Lord of the Black Isle

Mackinnon-Douglas #3

by Elaine Coffman

A Warriors Life...
Laird David Murray would give his life to pull his clan through this time of strife and conflict. With enemies both inside and outside his keep, he has never felt so alone and desperate. Until he meets a beautiful healer with uncanny knowledge from another time...

Meets a Healer's Art...
Elisabeth Douglas was a doctor in her own time. Now she's the only one with the knowledge and skill to help Laird David save the lives of his family...

Genres: Historical Romance, Time Travel, Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Paranormal

341 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Barbara Elaine Gunter was born in San Diego, California, to William Samuel Gunter, Jr., a naval officer and Edna Marie (née Davidson) Gunter, a homemaker. From the age of three she lived in Midland, Texas and graduated from Midland High School. After she received a degree in elementary education from North Texas State University, she taught elementary school in Midland, Texas, while working on her Master’s Degree and certification for Language and Learning Disabilities at Texas Tech in Lubbock.

Elaine currently resides in Austin, Texas, where her son, Chuck, also lives. She has two daughters, Lesley who resides in Raleigh, N.C. and Ashley, who lives in San Diego, California.

Elaine Coffman is a New York Times bestselling author with a large international following. She has penned novels in both the historical romance genre and suspense. A lover of history, she has penned several novels set in Scotland, Regency England, Italy and the American West. To date, she is the author of nineteen novels and five novellas.

While writing her first novel, My Enemy, My Love, she found herself inspired by a letter her great-great grandmother, Susannah Jane Dowell Shacklett wrote in 1920, telling about her journey from Brandeburg, Kentucky to San Antonio, Texas, and then going with an army escort to El Paso, Texas, where her brother, Ben Dowell, a veteran of the Mexican War, was El Paso's first mayor.

Elaine continued to write best-selling, award-winning books until the publication of her eleventh novel, If You Loved Me, which was the last book of her beloved Mackinnon series and her first book to hit the New York Times bestseller list.

Her first suspense novel, Alone in the Dark, was published by Pocket books in 2006.

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full review can be seen at Seductive Musings.

I picked this book because the premise sounded great to me. I love time travel, I love highlanders, and I really love female healers. How could I not like this book?

Yeah... I didn’t like it. I knew early on that this book wasn’t for me. The first clue was all the literary quotes at the beginning of chapters and then Shakespeare quotes thrown into the dialogue. I don’t like that. The next clue was the detailed medical explanations. They were too detailed and factual, I felt like I was reading passages from a medical textbook. My third clue was the personal musing. There were very involved private thoughts going on for pages at a time thrown into the middle of a dialogue. A conversation would start, the heroine would go off on her thought tangent, and by the time I got back to the conversation I wasn’t sure what they had even started talking about anymore. I found that irritating.


David and Elisabeth were very difficult for me to understand and get to know because their thoughts and actions wavered too much. I never got a good feel for them and never liked them. They weren’t good, they weren’t bad, I just didn’t care about them. That led me to another problem, I didn’t feel the chemistry between them. It was described, they thought about it a lot in their thought tangents, but for some reason I didn’t feel it.

The sex scenes confused me. I’m used to reading books with graphic and descriptive sex scenes. The sex in this book was ambiguous. They would start out kissing, then go onto fondling and all of that was pretty descriptive. It was once touching started happening below the waist that I got confused. No specific words were used so I wasn’t sure what was being done to whom. I actually had to stop reading and question if there was sex with penetration happening or if they were just rubbing on each other to get off. I don’t care if an author chooses to give me blow by blow descriptions of sex or if they choose to fade to black. It was the grey area this author chose which caused me so much confusion.

The best way to sum up my feelings on this book is to say that I didn’t care. I didn’t care about the characters, I didn’t care if they fell in love or if they had their happily ever after conclusion. This is not a bad book but this was definitely a case of me reading a book that’s not right for me. I’m sure there are people that love these types of books and are huge fans of this series. If you are, then read it, enjoy it and ignore me. I’m not one of them so I’ll move on and find a book more to my liking... hopefully :)

Overall Rating: 2 (I didn’t realize I was picking up a book in the middle of the series. It didn’t take me long to figure that out. Important events and key characters were glossed over in a way that left me confused. It was obvious that I should have read the previous books and known these things before getting into this one. That was my fault, not the author’s.)

