Conquered by a Highlander
Grade : B+

A Scottish spy, an English lass, torn loyalties, and secret identities that result in a Big Misunderstanding is the way that many Highland Romances seem to begin and Conquered by a Highlander seemed to be going down that same well worn path. But any author who skillfully avoids the Big Misunderstanding and keeps the story fresh and engaging the way Paula Quinn has in this book has the potential to become an auto buy for me.

Colin MacGregor is a soldier in King James’s army. In fact, he is a General and is related to the king through his brother’s wife. As the General, his duty involves trying to find out whether or not William of Orange is a true threat to James’s throne. To discover this, he goes undercover as a mercenary at the castle of the Earl of Essex. There, the hardened soldier meets Gillian, the earl’s cousin.

Gillian Dearly has not had an easy life since the devastating mistake of trusting the wrong man. The mother of an illegitimate child, she has been forced from her home by her parents and sent to live with her cousin. Devon, the Earl of Essex, wants nothing more than having the child Edmund removed and Gillian in his bed. But the fiery Gillian will not bend to his will. When the dashing mercenary arrives at the hall, Devon tries to use him to break Gillian’s spirits once and for all.

But Colin can do nothing more than fall under Gillian’s spell. She shows fire and spirit and vulnerability, all of which soften Colin more than he ever thought possible. But it is the enchanting Edmund, an unloved and lonely little boy who breaks Colin’s heart the most. Though Gillian would willingly die for her son, his life depends on her falling to Devon’s will. As the intrigues of the politics of religion in England boil around Colin and Gillian, both of them take a leap of faith and trust in order to try to save Edmund’s life and to give them both a future they never hoped to dream of.

I really adored the relationship between Gillian and Colin. Yes, there were the brief moments when Colin was a bit hard headed about the obvious attraction he felt for Gillian. Yes, little Edmund seemed almost too sweet for any sort of realism, but it was a wonderful love story between the two main characters. Gillian was strong without being overbearing and courageous without doing anything too stupid. Gillian’s reluctance to trust any man, after her experiences that put her in an untenable situation, were entirely believable and the effect that Colin’s big reveal of being a spy were handled without falling into a Big Misunderstanding that would cause the plot to drag and flounder. Up until the very end, knowing that William and Mary of Orange would succeed in taking over England eventually, I was on the edge of my seat to find out how Quinn was going to work everything out without there being damage done to either Gillian or Colin. This was a case where knowing the history of the ending actually added to the suspense rather than detracting from it and that was a wonderful change of pace.

This book is a part of a series, The Children of the Mist, but honestly, not having read any of the others before this one was not a problem. This book stands very much on its own. I would recommend it as a read wholeheartedly, whether you have read the first ones or not. For me, I am pretty sure that I just had 3 more books added to my TBR pile.

Reviewed by Louise VanderVliet
Grade : B+

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : May 24, 2012

Publication Date: 2012/06

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Louise VanderVliet

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