Highlander Unbound

Lockhart Family #1

by Julia London

On leave from his Highland regiment, Captain Liam Lockhart comes to London on an urgent mission: to repossess the stolen family heirloom that could save his ancestral estate. He never dreamed it would involve surrendering his heart, but the beautiful and scandalous socialite Ellen Farnsworth sets his Highland blood aflame with a will as strong and reckless as his own. Though bound to Liam by a soul-searing passion, duty impels Ellen to commit a terrible betrayal.

Now, driven by passion, pride, and vengeance, this fearsome Highlander will reclaim not only his family's ancient treasure, but the one daring woman he was meant to love for all time.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Regency, Historical Fiction, Scotland, Audiobook

390 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Julia London is the New York Times and USA Today best selling author of more than two dozen romantic fiction novels. She is the author of the popular historical romance series, the Cabot Sisters, including The Trouble with Honor, The Devil Takes a Bride, and The Scoundrel and the Debutante. She is also the author of several contemporary romances, including Homecoming Ranch, Return to Homecoming Ranch, and The Perfect Homecoming.

Julia is the recipient of the RT Bookclub Award for Best Historical Romance and a six-time finalist for the prestigious RITA award for excellence in romantic fiction. To keep up with all the Julia London news, please visit http://www.julialondon.com. Follow her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/julialondon

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just can't put my finger on why, but this book just didn't do it for me. I have a couple of ideas and reasons, and all tolled together, the book just didn't thrill me. For one thing, this takes place during Regency times - 1816. Why does it just seem so incongruous to have a Scottish Highlander in London during these times? I much prefer them on their own turf, and preferably earlier times. I guess I'm a Scottish Highlander snob. I'm happier with medieval highlanders or highlanders set around the time of the risings. Liam, our hero, seemed like a fish out of water, scraping by with hardly any money and then falling for what turns out to be a beautiful, scheming liar! He fell hook, line and sinker for her, and he didn't always seem overly bright about things. I think part of my problem was, I wasn't "wowed" by him - or her (but I'll get to that later.) Their love scenes were lacklustre or just out of place. I felt like the author was writing these racy love scenes that would have been better suited to a contemporary romance.

Liam must go to London to save his family from losing their ancestral estate to retrive this "beastie." An ugly solid gold statue that has rubies set in it as well. Worth a pretty penny, but he has to steal it back from his English cousins. And so we follow Liam in London scheming to get the statue. He is extremely clueless when it comes to London sophistication. He launders his own clothes in a fountain in Hyde Park, kills geese from the park as well (to roast and eat in his lodgings), and even has the audacity to cut some of the of park's roses to create a makeshift bouquet. How can anyone be that dumb? Certainly not a grown man who is 35years old and a sailor that has fought at Waterloo! Give him some brains, at least!

He meets Ellie, who is the mother of an illegitimate 10 year old girl. Ellie is living in the same house where Liam has his lodgings. She is a lady who has been disgraced and now lives with her miserly father (Liam thinks she is his wife at first). She and Liam fall in love and spend a lot of time in bed having racy, and sometimes kinky sex. I'm no prude, but it irked me. I just couldn't get past how she has already fallen from grace once, 10 years earlier, and now she's leaping into bed with another man who she knows she can't have a future with. Her solution? She steals "the beastie" herself after tricking him into allowing himself to be "bound" to the bed (buck naked) expecting some kinky sex. She absconds with the statue, even though she professes to love him and takes off with her daughter to a friend's country estate where she has some time to figure out what to do next. I never bonded with Ellie, I couldn't forgive her for stealing the statue, even knowing why she did it, it was just wrong and I couldn't get past it. If she really loved him, she would not have left him tied up that way, fleeing with his family's heirloom that would save them from losing their castle. She knew this too. In my book, that's a serious flaw. I was disappointed in Liam because he forgave her too easily.

