When a cloth went over her mouth she wasn't surprised, but she was furious. A woman should never be kidnapped once -- much less twice.
While I had not come across Enoch's books in my fairly recent but ever-growing love for historical romances, when I saw that this particular plot featured a strapping highlander and a kidnapped englishwomen, I couldn't resist dipping my toe into MY ONE TRUE HIGHLANDER.
And one toe eventually became my whole foot, leg.. well, you get the idea. I fell right into this story.
Enoch's writing is wonderful. Beautiful, clever; the woman turns a good phrase. While the story itself, which picks up after book one -- which I've yet to read -- might not be anything new, it was highly enjoyable. The characters, specifically Graeme's younger brothers, were so so wonderful. I fell in love with them from their first introduction; from Brendan's surly teenager attitude, to Dughlas' wry peacekeeping, to Connell's utter sweetness in rescuing and bringing home every stray animal he can find.
"Stop teasing Connell. He likes the Sassenach, and ye ken the duckling has a soft heart."
"I dunnae have a soft heart, I have a big heart!"
But for all the plot might feel familiar, the characters had some unique and added dimension to them, specifically our heroine and some of the secondary personalities. Marjorie's life was far from straight forward, having not been far along in life before losing her parents, forcing her older brother to enlist in order to help provide her an education, only to suddenly -- years later -- both inherit from a distant relative they hadn't even known.. and become a Duke and a duke's sister. But wealth and respect does not necessarily garner friendships and acceptance into society.
As a girl she'd dreamed of being a great lady, of men who tipped their hats and bowed at the very sight of her. Abruptly she was that lady, only to discover now that the deference of others could evidently be purchased.
[..]
Not for the first time, she wondered if fitting in with the aristocracy was worth the effort.
Graeme, conversely, knows his place in life. He is older brother, and parent, to his much younger siblings after the death of his own parents.. one loss being rather shocking and heartbreaking. He is a chieftain, responsible for his household, the cotters, the land. And has vowed to not love after the devastation left in the wake of his parents. So when the sister to the Duke who has since taken over the neighbouring Scottish lands falls in his lap, providing him the opportunity to pay dues owed to the Maxwell Laird, he is tempted. But by more than what she can buy him back. Between the attraction, the risk, being unwilling to bend to knee to the Laird, and wanting to discover why Marjorie is unlike any Sassenach he thought she'd be, well.. he decides to keep her around a little longer for himself.
"Ye should only marry her if ye're in love with her," Connell said, with all the conviction his eight years gave him. "And ye've only known her a day. What if she doesnae like cats?"
While I enjoyed their banter and the early attraction between these two, I found the intimate scenes -- even just kissing, not necessarily the sexier times -- to be.. strangely done. Not to mention Marjorie handed over her virtue in a strangely ambivalent fashion for a well-bred lady of the times. I don't know if they'll be smoothed by the time of publishing or not but they didn't flow very well and some of the more emotional moments fell a little flat to me for the same reason; there didn't seem to be very much, or at least not consistent, resonance in the romance. The chemistry was there but I only truly felt it in the lead-up to their getting together.
The highlights of this story, for me, were definitely the Maxton boys and Mrs. Giswell, Marjorie's companion, who even had her own little highlander experience. A bonus I totally adored.
I definitely intend to read more by this author, book one in this series at the very least, but while this didn't wow me completely, it was very fun and sweet and satisfying.
3.5 "lemons, kittens & kilts" stars
** I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **