Lynsay Sands and Hannah Howell return to the windswept Highlands of 16th century Scotland in the captivating story of identical twin brothers trapped between the curse that has been their legacy and the two women whose love is their destiny . . .
As identical twins, Bothan and Calum MacNachton share a bond stronger than most brothers, one forged by a terrible secret. Rumors and dark tales have been whispered about their clan for centuries. For they roam the Highlands at night, driven by a savage hunger that can never be sated. Their only hope lies in marriage to Outsiders, mortal women whose pure blood will weaken the hold of their eternal curse.
Kenna Brodie and Sarra DeCourcey know what it is to stand apart. They've heard the terrible, whispered warnings, but nothing could prepare them for the handsome brothers whose fierce, unyielding desires are beyond any legend . . .
What Bothan and Calum promise is a life unlike any Kenna and Sarra have ever known. Now, Kenna and Sarra must choose whether to betray their dark lords or stand and fight for a passion that will never die. . .
Hannah Dustin Howell is a best-selling American author of over 40 historical romance novels. Many of her novels are set in medieval Scotland. She also writes under the names Sarah Dustin, Sandra Dustin, and Anna Jennet (see below).
Very enjoyable read. I love both Howell and Sands. About 2 twin brothers. Each brother has his own story. The Hunt by Hannah Howell is about Bothan. The Rescue by Lynsay Sands is about Calum.
I have to say the writing style of Howell and Sands is very similar although if I wasn't told who wrote which I think I could have figured out which one was Lynsay Sands. She has a very tell tale sense of humor that I love. A hint - the humor I'm talking of dealt with a catapult.
The Hunt Kenna was supposed to be the laird of Bantulach. Her father declared her so in front of witnesses before he died. Her uncle had other plans. He took over and cast her out saying she must prove her worthiness by bringing back the head, heart, & hand of a MacNachton. Rumors have it the MacNacton are vampires or demons. Kenna sees the quest for what it is - a way to get her killed and out of the way. When Bothan arrives at her campfire she realizes that killing someone was never really in her plan and when Bothan find out the quest her uncle sent her on the two devise a plan....Loved it!
The Rescue Sarra's father, Lord DeCourcey, is ill and dying. Their neighbor d'Angers (Hmmm... suspiciously close to dangers) is attempting to kidnap her and force her into marriage for her father's land. Luckily, Calum MacNachton witness the attempted kidnap and steps in to offer her help. A fun read with hidden entrances, a horse that acts like a pet, a catapult of (now you didn't think I'd give it away did you?), and of course romance.
The Hunt (by Hannah Howell) introduces Bothan MacNachton. The Rescue (by Lynsay Sands) introduces Bothan's twin brother Calum MacNachton. They are from a clan of people blessed, or cursed, with abilities that makes others believe they are demons.
The MacNachton men are gorgeous, have amazing strength, heal incredibly fast, and want to find a mate that accepts them for who they are.
Doesn't sound too hard until you add in the aversion to sunlight, long canines, eating raw meat, and drinking blood.
But when a man will put his own life in jeapardy to save a woman's, ensure her happiness and well being before his own...oh, and give her mind-shattering pleasure because, well, that's the only way to make love, all his other foibles don't mean a thing. Especially once you throw in a Scottish accent. That's as close to perfection as a man can get, right?
Good stories but not my favorite in the MacNachton series. As I have mentioned for previous installments in this series, I love Hannah Howell's writing style and I have never read a single story from her that I didn't absolutely love. However, Lynsay Sands has a completely different style. The second story in this book by Sands was not very enjoyable as a Highland historical romance. I felt like it could be a modern vampire romance, complete with all of the ridiculousness that Howell does not put in her stories. Part of what I love about this series is that Howell generally avoids outright statements of vampirism, as would likely have been the case in a historical setting. Instead, it is all about the nightriders and superstition and just being different. Sands bypasses all of that and just labels them as vampires and deal with it essentially. It's extremely jarring and not at all enjoyable for me, as part of this series. I would give the first story 5+ stars and the second 2.5-3
This is the second series of stories in the group. This deals with twin brothers looking for wives. I really enjoyed both stories but was slightly confused as to who exactly the parents were. In the 2nd book it seemed like he elluded that his parents were Jankyn and Effie, that they did get together but never used any names to refer to his parents, uncles etc.
It would have been nice to see the brothers together at some point, maybe introducing their wives or something. I did like that the last story ended when it did and not like all the others where the woman ends up pregnant. Gives it a little mystery as to what might happen.
I hope they come out with more compliations, they are both good writers though I favor Sands humor.
Bothan and Calum are twins. Their parents are Jankyn MacNachton and Efrica Callen (whose story is told in Highland Vampire). I love the MacNachtons! Hannah Howell and Lynsay Sands have teamed up again to write this anthology. So, two more strong stories with heroic heroes and strong believable heroines. No nonsense from these two writers with a hint of wit as always. Totally enjoyable as always. This is my third time through this series.