Liam is "unbound" in the morning by the servant man and easily traces Ellie's whereabouts. Suddenly he's gotten smart - or so we think! He finds her and they have words, he winds up ingratiating himself with her aristocratic friends. He plans on stealing the beastie from her, but she tricks him again and he steals a fake! But, is he fed up with her and angry enough to wring her neck? Yes, he's angry, but he still loves her - all the more because she tricked him! What a gal! She's made for him! *rolls eyes* She flees after tricking him again, and sells the beastie for a fraction of what his family was hoping to get for it, and then realizes how wrong she was to have taken it in the first place (no, really?) and goes to Scotland to his family castle to return the money to him.

Eventually he gets back and has his own little payback moment tying her up in bed before he makes passionate love to her. She tells him about selling the beastie and the money, and even though everyone is disappointed - they all forgive her! Liam asks her to marry him - but he's a soldier - will she follow him or stay at his castle with his family while he's away campaigning? Meanwhile, they're still going to be up a creek because they don't have money to save the estate, and they've given his brother, Grif, the job to go find the statue again and steal it - this is the lead in to Book 2 in the series, which I don't intend to read. Also, we never found out what his English Lockart cousins did when they found out the statue was stolen? Did they even care? Did they call the police? Or is that in the sequel as well? I dislike reading books that have such obvious open endings to prepare you for the next book. It's so calculating to me to get you to buy and read the next book in the series.

I won't say the book was bad, but it wasn't great either. The first half was all about Liam getting used to London and planning to get the beastie back. It was sort of dull, and the romance, as I said before, was out of place - forced in a way. It didn't make me like either Liam or Ellie further, it sort of lowered them in my opinion. I guess I have standards when it comes to reading these romances and if I don't necessarily approve of their having hot sex (with her daughter sleeping in the room nextdoor, or alone upstairs when they're down in his rooms) then so be it.

[Lori ◡̈]

Note to self: horrible characters.

I did not like this heroine's personality in books 2 (that I read first, out of order).
And after reading other GR reviews, I see this heroine repeatedly betrays the hero in this book and also that the hero comes off as an idiot.... doesn't sound like a great love story for me, so I am skipping this one.

[Vivian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow! It's kinda hard for me to relay my reaction. Overall, the plot is well developed with just enough intrigue to be fun. The characterization on the other hand is odd. The hero in theory should be fine, yet he comes off as either a bit dim (considering his profession it is unrealistic) or way too provincial (yes, he's a highlander, but this is too much). The heroine is similarly challenged; one minute she's great, really I should like her and then, she's...naive (socially and politically, but not sexually) doesn't begin to explain it. I guess the pendulum shift in both characters was off-putting and disconcerting. There are some bizarre resolutions to conflicts in this one, not realistic to me, but that's my two cents.

[Yz the Whyz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really tried to like this book, but struggled throughout, and barely finished it. I have to practically skimmed the last few chapters, and nope, I did not go back are reread, like I usually do when I skim in advance.

Maybe I'm a snob but I didn't like the hero being presented as a bungling idiot, with no finesse or refinement. I also didn't like the heroine who despite her reasonings, I still find selfish, and definitely not to my liking.

Overall, they were a pair that by the middle of the book, I could care less what happened to them, and that is a bad sign for a romance novel.

[Eva García Carrión · Rating 3 out of 5]

Psssss

[Betsy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh. Lies and betrayal so bad that the female character shouldn't be forgiven. What a bitch. I skimmed the end. I just couldn't sit through it.

[Chrissy Loves Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (3.5 stars
*Regency-era Scotland meets London society... and apparently, I’m too much of a Highlander purist to fully enjoy it.*

Look, I wanted to love this book. I really did. It had a Scottish Highlander, a London setting, some intrigue, and the promise of steamy romance. But somehow, it just didn’t quite come together for me—and I’ve been trying to figure out *why* like I’m solving a mystery with a broadsword and a teacup. I think it mostly comes down to this: I like my Highlanders in the **Highlands**, preferably brooding against a craggy cliff during the 1600s, not wandering around Regency-era London trying to make sense of cravats and polite society. I guess I’m a Highlander time-period snob, and I’m not even mad about it.

