost always farfetched. Thankfully, this time, she knew as they’re in Highlands now, she’ll never find her way without Dugan’s help. Then she also begins to open up to Dugan because she knew if she can help him find the gold, maybe he’ll give her some of it to take Rosie away to somewhere else. It was a pretty messy situation no doubt. After hearing of Rosie, Dugan decides to help her. One thing bugged me, apart from repetition of information, was the clue on the map. It was on the back, written in French with some kinda wax that can only be revealed by dirt or sand. How is it that Maura saw this but Dugan and his men, who rolled and unrolled the pieces of the map hundreds of times, never did? This was totally unbelievable and was milked by Maura to gain some times with Dugan. She kept saying she knows the real clue, and what Dugan could do is only follow her directions.

Baird, meanwhile, finally understands how Maura has fooled him. After searching on the wrong trail, he finally begins to see Maura’s plan and comes across Sorcha’s hovel. Sorcha knows what’s in his mind and begins rattling away instantly about his greed and mean mind, that he would never be anything etc. She also tells him that the ‘rot of death’ is coming from his person. Baird loses his temper and asks about Maura. Sorcha tells him nothing but keeps up with her foretelling. Baird, in a rage, kills her. After that, he begins seeing Sorcha’s apparition and hearing her still rattling away in his ear, sometimes even touching his neck with her cold grip. Baird would keep on trying to push away her hands. Over and over again we see how he’s been haunted by not only Sorcha but also his father’s ghost. It was very creepy and gave me goosebumps. I thought it was done real neat! All these- his constant thought of how he’s going to fail his father again, his utter loathing for Maura on whom he put the blame and lack of sleep from the haunting starts messing up with Baird’s unsettled mind, which was already a mess with low self confidence. He was mean of course, but in the end, I ended up pitying him. I just couldn’t hate him out and out when I realized how from his childhood he was emotionally abused or blackmailed by his exacting General father, which resulted in the man he became today. His father was cruel, to say the least and his treatment was just wrong. Baird’s only goal of life was to make his father proud, and to do that, he can’t have any emotions whatsoever. The glimpses of the slow collapse of his mind, as I already said, stole the show for me anyway. When he was finally killed, I felt sad, honestly.

After Dugan learned of Maura’s real identity, the story picked up quite a bit. He hated her kin, tried to hate her too, but failed. Dugan doesn’t tell his men about it, which was very considerate of him, because he knew at least Lachann will react badly and might even kill Maura. Maura, on the other hand, was sure Dugan would give her away no matter what. But she also realized she’d fallen in love with him and she wants to make up for what her family did, even if a little, by helping him find the gold. Later Dugan also has his own realization, that he can’t give Maura back no matter what. He lets her know about it, also that he would help her find Rosie. The trouble, for me, was that I couldn’t believe in their declaration of love or feelings for each-other. There were just too much hullaballoo going on around them, and yes, mistrust. Too much of that as well. It went on for too long for my liking. I felt that Dugan and Maura’s relationship development was hindered by all these. I won’t delve into the climax of the story but I liked it, even though everything was conveniently wrapped up. But, HEA is all I need and the book delivered it nicely, so I was happy in that regard.

Finally, there were implications that there might be connected books and I’m thinking, at least for Lachann and Alexandra. I tried finding some information but the author’s website doesn’t clarify anything. I’ll keep my eyes open nevertheless and will definitely read the next installments. 3.75 stars.

PS: The author’s note clarifies that most of the names used in this story (of Lochs and places) were invented by Margo Maguire herself and doesn’t exist in reality. So, I refrained from using them in my review.


This ARC was provided to me by Avon via edelweiss which didn’t influence my review and rating in any way.

[Clarice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dugan Mac Millian has never crossed paths with anyone like Lady Maura Duncanson. Saving her from certain death, the lovely vixen has the audacity to steal his piece of the treasure map. Dugan has no problem taking Maura hostage to get to the treasure. Needing the treasure to save his clan's lands. Maura needs the treasure to save herself from having to wed a old baron and little sister from their heartless father. Neither Dugan nor Maura know that they also have a mad man on there trail.

[Jen Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dugan MacMillan has only a few weeks to come up with a huge some of money to pay an unexpected rent on his clan's property. His plan: to use the portion of a treasure map left behind by his grandfather to find a cache of gold coins. He really doesn't have any clue where he is going, but he does have an idea of where to find another piece of the map.

It's just after Dugan finds the second scrap that he runs in Maura. She is a woman on the run from her betrothal to a horrible old man. Coincidentally, she holds a third piece to the treasure map. And when she hears Dugan's men talking about the gold, she steals their two parts and takes off. It's not that she's a bad person, but she figures she could use the gold to help take care of her beloved sister Rosie. Young Rosie is disabled and was cast out by their father. Maura wants only to rescue the child from the distant Loch where she was abandoned, and take care of her.

It takes very little time for Dugan to catch up with her, though. Once he does, he realizes he has two possible paths to get the money he needs. One possibility is for him to find the treasure. But even if he can't, he can ransom Maura back to her fiance. It's cold, but he figures that his greatest responsibility is to take care of his clan, and without the money, they'll have no home.

