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Two broken hearts unite, becoming one love that will last forever.

Sold from one ruthless master to another, Joanie is a servant who has lived her whole life in fear. When Randolph Tweed, an English merchant with cold, unfeeling eyes, buys her, she fears she has fallen into the hands of her cruelest master yet. But what she doesn’t realize is that Randolph is actually Alec MacVie, Scottish spy and rebel.

The first time Alec sees Joanie is in his dreams. He has a vision of a young woman standing on a bridge alone, bleeding, and broken hearted. He must rescue her, and when he does he soon realizes she holds the power to rescue him right back.

Join Alec and Joanie on a journey of healing, passion, and hope, where their love and strength forge a new destiny for themselves and for Scotland.

234 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 16, 2017

747 people are currently reading
322 people want to read

About the author

Lily Baldwin

34 books162 followers
"Lily Baldwin weaves thrilling tales in a beautiful, lyrical style, captivating readers from the first word to the last contented sigh." - Ceci Giltenan, Bestselling author

"Lily Baldwin...paints a beautiful literary picture with strong characters and an intriguing storyline." - Kathryn Le Veque, USA Today Bestselling author

"You know a book is great when you can feel the characters pain, their fears and their happiness...Lily Baldwin's books do that!" - Amazon Reviewer


Award-winning Historical Romance author Lily Baldwin loves writing, Scotland, her wonderful husband and beautiful young daughter--though not necessarily in that order. She has a BA in anthropology from the University of New Hampshire, and an MA in International Studies from Birmingham University in the UK. She daydreams constantly, and gets her best story ideas while running; she is even training for a half-marathon. She also finds inspiration in Nature, a quality revealed through the powerful description and drama in her books. Currently TO BEWITCH A HIGHLANDER, HIGHLAND THUNDER, and TO LOVE A WARRIOR (Books 1, 2 & 3 of the Isle of Mull series) are available. HIGHLAND SHADOWS, Beautiful Darkness Series, Book 1 is a Paranormal Highland Romance. Lily is hoping to release book 2 in the Beautiful Darkness Series in Spring 2016. A JEWEL IN THE VAULTS, an award-winning novella, will soon be available in audio! Most recently, Lily has released JACK: A Scottish Outlaw with the promise of many more Scottish Outlaws to come.

She lives in New England with her cherished husband and daughter.

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5 stars
563 (56%)
4 stars
290 (29%)
3 stars
103 (10%)
2 stars
27 (2%)
1 star
7 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
Profile Image for Candace.
950 reviews
December 13, 2018
Alec MacVie is a Scottish spy and rebel posing as an English merchant named Randolph Tweed. Joanie Picard is a servant of Geoffrey Mercer serving as maid to Diana Faintree. When Diana can't sing, Joanie takes her place. She is a success and Geoffrey doesn't recognize her. When he comes to Diana's room to demand why she didn't sing, he recognizes Joanie as that night's singer. He tells Diana she has two days to get better or Joanie takes her place as his leman. Joanie sings a second night and feels the cold stare of Randolph Tweed. When Geoffrey tries to force Joanie into his arms, Randolph steps in to save her from a strike from Geoffrey. Randolph offers one hundred silver marks for Joanie. Geoffrey accepts. Joanie and Diana run away from Geoffrey and Randolph.

Randolph (Alec) has the sight. He sees visions, "dreams that reveal needs or wants looming in the future." He has seen Joanie in a dream. He feels compelled to save her. Alec doesn't feel the emotional chaos with Joanie that he feels with others. He is puzzled and wants to understand why. Joanie is a healer. She heats up the purple shard hanging around Alec's neck. Why is this so? Alec wants to learn the answer.

I found this book enjoyable. It was a nice, easy read. The main characters are developed and flawed. Joanie doesn't have a beautiful body and Alec appears cold and indifferent. It's not until they meet that they begin to heal each other. I still found Joanie too timid, but she went through a lot of physical abuse. This could be part of the reason for her timidity. The plot is simple but compelling. The description is good and the dialogue is fine. I'm reading out of order. I still have books one and three to read.
Profile Image for Coco.V.
50k reviews130 followers
Want to read
January 28, 2018
💝 FREE on Amazon today (1/28/2018)! 💝

Blurb:
Two broken hearts unite, becoming one love that will last forever.

Sold from one ruthless master to another, Joanie is a servant who has lived her whole life in fear. When Randolph Tweed, an English merchant with cold, unfeeling eyes, buys her, she fears she has fallen into the hands of her cruelest master yet. But what she doesn’t realize is that Randolph is actually Alec MacVie, Scottish spy and rebel.

