The Highlander's Captive by Mary Wine

 

Title: The Highlander's Captive
Author: Mary Wine
Publish Date: May 7th, 2021
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing
Source: Huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy for review!

Stealing brides is a tradition...

In the Highlands, strength is the currency of choice, and if you can't protect what is yours, be prepared to pay a ransom.

Annis is a prize. Born of a royal blood line, the fact that she's illegitimate isn't really important. With her mother gone, her kin barter her and send her off to Scotland, where her husband's family is eager to see her produce heirs to their line with impeccable lineage.

Rolfe Munro is sick unto death of the topic of marriage. His marriage is one everyone seems to have an opinion of. So, when his father offers him the chance to escape the Munro stronghold for a bit, Rolfe happily takes the chore! But he knows it's only a brief respite.

Duty is the other currency of the Highlands. He's the son of the laird, and he'll have to settle down or risk leaving the clan in a fight when he dies.

Still, he's not ready to steal a bride. Even when his fool cousin takes one and needs rescuing. Rolfe isn't going to get involved beyond making sure his cousin survives. That's his plan. And it's a firm one. At least, until he lays eyes on Annis. Rolfe has seen his share of pretty women.

Annis is different. Her allure is something he can't put into words or ignore, it would seem.

By the time he escorts them to his cousin's stronghold, all Rolfe is thinking about is how to steal Annis away.

Penelope's Review

So this is the third book in a series, but as with most historical fiction series, you don't need to read the others to be able to understand what's going on. It brings characters mentioned in other books to the forefront as main characters. In this particular book, we follow Rolfe of the Munro clan, and Annis, an English woman with royal blood. 

I am really impressed with the writing style of this author - I felt like I was in the Scottish Highlands, and read the whole story with a Scottish accent lol! The author seems to have a knack for being able to make everything feel really lifelike - her world-building is fantastic, her characters are real and relatable, and she has a great premise! 

Rolfe... sigh. What a tall, dark, and sexy man in a kilt xD I loved that this character had so many layers. He was driven by a code of loyalty and duty, and was able to listen to both his head and his heart. He was smart and driven, and all around a really interesting and relatable character.

I also really liked Annis. Despite basically being treated as a piece of property, she persevered and took her life into her own hands. I loved how resilient she was and how determined she was to control what happened to her. I loved her and Rolfe together, I thought the romance worked really well. 

There were a few side characters mentioned that I would LOVE to hear more about - I'm hoping they were being set up as the main characters in the next book, that's what it seems like! 

Overall, good plot development, great characters, fantastic writing style! This author is now on my watch list!

Rating: 4/5 Devils!