The  Hellion and the Highlander
Author: Lynsay Sands
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Pub. Date: February 23, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0061344794
Retail Price: $7.99
416 pages

Only one man could set her heart ablaze . . .

Lady Averill Mortagne learned to control her fierce temper as a young girl. But if her father insists on parading her before one more English lord who looks askance at her flame-colored hair, she’ll simply scream! Her only respite is the time she spends with Kade Stewart, the wounded Scot her brother brought home from the Crusades. Who could have imagined a Highland warrior would be the only gentleman around?

Lady Averill helped save his life, and for that Kade is truly grateful. She is also almost unbearably beautiful, but he could never subject such a sweet and gentle lady to the rough life of a Stewart laird’s bride . . . or could he? When she braves an unexpected danger by his side, Averill will prove to Kade that her heart is as fiery as her hair . . . and that submitting to their scorching passion would be heaven indeed.

~*~*~

The Hellion and the Highlander is a fast-paced highland escapade with some great twists and turns to keep you flipping through the pages.

Book #1

I am not  regular with Lynsay Sands, having only read a selected few of her historical novels and none of her more well known paranormal contemporary books like her Argeneau Vampire Series. I have read the other two books in The Devil of the Highland series – Devil of the Highlands and Taming the Highland Bride – and enjoyed them both. However, this book lacked that little something extra that would make me want to keep it on my book self. That is not to say that I didn’t enjoy the read, it just wasn’t one of my favorites.

The plot moved quickly, getting right into the story, which is an element I liked about this book. Too often you look up, its page 212, and you are just getting into the main theme or plot of the book. The love story is nice, a lukewarm kinda nice, but not the fan-myself heat you get with other books and that is not a bad thing. I think it was well suited to the storyline and the characters.

Book #2

Our hero Kade is a sensitive, caring man yet still the strong Scottish warrior we expect. It is not often that we find a leading man who works hard to raise the self-esteem of his lady. Averill, our heroine, is a pleasant mix of the shy and unsure paired with a backbone of steel and some hidden depth.  That being said however, I did not feel the character development made you want to become part of the story. You did not really feel any empathy for the characters or their plight.

The intimate scenes in this book are very few but still a little steamy.

Overall, this was not a book I would read again but would recommend to anyone who enjoys a historical set in Scotland.

Rating: 6 (Satisfactory)

Heat Level: 3 (Sensual)

Buy Links: Book Depository~$6.49 |   Amazon (Kindle ebook) ~ $5.59

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