Our hero Liam? Meh. He felt like a plaid-clad fish out of water, barely scraping by financially and then falling *hard* for a woman who, surprise! has secrets and schemes. He didn’t exactly give me swoon vibes—more like “sweet summer child, please get it together” energy. And while the heroine had her own charms, neither of them really lit a fire for me. The love scenes also felt kind of out of place, like they wandered in from a contemporary romance and got lost on the way to a bodice-ripper. All that said, the book *wasn’t* bad—it had some solid writing and a few enjoyable moments. But if you're the type who prefers your Highlanders rugged, muddy, and dodging British soldiers, this Regency detour might not be your favorite tartan tale.

[Ana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was more interested in the backstory than the main one. Maybe I’ll change my mind when I re read this book again in the future.

[Zel Polev · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't a terrible book but it wasn't good either. None of the characters endeared themselves to me. It was building to something but understandable as the heroine's actions may be, I just couldn't support her on it. I also couldn't support his actions. In my opinion, they both acted in a hypocritical manner and that is a characteristic I despise reading about when it comes to the supposed good guys.

This is basically a story of two poor people. He tells her of his plan to hit gold. He will use the money to save his family from the brink of bankruptcy. However, this backfires as a very desperate Ellie uses that information and takes the riches for herself. Stupidly, she sells it for a much lower price for its value.

I couldn't support the heroine. She likened her stealing to Robin Hood where he stole to help the poor. That is nice and all but Robin Hood stole from the rich and Liam, is definitely not rich. I felt too bad for the man. His family is hinging on this plan. You'd think she would find a way to not screw over his whole family. Instead, she blithely excuses her actions as too bad, I'm desperate.

I wasn't particularly thrilled about the hero either. He has sex with her. He discovers that she was impregnated when she was young because a lover was careless. He does the same thing. The cherry on top of the sundae, he bellows his rage over her ex who left her on her own, the same thing he was planning to do.

It was an alright book, I guess. I'm not too keen on the characters. The story was alright. It was nothing groundbreaking but it wasn't annoying, well some parts were.

Anyways, after their blissful stage of togetherness were over, their relationship transformed into a cat and mouse, wherein, Liam tries to retrieve the statue and she runs away. She eludes him by running to her friend's house. She eludes him a second time by planting a decoy. Then, she she completely screws him over, she realizes her mistake. She travels to Scotland, to him to return the money. Really, all she wants to do is to be forgiven. Her guilt is eating her up.

I think my favourite part of the book is the family's wariness around her. She is pretty sneaky so it is understandable. She screwed them over but she, along with Liam, are living in a rose coloured world and could not give a damn about anything other than each other.

It was an alright book but the characters border the label of annoying.

[WhiskeyintheJar · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning of this book was really good it had a lot of funny parts that started to give me high hopes for it. There is a part where the lead guy "Liam" thinks a little girl "Natalie" is the French invading his room to try and kill him, good stuff. Liam was to shy and awkward for me, but he was endearing; I just like my men to be a little darker. I know, I know it is meant to be more of a light hearted book.
I don't know if anyone else has read this book, but for me the "punish me" sex scene came out of nowhere! I think I even said outloud "wtf". (Well not wtf I actually said the words, but for my fourth blog entry it seems a bit crass to type f***. I have the mouth of a sailor so I am trying to go as long as possible w/out cussing on here.) Did anyone else feel this scene was out of place?
The main female lead "Ellie" oh I hardly knew ye! I just didn't feel connected to her until the last hundred pgs or so of the book.
I kind of lost interest a little more than halfway through the book. Like I said there were some funny scenes: Liam shooting the goose in Hyde Park, and his general thoughts about how the English acted.
I started to really get back into the book w/ the truth and consequences scene, I liked Ellie's thoughts as everyone stared at her. She asks Liam "Have you ever been in love?" He answers "Never" I gasped outloud but then Liam answers "Until recently." Whew!
I also liked the notes Liam writes to his mom, one of the last ones he writes about how women "steal your heart and your kilt" people who read the book will appreciate the kilt part!
By and by it had its funny moments but alas not a keeper; but I did get a good quote from it.

B

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love highlanders to begin with, and Julia London is one of my favorite authors. That said, I really enjoyed reading this book. I loved the way Liam went on a mission only to be "outdone" and by a female, not once but couple times!! I don't know if the others were reading the same book as I was, but I really enjoyed and have recommended it to several people I know. I also hate doing rviews because I am always scared I will give away something and I know for myself I don't like that, unless it is someone who knows me and wants me to read the book and then and only then will they tell me something to get interested in the book.

