Heart of Ashes (Heart of the Highlands Book One)

Paula
Quinn
Genre: 
Historical

Cainnech MacPherson, built for battle and filled with insatiable hatred for the English, cannot fathom a world without bloodshed or his need for vengeance.  His loyalty to the Scots is unequivocal. When Robert the Bruce assigns him the task of retaking the English border, Cain is eager to oblige. Aleysia d’Argentan, the beautiful Lady of Linsmoor Castle, is aware of the brutal heathen highlanders. She loathes them after the death of her brother, Lord Giles d’Argentan, at the battle of Bannockburn.  Aleysia has trained non-stop for years, to mete out a violent death to any invading Scot.  But when providence intervenes, will these two titans, fated to despise each other, surrender to a force more powerful than vengeance and hate? 

“Heart of Ashes” by Paula Quinn is an historic romance set during the reign of Robert the Bruce. Ms. Quinn’s phenomenal job brings to life the sights and sounds, the smells and tastes of this extremely complex period of time. She lavishes the reader with opulent descriptions of the brutality of war and the horrors of families torn apart. She crafts a wonderfully heartbreaking tale of childhood trauma and its lifelong ramifications.  But even in brutality, she is careful to reveal the beautiful nature and healing power of love. More powerful than dueling kingdoms, hateful vendettas, and bigoted notions of what love should look like.  Her characters are complex and there is a virulent quality that is undeniably infectious.

Ms. Quinn has offered the reader a brilliant taste of the thrilling, heroic hearts of the highlands, leaving her fans breathless for the next book in the series.

Kimberly Gunvaldson