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The Renegade and the Runaway #1
Unkilted
Gregory MacGregor is a Highlander, a moody, angry outlaw who calls himself Grier Black. The British crown has taken his clan name, his tartan, his dagger, and his very honor. His mission in life is one of lawless rebellion.
Iain Stewart is Grier’s uncle, a man who has lost both his brother and his beloved wife. He lives apart from his family in the tall dark city of Edinburgh, where he follows his wits and instincts to help the survival of his clan
On the eve of a revolution, David Campbell, son of a Colonial American printer, falls afoul of occupying Redcoats. He runs straight into the hands of a ship’s captain and a lecherous opportunist. Weeks later, he finds himself in a place of peril far from home, surrounded by strangers who despise all Campbells.
…And all hell breaks loose before heaven can intervene.
Unkilted is a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers tale with a few twists and wynds along the way. A sequel titled Unbroken is in progress.
Iain Stewart is Grier’s uncle, a man who has lost both his brother and his beloved wife. He lives apart from his family in the tall dark city of Edinburgh, where he follows his wits and instincts to help the survival of his clan
On the eve of a revolution, David Campbell, son of a Colonial American printer, falls afoul of occupying Redcoats. He runs straight into the hands of a ship’s captain and a lecherous opportunist. Weeks later, he finds himself in a place of peril far from home, surrounded by strangers who despise all Campbells.
…And all hell breaks loose before heaven can intervene.
Unkilted is a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers tale with a few twists and wynds along the way. A sequel titled Unbroken is in progress.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
128 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2019
3 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
About the author
Erin O'Quinn
65 books72 followersErin O’Quinn earned a BA (English) and MA (Comparative Literature) from the University of Southern California. Her life has been a pastiche of fascinating vocations—newspaper marketing manager, university teacher, car salesperson, landscape gardener—until now, in relative retirement, she lives and writes in a small town in central Texas.
Erin has published six M/M novels and three novellas with AmberQuillPress and two independent M/M novels.
Her series titled “The Gaslight Mysteries” includes Heart to Hart, Sparring with Shadows, To the Bone. and Thin as Smoke.
Erin's indie books are NEVADA HIGHLANDER and THE KILT COMPLEX, both very well received.
In addition to these Amber Quill Press and indie books, Erin has thirteen other published novels. Of those, two are M/M historicals published by Siren Bookstrand, set in the Ireland of badass clansmen, cattle drovers, druids, Saxon mercenaries and St. Patrick himself.
Erin has published six M/M novels and three novellas with AmberQuillPress and two independent M/M novels.
Her series titled “The Gaslight Mysteries” includes Heart to Hart, Sparring with Shadows, To the Bone. and Thin as Smoke.
Erin's indie books are NEVADA HIGHLANDER and THE KILT COMPLEX, both very well received.
In addition to these Amber Quill Press and indie books, Erin has thirteen other published novels. Of those, two are M/M historicals published by Siren Bookstrand, set in the Ireland of badass clansmen, cattle drovers, druids, Saxon mercenaries and St. Patrick himself.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 21, 2019
Worth Every Page
Erin O'Quinn has this uncanny talent for bringing to life any era in which she chooses to set her stories. She does this by deeply researching the environs and mores of the period, and creating memorable characters who will leap off the page at first sentence and then settle down to make you feel at home.
Here she tackles a period of time in Scotland that is probably unfamiliar to the majority of readers--me included--and hurls us back, gently, into the mid 1770s. It's period where the indigenous Highlanders were still under suppression by the conquering English following a series of horrifying wars a couple of centuries removed.
Our MCs on this territory are 26-year-old Gregory MacGregor, now known as Grier Black, and his uncle Iain Stewart and the latter's four robust--and unmarried--sons ranging in age from 18 through 20 something. The introduction to their situation is carefully, but also vaguely, put before us oin both personal and historical details.
We are then transported across the ocean to Philadelphia where we are introduced to the Quakers, 18-year-old David Campbell and his father, Adam, a prominent printer. These two groups are both under constant threat by the occupiers in Redcoats, and before we know it, they are joined through what seems to be happenstance but may, indeed, be so much more.
