of my most favorite historical romances to read are the ones set in the Highlands, I also tend to favor the lighthearted romances, Sweet Revenge by Lynsay Sands is a hilarious romp, and I really did enjoy it,
although it isn't particularly memorable,
Kyla is on her way to be married, when her travelling party is attacked and Laird Galen MacDonald kidnaps her and marries her himself as revenge against his enemy Kyla's intended.
This is actually a good thing, as the man Kyla is supposed to marry is not a nice guy, If you've ever read The Wedding by Julie Garwood, this set up probably sounds familiar,
When Galen meets Kyla, she is injured and suffering greatly with fever, Kyla's maid, in an attempt to protect Kyla, tells Galen that Kyla is bit touched in the head, and so a lot of the initial humor has to do with Galen and his clan believe Kyla doesn't have all her marbles.
And Kyla, who doesn't know that they believe she is mad, can't correct them, The situations are quite funny, but I was ready for the misconception to end much early than it did around halfway through the book.
I really did like both Galen and Kyla, and I was rooting for them to make everything work out, There was this one scene that I found particularly hilarious, Kyla is chatting with another woman in the clan, and Galen and some of his soldiers are watching them from a distance, The men wonder what the women are talking about and decide they must be gossipping, But we learn that they are actually discussing chess, and the best moves to make, and I thought was hilarious, and, honestly, quite truthful in how many men think of women.
As I mentioned above, I do adore the more lighthearted stories, but Sweet Revenge might be a bit too lighthearted for my tastes.
I never felt like there was any substance to ground the story, and once I finished it, I forgot most of the details, Even so, if you're looking for a fun, Highland Romance, Sweet Revenge by Lynsay Sands might be for you, sitelinkThis review was originally posted on Quinn's Book Nook I kind of forgot about this book, to be honest, I read it in a day and I remember that I enjoyed it, especially the plot, it was interesting and funny, I enjoyed the character and the writing was so endearing,
It is a good, fastpaced, and steamy romance book, it is full of intrigue, funny moments, and likable characters, I would recommend this book if you want something quick, fun, and lighthearted as I did, The only complaint that I have was that the ending felt a little flat, I was expecting an ending with more emotions and feelings, but it wasn't the worst.
I was expecting something wholesome and sweet, funny and endearing, but I felt like it was rushed, and dull, Overall I enjoyed it, as I said, the ending was lacking emotion for me, comparing to the rest of the book, She is dumb and reckless, Almost every conflict could have been avoided if there was ANY type of communication between these people, No one talked. No one explained anything to each other, Ugh. No, thank you. /fastmoving, steamy if not quite historically accurate
Galen MacDonald is out for revenge for the deaths of his wife and unborn child, and he believes the best way to get it is to take from his enemy what was taken from him.
He receives information that Thomas MacGregor's bride is en route from England to Scotland, and Galen plans to intercept her and marry her himself so that she will be his wife and bear his heirs.
And the woman should be willing enough as the MacGregor chieftain is known to be a sadistic man with unconventional bedroom proclivities, and it is rumored that he murdered his last wife.
But when he descends upon the caravan to steal away the lady being carted to the MacGregor lands, he is unprepared for what he finds,
Kyla Forsythe has been near death since she saved her brother Johnny from being brutally murdered by his new, devious wife Catriona, She encountered the couple in an isolated glen on her childhood property in time to see her brother attacked by men dressed as bandits, He had been cut down and the perpetrator was about to strike the killing blow to his head when Kyla threw herself across his body and took a deep sword slash from her shoulder across her back down to her opposite side hip.
But before she fell, she saw Catriona hand off payment to the other bandit, While Johnny lingered near death, Catriona quickly sends Kyla off marry the nefarious MacGregor before her plot to kill her husband can be revealed, Thus, Kyla now finds herself under siege by the largest men she has ever encountered, Though she is barely conscious at the time they are attacked, she jumps to the defense of her lady's maid who was previously her nanny and is very dear to her and attempts to keep the highlanders at bay she even succeeds in stabbing the largest of the men and knocking him out with a large tree branch.