[Meranda Semeniuk-Wappel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great book! What made this book more enjoyable was that we got to listen to both of the characters which made it easier to understand the story. There were reasons why the male protagonist was the way he was and how he softened towards the female protagonist. There were so many things that were confusing at first but it made it easier to understand as soon as the story got more in depth. I would recommend this book to anyone who is wanting to read this type of book.

[♡ Sassy ~ Amy ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thrown back in time, Elisabeth, a doctor, decides after being kidnapped & rescued, she is going to use her knowledge for the greater good & to study the ways of the monks in a hospital.

Her rescuer, David Murry, takes her to the hospital & later retrieves her to help his sister, a nun, who is dying of a high fever. Since there is no antibiotics available during this time, the nun dies. There is nothing she can do.

Eventually David wants to keep Elisabeth close & gives her a gift that will keep her close & fulfill her dream

This was a good story, but I was dropped in the middle of a series without knowing it was a series & there was no brief recap to fill me in where I did not feel I was missing anything. I got tidbits, but not enough to satisfy my questions. PLUS, after reding this book, I found that not only the author, but this site had the wrong desciption, so I expected events that never came.

I changed description to match the back cover of the book exactly


Previous description of book stated the wrong characters name (Devan rather than David) & stated Elisabeth was to save a woman in child birth. That never happened. It was a nun with a high fever she couldn't save & she was never accused of being a witch. Authors website & publisher both have the wrong description for this book. That is a first for me.

[Mslvoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a time travel fan, I was excited to see that her book will be release soon. I love historical romance along with time travel. It’s my cup of tea.

I finished this book with a happy sigh for a good romance. Wow!! It is an amazing story! I’ll tell you ladies, this book blew me away and I’m so impressed with Elaine Coffman. Good story and well developed characters. And not to forget the appearance of the the Black Douglas as loving and funny ghost make this book a MUST READ. The Black Douglas always make me laugh with his dialogue. To me, he’s the main character in Black Douglas series.

Love this so much
Ghost of Black Douglas, Sir James – he is so charming and so likeable, rather like an indulgent grandfather, that one cannot help but love him.

This book was received from the publisher Sourcebooks for the purpose of review and thank you for give me the opportunity to read it.

[AndreaH · Rating 1 out of 5]

Time travel romance that just didn't cut it for me. Fair Amercian doctor travels back to old Scotland in the 1500s. Hunky hero with urge to protect her even though he thinks her spy. Little chemistry, some contrivance, but the killer was the time travel element. It just didn't work.
Both characters think to much and everything is their heads. When the fair doctor thinks about medicine, its like reading a PreMed 101 text. Each chapter opens with a literary quote, but they're from all periods and all over the map, and add nothing to the story. And even the main character changes how she speaks from Scottish brogue to California Valley Girl.
Reading this was like a watching an accident about to happen. I couldn't believe the wreck would happen, so kept reading, and it the end was awful.

[The Written · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Book 2 in the series

I gave the book 3 stars even though the writing at times makes no sense. The first chapter is like WTF! What is going on? The writing is terrible. It gets better in places and I rated it based on that. Unfortunately, it’s not read with skimming and skipping because there is confusing storylines. All the interactions with the Black Douglas I had to reread several time but I don’t think she wrote them with any clarity. I think there were words wasted on unnecessary storylines and other stories that could have used those wasted words to develop them. This book is good for trip, waiting at the doctor/dentist. Or quick rainy day read.
RECOMMEND

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not normally a fan of time travel romance, yet here I am writing a review about how much I enjoyed this story. A modern doctor transported back 6 centuries finds her forever love after a bit of a journey down a twisting, turning road.

Some of the dialogue I personally found rather dry (and could easily have been removed) which is why I rated it only 4 stars.

[Bea Raymond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

The book kept you interested from the beginning to the end, thoroughly enjoyed their story! Loved the ghost! She is lucky to find a man like David

[Sara Hastings · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNFd at 10%. What can I say besides, this book was absolutely awful?!? Don’t waste your time

[Judy & Marianne from Long and Short Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally posted at: http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.c...

What a delightful sight to see a fresh-bathed knight drying in the Scottish sunlight. However, if one is running from kidnappers then first things must come first.

