| A year after the Lockhart family had borrowed a sizable
sum from Payton Douglas, they don't have the money to repay the loan. The
collateral is their beautiful, but cursed, daughter Mared, who is to marry Payton if
the debt isn't paid. But Mared has no intention of marrying a Douglas,
and manages to turn Payton against her so that he doesn't want to marry
her. Instead she ends up his housekeeper, indebted for a year of
service to repay the loan for her family. Mared does what she can, but
wasn't bred to be the hired help. She has no clue about doing
laundry, spends more time napping than working and generally does what
she wants, including writing letters to her boss. But
neither can deny that there is something between them, especially after
Payton becomes ill and Mared nurses him back to health.
But an already complicated situation is compounded by Mared's life-long promises to herself. It's time
for her to live her life the way she's always wanted -- or so she
thinks.
Although I didn't read the first two books in the HIGHLANDER series,
I absolutely loved HIGHLANDER IN LOVE. It wasn't just the highland
setting, the dramatic visuals or the wonderful secondary characters.
I think the thing that really hooked me on this book were the main
characters, Mared and Payton. Both difficult in their own way,
they complimented each other in a way no one else could have. The
author made you care about these people, laugh at them and after the
story was done I genuinely missed them.
This is one series I'll definitely be glomming. While I can't
imagine enjoying the other characters as much as I enjoyed Mared and
Payton, I must give the author a chance, because if she can pull me into
the highlands as easily with the other books as she did with this one,
it'll be a fun adventure for certain.
Reviewed by Sue Waldeck for the Road to Romance
July 24, 2005 |