But before she can flee, she is surrounded and tossed back into the wagon on her back where she passes out from the intense pain as her raw wound is reopened.
Galen is not sure what to think of his new bride, but when her lady's maid tells him that she is likely going mad the maid did so in order to protect Kyla and perhaps buy her more time, he fears it may be true and is disappointed as while she has been ill, she has told her life story in delirious ramblings, and he finds her intelligent, brave, and interesting.
He also finds her incredibly beautiful, Despite what he believes to be a major shortcoming, he weds her immediately upon returning to the MacDonald castle as he cannot leave any room for error knowing that the MacGregor may yet try to steal her away.
When Kyla finally awakens, she has no idea where she is and very little memory of much after she was forced to travel to the MacGregor holdings.
When she learns she is the new lady of the clan, she is equal parts angered and bewildered, and she is adamant that she return to her brother's side to save him from his wife's murderous intentions.
But her husband is intent on keeping her safe as he has come to care for her more than he ever believed possible and now that he has her, he refuses to let her go.
What will happen when Catriona advances her plans to rid herself of her husband and his sister Will Kyla ever be safe from the MacGregor's tireless efforts to reclaim his intended And can Galen keep Kyla safe from all of the plots that seem to be against her
What I liked:
For me, this is a peak Sands HR it has all the ingredients I enjoy in a romance novel: interesting plot, action, steamy goodness, and likeable main characters
What I didn't like as much:
I don't love unnecessary angst, and there was a little in this one with respect to Kyla where she was out of character
This is something that would not bother most people, but I am a direct descendant of the Clan Gregor, so I didn't love that one of the main villains of the story was as completely despicable as he was in this story.
MacGregors were cattle thieves that lived in the Loch Lomond area and stuck to that area pretty exclusively which is nowhere near the borderlands with England.
There was never a Gregor laird of English decent the one in this story was halfEnglish further, the Gregor clan was constantly feuding with the Campbells there is no evidence that there was ever a direct conflict with the Clan Donald, mostly because they were not geographically situated near enough to each other for that to be an issue.
Obviously, it is the authors prerogative to create the villainous character in whatever form he or she chooses, but most HRs are steeped in some historical fact ex, which clans were enemies, etc.
this one does not appear to have been at all,
Overall, a fastmoving story line with intrigue, action, and a decent helping of steamy goodness that I would recommend to anyone who loves those elements in their HRs!
Plot.
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Main Characters./
Supporting Cast./
Steam Level/
Violence nothing graphic
Language not egregious
POVrd
Note that steam level is not a rating so much as a how hot was it:/clean/mild/sensual but nothing descriptive/now we're getting somewhere/yes please!/they did EVERYTHING in this one, y'all Okay, I know this book is considered old published in, twelve years not old to my thinking but I really enjoyed this humorous highlander story.
Our heroine Kyla is abducted by our hero Galen as he steals her from the man who killed his wife who happens to also be the man to whom Kyla is betrothed against her wishes.
This is his Sweet Revenge, The premis isn't new but the story is like a situation comedy, the misunderstanding between men who act like real men and the women who have to put up with them.
Kyla suffers from a wound she received while trying to safe her brother happens before the book begins, After Galen abducts her she shows herself well in that battle, she turns feverish and talks a great deal about her life giving Galen enough information about her to know she will make a good wife.
Even the men who escort her to the Laird's home fall in love with her bravery and spirit,
To try and stop Galen from marrying Kyla right away, her nurse tells Galen that Kyla is crazy, a condition passed onto the women but not the men.
Despite the warning male heirs won't become crazy and girls are wel, . . Galen has the wedding right away with the entire clan as witnesses, Kyla is so feverish, she doesn't remember saying I do or signing her name to the wedding register,
By the time Kyla wakes from her fever, everyone in the clan has heard the rumor that she's crazy, But she has no idea that she's married or to whom, doesn't even know her husband's first name, or that people think she's crazy even though she is the Lady of the clan.
Quite frankly, the behavoir of the people around make her nuts!
This is a light hearted romance, a good sorbet after reading so many current novels where the H and h are so often selftortured by personal baggage.
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