Back Cover:
Duncan Campbell is a natural born leader, possessing all the attributes for a Highland chieftain except for one: legitimacy. Forced from the Highlands for a crime he didn’t commit, Duncan has earned a reputation as the fiercest, most skilled mercenary on the continent. Vowing to restore his name and clear the cloud of treason hanging over his head, Duncan returns to the Highlands to find the one person who might hold the key to his freedom: the woman he’d once loved who’d betrayed him. But when he surprises her swimming in a loch, he finds himself facing the bad end of a pistol.

Told she was impulsive her whole life like her mother who’d destroyed their family when she’d run off with an Englishman over twenty years ago, Jeannie Grant had never believed it—until she met Duncan Campbell. The bastard born son of a chieftain was not a suitable husband for the daughter of a powerful Highland chief, but Duncan made Jeannie willing to risk everything. She gave him her innocence and he failed her, forcing Jeannie to learn the hard way what happens when you follow your heart. Now Jeannie is shocked to find that the brigand she’s shot is the same man who broke her heart all those years ago. But the hard, ruthless man is nothing like the charming young scoundrel she remembers. When their attempt to prove Duncan’s innocence uncovers a deadly secret, not only their lost love, but their lives hang in the balance.

After ten years of exile for a crime he didn't commit Duncan Campbell has returned to the Highlands, his homeland. He is back to clear his name and claim his woman. Jeannie Grant's betrayal still stings and he's back to use her as a means to an end. 10 years ago Duncan was sent to court by his father to ensure Grant's support in joining forces against the Earl of Huntly, the Campell's and King James' enemy. When he sets eye on Grant's daughter he is lost and they fall in love, but treachery, political intrigues and secret alliances drives them apart and 10 years later Jeannie and Duncan both have a bone to pick with each other. She believes he abandoned her and her love for him. He believes she betrayed him.

Jeannie Grant is sensible, compassionate and headstrong. She's a pistol-wielding lass, no longer prone to impulsivity since it got her into a lot of trouble when she was younger. She is a vibrant and spirited heroine despite her attempts to control her impulsivity.

Duncan Campbell is the eldest and bastard son of the Campbell siblings, dubbed the Black Highlander. He is in control, noble and proud but also focused, steely and ambitious. Duncan has asserted control over every aspect of his life but only Jeannie has the power to make him lose that control.

HIGHLAND SCOUNDREL starts in the present 1608 (chapter 1) and then chapter 2 takes us back to the events 10 years earlier that led to the animosity between Jeannie and Duncan that dominates the present which is told from chapter 9 and onward.

It had been a while since I read a McCarty book because I was a bit disappointed by the start of this trilogy, so I was a bit hesitant in starting the most recent and last one in the trilogy. I was partly right in my reluctance because much to my regret, this third installment of the Campbell trilogy was not able to do for me what the third book of the McLeod trilogy was able to do. It started out great, explosively emotional and very promising but a few chapters into the flashback to 10 years earlier my excitement started dying down a bit and I found myself drifting away during these chapters. Despite the lovely and hot love scene, that part of the book somehow couldn't hold my attention.

I missed the Highlander "magic" in this book that I did find in McCarty's first trilogy which I found much more impressive. As I stated in a previous review (I think it was book 1), save for the specific historical setting and the clan politics it didn't really feel as much like a Highlander romance as the books in the first trilogy did. For me it could've been set in any other historical background.

That being said still the book read like clockwork. Especially after the flashback part, when it became more fast-paced and before I knew it I was at the end of another tale of betrayal, trust, raw passion, loyalty, duty and secrets. Monica McCarty writes Highland and Clan politics like no other author I've read. She has a way of setting up a back-drop that is sometimes even more enthralling than the characters she places in them and that's what made this book very readable despite my misgivings about the pace and the way of telling the story of Duncan and Jeannie. Upon concluding this trilogy I must be honest in my opinion that for me it didn't quite reach the level of the McLeod trilogy. I could not find the attention-grabbing magical writing and characters of that trilogy in this one. However I am still very much looking forward to Monica McCarty's Highland Guard series, which starts off with THE CHIEF (March, 23rd).

Quotes:
It was something in the tilt of her eyes, in the curve of her lush mouth, and in the ripe sensuality of her body that spoke to a man of one thing: swivving. And not just any swivving, but gritty, mind-blowing, come-until-you-pass-out kind of swivving.

It was too soon, but he found himself asking, "Marry me." His heart, his breath, everything stopped as he waited for an answer, a sign...
The balance of his life seemed poised on an edge, waiting to tumble or soar at her decision.

The heavy warmth of desire spread through her body. It was a woman's desire. Desire forged in the fires of heartbreak and disappointment and made stronger by experience.

Rating: 6.8 out of 10

Back Cover copy:
Patrick MacGregor is a hunted man living on the edge. With his land stolen and clan outlawed, Patrick and his MacGregor clansmen have been forced into hiding—blame for which Patrick puts squarely on the shoulders of the hated Campbells. Patrick will stop at nothing to save his clan from destruction, and marriage to Elizabeth Campbell, whose quiet beauty he’d admired from afar, just might be the answer. Arranging an attack seems to be the perfect means to win the trust of the protected lass, but soon Patrick realizes that it isn’t just his life at stake if she discovers the truth of his identity, but something he’d thought lost long ago—his heart.

