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Highlander #1

Anna, Rachel & Charlet

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Marti Talbott's Highlander Series is a collection of short stories about the Scottish MacGreagor Clan in the 12th century. It all began with -- ANNA -- In love with a woman he had only seen once and could not find, the Highlander, Kevin MacGreagor was growing older and needed a wife to give him sons. No other woman pleased him, even the daughters of other lairds, so he finally settled for Anna sight unseen. But when his men went to meet her guard, she was all alone and badly beaten. Who could have done such a thing and why? RACHEL -- had a dark secret and even she didn't know what it was. She was seventeen, determined to become as good a warrior as any Highlander and was firmly against taking a husband. Connor had other ideas. He loved Rachel and when a rival clan took her, he thought he would lose his mind. How would he ever get her back and if he did, would her dark secret separate them forever? CHARLET -- The King of England asked the Highlander, Kevin MacGreagor, to hide a baby girl and save her life. But sixteen years later, someone discovered where she was. To Blair Cameron fell the duty of hiding and protecting Charlet. It was not an easy task. She was furious, head-strong and determined to run from him. Could Blair keep her alive? And if he did, could he keep himself from falling in love with her?

319 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 26, 2010

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About the author

Marti Talbott

87 books140 followers
Marti Talbott (www.martitalbott.com) is the author of over 45 full length novels, all of which are written without profanity and sex scenes. She lives in Seattle, is retired and has two children, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. The MacGreagor family saga begins with The Viking Series and continues in Marti Talbott’s Highlander’s Series, Marblestone Mansion, the Scandalous Duchess series, and ends with The Lost MacGreagor books. Her mystery books include Seattle Quake 9.2, Missing Heiress, Greed and a Mistress, The Locked Room, and The Dead Letters. Other books include The Promise and Broken Pledge.
Watch for her new trilogy - THE FOX, THE LION, and THE BEAR (A Triplet Trilogy)

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5 stars
768 (36%)
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634 (30%)
3 stars
453 (21%)
2 stars
168 (8%)
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66 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 158 reviews
Profile Image for TJ.
3,284 reviews278 followers
May 9, 2024
If I were looking at this from a strictly professional point of view, this would not rate higher than a three star. But I'm not because, in spite of the many mildly annoying glitches that jumped out, I really liked these stories! So... here is what I should tell you:

Talbott's mechanics need work. Her use of the word "and" is applied so often it literally litters the pages and (heh, heh) a simple comma will do! Once she lands on a term, or name (in this instance "toerag", I don't even know what that means) she wrangles it into every possible mouthful. Variety really is the spice of life and desperately needs to be incorporated in writing fiction. Historically speaking.... well, we won't even go there the rut is so deep.

Now, here is what I want to say:

This is the most fun I've had reading a book of short stories in a very long time. If one can overlook the flaws and just enjoy the ride, it's light highlander high-jinx that is clean, engaging and just plain fun to lose oneself in. Each story is long enough to engage and enthrall but short enough to read in between real life obligations, making it the perfect escape!
Profile Image for Carolyn.
2,233 reviews
January 26, 2013
While not like the usual "Highlander" books I'm accustomed to reading with in-depth historical research, grit and violence (along with those hunky highlanders), this book nevertheless still rated 5 stars from me. It is a series of four individual stories about one family that is character-driven and beautifully told. Normally, I avoid a book with several short stories because just when I'm getting to know the characters and getting into the story, it ends and I feel let down. That was not the case with this book, however. The reason is probably because as each story is told, those characters show up in the next story and continues with their storyline as well. If you are looking for sizzle, you won't find it here. However, the stories are heartwarming, clever and thoroughly enjoyable. I liked this book so much that I'm purchasing the next in the series and starting it immediately!

Re-reading the entire series because it is time and I LOVE it!
Profile Image for Julia.
244 reviews1 follower
November 6, 2011
I'm going to give it a shot regardless of the reviews some being a bit negative...

All in all I loved the stories within this book. Yes I got to know the characters in each short highlander story but then again the characters did not disappear from the story as I thought after reading the reviews... Each story is one tacked on to the story before with some time between and yes you get to know the characters well in the time during their story. I did like the twists and turns of the book as well as the anticipation of what was to come... I believe I will be reading the rest of the series as well...
Profile Image for Kathy * Bookworm Nation.
2,157 reviews702 followers
April 25, 2017
This is a collection of three short Highlander stories, about Anna, Rachel and Charlet. While I enjoyed the overall story and characters, the writing left me wanting. My biggest complaint is the constant POV changes; at times it felt like the book suffers from ADD. I did enjoy the idea for each story; I just found it to be poorly executed. I admit, I am tempted to read this author’s later work and see if there is any improvement.

