Pearl's World of Romance - Reviews with a Passion: Highlander Untamed

September 9, 2007

Highlander Untamed - Monica McCarty

6:11 PM |

Rory McLeod is a bold and powerful Highland Chief with only one allegiance, to his clan. He vows revenge against the rival MacDonald caln, though duty demands a handfast marriage to Isabel MacDonald, a bride he does not want and has no intention of keeping. But Rory couldn't have anticipated the captivating woman who challenges his steely control and unleashes the untamed passion simmering beneath his fierce exterior.

Blessed with incomparable beauty, Isabel MacDonald is prepared to use every means possible, including seduction, to uncover her husband's most guarded secrets. Instead Rory awakens Isabel's deepest desires and her sweetest fantasies. Now Isabel has found the happiness she's always dreamed ofwith the very man she must betray, and discovers that passion can be far more dangerous than revenge.

What a wonderful book! History and romance mixed into a classical scottish story.
The story of Isabel and Rory is based on true historical facts and McCarty really knows how to write a compelling and lovely story able to pull you in to Scotland in the beginning of the 17th century.
Mingled beautifully with an intense and emotional love-story you discover a lot about the ways and customs of the Highlanders during that time-period. Reading this book made me long to go explore the Highlands myself and maybe stumble upon one of the scrumptious McLeods.
I felt really trown back into the rugged Highlands at the time of King James.

Both main and secondary characters complement each other, all of them being crucial to the plot.
Isabel tries to be demure and sweet but her true self, feisty and quick-minded has to come out and those were the moments I liked her the most!
Rory is a true Highlander: a tough, raw, manly and dominant warrior. Loyal to nothing but his clan. But little by little Isabel warms his cold heart.

The book is character-oriented, focusing mainly on Rory and Isabel and their feelings and emotions. I haven't read many of these and found it a pleasant change compared to the action-/plot-driven books I've read lately.
But this definitely does not mean there is no plot in the book, there absolutely is and it's a good plot but the feelings and emotions have the upper hand.

You can almost feel the impact Rory and Isabel have on each other at the first glance and this feeling just keeps building and building towards a climax both literally and figuratively.
McCarty really does a great job of describing what they feel in a very intense way.
She also has a way of building up the sexual tension between Isabel and Rory in such a magnificent way it blew me away. It's incredibly intense and sensual. Beautifullly written and emotion stirring in a major way!

I'm really glad this trilogy is being released back to back because I can't wait to read about Rory's siblings and their love-matches.

Quotes:
Her response turned his mind to black. The swift kick of pure lust hit him hard, and desire gripped him like an iron claw as he descended in the realm of no return.

Rory overwhelmed her senses, rendering her limp with desire, unable to form a coherent thought other than hunger for the man holding her.

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