Highland Treasure (Sisters by Choice 0.5) by Mary McCall

Highland Treasure (Sisters by Choice 0.5) Reviews

• 
  Nicole Brown

  I've reread these books so many times and won't stop:-)
  
  I've lost count of how many times I've read the highlander series by Mary. I don't know what it is. They're not classics, they'll never be Jane Austen, but they are magic.
  Highland Treasure is the third one in the series.
  Hope is a very neglected daughter of a Norse Baron and daughter of a Highland chief who was killed by the Baron. Learning to survive on her own from a very small child, she finds some animal friends along the way and becomes a gifted healer. When discovering that her father has kidnapped the son of a chief for his own depraved uses, Hope takes the boy, along with his father's sword that the Baron had taken in a devious battle two years prior, and brings both back to the Highlands. She accomplishes this while recovering from a massive beating. Unable to run away, Hope needs to learn to trust humans again. Tricked into marrying the chief, Hope tries to become a noble chieftains wife with some hilarious results. She finds hee true family, in every sense of the word, and Justice is done!
• 
  Zoe

  read 5 chapters and decided the way the characters talk brothers me. I feel like reading about a bunch of people in high school.
• 
  Valentina

  I was kind of skeptical about reading this book because though it has a lot of stars, it hasn't been reviewed by many people, which made me think the rating would not be very reliable, and it wasn't. I would probably give this book between 2-2.5 stars. What is sad is that this book had a lot of potential, but an extremely fast-paced story line, a lack of depth, and unrealistic situations/characters made it just an ok read.
  
  For one thing, everything happened extremely fast in this book, from Leonce and Hope getting married to them falling in love. This all happened in just a couple of days, and it just wasn't realistic and didn't allow the reader to enjoy the buildup of emotions between the H/h. It also was not believable that Hope, who had been abused by her father for years, could trust a man within days of meeting him. It was disappointing that Hope didn't make Leonce fight for her love. Instead of reacting like a normal woman who has been tricked into marriage by a man she has known for mere days and trying to escape or make his life impossible, Hope just randomly decides that she will give her heart to him and she will make him fall in love with her, WHEN THEY BARELY KNOW EACH OTHER!!!! Ugh it was just so unbelievable and annoying. And seriously, what was up with Hope? Was she bipolar or something? because she would be exuberant one moment and completely defeated the next, I swear it gave me emotional whiplash; I couldn't keep up with her mood swings.
  
  The lack of buildup also contributed to a lack of depth in the book. Because the author didn't give the characters time for their feelings to develop, it all felt very fake and cheesy. It would have been nice if Hope and Leonce had both had to work at cracking the other's shell and gradually falling in love, rather than how it played out.
  
  I'm also not sure whether to call Leonce an alpha male; I'm leaning more towards NOT. He just didn't make me feel like he was dominant and in control; most of the time he felt more like a petulant child rather than a grown man. Mind you, I'm not saying he should have exerted more control over Hope, but rather exuded more confidence and manliness than he did in the book. It just did not seem realistic that a Highland chieftain in the 11th century would have acted how he did.
  
  I also felt like there was little plot in the book. It mostly consisted of Hope playing games, angering people, fighting with Leonce, and discovering she had family pretty much everywhere, which was also highly unrealistic and cheesy. I felt like the matter of her abusive father was not given much thought and was resolved much too quickly. There was basically nothing to make this book exciting, like mystery or intrigue. The magical aspect of the book (the whole thing about Hope being this generation's Gifted One and having the ability to understand animals and have healing powers) totally fell flat and was way too downplayed for my tastes. When people found out she was the Gifted One, they were in awe for like two seconds and then everyone forgot about it -__- . If it had been made a bigger part of the book, it would have made it so much better. It would have been cool if, say, her abusive father and his men were after Hope for being the Gifted One but this was a secret from Leonce and everyone else, and they had to figure out why she was hunted or something like that. Just anything to make it more exciting!!! *Sigh* oh well.
  
  Overall, it's an ok read if you're looking for something without too much depth. But if you're looking for something a little deeper, steer clear of this one.
• 
  Heather Wiese

  3.5 (WHEN are they going to let you do 1/2 stars?!)
  
  It is a pretty cute Scottish romance.
  
  The story is about an abused girl named Hope who escapes from her evil Norman father and hides out in the mountains. It's not until she sees that her evil father has kidnapped a little boy (who turns out to be the son of one of the clan chiefs, The McPhearson) that she decides she is going to go to Scotland where her mother is from. She returns the boy and the clan chief's stolen sword with the expectation of being killed because of who her father is. Instead the chief ends up marrying her.
  
  There ensues many misunderstandings, raiding, unexpected family, lost friends found, awesome animal feats, skill with a bow and whip, once upon a time stories and feuding.
  