ANNA: I’ll start with what I liked. I thought the story was fun as well as the setting. It has a bit of an arranged marriage story which I always enjoy. I liked Anna and Kevin, but felt both characters were a little underdeveloped. I realize it’s a short story, but at times it felt choppy and rushed. The dialog was a bit stilted as well. Some things seemed out of place, like when Anna would talk to Kevin about consummating their marriage throughout the book, it seemed kind of immature. It seemed like that topic would pop up and then disappear and then pop up again at random times. It just didn’t get merged into the story very smoothly. I also didn’t like how it was constantly switching POV, very frustrating and might have been why I had a hard time connecting to characters. Overall, I did enjoy the story and would probably give it three stars.

RACHEL: I started out liking this one more than the first, but then it quickly went downhill. I wish the story would have just stayed focused on Rachel and Conner. Instead a lot of the previous characters are there and their stories were fighting for page time. It’d been about 13 years since the first story and I was happy with how things ended with them and was ready for a NEW story. It felt at times like it was just rehashing what happened with Anna and Catherine and it overshadowed Rachel’s story. But, my major complaint was the constant changing of POV with multiple characters. It almost made it stressful to read instead of relaxing. I constantly had to re-read to see who was talking/thinking and it literally switched at times from paragraph to paragraph. It seemed like the author felt every character in every scene had to give their two-cents as to what was going on. Too many cooks in the kitchen. I think the story and relationship of Rachel and Conner could have held its own and was unfortunately pushed to the back and therefore I felt little chemistry between them. Their HEA was rushed and felt incomplete. Overall, I’d have to give this one two stars for just being all over the place.

CHARLET: Unfortunately, I didn’t care for this one very much. The POV switching was a tad better, but Charlet and Blair were hardly the focus of the story. It might as well have been titled Kenna, since she seemed to have more page time than Charlet. The dialog seemed choppy and unrealistic. Past characters are once again present, and in my mind also took away from Charlet and Blair’s story. By the end, I just thought it was silly. I’d give this one two stars.
Profile Image for TC.
129 reviews5 followers
February 3, 2012
This was painfully bad! It wouldn't surprise me to learn that the author was a teenage when she wrote this, but what does surprise me is that it was ever published in the first place! This is actually a series of multiple stories, but after reading the first one I couldn't bring myself to try the others. I purches this cheep for my kindle and I got less than my money's worth. Oh well, books like this give me hope that someday maybe even I can get published.
50 reviews1 follower
February 3, 2016
I got this one for free a while back and I was a little leery about reading it; after all a book about Highlanders is a book about Highlanders, if you’ve read one you’ve read them all, right? Right?

Wrong.

Series 1 is a huge shift from what I thought it would be…something more in line with Diana Gabaldon perhaps or the movie and television show The Highlander.

It wasn’t.

Highlander is three stories: Two of them bound by blood.

Anna, the young and free spirited daughter of an abusive and monstrous Englishman.

Rachel, the youngest daughter to the same abusive Englishman.

Charlet, niece to the King of England, sent away to save her life when she was mere days old.

Anna’s story is intriguing and held me from the first words. She is betrothed to a man she’s never met, one of the Scottish Lairds. She refuses and suffers the consequences for her refusal.

Rachel is but 4 years old when Anna’s story starts but for her story she is 17 and quite a handful. She is confident in herself and her ability to protect herself until she can’t.

Charlet is hidden away with the MacGregor’s for safe keeping until it is her time to rule only to find herself falling in love with the man who has sworn to protect her from those who are trying to kill her.

The stories are not all lighthearted and fun, there is true hardship but there is friendship, kinship and fun along the way.


Profile Image for Jujubee.
998 reviews58 followers
January 4, 2018
3.5* For a freebie it's a fairly good romantic yarn, spanning nearly 16 years. And Anna's horse, Threcher, is entertaining. While I know nothing about horses and their talents, this magical beast could put Trigger to shame LOL Sadly for me, the story fizzled out by the time we get to Charlet's story. Still, all our brawny Highlander men are heroes, just waiting for their lassies to say aye ;)
If you are a fan of Hannah Howell, you should enjoy this series, and you don't have to hear bad Scottish slang every sentence.
So, och, wheel thars that, dinna ya keen!
Possible triggers so be aware that some realities were harsh for women in the middle ages.
Profile Image for Aimee .
3,072 reviews298 followers
July 6, 2011
This was actually three short stories in one book. The stories were well done, and I enjoyed reading them. They were not quite as in depth with research and history as some I've read, but still good. I can't help but love reading about the strong, brawny men of the Scottish highlands. I did like that we kept up with the characters from the first story through the next two. It made me feel like I wasn't giving them up quite so quickly.