Dr. Elizabeth Douglas copes with being snatched from the twenty-first century and plopped down in sixteenth-century Scotland. She even puts her life back together after having the man she planned to marry snatched away by order of the King’s regent, but she is really tired of being kidnapped by the MacLeans. When the gorgeous knight, David Murray whisks her away to escape her abductors, she is not sure if she is being kidnapped again, but riding in front of him on his horse is magical and tilts her world. When he leaves her at her intended destination, a famous hospital with the friars where she is to study their methods, she feels a sad emptiness when he rides away. Elizabeth knows healing is her calling and sets about to learn how she can use her talents in this age before modern methods and medicines were known. The reader has a fascinating journey with Elizabeth as she moves toward her destiny, of course, with the Black Douglas ghost meddling along the way.

David Murray, Earl of Kinloss, an honorable knight with a sad almost unbearable past, feels the wholesome, pure, goodness, and giving nature of Elizabeth’s heart and soul as he holds her while they ride to the famous hospital, the House of the Holy Trinity, between York and Edinburgh. He comes to wonder if she was truly real or just a fantasy. Leaving her with the friars was one of the hardest things he had ever done. But he is mindful of his duty to his clan, a duty that he never shirks. When he has Elizabeth brought to Asiling Castle on Black Isle to tend his dying twin sister, another facet of his personality comes to light—a fearsome side. Dark, unhappy days come for all. How things evole makes intriguing reading.

If you’ve read The Return of the Black Douglas, you’ll recognize many of the secondary characters like Isobella, Elizabeth’s twin, the McKinnons, the MacLeans, and, of course, the Black Douglas ghost with his humor, compassion, sage advice, his guardianship, and especially his meddlesome ways. He brings a unique quality to the story.

Elaine Coffman’s compelling writing style gives a definite sense of time in history without getting into the wars and fighting. She focuses on the lives of the ordinary people and how they live, love, and take care of each other. The conflicts come from personal agendas rather than from political ones.

In Lord of the Black Isle, Ms. Coffman sprinkles in many jewels of literature that bring to mind old truths that still touch the emotions and senses. The poignant quotes that announce each chapter are special bonuses—many of them bring back memories of college days and long discussions about life. Also, her descriptions are captivating. They quicken the senses. For example one can almost feel the cold water of the burns and the cold damp that seeps in and chills when the sun disappears and the stinging cold of the rain driven by the cold wind comes. But one also sees the sparkling beautiful of the harsh country when the sun shines brightly.

Best of all in the descriptions is the love that grows strong and true--mental, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, plus the love scenes that swamp the senses and sweep the reader along on a euphoric tide toward ecstasy with the hero and the heroine—sensual, sizzling, and so satisfying.

The denouement of Lord of the Black Isle that lets the reader know how Elizabeth creates a way to let her twenty-first family know that all went well with her and Isobella is phenomenal. Of course, the poem tells so much and leaves so much for the reader to think about, not only in the story, but also in one’s own life. What a happy “happy-ever-after”!

[Stephine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Brought back in time by the ghost of their ancestor, Elisabeth and her sister now call sixteenth-century Scotland their home. After suffering the loss of her love, Elisabeth decides to set out on her own to use her skills as a doctor to help those in need. Called upon to help a sick relative of David Murry, the Earl of Kinloss, Elisabeth is surprised to see the man she briefly met but has never forgotten. David has laid awake countless nights thinking about the beautiful doctor and now that he has her in his home, David will do whatever it takes to make Elisabeth his.

I wanted to like this one more than I did because I was in the mood to read a highlander/historical but this book didn't satisfy my craving. Elisabeth is a decent heroine who is as intelligent and skillful as she is caring. David is the type that has a hard exterior but is actually a caring leader. He just doesn't know how to handle his feelings for Elisabeth. They both feel a connection from the start, which was more physical than anything else, but they both have their own personal demons to conquer before they can be together. I didn't think there was a point in this book that I thought that these two were unquestionably in love. They would get close but then one would pull back or something would happen and after a few times of this, I stopped investing in the outcome of their relationship. There were some qualities I found I liked in each character but their relationship just didn't do it for me.

The journey to practice medicine isn't an easy one of Elisabeth. Angus MacLean, the leader of a clan that's a rival to Elisabeth's brother in law's clan, has it in his mind that Elisabeth will wed his son and doesn't particularly care that she has no interest in doing so. This side story could have been better if Angus didn't randomly appear to kidnap Elisabeth, make a big deal about capturing her yet again, only to have her easily escape. Perhaps I would have liked the scenes more if there were dramatics to them.