October 2017: Struggled a bit with this one this time. Hannah Howell's story is solid but I am starting to find Lynsay Sands' humor to be too comical and unrealistic. If I were Calum I would have taken care of the heroine's problem and then gone on my way.
This book is another collaboration by Howell and Sands, and continues the story of the MacNachton clan with Bothan and Calum MacNachton. As with their other book, The Eternal Highlander, I thoroughly enjoyed each authors'stories, and the new characters. As with the other book, I appreciated the strong the female leads, and the plot twists and turns. Although I loved the story and its characters, one of the aspects I truly enjoyed was how the stories could exist together or exist separately without the reader feeling lost and like they had missed something. If one hasn't guessed yet, I would definately recommend this book to others!
I loved this book, I am a sucker for anything Scottish when romance is involved. There are two stories in this book and both will capture you. I had actually wished each was a full novel of at least 500 pages, lol. I could keep reading and reading. The setting, connecting with the characters and the plot where extremely easy to get in to. The first of the stories was much more serious than the second, I laughed a lot during the second. This is a great read, one you will enjoy and doubt there will be any scanning of pages.
I really enjoyed Hannah Howell's contibution. Bothan's story was really well done. Lynday Sands' offering was a bit rushed. I think she needed more space to get the politics and intricacies of the story told. We aren't ever for example told why Calum is trying to get to London, and what his message is. We don't really know why it is so important that Sarra is connected with the royal house of England.
I really liked this book. It was two stories in one, and each was wonderful. Hannah Howell's story was very strong and emotional, and Lynsay Sands was very comical. I needed a break from my vampire reading so i choose a Highlander book. Now granted in the past I haven't been a fan, but these two short stories are great!
Another two great stories in this series. I will admit however, that I preferred the one by Sands since I really love her sense of humour. Very entertaining books and series.
This is my first book with this series. Overall, I liked both stories.
I liked that the authors actually wrote as though the characters were speaking/in Scottish, unlike some stories I've read/listened to in which the characters are from another country, yet seem to speak American with no sign of an accent or the use of any phrases that would be common for their area. Big plus there!
While it was interesting to see how the authors could write two separate stories about the same family, I couldn't help but notice several similarities between the two. For example, both females have an ill/dead father; both were caught while in the water naked; Kenna's uncle's men were after her, whereas d'Anger's men were after Sarra; and the fact both men want to see Kenna/Sarra's hair down around their naked bodies (not just simple down).
Hannah Howell "The Hunt" Questions/Comments:
On page 27, it said that the Brodie's of Batulach were considered outsiders. How was that considering Kenna's father was the lord of Batulach?
Page 47, Bothan is talking to his cousin, James. There's a questionable part: "Our eldest brother, born whilst our own mother was nay more than a glint in her father's eyes..." If his mother hadn't been born yet, how would the eldest brother have even been a thought at that point in time. That sentence makes no sense to me.
Additionally, on that page, there's a part when Kenna sees Bothan put his cloak back on...yeah, he was out in the sun with it on/hood up, so why would he have removed it, to begin with?
Are long nipples an attractive trait? lol
If Kenna had brown hair with reddish tints to it, how would her pubes be dark red?
Page 63, Bothan describes Kenna's eyes as being green with white around them. The way it's phrased made it seem as though that was supposed to be different than what everyone in the world has--that being the black pupil, the colored iris, with the rest of the eye being white.
The main goal of this story was to get rid of Kenna's uncle. So, how was such an important part just skipped over? It's like they arrived in Batulach, see her uncle, and suddenly it's days later, and he's been banished.
Lastly, there was no further talk about the fact that Bothan's clan live a lot longer than regular humans, which I found strange. ---------------------------------------------------
Lynsay Sands "The Rescue" Questions/Comments:
Obviously, I found a lot more issues/inconsistencies in this story, which I felt strange since I've heard/seen the name Lynsay Sands, whereas Hannah Howell, I had not. There were several grammatical errors in this story as well. The most obvious ones involved the misspelling of "Sarra." First, there was Sarrra then Sarre.
When Calum is fighting with Jocks and his men, Jocks ends up sticking his sword through Calum's side. Suddenly Calum is grabbing his stomach but then ends up having his side/wound wrapped up. I don't know about anyone else but I would consider the stomach and side to be two different parts of the body (one in front, one...on the side).
We're told that only Sarra and her father knew about the secret tunnel, yet she ends up talking to Hadley as though he knew about it as well.
I don't know which was funnier? The fact Pretty Boy/Black kept following Sarra around the castle or when Calum woke up to find himself in bed with Sarra's father.
Why did Calum never ask about his scorched hair? Of course, that makes me wonder how Sarra had even managed to burn it while in the tunnel without noticing.
