The Highlander’s Temptation (Stolen Bride #0.5)

Eliza
Knight
Genre: 
Historical

Jamie Montgomery met Lorna Sutherland when she was four years old and running away from the men who murdered her parents. He was 14 and saved her, taking her home on his horse. Fifteen years later, Jamie, now a lowland laird, is on a mission from the Scottish council and William Wallace, hoping to drum up support from the highlanders against the English.  Scotland must be united if theres a chance at winning. But is there a chance for Jamie and Lorna after so long?

 

The interplay of Scottish politics at the highest levels and between lowland and highland is not only front and center, but written as if we dont know how it will end. The warrior mentality of the Scots, and in some cases, naivety of the clans sets a beautifully turbulent background to a common story, making it less so; it becomes passionate and poignant. Jamie is all those elements combined: a perfectly honorable Scottish man. Lorna has her own form of passion, but there are forces beyond them that cannot allow them to be together. Lornas brother and laird, Magnus, is portrayed as lovingly tolerant of her wild ways, disobedience, and of her lack of choice of a husband. There is a conflict, one which he was fully aware of, that destroys his credibility with no explanation as to why he did what he did. It leaves a gaping hole in a tale full of honor. While Jamie is typical for the time, Lorna is not, but instead of berating that, throughout the story he celebrates his desire for a woman he can tame, whose fire can light him.

 

Julie York