Of course, Dugan and Maura fall for each other as they journey to the place where they'll meet up with her betrothed. But I can't say that I loved their romance. Maura was earnest enough. Her attraction to Dugan were the first feelings she has ever had for a man. But Dugan makes his moves on her with every intention of selling her off. Even when he comes to care for her... even when there is real hope of finding the gold.. he holds on to the ransom plan. I understand his loyalties, but this made it hard for me to root for them to fall in love.

Then there's the sex. Something just didn't click for me there. The scenes felt rushed and incomplete. I was disappointed.

The book isn't bad. We've got a treasure-seeking adventure and a sexy brogue. And Maura inspired my sympathy, though it was hard to watch her be so powerless to her fate. It was just frustrating at times and I didn't feel the love.

Rating: C-

*ARC Provided by Avon

[Otter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting concept but the external conflict that drives the main characters from being fully together cannot be resolved quickly, which leads to the plot absolutely dragging. We don’t learn new aspects of their characters as we plod toward the resolution that will end the book.

[Jennifer Milan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet (and a bit sappy) HEA. Good book for rainy days.

[shannon bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great romance novel and a fairly quick read. Loved it!

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a child, Dugan Macmillian watched the massacre of his father and brother. His whole life was turned upside down and he vows to never be that young and vulnerable boy again. Now as a grown man and Laird of his mother’s clan, he will defend his people at all cost. When his landlord shows up at his doorsteps, threatening to evict him and his people if he can’t come up with an obscene amount of money, Dugan decides to follow an old mystery that his grandfather use to tell him of.

Lady Maura Duncanson knows she must escape her cousin’s house. She is betrothed to a man she has no desire to marry and to top it off, she must hurry to get her disabled sister from an evil woman that her parents cast her to live with. The opportunity presents itself when she discovers a piece of a map that leads to a treasure that no one has been able to find. If she can find the gold, she can have enough money to secure her way to America or somewhere else far with sister.

I loved the aspect of a Scottish historical romance mixed with a treasure hunt. This is a unique spin to my normal Scottish reads and it kept the story interesting. The author could have made the trip more intriguing by playing up the suspense of the treasure. I’m assuming her focus is to show the readers the slow sizzling connection between Dugan and Maura.

Maura is feisty, independent and work on Dugan’s nerves. She is constantly running away from him. Though he slowly comes to admire her, he knows by holding her hostage and threatening her family for money, he can save his family in return. As the time comes closer, Dugan realizes that love is worth more than a few gold coins. Even though they both have a certain goal in the story, I loved watching how their priorities changed and they stop working against one another and started working together.

I am a little disappointed with the love scenes. The author is great at building the sexual tension and is so descriptive in other areas of the book. However, when it came to the love scenes, after a brief description of foreplay she didn’t follow up with the sexual act. Sure, we as adults know how the deed is done but don’t use words like “cock” and don’t follow up with what he did with it. The love scenes are a paragraph at most and I wanted her to explore the emotions and vulnerabilities of each character through the intimate scenes.

[Rebecca Graf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picture
I am a sucker for the romance, history, and mystery mix. They get me every time. And when they are well written, those authors have found a fan. I am now a fan of Margo Maguire, author of The Warrior Laird.

Set back in the 1700s, this is a story of a woman who finds herself unwanted by her own parents and siblings. Her decision to save her little sister’s life from her father makes her even more of an outcast. The final blow was her father’s decision to send her little sister away and send the defiant daughter away to be married to an old man. They underestimated her.

As she is led to her groom’s home, she manages to escape but not before meeting a laird that does more than please the eye. Her own actions bring him closer to her where they both find fulfillment of prophesies. They only have to reach the goal and stay alive in the process.

That was all very hard to say without turning it into a spoiler. But I think I succeeded. I found this a really good read. Even as an advance reader’s copy, the formatting and editing was great. This is not always the case. The story flowed smoothly with good character development. Ms. Maguire has a way of drawing the reader in. I felt like I was standing in the highlands. I could almost smell the air around the characters. Truly amazing.

I highly recommend this book. It would be great for a summer read or a romance book club. There are some minor graphic scenes of intimacy. They are short, but present. If you don’t mind skipping a page or two then go ahead and read the book. If any mention of intimacy bothers you, I sadly suggest you skip this recommendation. Though you will miss a great historical romance.

Note: I was given this book by the publisher with no expectation of a positive review.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Warrior Laird tells the story of Lady Maura Duncanson who is trouble to all who know her and Laird Dugan MacMillan who is working to protect his clan. Lady Maura does not like her family and is trying to get away. Duncan has to raise enough money to pay rent on the land his family used to own. There is a lot of bad blood between Duncan's family and Maura's. When Maura escapes from the soldiers escorting her to an unwanted marriage to an old man. The story moves briskly from that point.

I love Lady Maura. She is nothing like others in her family. Her only goal as she escapes is to find and save her younger sister Rosie who has been sent away. She has a lot of love to give and while she finds that she loves Dugan she knows that her family history will prevent them from being together. Dugan knows that he cannot have Maura for the same reasons.