The first time Alec sees Joanie is in his dreams. He has a vision of a young woman standing on a bridge alone, bleeding, and broken hearted. He must rescue her, and when he does he soon realizes she holds the power to rescue him right back.

Join Alec and Joanie on a journey of healing, passion, and hope, where their love and strength forge a new destiny for themselves and for Scotland.
Profile Image for Lorrie.
271 reviews2 followers
May 17, 2017
A love story where two tormented hearts find solace in one another leading them on a journey to true love.

What an amazing read. Through every one of these books in this series I'd end with, this one is my favorite. I could hardly wait for this one when it centered around the quiet, lonesome Alec, who was a seer. This author had an amazing way of getting into his head allowing the reader to see and feel his thoughts. For a man of few words, one would think it would be difficult to create dialog, not Lily. I think only one with a true kind heart could write something so beautifully. There was a paragraph where Alec described the feeling of grief that touched me so deeply, it left me with a whole new outlook on losing someone you loved. What an amazing gift she has.

For this story, imagine two people with tormented pasts coming together....healing and coming to love one another like a long drum roll before a tune. It was perfectly written in my opinion and this will be one story I'll remember for a long time to come.

Do not hesitate, I give my highest recommendation for this book and cannot wait for her next book.
704 reviews
January 30, 2018
This book impressed me way more than I expected. It takes place in 1302, beginning in London and moving into Scotland. I got a decent sense of 1302 - it did not read like a contemporary with a few “time period” words thrown in here and there to remind you to picture everything in the past. There were references to lifestyles, politics, and rulers, and it made me curious enough to do a little research into some different areas.

The book almost seem to border on fantasy and not just a historical romance (maybe it’s supposed to and I’m just stating the obvious). The Hero is a seer and the Heroine is a healer, but both (and their relationship) seem to involve a bit more magic realism than your usual seers and healers in highland romance. I can see other people thinking it silly or cliche, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. I wanted to believe! And I’m not a believer! ;) My only complaint might be the sex scenes - that’s where I really did think that the cliche was running rampant. I’ll forgive those sections because I was happy that poor woman was finally happy and cared for!

Overall, I enjoyed the flowery, dramatic writing and cared about the characters. I liked seeing the Heroine grow. I enjoyed it enough to buy the other 0.99 kindle books in the series about the rest of the family. The book wraps up nicely, so it definitely works as a stand-alone as well.
61 reviews
April 30, 2018
Unfortunately this was a miss for me. The book lacked pacing and structure. Almost the entire first half was just about Joanie's abuses (and Alec's struggles with his gift) without any romantic storyline. It felt very slow, which was surprising given that it was a relatively short book. Then when the romance finally got underway between Alec and Joanie, it felt rushed and a bit shallow. Unlike some others, I did not like the ending, *spoiler* with the introduction of a "deus ex machine" angel to solve all the problems. *End of spoiler* And as another reviewer mentioned, the use of "chard" instead of "shard" dozens upon dozens of times was frustrating and distracting. A smaller pet peeve of mine--the actual story ended at 85% and the remaining 15% was just excerpts and ads for other books. Unfortunately I can't recommend this book.
Profile Image for Helen White.
124 reviews1 follower
August 22, 2017
ALEC

Three stars for Lily Baldwin's Alec. Ok but could have held my interest better. Book 4 is better than book 1 but I would not buy it. The lady Joanie is fearful of everything but Alex is the only person to fight her fear for her. They fall in love and end up reuniting with his brothers and their wives. I read all the books in order written and find that I could have done without them. I could not get interested enough in the 1st and 4th to justify the time I spent reading them. Books 2 and 3 were so much better but I have habit of wanting to read a whole series in order written. This series I do not recommend but decide for yourself.
Profile Image for Kat Green.
1,147 reviews19 followers
May 20, 2017
WOW, OH WOW 😍 I've been waiting for a while for Alec's story since he has been a favorite of mine through the other books. I've loved every one, and love the audio James did of Jack, so I hope Alec gains a voice soon too. Lily Baldwin does not disappoint, she only gets better and better! So whose story is gonna be next? I C ain't wait!!! Do NOT miss this great read!
1,603 reviews12 followers
February 24, 2020
This is a good addition to the Highland Outlaw series, and I really liked both Alec and Joanie. This book is my favorite of the series so far. My rating is 4 stars.