When Sarra is antagonizing d'Anger's outside of the castle, she ends up wondering if d'Anger's realizes she knows he's out there. This was after talking to him, which, of course, made no sense.
Lastly, at the end of the story, Sarra asks Calum if he has a tail "worriedly." Huh? Did she not see his butt for a long period of time when he was unconscious? Did she not know where a tail goes?
The Hunt This girl seems really childish in the way she talks and thinks. I was hoping for more of a heroine. Let's hope that changes.
It all feels rather weird. Like Stockholm syndrome or something. Why do they want to have so much sex? I'm totally not feeling any chemistry... Also: the sex scenes are terrible. And then she says that it's mindblowing and I'm like nah.
It's rather confusing that the narration keeps switching between the two of them. Not even a next paragraph but within paraghrap it sometimes switches multiple times.
This Bothan gets attacked and he tosses her in the water and she's disgruntled because as his wife she should've stayed to help him? Unarmed against 5-6 attackers? Is she insane?!
This "voice of her mother" is very convenient to cover up plot-holes..
The way The accent is written is very annoying..
The Rescue The manerisms in both stories are not accurate to the time.
At least this girl tries to fight for herself.
Why are both these girls so dumb and foolish and clumsy. This is like a bad sitcom.
Everybody got stuck in the dooropening in their rush? What is this? Friends? An anime?
Why is she calling the manservant Sir?? If the manservant was a Lord he most certainly wouldn't be a servant. Did she do any research to the time period at all?
Why does this man and this woman almost get it on when her father is IN THE SAME BED AND HALF THEIR HOUSEHOLD IS IN THE ROOM?! Common you're not even trying at this point.
Why does this English highborn woman keep saying "aye", she wouldn't.
Nobody fans at their face with their hand upon seeing a cockadoodledoo because it suddenly got hot.
So the horse keeps following her around the house. Weird. And now she's giving it furs because of the cool nights? Indoors?! And horses outside in the stables suffer? Excuse me?
So she gets up early to wash, and then she washes herself so she can get dressed to go down to the stream to wash...? Also, in those times people didn't wash that regularly at all. And then, why does a lady of means have to bathe in a cold stream everyday? What the Heck?
If I'm guessing the time period correctly they do not have dresses you simply throw on over your head. And getting tangled and looking out through the opening is not only incredibly childish but also plain dumb. Am I reading a historical romance or a children's fairytale?
Do these writers not know how chemistry between people work? Describing someone's body with "attractive features" is not chemistry. I'm totally not feeling this random out of nowhere kiss. And lip-tingling does not count as chemistry, nice try to make it work tho but it's not happening.
After a few storylines that I unfortunately had to abandon, well this book really captured my interest! It was interesting, very humorous, catchy storyline and yep ... sexy ... despite the fact that I had to really concentrate on understanding the words written in broad Scottish brogue! Such a lilting tone to this language! Now here are twin brothers with an eternity of evil throughout their line which their ancestors are trying to erase through marrying Outsiders! But the 'nip' on the neck in heightened passion still persists, especially when they are finally joining with their mate! Bothan and Calum both meet up with their feisty ladies who need saving! Yep, a bit of a trite scenario but it gets the reader engrossed to find out what happens on each of their adventures. So it is up to Kenna and Sarra to save their clans and hopefully to make secure futures, despite knowing what their husbands are! A great bit of escapism, most enjoyable!
I’m gonna keep my review short since I really don’t have all that much to say about this book. I struggled a lot with getting into these two novels. I think that’s because they combined like fantasy with this highland romance type situation. Not sure. But I really didn’t care for either stores and found myself quitting after trying to force myself through it. Just not my cup of tea? I don’t think that’s it either but I usually love stories like this. I will say that both stories were to similar. They weren’t very diverse... I felt like i was basically reading the same story with just a little bit different of a plot.
Another great installment of the MacNachton Clan - this one is about Bothan and Callum twin brothers. The only thing I didn't like is that for a while it was hard for me to determine whose children they were. The first book ended with Cathal and Bridget were having twins. and since I couldn't get book 2 on audio, this could have led to all my confusion. I enjoyed these stories and would recommend the series to anyone.
I read a lot and quickly. I had to slow down and really immerse myself in it! I couldn't put it down! One of her best works yet!
If you dont have good reading comprehension skills you might have to take your time but it is well worth it! Very intricate writing! The characters have layers of nuance, personality galore and suggestiveness instead of outright sex. A good book to read even for teenagers!
Two short novellas in one. Each story can be read on their own but the love interests are twin brothers. The first couple is briefly mentioned in the second story.
I enjoyed the first story more - it had a more interesting plot that seemed more developed overall.
Overall a 3.5 stars (4 stars for the first story, 3 stars for the second one). The second story seemed to drag more and I had to push myself to finish it.