I wouldn't say Lord of the Black Isle was a bad book, it just wasn't great. I did enjoy the details the author put into the history and setting of the book. Other than that, the romance didn't work for me, the characters did have some good qualities to them but nothing spectacular and there wasn't much in the way of actual story. Also, I think the fact that Elisabeth is from the future was made into a bigger deal in the official blurb for the book than it was in the story. I didn't think she was in any real danger of being called a witch. I may have liked the book more if she would've been.

This was a pretty easy read so if you've read some good reviews and are still interested in reading it, I say give it a try if you have the extra time. Me, I won't be continuing this series or going back to read any of the previous books.
- Stephanie

[Lynelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a series about twin sisters who were thrust back in time by the Black Douglas, a distant relative and a ghost. This book is about Elisabeth Douglas, and right off the back I liked her more than her sister Isobella, from the previous book, The Return of Black Douglas. There were many times that I compared this book to the previous one and many things I liked better.

Elisabeth was take back in time against her will and during this time she has been kidnapped by the McLeans and then taken back by the McKinnons, the clan that her sister has found a home with. She has found a place for herself, fallen in love and is about to be married when right before the wedding, her intended is summoned away to be matched with and married to another woman. Heartbroken, Elisabeth tries to find away to give her life purpose again and wants to focus on her medical/healer skills. While on her way to a monastery to further her learning, she is once again apprehended by the McLeans again. At one of their stops she wonders off and comes across a stranger, who ends up to be David Murray, who ends up helping her arrive at her destination safe and sound.

David Murray is the Earl of Kinloss is surly and closed off due to his father’s behavior towards him and his father’s opinion that he couldn’t do anything right, he’s lost many of his siblings, and that he doesn’t want to be the earl. When one of his sister’s becomes ill, he sends for an infamous healer, but when his men arrive with Elisabeth, he’s shocked and at first unsure what to think about this turn of events. David being tall, dark, and handsome, Elisabeth of course is attracted to him but works to keep her mind on her job. I liked David’s quiet devotion to Elisabeth and the subtle way that he works to win her over.

When Elisabeth is summoned away to provide her healing abilities, let’s just say getting kidnapped is the story of her life. I’d like to say that the darn McLeans need to give it up already and leave her in peace! But David is not about to leave her in the hands of someone other than himself and his clan. ;) One disappointment that stuck out the most was how minimal the Black Douglas was present in this book, I like his character and his humorous personality!

ARC provided by NetGalley

[Elizabeth]

Second time I’ve tried to read this book. At least I made it a little further this time - page 29 instead of 19. The writer’s style just drives me crazy. The story begins with exposition through dialogue, which just felt clunky. More importantly, even though it went on for pages, I’m still not sure I got what I needed to know though I picked up lots of extraneous detail. FOr example, after several pages of exposition dialogue, a key character spends a paragraph telling us how broken hearted she is without explaining how her heart was broken. My notes in the margins all read “too much story, yet not enough.” I also lost track of which character was narrating - is this the heroine? Third Party omniscient? What’s going on.

The author also clearly loves Scotland and talks about it at length, but with really bland or nonsensical words “It possessed a history that was powerful, sad, strong, persuasive, potently addictive, melancholic, and not easy to see clearly or understand without the skill of discernment.” Sad? Kind of bland. . .. discernment? That word means you have the ability to make judgements - how does that help you see clearly. What does this paragraph tell us except the author loves Scotland but can’t express it in a manner relevant to the story.

I’m going to stop now before I get really mean. I could put these nits aside, if the story drew me in. Which it didn’t. Life’s short. DNF.

When Source Books announced it’s Discover a New Love series, I was very excited. What a great way to discover new authors and find romances at a decent price. Other than Shana Galen’s book, I have been generally disappointed with what I I have sampled. (One other one was okay by comparison to others, but I’m looking for more than okay). I guess the upside is that my membership allowed me to buy a whole bunch of Georgette Heyer books at a discount and that has been a win.

[Terra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another wonderful installment to the Black Douglas series that will surly charm you. It's nice to have a sweet romance with a bit of sass and humor to make the story so much more enjoyable.