I was actually surprised that I liked Alec as much as I did, because he seemed so cold and hard in the first 3 books. This book explained more about why he was that way, though, and he completely changed because of Joanie. I liked the paranormal aspect of the story, where Alec and little Matthew had "the sight". I also liked that being around Joanie helped Alec to handle his abilities better. I thought Alec and Joanie were perfect for each other, and made a great couple.

I also really loved some of the plot of this book. I won't give any spoilers, but some of what happens near the end is just wonderful.

I did think that Alec and Joanie fell in love a little too quickly to be believable, especially since Joanie's past made her so afraid all the time.

My rating system is below.
1 star -- Hated it, or did not finish. I usually only give this rating if some of the content is truly objectionable to me, like if one of the main characters does something really awful, and gets away with it.
2 stars -- Didn't like it. This rating usually means that I thought the writing wasn't very good, the editing was terrible, I didn't like the characters, or it had other major flaws.
3 stars -- I liked it, but had some minor issues with it. This rating means that there were minor editing issues, the story needed more character development, it was just too unrealistic, or had some other fairly minor issue. The majority of books I read get this rating – I do not consider it a bad rating.
4 stars -- I liked it a lot. This is a high rating for me, and I rarely give a higher one.
5 stars -- I loved it, and will probably read it again. Very few books are good enough to get this rating from me. The ones that do are usually classics.
1,030 reviews4 followers
July 10, 2023
Two broken souls.

I have loved all 4 books in the series so far. Alec, like his brothers are agents for the Scottish cause. Unlike his brothers he is haunted by the past and by his ability to see into other’s souls. When he has a vision of a woman on a bridge begging for help he knows he must find her. Joanie is a servant who has been beaten her whole life. She would do anything to save her mistress Diana, who is the only one who has been kind to her since she was a small child. This is a great story of two broken souls fighting for what they believe in while overcoming so many obstacles on their way to love.
Profile Image for Annette.
246 reviews3 followers
May 22, 2017
Another great story of the McVie

When I see Lily's name for the author I absolutely pre-order! I have never been disappointed and love the stories she weaves. Her characters are always a great and never carbon copies from previous books. Alex was the one brother that I understood the least bit a perfect for for Joanie. Both dealt with hurt and pain in their life but stood strong. And Lily has given us the gift of new people to live and look forward to. And-*spoiler*- she gives us an angel too. Thank you for a deep, wonderful tale.
Profile Image for Joan Osborne.
413 reviews
February 27, 2018
Beautiful love story

This was such a beautiful love story about two people who had lived difficult lives and whose love saved each other. Alec was a seer who could read people's minds and learned to harden his heart to lessen the bombardment of emotions he was plagued with every day. Joannie had known nothing but cruelty from men her entire life and spent her life always being afraid. I just loved how these two finally came together and found their happiness with each other. A wonderful heartwarming story.
Profile Image for Angela.
569 reviews
May 12, 2021
Seers and Lovers

The story of Alec and Joanie, two tormented people come together and heal each other through their love for each other, was truly an amazing and heartwarming story.

I was captive from the beginning to the end. Omg. I bawled my eyeballs out! My heart and soul wretched. I didn't know what to feel! I wanna scream and tear it out of me just to get rid of the sadness it instilled me from reading it and then the pure happiness In the end when they reunited with the rest of Alec's family and Joanie had her family.

Truly magical.

Alec ♥️ Joanie.
Profile Image for Mindi.
96 reviews
February 4, 2018
Intriguing

Alec can feel other peoples emotions ams see I to their souls whenever he touches someone. Joanie takes care of her sister Diana and tries to protect her from their abusive master. Alec has dreams about Joanie but doesn't know her name or where she is just that one day soon he will meet her on a bridge. But he finds her sooner then he knows but doesn't realise its her.
Profile Image for Melinda.
846 reviews6 followers
November 20, 2020
Best of the series!

I knew I would love Alec. I'm a sucker for a quiet tortured man.

This book was different than the others in a couple of ways. First, it veered into the magical world a wee bit. We already knew Alec was a seer but he was a powerful Empath too. Joanie had a little healing iin her too. Second, this story was a lot darker than the others. Joanie's life had been cruel and hard and she was still owned by a bad man. The darkness just added to the intrigue.