  It was an entertaining read, in fact I laughed out loud a couple of times, but I did like the first half better then the second half (it is a full-length book), because of some annoying occurrences (I'm sorry...why is she starving her self all of a sudden??!) that happen in the second half.
  
  Recommended. :)
• 
  Lucia

  It’s not a bad book. The plot is nice and there are a lot of captivating surprises. Surely the author knew what she was doing.
  For me personally I started the book laughing a lot at Hope’s unpredictability. When I got to the very middle of the book though, it became a bit much.
  The love between hope and Leonce seemed more lust than love. I doubt any man can be as patient with Hope as Leonce was. He barely knew her. Just was too lazy to correct her and always wanted the s*x. Hope’s tantrums also showed she had little respect for her husband. Love and respect go together you know?
  Also Hope talked too much. Sometimes I just needed a breather from her constant yapping. She definitely didn’t seem mature enough to be a mother to Bertie.
  Besides who even cared for Bertie? Leonce seemed to forget most times that he had a son and Hope only remembered him when she needed to look good and motherly.
  As I said it’s not a bad story but it’s a bit hard to read.
• 
  Liloshadow (ReNee)

  I loved this book. I loved the hero, the heroine, the animals, the magic, the friends, the humor, and most of all the endearingly sweet love story. It has everything you could want in a epic love story. Hope, the heroine was funny, sweet, and so special that I wanted to become her best friend. Leonce the hero was so protective and loving; he's everything a hero should be. The other characters worm their way into your heart with ease especially Bertie and Diablo (who is a horse BTW). I have this book on kindle and ordered it on paperback because I loved it so much. I couldn't stand to say goodbye to these characters! I've read this story over and over again along with her other two books. She is now counted among my most favorite historical authors which include the likes of Judith McNaught and Julie Garwood. There are some grammar and editing problems but they weren't really enough for me to care about. I'm telling you have to try read this book! Its my favorite out of all of them. I now have my sister hooked on this author and she has read all of her books as well. Her and I both CAN NOT WAIT for her next book. This story will be in my forever library and not many books make it there. ;) Thank you Mary for writing such a special story. If anyone hasn't tried this author, please do so...you will not regret it!!
• 
  Carol

  I didn't like this one as much as "Highland Captive". Maybe if I read it first (I hate reading books out of order)
  . Bradana, Alera mother, is not mentioned in this book. She, Hope, had twin boys. No girls so... There a whole generation missing between books. Unless there is another I don't know about.
  I was disappointed from the start. Only because I was hoping to read Faiths and Bradon and got Alera aunt instead. Even if, I'm glad I read it.
  
  
• 
  Amanda Richardson

  I liked this book, but the heroine got on my nerves. I loved the hero, Leonce, but the heroine Hope was silly and childish. I really wanted her to grow up and appreciate how great her husband was. It felt like the hero and heroine spent so much time apart in the book and I didn't care for that. Hope was always running off "playing" something.
  
  I want to read more by this author, maybe it was just Hope's character I didn't care for too much.
• 
  Vee

  This was a very entertaining story - it has romance, sex, love. I especially loved the interactions between Lady Hope and Leonce's son, and how she fights for her son, when Leonce tries to separate them.
• 
  Nicole

  I loved it! It was a little long, but that was fine with me because I didn't want it to end! Loved the characters, loved the story, loved it all! I read a lot of highland romances.. This one might be my new fav. Had me laughing out loud, and unable to put the cursed bloody thing down!!!!!
• 
  Becky Parker Geist

  Excellent! Mary McCall creates characters that we come to love and care about, with all their foibles and flaws that hold them back until they complete their journey.
  Check out the audiobook on Audible, too!
• 
  BK

  This book was a little strange. I liked the characters and the overall story was very interesting. However, I felt it dragged a lot in the middle, and that it was unbelievable/over the top at many points.
• 
  April

  This is my favorite book of all time. Hope is wonderful, funny, entertaining, and her lion is her heart. I have read this book about 20 times and still keep it on my nook to read again and again.
• 
  Kat Valencia-Benitez

  Oh my hope!! Hahaha! I absolutely love it from start to finish! I truly recommend this book! Hilarious! 5 star and more!!
• 
  Maria

  A story that had many stories within
• 
  Dawn Barber

  Funny and fast paced. Will definitely read again!
• 
  Kiesha ~ Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd

  This was suchhhhhhh a beautiful romance! With a heroine like this, you can't go wrong. I felt all fluttery inside when it ended. Can't wait for Highland Captive to be released on Audio Book!
• 
  Modesty_b

  I was up the whole night reading it :) Just loved it so :D
• 
  Rogetwhi

  Originally read 3/9/16 and gave 3.5 stars! Listened to audiobook 12/31/20 and would give 4 stars. I really wish I still had the ebook but could only find on audiobook.
• 
  Jenn

  this is my first book by this author, this book was so much fun and kept me hooked... loved the characters and plot is amazing.