Dr. Elisabeth Douglas has a ghost as a so called friend and guardian which has called her back to the past to make sure that the Douglas family line follows true to it's path to the future. She's a beauty to be sure and much wanted by more than one man which makes for an enjoyable game of who's got Elisabeth. She only wants to practice medicine and live the life she's always dreamed of but will the Black Douglas let her do so the easy way or the hard way?

David Murray is the Earl of Kinloss and much to handsome for his own good. He has a surly nature due to the fact that he doesn't want his position in life and the fact that he could never do anything good enough in the eyes of his father the former Earl of Kinloss. Tall, dark and handsome is David and I for one would most certainly love a little romp with such a luscious Scotsman.

The story is a continuation of the Black Douglas saga and our author has done a wonderful job at keeping us on our toes in this installment. Poor Elisabeth is passed around like a bag of hot potatoes never knowing what and where her next stop will be. A nice action romance packed with plenty of kisses to heat the flames of passion along with hearts longing to embrace each other for eternity. Will Elisabeth ever survive the string of back luck that plagues her and will David ever find a woman he can fully trust and love for all time?

I should say will the Black Douglass keep up his pranks and sense of humor or will he sway to feel a tug of emotion for a young beautiful woman from his future? This was a wonderful read to hunger for from beginning to end. I loved it!

[Jaffareadstoo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lord of the Black Isle is the third book in the Mackinnon-Douglas series, and continues with a time travel theme. Elisabeth Douglas is a doctor in her own time, and yet when she is lured to Scotland in the 1500’s, by the ghost of Lord James Douglas, her medical skills are looked upon with suspicion, but Elisabeth is determined to make her own way. David Murray, Laird of Kinloss is a brave warrior and yet has no-one to share his life with, he cares deeply for his clan, and when he needs the assistance of a healer to help his community, he is stunned by the arrival of Elisabeth, whose knowledge of medicine surpasses all expectations. The attraction between the David and Elisabeth is apparent from their first meeting, but before they can acknowledge their feelings for each other, they both suffer agonies of indecision, and encounter many obstacles along their journey to eventual happiness.
Overall, this is a pleasant love story which happens to be set in sixteenth century Scotland. There is the ubiquitous, sexy, but troubled hero, combined with a feisty, opinionated, modern woman, all set against a back ground of warring clans, and spectacular Scottish scenery. The inclusion of a mysterious, ghostly figure that appears to guide Elisabeth through the most troubled parts of her life adds a light hearted touch, and explains parts of the story the reader may have missed by not reading the earlier books. My biggest criticism is the inclusion of Shakespearean quotes, which I felt add nothing to the narrative, and are perhaps more of a hindrance than a help.
Lord of the Black Isle can work as a standalone story; however, I am sure that reader enjoyment will be greater, if the series is read sequentially.



My thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablana for the opportunity to read and review this book.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Elizabeth Douglass has been transported back in time with her twin sister to medieval Scotland. Elizabeth is unhappy , she was unhappy when it first happened, then she was kidnapped for like a year, then she finally falls in love only for her betrothed to be ordered to marry someone else on the day of their wedding. Finally Elizabeth figures she should do something worth her time and she used to be a doctor so it seems like a good profession to continue here. David is a laird who is very familiar with doom, honestly the man has had a crappy life. Elizabeth and David are attracted to each other at the start but it seems like they will never get it together.

This book really was not interesting to me. Honestly I really did not care what happened to them. What made it worse was the lack of direction we are given. For example I never know when they are having sex or messing around...there is another scene about a peacock being in the house and David is in a stupor but Elizabeth moves out the peacock and David's stupor is over. It kind of reads just like that I am never really sure of what is happening. Then the last book The Return of Black Douglas I swear the ghost had a different name than this one.

To sum this up, the book did not grab me. It was a chore to finish. I am not sure why the couple felt passionate about each other? I have no idea about what Elizabeth did for David, except he thinks she is hot. Also Elixabeth's language drove me crazy really every single procedure requires consent ...I mean ok in reality this is true but come on it is supposed to be a freaking romance novel. Then you would think she would try and alter her speech nope not really.

I guess it was not for me.