Both are very strong well drawn characters. I loved seeing them interact with each other. There are some very interesting secondary characters that help keep the story moving. Dugan's quest for money to save his clan adds a nice touch of tension to the story. There is enough mystery, romance, and danger in The Warrior Laird to satisfy anyone. The Warrior Laird makes very good use of the Highland theme by adding new twists and turns to a familiar journey to an HEA.

[My Book Addiction and More MBA · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE WARRIOR LAIRD by Margo Maguire is an exciting Scottish Medieval historical romance. Sparks fly,passion ignites and tempers run hot when Dugan MacMillan,sworn to protect his clan at any and all cost and Lady Maura Duncanson,a feist,comely lass,who needs the treasure map Dugan needs to save his clan meet. Dugan decides to use Lady Maura as a hostage when he finds out she is to wed a wealthy "old" baron. Not only is Lady Maura a hellion,she is determined to be no man's property. But with passion running high,danger on every corner,cold nights, on a treasure hunt both needs,how can Lady Maura and Dugan not connect. Fast paced and action packed. "The Warrior Laird" will linger long after the last page. Ms. Maguire pulls the reader into her stories with her strong,feisty heroines,and her devoted,protective,heroes. She is a wonderful storyteller. A must read for anyone who enjoys high-spirited heroines,and heroes who will take your breath away. Received for an honest review from the publisher and Above The Treeline. Details can be found at the author's website,Avon Books,an imprint of Harper Collins Publishing and My Book Addiction and More.

RATING: 4.5

HEAT RATING: MILD

REVIEWED BY: AprilR, My Book Addiction and More/My Book Addiction Reviews

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m very new to this author and have read only a handful of her books, but I think I like them.

To me, her stories have a perfect mix of the historical detail and fictional characterization. The characters of Dugan MacMillan and Lady Maura Duncanson were well-developed and executed; the plot was interesting and gave the story fast pace; the romance was entertaining, exciting and sensual.

I think you just might like this one because of the characters that are temperamental and full of passion that this author did an excellent job of panning down.

If you like your romance to have intrigue, hidden treasure, a nasty villain and some Alpha men running around in their kilts, then you’ve found the right book to read. Also, it helps greatly if the author is well versed in the history of the Highlands, as this one is, and you’ll appreciate that as she vividly brings you Scotland of 1700’s in all its glory.

Melanie for b2b

*Book provided by publisher through Edelweiss.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book! The main characters matched well together.

Follow me!

[Karin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book One of the Highlander Brothers series.

Both Maura and Dugan have a desperate need of money to help with their dire circumstances. Maura wants to save her sister, and Dugan needs to save his clan. Each come across pieces of a treasure map that has been torn into four sections, and the hunt is on!

This is a fresh take on the Highland romance. It is a treasure hunt across the Highlands. Plus, it is set later than a lot of them - guns are a weapon being used.

If you're looking for a Highlander willing to risk it all, this is the book for you!

[Cait · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book delivered everything I was looking for when I picked it up, it was a quick summer read (I started it this afternoon, I think about 4 hours total reading time?), the characters were developed thoroughly enough to make their story matter to me, but the plot still moved along nicely - I never lost interest.

More importantly though, the story had a nice happy ending for the brave highland warrior and spirited lass, and getting to the end was a painless and enjoyable experience.

[Amber · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one just didn't quite work for me. The reason it has two stars is because the writing was okay enough that I'd give the author another try. But this book was just a mess and the ending was so pat and tied up with a bow as to be cloyingly annoying. Characterization was okay, I guess. It was consistent anyways. Which I always appreciate. I don't really know who I'd recommend this to, but I wouldn't exactly warn people away.

[Jujubee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a fan of Margo Mcguire's historicals, but this one for me was just *meh.* Too many characters that could have driven the plot (Baird and Scorha never ended up being anything more than filler to me). Just too much repetitive inner dialog and a whole lot of killing to tidy up story arcs. SIGH. Still I dragged through it because Duncan and Maura deserved their HEA and a warm, dry bed. Oh, and MM has THE best book covers...probably what keeps sucking me in!

[Cherie · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were times I had trouble staying with this book. I liked Dugan and Maura was not a milksop but the treasure aspect didn't appeal to me.I also got bored with hearing about what the treasure meant from each of their points of view that I started skipping over those paragraphs. These two certainly had a chemistry between them, though.

[Ashleigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Saw the cover and thought, "I need to read that like YESTERDAY."
Unfortunately, this was repetitive, cheesey drivel about two unbelievable, insincere planks. The plot is spread so thin that you could easily skip 200 pages and miss nothing. The romance was non-existent and the total lack of characterisation just dwindled my interest to zero.

I think I was spoiled by Lisa Kleypas.

[Debra Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review. It was a great story. Loved the H/h. Loved their adventurous treasure hunt. I've only read a few of Margo Maquires books but this book has definitely made me a fan.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story. Sweet love story. Adventure.

[Betsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Treasure maps? Hmm... Well I read it anyway. It was decent. Better than a lot of other things I could have been doing.

[♔Queenie♔]

137

[Tracy's Place · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 out of 5

[Ann Babcock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute love story!

[Rosie]

DNF