“Whoever dares to threaten the Hound’s bride, come out and play…”
Curse. Elinor's fertility isn't a gift when men try to steal her from her home. Trapped. She won't allow herself to be captive again now that her cruel husband is dead. Auction. For someone to claim her hand this time, they must first pass her tests. Only...the Hound joins. And villains like him do everything better...
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Deadly. That's what Laird Ciaran is known as. Ruthless. Now that he started his own clan, he needs alliances. Dead end. The only way to do that is win the auction. But the alluring little hellion won't make it easy. Perhaps Ciaran should teach her this about They always catch their prey.
*The Highlander’s Auctioned Virgin is a steamy Scottish historical romance novel of 80,000 words (around 400 pages) written by Lydia Kendall and published by Cobalt Fairy.
No cheating, no cliffhangers, lots of steam and a happy ending.
Lydia Kendall has always been passionate about medieval romance. Having traveled to the Scottish Highlands several times as a young girl, she has always been drawn to their unparalleled beauty and history. A history that inspired stories of love and passion, mixed with tradition in the most appealing way for every hopeless romantic - much like herself.
Born in Denver, Colorado, Lydia Kendall has a degree in English Literature and Creative Writing, and over the last decade she has been writing non-stop for several clients - that is until she decided to start publishing her own work. When she isn't writing, Lydia loves spending her time in the beautiful outdoors with her loving husband and baby daughter.
Follow Lydia on this sensational journey of hot highlanders, bonny lassies, and fierce passion...and find sheer pleasure in the magnificent world of the Scottish countryside - one that will sweep you off your feet and keep you begging for more!
And so we find out what happened to Elinor after she was stolen from her bed three years ago. Forced to marry the despicable Laird of Clan MacAdair, she was held prisoner and abused at every turn. Yet, with the aid of Katherine the healer, she managed to stay out of his bed, denying him the one thing he wanted, an heir. After his death, knowing that she had to remarry so that the clan would have a new Laird, Elinor decided to have an auction where she set up tests to determine who had the three traits she desired. They needed to be protective, caring and humorous. Ciaran Brooks, the new Laird MacTraigh, was known far and wide as the Hound, an excellent tracker and proficient killer. He had been raised by his brother Logan after his parents died when he was young. Ciaran idolized Logan and would do anything to gain his approval. Knowing this, Logan turned Ciaran into his own personal human weapon. One incident opened Ciaran’s eyes and intstead of killing his brother for what he had done, Ciaran left the clan. What he did not expect was that half the clan would choose to leave with him. Since he had all of these people depending on him, and no land of their own, winning the auction sounded like the anwer he needed. So, he arrived all handsome, feared and self-assured, which intrigued and infuriated Elinor. A stormy night won him her hand, and things got more dangerous and complicated after that. This is an exciting and heartfelt story about two people who had been abused, coming into their own. It is heartbreaking and exasperating, with both humourous and steamy moments thrown in. They each have a history of horrors that will have your teeth grinding and your stomach clenching, but in the end, they both survived to build their own happy ending. This story is well written, filled with dramatic details, has an undercurrent of danger and is difficult to put down. The epilogue is unusual and sweet and the extended epilogue seems to be teeing up the next book in the series. So good!
Normally I enjoy Lydia's books very much but this one missed the mark for me. Maybe I have the one that was off but here are the problems that I had: First of all, the story lacked substance. There was not much basis to the MMC's back story for me. I didn't get the drama associated with Ciaran's sudden needs desire to show up and find a wife. Also, I never really saw any urgency or threat to the MFC, Elinor, that would require her to hold an auction to find a husband. And then the way in which the two came together was uneventful. Secondly, I didn't find their love story interesting. He was a killer who didn't feel he should have kids and told her that REPEATEDLY but somehow this became a problem for her. She knew he didn't want kids but she did. She should not have agreed to marry him especially since she never indicated to him that kids were important to her until the end. And they never even acted like they were anything more than attracted to each other then all of a sudden, they love each other.....? And lastly, I found editing issues that needed to be resolved before printing. Things like the fact that Ciaran had just gotten out of the bath and had on a towel but then he unbuttoned his trousers. Also, I understand that they didn't always were kilts but saying that he wore trousers detracted from the story for me. He is a Highlander. He should wear a kilt and they didn't call them trousers anyway. Maybe these are my problems and I'm being knit picky but I'm leaving an honest opinion. Again, I normally love Lydia's Highlander books. I read Anna's (the sister) story and loved it but this one just didn't do it for me. Sorry Lydia.
Elinor is once again in a bind after her husband dies and others come to take her. Laird Ciaran has started his own clan and needs allies. The only way to get them is to marry Elinor but she has her own tests they must pass. Will Ciaran win and claim her as his prize. This thrilling story is descriptive well written and had me connecting with Elinor and her struggles. I am volunteering to leave a review for an ARC of this book.
Lydia Kendall ties in her latest series with her prior stories beautifully. If you enjoyed the first two books you are in for a real thrill. Grab your copy and get lost in this amazing tale.
Ciaran and Elinor are interesting characters. Their interactions and dialogue are enjoyable. Through together by fate their story tells an unusual story of hardships, trails and love. I highly recommend this book!
Like most of the books by this author that I've read. It was hard to put down. ciaran and Elinor's story was well written and the romance between them that they tried to deny was awesome.
This story grabbed me from the start. I had to find out how she would survive and find the love of her life. He had a lot of guilt to work through. The story flowed well. Another wonderful story by Ms Kendall.
I loved to read this story. Life was hard then for women, treated like possessions with no worth other than to obey their husbands and to have his children. This was a lovely story of two people who found each other and fought to stay together ❤️
I liked the part when he was so cocky he was just socute. But later when he had to fight his friend that really got to me. As a whole I thought it very good.
I read book one and two and loved them. This one was a struggle to get through. Not a lot happens in the whole book. It’s pretty boring. I couldn’t even tell you what the climax was.
I like it very much! The family hopefully has more adventures to share? I need to add seven more words when I hope you agree my first ones already say what I want…
The Highlander's Auctioned Virgin book was fast pace , full of unexpected moments. The chemistry between Elinor and Ciaran was great I especially liked Elinor character very outspoken and feisty. The Highlanders Auction series is a must read. Can't wait to read book 4!
He is strong, charismatic, humorous with flirtatious smirks and she is smart and not sickening sweet and stupid. Storyline with his brother even made me tear up. Did not like the cover photo. Not handsome enough for my imagined protagonist.