There was some mild swearing (hell, damn) and some sensual situations.
Profile Image for Patricia.
2,958 reviews17 followers
May 26, 2017
I finished reading the story about Anna but did not read Rachel and Katie's stories. Anna's story was so simplistically written that I just cannot go on reading the other two stories in this book nor can I go on to read further in the series. If this was a young adult or teen book, I did not know it. Whether it was or not, the story was at times illogical or straining credibility for me. If I purchased this book, I think I will get my money back.
Profile Image for Rose.
67 reviews3 followers
July 13, 2013
The three short books had great potential but the writing was very flat. Like one other review said, I think the author was in high school when they were written. Kissing was as steamy as they got which isn't bad just that I like my books hotter than these. I doubt I will read any others by this author.
Profile Image for SheLove2Read.
3,104 reviews203 followers
October 29, 2011
I cull very few Highland romances. In fact, I can only think of 2 or 3 at most that I ever have, but this one will be added to that list. This is a 3 part novella of related stories. I read the first one which was less than impressive - to me - and attempted the second before giving this a DNF.
Profile Image for Roxy the Fury.
590 reviews
June 28, 2014
This author had a thing with brutalized women. Three different stories and all of them had physical abuse at some point. Not necessarily sweet but not dark by any means. Also, there was zero in the steam factor! Lol
Profile Image for Carey’s Reviews.
628 reviews28 followers
October 10, 2016
4-4.5 Stars! I was really surprised by this book! I was going to delete this book but started reading & I was hooked! I definitely recommend this book! I can not wait to read the other books in this series! Happy reading!!!
Profile Image for Nancy Brady.
Author 7 books45 followers
May 29, 2024
Three novellas set in the Scottish Highlands which features Anna, Rachel, and Charlet respectively.

Anna is abused by her father, who also abuses his wife (chaining her to her room) and younger daughter. He then sends her off to marry Kevin, the laird of the MacGreagor clan, but first he beats her nearly to death and chops off most of her hair, hoping she will either die or offend the man. Kevin, for his part, needs to marry, but is love with a mystery woman (a fierce warrior) he once saw. Will they marry or will she die first? Will he ever see his mystery woman again? Can there be a happily ever for the pair, assuming she survives the ordeal of her father's beating?

Rachel is the younger sister of Anna, and this is her tale of life with the MacGreagor clan. After what she has experienced at the hands of her father, she wants nothing to do with any man, thus she never wants to be married. Yet there is one who desires her, but will she change her mind? Rachel would rather live freely, come and go as she likes, and has become adept at stealing and spying. Is it possible there could be a romance, or will she die for not being cautious enough? Especially when there is possibility of a war between the clans?

The third novella features the red-haired Charlet, who was given by an emissary of the English king to protect and raise her as a newborn. Now of marrying age, (like the other strong women in the other two novellas), she really doesn't desire to be married even though every young clansman seems to want to take her as his bride. Added to this there are some English men who want her killed. How can the MacGreagor laird protect her from those who want kill her? What is so important about her? With all these men fighting for her hand in marriage, will there be a war between the clans? Who is the traitor and why?

As romances, they are very clean stories (the author writes that there are passionate kisses, but mostly kisses on the head and listening to heartbeats and being held). The names of the characters seem too modern at times (Scottish clans had a strict naming pattern, which is not seen here), and there may be the anachronism of the marriageable ages of the girls because young girls were often married at 13 or 14 (and several 16-year-old girls were just considering that they might be married in a few years).
Profile Image for Mike Lutz.
65 reviews1 follower
February 27, 2019
Not great literature but definitely a good read.

This review is generic across all Talbott's Viking and Highlander books (so if you look for my review of another in this series you'll just see this).

Talbott has done a superb job of recreating the environment and culture of medieval Scotland and Northern England in these two series. No explicit sex and no gratuitous violence (though there is violence appropriate to the time and place of the novels). Perfect romantic historic fiction with enough swashbuckling tension to appeal to almost anyone. While I am well past adolescence (nearly to senescence), I believe YA readers looking for an entertaining read would like these novels as much as I did.