I loved the fact that Liam kept to his highlander ways. The only time he had to dress differnetly was while on his mission, but then every one does that. Ellen, i loved her character!! So she made one mistake, who hasn't, but the way she was treated got me upset, I mean isn't family suppose to stand by you when something happens? But I also understand this was the way in those days.

All I can say is if you want a book to enjoy, get this book and all of Julia's books!!!

[Jultri · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5. While I normally love Julia London's novel, I could not warm up to this book. Liam was no alpha male, more like delta. He was naive to the point of being borderline intellectually challenged. He was ignorant and backward especially when it came to his London interactions. While there is a certain cuteness and charm to the Forrest Gump type, I prefer my male leads in the know and confident. As for Ellen, she has such a lack of resourcefulness, that she cannot think of extracting herself out of her current predicament in any other way than to betray him. You just want to slap her silly. Then again, she doesn't need slapping to be inanely silly. The only sympathetic character is her little girl, Natalie. It's no wonder, she resorts to escaping into her alternate world, when reality surrounds her with such incompetent grown ups.

[Jennifer Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first half of this book. It moved well. The concept was fun. I was very intrigued based on the prologue. Then about half way it got tedious. It seemed a story that could have been told in half the time was extended and extended and finally I was fed up with both characters. I didn't like Ellie's betrayal. I mean I really, really didn't like that at all. Liam seemed like a big goofus, but he was likable. When he returned to his home to find her, that last love scene didn't sit well with me. It felt thrown in just for the smut of it. I finished this story at midnight and will gladly start the second in the series because I want to know if they ever get the blasted beastie back, but it's not because this first in story left me excited.

[Theadra Chapman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Best part of this book was giving my coworkers constant updates. Mainly because they hate this genre and thought it rediculous that I was keeping them in the loop. And I will read the other two for the same reason.

It's not great. But it's diverting

[Monique Takens · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful comedy !!!!!!

[Miss_Cultura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mi primera lectura de esta autora....un fiasco ¿Qué libro de Julia London debería leer?
http://www.soycazadoradesombrasylibro...

[Desibooks14 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sería un 3,75 ya que me ha parecido una historia bastante bonita pero con sus puntos negativos

[Maribel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liam Lockhart, experimentado soldado del Regimiento de las Highlands, será el encargado de recuperar El Monstruo, una antigua estatuilla de oro y rubíes sobre la que recae una maldición pero que, debido a su gran valor económico, se ha convertido en la última esperanza del clan para salvarlos de la ruina.

El capitán viaja a Londres con la intención de entablar relaciones con sus primos ingleses, los actuales custodios de la figura, para robársela. Durante su estancia en ese país se hospeda en un modesto alojamiento propiedad del señor Farnsworth. El lugar es horrible, pero para Liam resulta todo un aliciente que Ellen, la atractiva dama de la que se ha quedado prendado en cuanto la ha visto, sea la hija de su arrendador.

En esta serie conoceremos la historia de los tres hermanos Lockhart y en esta primera entrega el protagonista será Liam, el primogénito de la familia y supuestamente, el más responsable y maduro de los tres. Griffin, su hermano menor, es totalmente opuesto a él: sus modales son mucho más refinados, odia el ejército y en el futuro quiere dedicarse a las finanzas. Su hermana Mared es una joven rebelde a la que le gusta más luchar con una espada que dedicarse a las labores propias de una dama y su mayor diversión es incordiar a Douglas, miembro del clan vecino.

Ha resultado una novela entretenida y algo diferente a las historias de este subgénero que he leído hasta ahora, ya que al ambientarse a principios del siglo XIX, la aparición de un highlander en medio de una gran ciudad provocará situaciones bastante divertidas por culpa de las costumbres rudas y bastante pueblerinas de Liam, que contrastarán mucho frente a los remilgados y refinados gustos de los habitantes londineses.