Profile Image for Ann Gonzalez.
1,498 reviews15 followers
May 19, 2017
Great series

This book does not pull the reader in as well as the others in the series, but it is still quite captivating. I am not sure I liked the angel part. No details, so I don't spoil the story. I knew he had the sight, but not so much he feels everyone around him. I like that Alec finds his peace. I look forward to more books in the series.
Profile Image for Laura Simmons.
Author 23 books284 followers
May 27, 2017
I've read the Highland Outlaws books out of order and still need to read Rory. I've loved all of them and this one was a great story too. I was intrigued with Alec's character and enjoyed the breathtaking romance between him and Joanie. It was certainly swoon-worthy! I hope there are more books in this series. I want Rose and Ian to find their perfect mates.
308 reviews1 follower
February 2, 2018
I truly enjoyable read!

Alex was a very amazing fellow as was his Joanie!
This was a very enjoyable story. I kept waiting for the English knights to attack them on the way to Scotland.... But hoorah they made it! I would recommend this story to anyone who enjoys a good story with a happy ending.
Profile Image for Will Decker.
Author 23 books17 followers
February 2, 2018
It appears that I'm running in the middle of the pack as far as reviews with this one. The character development is awesome, the suspense a tad weak, and the editing just okay. Of course, with all the old brogue being used, who can really say about the editing. I really liked the plot and it's steady pace. There were a few moments of excitement, but mostly it's a character driven romance.
170 reviews
September 3, 2018
Could be so much better. Often it was interesting and reasonably well written, but sometimes it had me nearly helpless with laughter at its banal stupidity. The main sex scene was one of the silliest I have read in a long time. The author was aiming at tender, and I applaud her for her attempt. Two stars rather than one because of the good passages.
135 reviews
February 8, 2022
Flimsy as tracing paper

Nothing about this book was well developed or written. The plot had absolutely no arc, the characters were about as strong as paper dolls, the whole thing was just bad. I’d file this away with all the Disney movies that have the princess marrying the prince 24 hours after meeting him, except Disney characters are better developed.
Profile Image for Robin .
217 reviews1 follower
May 25, 2023
excellent read

Another excellent book in the Outlaw series. Each book has been better than the last. The story of Alec and Joanie my favorite so far. The characters drew you in and kept you hooked. My only question is what happened to Simon. I would have liked to see that mentioned as he turned out to be not so bad. Overall it was spellbinding and I cannot wait to read on
Profile Image for EvilAntie Jan.
1,589 reviews13 followers
May 31, 2017
Amazing series

Alex's story just had to be last - it brings together an amazing series. Alex and Joanie possess the sight and it is a rare gift- both carry scars and they each are healed in each other's arms. Lily Baldwin has done a superb job with this series.
Profile Image for Linda Hartford.
7 reviews
January 31, 2018
So-so

The story was OK but I was constantly irritated by the misuse of the word "chard" (a leafy green vegetable) when the proper word was shard ( a small broken piece of stone or pottery) and other numerous spelling errors. Wasn't this edited before publication?
Profile Image for Jan Herman.
51 reviews1 follower
February 4, 2018
Sight

This is a sweet inspiring love story set in a difficult time period but in a beautiful location. The author does a superb job of helping the reader understand what it's like have sight.
282 reviews2 followers
February 7, 2018
Sexually explicit.

I did not know that this book contained sexually explicit content. I discontinued reading when the scenes became objectionable to me. I believe this story could have been enjoyable if kept clean. I would appreciate knowing in advance when books are unsavory.
Profile Image for Jill.
6 reviews
March 13, 2018
I have not read the previous 3 Scottish Outlaw books, but quite enjoyed the story of Alex and Joanie. I like a happy ending and appreciated that Joanie was not broken given her childhood experiences. As a subscriber to bookbub.com, I got this book for free on my Kindle app.
Profile Image for shirlene brown.
326 reviews1 follower
March 20, 2018
Finding your mate

Alec could since what either people was thinking or feel but with joanie he could fill her fear only and nothing else. This is a very good story I give this a four star rating
555 reviews4 followers
October 29, 2018
Alec

This is the third book in this series that I have read all the characters are so amazing and romantic lot's of adventure and drama and excitement and lots of love.Thank you for a great book.now I'm my way to read Rose
6 reviews
March 29, 2019
Great Read!!!

Believable characters, page turner story. I really enjoyed reading this book. It has believable characters and believable plots. The story flows very well! I look forward to reading more books by Lily Baldwin!
Profile Image for Eva  DuSablon.
12 reviews
July 5, 2019
The knowing eye

This book is for the people that see too much, feel too much and know too much. I am one of them and the pain we feel for others is hard to carry, Alex had to carry too much. Then a broken Angle needs him
Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews

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