To get through a solid mystery in which the MacGregors and Campbells are deeply, but unknowingly, intertwined, Ms. O'Quinn takes us on a journey through the Highlands and Edinburgh that fleshes out both personalities and motivations. There's a slew of both laid on our plate (or trencher), including a slow burning attraction between Grier and David which will absolutely captivate, and then completely consume, your attention. Woof!
How this all makes sense is totally due to the exceptional handle Ms. O'Quinn has on the English language. This lady can spin a tale that has numerous eyebrow raising moments without causing you to stop for a minute to wonder, "Uh, duh?" The way this plot unfolds is as totally improbable and completely shocking in an historical sense--but it makes so much sense because she carries it off with a wink and a nod.
Just when it seems there are not enough pages to bring this tale to anything other than an abrupt and amorphic ending, she sticks a finger in your chest and tells you that there's a sequel coming up. My oh my, you will be standing in line to get that one. But you'll be standing behind me! Bravo once more to a gifted spinner of tales.
Erin O'Quinn has this uncanny talent for bringing to life any era in which she chooses to set her stories. She does this by deeply researching the environs and mores of the period, and creating memorable characters who will leap off the page at first sentence and then settle down to make you feel at home.
Here she tackles a period of time in Scotland that is probably unfamiliar to the majority of readers--me included--and hurls us back, gently, into the mid 1770s. It's period where the indigenous Highlanders were still under suppression by the conquering English following a series of horrifying wars a couple of centuries removed.
Our MCs on this territory are 26-year-old Gregory MacGregor, now known as Grier Black, and his uncle Iain Stewart and the latter's four robust--and unmarried--sons ranging in age from 18 through 20 something. The introduction to their situation is carefully, but also vaguely, put before us oin both personal and historical details.
We are then transported across the ocean to Philadelphia where we are introduced to the Quakers, 18-year-old David Campbell and his father, Adam, a prominent printer. These two groups are both under constant threat by the occupiers in Redcoats, and before we know it, they are joined through what seems to be happenstance but may, indeed, be so much more.
To get through a solid mystery in which the MacGregors and Campbells are deeply, but unknowingly, intertwined, Ms. O'Quinn takes us on a journey through the Highlands and Edinburgh that fleshes out both personalities and motivations. There's a slew of both laid on our plate (or trencher), including a slow burning attraction between Grier and David which will absolutely captivate, and then completely consume, your attention. Woof!
How this all makes sense is totally due to the exceptional handle Ms. O'Quinn has on the English language. This lady can spin a tale that has numerous eyebrow raising moments without causing you to stop for a minute to wonder, "Uh, duh?" The way this plot unfolds is as totally improbable and completely shocking in an historical sense--but it makes so much sense because she carries it off with a wink and a nod.
Just when it seems there are not enough pages to bring this tale to anything other than an abrupt and amorphic ending, she sticks a finger in your chest and tells you that there's a sequel coming up. My oh my, you will be standing in line to get that one. But you'll be standing behind me! Bravo once more to a gifted spinner of tales.
January 16, 2019
I found this book through the author in a Facebook group for LGBT Writers, and okay, I wasn't convinced at first, but something about the description got me. Something like, do it for the rowdy Scottish Highlander aesthetic. And oh boy, I was not disappointed.
The only thing I'd say took me by surprise is that it's advertised as an enemies-to-lovers romance, when I found it to be a little more like a bad-first-impression-and-then-everything-goes-smoothly romance. Not that I mind, in fact I'd say the latter is a slightly healthier alternative, I just expected a little more spice in that aspect.
Another little thing that kind of annoyed me was that Grier's and Iain's plans always went right. I get that this is to make the reader understand that they're Good At What They Do, but sometimes, maybe it's just me, but I like to see characters struggle.
Anyways, regardless of these little peeves, the romance was *chef's kiss* exquisite. The buildup was beautifully slow-burn and reached a very satisfying ending. This book made a nerve-wrackingly excellent use of dramatic irony that perpetually had me at the edge of my seat. And! The one POV character that was not directly involved in the romance —that's Iain— had reasons to be there as much as Grier and David, perhaps even more. The side characters were also well-written and memorable (Duncan and Thomas are my faves), and the non-romance plot was just as captivating as the romance.