Sin embargo, es una novela que se queda corta en algunos aspectos, en especial, en la relación que se entabla entre Liam y Ellen, mucho más enfocada en la atracción sexual que existe entre ellos que en otra cosa. Ellen es una amante con mucha iniciativa y lo vuelve loco en la cama, pero choca mucho su forma de actuar si tenemos en cuenta lo que le ocurrió en el pasado y la vida que ha llevado hasta ahora.

Liam me ha gustado por su gran corazón y como os he avanzado, por algunas situaciones disparatadas que ha protagonizado, sin embargo, creo que es un personaje que destaca mucho más por su fuerza bruta que por su cerebro. Para Ellen, Liam representa una bocanada de aire fresco, la oportunidad de ser feliz de nuevo. Lleva viviendo bajo el control de su padre y lamentándose de su suerte toda la vida pero cuando por fin reacciona y decide llevar a cabo su plan para escapar, no duda en usar a Liam para lograr su objetivo.

La historia es autoconclusiva, pero en el desenlace queda abierto algún frente, creo que de forma totalmente voluntaria por parte de la autora, para darle continuidad a la historia en las dos siguientes entregas. No ha sido una novela memorable, pero ha cumplido su objetivo de entretenerme y con total seguridad, continuaré con la serie para saber cómo continua la aventura de estos tres hermanos.

[Soleil · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Que cosa más bonita leí, es muy tiernita, y me rei tanto es que gente no es una novela en dónde uno diría fue odio amor o mientras ella se robaba la estatuilla el prácticamente la mato, porque no es cierto ,fue una relación desde un principio muy tierna, también está que nuestra protagonista es madre y ver cómo Liam nuestro protagonista la ama, me da mil años de vida.

•Una de las cosas que no gusto fue como defendí al padre de Natalie, hija de Ellen, ya que yo dije no, el debe tener un porque las dejo solas tantos años, ya que cuesta mucho que nos hablen de él.

•Otra cosa es el padre de Ellen, ese hombre me cae muy mal, yo entiendo muy bien que es estar embarazada y más en aquella época, es que te miren para únicamente apuntarte, pero Dios, señor entre estar viviendo un infierno por mantener a su hija encerrada mejor valla y déjelas solas en el campo.

•El porque Ellen quiere escapar con la estatuilla, no se si fui yo, pero no entendí realmente, el escape, se que una madre desesperada por el bienestar con su hija muchas veces no ve bien las posibilidades del futuro, sin embargo no le encontré fin, con los acontecimientos que estaban pasando actualmente en su vida.

•Por otro lado, la búsqueda fue de lo mejor, creo que el desarrollo fue mejor que el principio y del final.

Reseña

Liam necesita dinero para poder pagar todo lo que la familia Lockhart, deudas es lo mínimo que mantienen asi que irá detras de la estatuilla que fue arrebatada de su familia hace años, la cual estaba "maldita", pero cuando llega se encuentra con una pequeña, un tourbillon de saltos y preguntas sin cesar, su nombre es Natalie y le alegrará sus días hasta que un día su hermosa madre la encontrará hablando sobre una familia falsa y un mundo aún más fantástico a Liam de manera que por primera vez tendran ese click, Ellen por su parte le encantaba encontrar a Liam, no importaba como, solo ver su rostro le alegraba, hasta que entre conversación y conversación se cuentan los secretos en dónde Ellen vera algo de esperanza pero será traicionar todo lo que le da ha dado alegría fuera de Natalie en los últimos 10 años, aunque al mismo tiempo será su oportunidad de libertad. Por lo que deberá de encontrar la manera de poder ser libre y feliz al mismo tiempo que las traiciones que la mantienen adolorida no la alcancen.

[Aly · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

J'ai lu une édition plus ancienne mais je suis trop lâche pour la rajouter mais je vais tout de même me forcer à donner mon avis.

L'histoire commence en Écosse, avec la légende d'une statuette et de la malédiction de la dame de Lockhart. On est ensuite transporté en 1816, où l'on fait la connaissance de Liam Lockhart, ancien capitaine, qui est revenu avec des cicatrices et rêve encore de la guerre contre la France qui a pris fin depuis quelques mois. Pour aider sa famille avec leurs difficultés financières, Liam part à Londres, à la recherche de la fameuse statuette, qui se trouverait apparemment chez un cousin. C'est lorsqu'il cherche un logis temporaire qu'il fait connaissance de la belle Ellen Farnsworth et de sa petite fille à l'imaginaire débordant.