[Blodeuedd Finland · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is book 3..but not really book 3. Since it's all about book 2 and 3. Book 1 is about a distant ancestor. Those are connected, but book 3 can still be read as a stand alone. We hear that Elizabeth has been brought back in time and her story to love begin. Book 2 was about her sister and Elizabeth wasn't really in it as she had been kidnapped. But this then is her book.

A highlander book, do I need to say more? A hot hunky highlander who wants to sweep our heroine off her feet. He is a bit brooding too as he has to take over as Earl. the heroine is totally different, but then she is a modern woman who wants to practice medicine just as she did back home. And she speaks her mind, she is also a bit heartbroken, but then the best cure for that is of course said hunky highlander.

The lovestory does not happen at once, it actually has to grow a bit first (even if he totally wants her from day 1 ;) But she takes her time.

If I have to say anything negative it would be that sometimes she thought too much, and I did not need to know about the proverb in her head right now, or that she has no antibiotics, yeah, we get that. But that is not much in the end.

Conclusion:
All in all a good lovestory about a modern woman and a 16th century Highlander. They clash, and there is passion.

[Atunah · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the previous book "Return of the Black Douglas", we get the story of Izzy. In this one, its all about the twin sister Elisabeth. Both of them travel back in time in the last one.

There was a bit more humor and lightheartedness in the previous one, while Elisabeth has many more struggles to get through. Its a bit more gritty, for lack of better word. While I didn't mind the medical learning she does, the constant inner dialogues do get a bit tedious. They go on and on for pages and pages. So there is a lot of "thinking" going on in this one, less doing.

I would have liked to get a little better feeling for the Hero. He has suffered a lot of loss and I would have liked to explore that a little more and just get more of a sense who he is.

But I did enjoy it and in some ways I liked that their stories weren't too similar and that their paths were very different to finding love.

Just was missing the little something to get me up to a 4 star on this one.

[drey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Who doesn’t love a good time-travel historical romance? I know I do…

But. I couldn’t quite get into Elaine Coffman’s Lord of the Black Isle – there were so many references to events and characters from previous books in the series that I got all muddled up and confused. Also, some of the dialog was more of a monologue, and that lost my attention, too.

I liked David and would’ve wanted to get to know him better – he seems like he’d be the perfect historical romance hero. And his sister Ailis is pretty interesting, I liked her way more than Elisabeth who was a bit too dry and alternated between being headstrong and wimpy. I made it 160 pages before giving up on this one…

drey’s rating: Did not finish.

[Christy Wilhelm · Rating 3 out of 5]

www.pinkskullsbookreviews.wordpress.com


This honestly was an average tale for me. Chapter 1 Elisabeth is happy and in love, about to be married and BAM Chapter 2 she’s sobbing her way through a tissue box because the King orders her fiance, on their wedding day to marry someone else. I had a hard time believing that all and sundry believed she was from the future. Personally I think she’s lucky that she didn’t get burned at the stake. The appendix surgery is the real kicker for me. REALLY? The writing wasn’t all that bad, considering the hiccup of the first few chapters. It was just ok for me.

[Ginny Lurcock · Rating 2 out of 5]

(1.5 actually)

I should have known how this would turn out when about 10 pages in there was a 17 page dialogue about how this dude was bathing naked and he was glorious and isn���t that just the bees knees and I should feel guilty for watching him but I don���t because he���s handsome and look at those muscles play and I shouldn���t be watching but I am so I���ll tell myself that I���m a bad girl for watching���

For a full review, click here.

[Tiff's*Addictiontobooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have only given the book 3.5 stars if the choice was available. I loved the storyline but there was a lot of conversations that didn't happen that I feel needed to happen. I just finished the book so the first one that comes to mind is the fact that Elisabeth never once had a conversation with Ronan while she was staying in his home.

[Tash · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed for Booked Up . Stay tuned for the review to be posted on Booked Up's goodreads account and the Blog

[Deelylah Mullin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars - review coming June 6, 2012 to http://www.twimom227.com!

[Laura P · Rating 3 out of 5]

3-1/2 stars

A little slow at times, but still a good escape read. Leaves me wishing the Black Douglas would make ghostly visits to me..... and bring a little excitement into my life! :)

[Shagufta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chemistry between characters was great.

[Cyndi Dorsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Lindsay]

On sale for $0.99 … one day only 1/6/2013

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

not as good as her previous books in this series.

[Stefania Casoni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! These books make me want to visit Scotland...NOW!