Brotherhood of Solway Moss, Book 1
From the publisher:
The only thing more dangerous than his sword is the flame-haired enemy who’s stolen his heart…in this gripping Highland romance from USA Today bestselling author Heather McCollum.
https://amzn.to/4bShCG2
Fearsome Highland warrior Rory MacLeod has sacrificed for his clan. But taken as prisoner―in place of his older brother, who’s meant to be laird―is more than any man should bear. So when the chance for escape presents itself, Rory risks everything for freedom. But instead of returning to the welcoming warmth of home, Rory steps into a blazing trap…
Despite her betrothal to their laird, Lady Sara Macdonald has no love for the MacLeod clan. But when her treacherous father locks the entire MacLeod wedding party into the church and sets fire to it, she cannot stand by and watch the slaughter. Saving them means turning traitor to her clan and becoming an enemy to her own blood…left to the mercy of her greatest enemy.
Now her intended husband lies somewhere between life and death, and Sara’s only ally is his younger brother: the fierce MacLeod warrior she’s forbidden to want. And as hunger blazes to life between Rory and Sara―unbidden, untamed, and hotter than the fires of Beltane―they quickly find themselves caught between honor and a love that will turn blood against blood.
This new series is set in the aftermath of the battle of Solway Moss, in which the English soundly defeated the Scots. Four Highlanders from different clans have been imprisoned, and their families have chosen not to pay for their release for a variety of reasons. These four men form a brotherhood and eventually escape their prison with the help of hidden tools delivered in blankets. We never learn who sent the tools and we only learn about two of these four men, Rory MacLeod, second son to the Laird of his clan, and Kenan Macdonald, first son and heir to his clan.
The clan chiefs have arranged a marriage between Rory’s older brother and heir to the clan chiefdom, and Kenan’s sister, Seraphina, who prefers to be called Sara. Told that this will forge peace between the clans, both agree to the match. But Sara feels like something is off while in the church for the ceremony, and sure enough, her father and his men lock everyone else into the church and set it on fire. Sara escapes and leads the rest of the MacLeod’s out of danger, enraging her father. And a new clan war has begun.
The man she was to marry is as crazed as her own father, and has a mistress who is not taking well to his marriage. He is near death from the fire, and since the marriage was not consummated and was entered into under false pretenses, the priest agrees to an annulment. Good thing, too, because Sara is strongly attracted to Rory, and it seems to be mutual.
A few years earlier, Rory was in love with another woman who turned out to be a spy for the Macdonald clan, and his father slit her throat in front of Rory. He has serious trust issues, to say the least, and the fact that Sara is a Macdonald makes him very uncomfortable. But the more time they spend together, the more confused Rory gets. He is really falling for her but is also afraid of what it could mean for their clans. Rory is ruled by his head over his heart, and that means pain for Sara. But eventually, they find their happily ever after and the next book is set up as well.
I really enjoy McCollum’s books. I started reading them while waiting impatiently for the next Diana Gabaldon book. Her Outlander series is a favorite, but the books are enormous (usually at least 700 pages or more) and several years elapse from one book to the next. McCollum’s books are set a couple of hundred years earlier than the Outlander series, and I find the history and especially how people lived in the 1500s fascinating. This is a terrific start to a new series.
7/2024 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
THE HIGHLANDERS WILD FLAME by Heather McCollum. Entangled: Amara (July 23, 2024). ISBN: 978-1649376497. 384p.
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