Highly recommended.
Profile Image for Ruth.
68 reviews
February 2, 2020
For teens, seems written by a teen
Simplistic, highly unrealistic, not a serious engaging story. Strong highlanders, always referred to as lads, not men, who treat women with kid gloves and never fight; a 17- year-old bride, kept a prisoner by her father, has never been around children (or flowers) but is always polite and knows games and has a magnificent horse; a two-day trip between the highlands and England; and finally a highlander who was kicked out of his clan and became an English baron with powerful connections to the king? Even the abuse of the women was unreal.
125 reviews1 follower
July 2, 2022
Great box set

I have not read any books of this author before however the books cover caught my eye and i just had to read it. The was were great, each having different adventures and still held your attention. They were definitely intriguing, and gripping page after page. and the characters were great. I would recommend this box set. It was so good i read it in one go as i couldn't put it down, even into the small hours of the night.
Profile Image for Claudia.
46 reviews
November 10, 2023
I have enjoyed the series since I read the first Marti Talbott Highlander book. It had been a while since I read one of them and then I ran into this one. I enjoy nice clean love stories and these are like that. I like that characters I have read about or have been the main characters in others stories get mentioned in the new ones. Sadly a lot of the time it means they died and we are reading about their kids or grandkids but in a way, it's like you are sharing their lives.
Profile Image for Bigbear Woolliscroft.
351 reviews
August 4, 2017
These are three lovely stories with very strong female leads and the description of the emotional aftermath of their ordeal is very sympathetic and well done. However, I fail to see how this is Scottish historical fiction/romance, as the Scottishness consists only of conspicuous name and vocabulary dropping with no attempt at accuracy.
Profile Image for Ashley.
875 reviews17 followers
July 22, 2019
I was reading a book that was just dragging on and on. I was hangry, and just wanted to read something easy and romantic. I got through Anna and Rachel and just couldn’t do Charlet. This was the book equators a Hallmark movie so it satisfied me at first, but it was just too ridiculous to give it any more than 2 stars or to read more.
208 reviews
September 2, 2019
Great

I loved all three stories. They told completely different tales of adventure and romance. The characters were loveable and endearing. I could read tales like these all day and pick up bits of historical events and the ways of living and maintaining order and hardships of life long before my time.
Profile Image for April.
638 reviews
May 5, 2020
Three stories, one book, but more than one clean romance can be found within these pages. Anna, Rachel and Charlet are women who are easy to like. They might be fiery and want to be independent which isn't easy considering the time period this is set in but they aren't annoying. They are willing to get help when needed and not let pride cloud things. I would read more by this author.
Profile Image for Pamela Lunder.
1,732 reviews1 follower
September 23, 2020
Highlander Series

This is first for me by Marti Talbott. I really enjoyed this whole box set. I loved Anna and Kevin's story the best but all three were really good. I loved how all the characters were in all the books in some way. Sad on some of their passing . But loved keeping up with all the others. Good series
Profile Image for Kathy Barton.
271 reviews1 follower
March 28, 2022
I needed something lighter to read and I have been watching the outlander series on Netflix so I thought I would try this. I really enjoyed it. It tells the story of these 3 connected woman- so 3 books in one! And I found out there are 4 more in the series. I will definitely read them- when I’m allowed to buy books again. The story is of the MacGreagor clan.
Profile Image for Mindy.
2,095 reviews4 followers
December 16, 2022
Absolutely Loved This Story!

I just loved the characters and storyline so much. All 3 women were great. I’m so excited to read the next story. So much going on with 3 different women but I’m glad the characters are all the way through the book. Anna, Rachel and Charlet Bridget. Didn’t expect the King to die. Well on to the next story. 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰💜💜💜💜💜
1 review
December 27, 2023
Good Read

So many things I like about this book. It is actually a compilation of three connected short stories which kept the book/stories moving along and interesting.

They are also clean books, written without profanity or explicit sexual content which I very much appreciate.

In all, well written and entertaining stories.
17 reviews
January 28, 2018
Bad fairy tale

It's just another badly written wannabe romance book. There was no chemistry, poorly developed plot, plot jumping here and there, important details missed, unnecessary details wasting space. When I start a book, I finish it, and all I wanted was check it away.
Profile Image for Katie.
101 reviews
July 28, 2018
This is a book of 3 short stories rather than a full length novel. I also got the impression that this was set in medieval Scotland. If this is the case there are historical inconsistencies that I found quite jarring. One was the the name of the sister of the King of England; Victoria is a German name and wasn't used in Britain until the birth of Queen Victoria in the 1800s.
Profile Image for Wade.
207 reviews1 follower
April 14, 2019
Marti Talbott's Highlander Series 1

These short stories or novellas if you wish are very enjoyable. They carry the connection of the MacGreagor family forward and make you want to return for more in their saga.
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