Parce qu'elle a fait confiance au mauvais numéro, Ellen vit une vie de quasi recluse dans la maison de son père. L'arrivée d'un nouveau locataire la change de son quotidien peuplé de solitude et d'inquiétude monétaire. Il lui apporte une paix d'esprit nouvelle dans un tourbillon d'émotions et de sensations mais qu'arrivera t-il lorsque la demoiselle devra faire un choix entre Liam et le bien de sa fille?

Une romance old school (et donc avec des personnages qui sont un peu moins étoffés et un détail ou deux qui passeraient moins bien aujourd'hui) mais avec un brin d'humour que j'ai bien apprécié.

[Night Runner · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF - 55%

Template

2 Stars for me!

My rating range of this story...
If significant, why? 1.5 - 3 Stars

Main Character Ratings...
H = 5/10
h = 4/10

Was cheating involved? No
Any major triggers to be aware of?

Scenes with heat... Yes
What point does it start? 45% maybe
How much of the story? Unknown
Anything beyond M/F? No
If yes, explained

Heat Rating... 6/10
Clean or Fade to Black - 1 or 2
Normal to Descriptive 3-5
Detailed Descriptive Sex - 6-7
Um, Wow, Beyond Descriptive Sex - 8 or above

Was there so much sex or unrealistic sex that you rolled your eyes and/or skipped forward? Unknown

The back story... Family land in Scotland is in dire financial straits and the Warrior brother goes to London to steal back a solid gold statue. He meets the h and her 10 year old daughter.

The Romance... The H/h fall quickly for each other.

The drama explosion... Unknown
Did it feel real or contrived? Sloooow
Was it OTT?
Separation involved?
Was it resolved properly or rushed?

Final Notes... This was a very slow read with a dimwitted H that is supposed to be stealthy and smart. The h steals the statue knowing that it could ruin the H's family. That killed the rest of the story for me


HEA or HFN? Don't care.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a huge Outlander fan. For years I avoided reading anything else that was Highlander or Time Travel related because I knew it wouldn't compare. Recently, I've tried a couple and found them to be ok. But, in my book, nothing is ever going to live up to the Outlander series. So it was with the first book in this triology. I liked the characters, I liked the writing style and the pacing was mostly good except I think I would've preferred about a day less in each major location. There were some steamy love scenes - which weren't the steamiest I've ever read but they were quite evocative. There were a couple of plot twists that surprised me. The author sets the ending up nicely to lead into the next book in the series. And while I am curious to know the fate of "the beastie", I feel like a second book would be very similar to this one - but with Liam's brother Griffin as the main character. I'm not curious enough about the beastie to invest more time in getting to know a new character (Griffin) and follow him through the same town (London) on the same quest where, undoubtedly, he'll fall in love with a young lass, just as Liam did.

[Elle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled to finish this book. At first, I was willing to hang in there (despite the fact that I think the author went WAY overboard with the hero's faux-pas in London--seriously, doing laundry in a park?!?!). I did find the daughter delightful (and particularly appreciated her relationship with Liam), but her TERRIBLE example of a mom left me with little hope for her future. AND when the "heroine" decided to completely disregard anyone's needs but her own and came up with her super-selfish solution that involved betraying someone she supposedly loved, I was finished. I'd put so much time into the book that I skimmed the last few chapters, and as I did that, I found myself getting increasingly frustrated with the story. I don't see the heroine as redeemable, and her explanations didn't excuse her actions (especially when there were clearly other options). Very disappointing because I did find some fun and humor in the beginning of the story.

[Rena ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este va más por un 2.5 que para un 3 estrellas. Me gustó el motivo principal de "en búsqueda de la joya perdida" (algo así en resumen), peeeero no me gustó mucho el instalove ni en como terminan las cosas con respecto a la pieza que anda buscando el protagonista masculino.