And as for the prose... I'm floored. The writing is so incredibly immersive, when I was reading I felt like I could look up from the screen and find myself in a roadside inn in the middle of Scotland.
Favorite thing? Too many to choose. The setting, the seamless blend of history and fiction, the perfectly paced romance, the storyline that was definitely not The Queer Struggle (and there was room to make it such, mind you), the sex, the antagonists, the side-characters, and I could go on and on.
Personal peeve? That thing I said about most things going right.
4.5 out of 5 stars. This was a beautiul read, and I physically cannot sit still until the next book is out.
(Reposted from my blog at justsomecynic.wordpress.com)
The only thing I'd say took me by surprise is that it's advertised as an enemies-to-lovers romance, when I found it to be a little more like a bad-first-impression-and-then-everything-goes-smoothly romance. Not that I mind, in fact I'd say the latter is a slightly healthier alternative, I just expected a little more spice in that aspect.
Another little thing that kind of annoyed me was that Grier's and Iain's plans always went right. I get that this is to make the reader understand that they're Good At What They Do, but sometimes, maybe it's just me, but I like to see characters struggle.
Anyways, regardless of these little peeves, the romance was *chef's kiss* exquisite. The buildup was beautifully slow-burn and reached a very satisfying ending. This book made a nerve-wrackingly excellent use of dramatic irony that perpetually had me at the edge of my seat. And! The one POV character that was not directly involved in the romance —that's Iain— had reasons to be there as much as Grier and David, perhaps even more. The side characters were also well-written and memorable (Duncan and Thomas are my faves), and the non-romance plot was just as captivating as the romance.
And as for the prose... I'm floored. The writing is so incredibly immersive, when I was reading I felt like I could look up from the screen and find myself in a roadside inn in the middle of Scotland.
Favorite thing? Too many to choose. The setting, the seamless blend of history and fiction, the perfectly paced romance, the storyline that was definitely not The Queer Struggle (and there was room to make it such, mind you), the sex, the antagonists, the side-characters, and I could go on and on.
Personal peeve? That thing I said about most things going right.
4.5 out of 5 stars. This was a beautiul read, and I physically cannot sit still until the next book is out.
(Reposted from my blog at justsomecynic.wordpress.com)
January 24, 2019
If you're a fan of the series Outlander, you will love this novel. If there is ever a character that you will absolutely adore, it's David Campbell.
Sweet and innocent, David's life is suddenly at the mercy of a Scotsman that goes by the name of Grier Black. Grier is a strong alpha male, a renegade outlaw who just wants to be a highlander. He was never looking to take care of anyone other than himself. David and Grier forge a slow burning relationship that neither could have ever foreseen in their destiny. Filled with strong emotions and stumbling blocks, they both eventually find their center of gravity which leads them to their emotional truths.
I've read several of Erin O'Quinn's novels and this is some of her best work. The amount of research and knowledge that had to have gone into such great writing is unimaginable. Her ability to masterfully write dialogue in a Scottish dialect spoken in the 1770's, demonstrates just how talented she is. Hands down, UNKILTED is a five-star book.
Sweet and innocent, David's life is suddenly at the mercy of a Scotsman that goes by the name of Grier Black. Grier is a strong alpha male, a renegade outlaw who just wants to be a highlander. He was never looking to take care of anyone other than himself. David and Grier forge a slow burning relationship that neither could have ever foreseen in their destiny. Filled with strong emotions and stumbling blocks, they both eventually find their center of gravity which leads them to their emotional truths.
I've read several of Erin O'Quinn's novels and this is some of her best work. The amount of research and knowledge that had to have gone into such great writing is unimaginable. Her ability to masterfully write dialogue in a Scottish dialect spoken in the 1770's, demonstrates just how talented she is. Hands down, UNKILTED is a five-star book.
March 20, 2019
** 4.5 Stars **
I love the unusual historical setting and the great writing rich in details, I love the slow-developing relationship between David & Grier which is done convincingly. I can't wait to reading the next step in the adventure to come. Recommended!
I love the unusual historical setting and the great writing rich in details, I love the slow-developing relationship between David & Grier which is done convincingly. I can't wait to reading the next step in the adventure to come. Recommended!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews