from our review:The Thorn and the Thistle is wonderful entertainment. If you like romances that are well-written, exciting, and set in the Highlands, I'd like to recommend this book to you. It may not be filled with hidden levels and deep meaning, but it's a heck of a good story and I'm about to glom Julie Moffett.Megan MacLeod is the daughter of the laird of her clan, known to the English as the infamous Black Wolf, whose castle was taken away after he refused to swear allegiance to the English monarch. When her father is killed in a raid by the same butcher who killed her brother, Megan assumes her father's responsibilities, albeit in secrecy, to hold her clan, and neighboring clans together, in alliance against the English.King George II wants to secure the peace and sends Rolf St. James to do it, and to bring him the head of The Wolf. A dedicated soldier, with one hand deformed in battle at Culloden, and rumored to have murdered his first wife, Rolf captures Megan and is convinced he has captured the mistress of the man he seeks. He plans to reel in the powerful Black Wolf with what he sees as some great bait.There is a powerful connection between these two strong leaders. While Megan sees Rolf as the enemy, Rolf sees in Megan a woman to admire. Though dead set against it, Megan begins to see that Rolf is not the same as the vicious Englishman who has been killing her clansmen for years.Of course, for each step forward, there is a step, or nearly so, backward. First Rolf discovers Megan is not the mistress of The Wolf, but is instead his daughter. Then there is the interference of Megan's cousin, who is a bit of a hot-head, and is in love with his Meggie. And let's not forget the butchering Englishman.