Honestamente esperaba algo más considerando que siempre veo el nombre de Julia London cuando hay recomendaciones de romance histórico, pero sigo sintiendo que no conecto completamente con el romance en sus libros. Estaba algo emocionada por el hecho de que en esta trilogía hay highlanders, sin embargo no terminó siendo lo que esperaba. Todo fue demasiado precipitado y de un momento a otro ya se amaban. Además, la hija sí se me hizo insoportable, en cierto momento el prota pensaba igual y al siguiente la adoraba... ¿cómo?

En fin, no tengo muchas esperanzas en el siguiente libro porque básicamente no conocimos mucho del hermano, pero tengo fe en el tercero porque al menos siento que hay más química entre la hermana y el "enemigo" (que en realidad me pareció bastante "amigo" de la familia). Entonces así mis sentimientos con respecto a este primer libro de trilogía, ya veremos cómo me va con los siguientes.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final 1/3 of this book was considerably more interesting than the first 2/3. It started pretty average.
I enjoyed the parts where Liam behaves like a wild Highlander in London (hunting geese in a fancy city park for example) and wish there had been more of that.
Ellie makes some choices later in the book that seem incredibly out of character and kind of ridiculous and not well thought out at all. However, that was actually when the book got more interesting so I was willing to go with it.
The author spends time on some characters that seem to be completely meaningless to the story, which was bugging me. However, those characters show up in the second book with actual roles to play, so they are here for a future purpose.
I have started reading the 2nd book in the series already and so far it’s off to a better start than this one.

[Julia · Rating 1 out of 5]

UGH! This novel cured me, albeit I'm sure only temporarily, of my streak of romances. There was just so much to dislike! London leaned way too heavily into the "look at the man from Scotland trying to adjust to big city London" (I will admit that Outlander raised my awareness about just how much British bullshit gets directed toward Scotland, in addition to, ya know, their history of colonialist violence), and as a result, the Highlander just appears dumb as a rock. I didn't love the chemistry between him and Ellen, and SHE is a piece of work. I suppose her betrayal and his forgiveness is supposed to show us how love conquers all, but her moment of reckoning rings false, and it's not comprehensible why exactly he finds her behavior excusable given that she never even really gave a good apology! Color me frustrated, and it was bad enough that I'm not sure I'd try this author again.

[Adrián · Rating 2 out of 5]

Es el primer libro que leo de la autora. Me sentía atraída por sus títulos, por las historias que tan bien me han reseñado, y decidí empezar por este, que ya tiene sus años.

He de decir, que la historia es muy buena, y tiene potencial, pero está mal llevada, la lectura resulta aburrida y pesada, apenas avanza, los personajes son lentos y el 70% de las conversaciones vacías. Es una lástima porque podría haber sido un libro bastante bueno. Resulta fácil enamorarse de los preceptos iniciales de la historia, pero no del libro como producto.

No obstante, le daré una segunda oportunidad a Julia London, deseo encontrar el atractivo de sus novelas que causa su popularidad. Tal vez la siguiente ocasión lo haga escogiendo algún trabajo suyo más reciente, ojalá encuentre evolución.

[Alejandra]

I don’t know how to rate this book.
Liam is portrayed in a ridiculous way, completely inappropriate and without any social grace, I mean, it’s common sense not to hunt in a park where people are walking around, if he’s a soldier then he would know how to behave amongst civilians.
The relationship is ambivalent at best, with them saying they are irreversibly in love, but apart from good chemistry in bed we don’t actually see the love in the deeper relationship.
The betrayal was in fact unforgivable. But it was easily forgiven

I don’t know if I would recommend the book, but I kinda want to know what happens next, so I’ll try the next book in the series

[Jessica Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I became interested in reading Julia London books after reading she is a local author. While this book is not primarily set in Scotland, a country that fascinates me and I enjoy reading about, I do still enjoy reading books with a Scot as the main character. This is a pretty classic romance, written approximately a decade ago. It is a first in a series about a family in Scotland trying to save their ancestral home. I enjoyed it and the characters. I will likely read the second in the series.

[Judith Sherrod · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highlander Bound

An excellent storyline riddled with twists and turns to confuse even the sharpest mind. Liam used all his military experience to find the beastie only to have Ellie steal it away. Both needed it to secure the future of those they loved. The saying went that it would only slip through the fingers of the Scots.