Elizabeth Campbell has never done anything reckless in her life. Shy and dutiful, Lizzie has always tried to do the right thing—even suffering through the humiliation of two broken engagements without complaint. But behind the serious façade is a passionate woman fighting to get out. So when a handsome mysterious warrior rescues her from an attack, Lizzie boldly asks him to stay. Seduced by his kiss and mesmerized by the edge of danger that surrounds him, Lizzie succumbs to the promise beckoning from behind his shadowed gaze, believing she’s found the perfect man. But soon Lizzie wonders whether in risking her heart, she’s lost everything.

Patrick MacGregor's life has always revolved around his revenge on the Campbells. They destroyed his family, they took what was rightfully his and now they are hunting him, forcing him to live like a barbarian, a life of running and hiding and suffering. But now he has contemplated a plan to exact the perfect revenge and in the process, get the lands back that where wrongfully taken from his family. It has come to his attention that Elizabeth Campell's dowry has been expanded with those very lands and he devises a ruse to win Lizzie's trust and trick her into marrying him.

Lizzie, unsuspecting of Patrick's lies, soon falls for the fierce warrior who came to her rescue during an attack by MacGregor outlaws. What she doesn’t know is that he is one of them and the attack is a set-up. But things don't go exactly as planned for Patrick when he discovers that he is not immune to Lizzie's charm and bravery and he has trouble carrying out his plans.

Lizzie is a true lady of the keep. She is delicate, sensible, kind and dutiful. But she's also brave and a fierce spitfire when push comes to shove. I loved her character and think she has come a long way from the stammering, insecure girl in the McLeods of Skye Trilogy. She has grown into a fiery and strong woman whose heart is vulnerable but in the hands of the right man, which happens to be Patrick, it is safe.

Patrick is a true warrior. He is calm, controlled and proud. He has a fierceness that he tries to keep in check by using his wit and cunning intelligence. He is determined and despises his life as an outlaw, forced to run and do things that go against his nature.

Together Lizzie and Patrick were great. Their story that was covered with complications warmed my heart. They were perfect for each other and I loved their journey to love and trust in a tale of injustice, deception, duty, vengeance and star-crossed love.

This book was elaborate, intricate and passionate. Families, loyalty to them and the sense of duty run strong throughout Monica McCarty's books and in this one the portrayal of these themes was perfectly matched with lovely romance and passionate attraction. The love story between Patrick and Lizzie is one that is complicated but inevitable. McCarty brought it in an amazing way. It was fast-paced, emotional, sensual and suspenseful. By inserting complicating factors like Patrick's family being outlawed and hunted by Lizzie's or Lizzie being courted by the son of the man who killed Patrick's parents, she gave the story depth and intrigue where it would otherwise remain average.

With this book the feud between Clan Campbell and Clan MacGregor seems to be solved and I look forward to what Monica McCarty brings to the table in the final installment of this trilogy. In my opinion this book was another formidable Scottish tale of romance and loyalty. With a compelling writing style and a story build-up that was excellent McCarty kept me entranced and glued to the pages.

Lizzie's story was absolutely worth the wait and her journey to happiness was a complicated but beautiful one.

Quotes:
He was a Greek god carved not from marble, but from hard Highland granite.

She might be tiny and delicate, but she'd been made for him. She wouldn't break—he smiled wickedly—though he intended to make her shatter.

Back Cover Copy:
The ruthless enforcer of Scotland’s most powerful clan, Jamie Campbell is the most feared man in the Highlands. Raw physical strength coupled with cunning political acumen make him a powerful force with whom few men will dare to reckon. Determined to see the Highlands tamed of its lawlessness and unrest, Jamie’s objectives are clear: under the guise of seeking the Chief of Lamont’s daughter’s hand in marriage, discover whether the Lamonts are harboring any outlawed MacGregors. But guise turns to desire when he meets the beautiful spitfire who rules the household with a dainty iron fist. The fierce Highlander never expects that the woman he wants above all others will test his duty and loyalty to his clan to the breaking point.

Cosseted and adored by her family, Caitrina Lamont has no intention of abandoning her beloved father and doting four older brothers for a husband—especially a Campbell. But Jamie Campbell is nothing like the parade of suitors that Caitrina’s father usually traipses across their hall. His raw masculinity threatens her in a way no man ever had before. But when Caitrina’s idyllic world is shattered, could the man she blames for her tragedy become her only hope for the future?

Caitrina Lamont and Jamie Campbell meet at the Highland gathering at Ascog, Caitrina's home. Jamie is on a mission, which he hides by pretending to court Caitrina. Soon real feelings start to develop but Jamie's reputation as Campbell's Henchman is one of the reasons Caitrina rejects him and his proposal. After an attack on her home and family Caitrina is more bitter than ever and vows to avenge her family. Her pampered life is destroyed by the attack that was led by Jamie's brother.
In an attempt to make up for the wrongdoing by his relatives, Jamie offers Caitrina marriage again so he can protect her with his name and return her home to her and her clan. Caitrina accepts and their marriage starts out troublesome and before they can life happily ever after they will face difficulties almost impossible to overcome.

Caitrina is bold, opinionated and haughty, but she's also stubborn, proud and resilient. She grows up protected by a father and brothers who indulged her and spoiled her. She has never known real hardship and when her world does become a cruel and hard place, she learns quickly that life isn’t a bed of roses.

Jamie is possessive, commanding and intimidating. Beneath his commanding powerful and ruthless presence there's a man who is lonesome and who can be tender and gentle. These are sides of himself he just doesn't let people see easily.

The character development, in both Jamie and Caitrina is stunning and gave the book enough depth to make it more than an average Scottish historical romance. Even with the fast-paced historical plot it was a character-driven book, focusing on the development of the feelings and relationship between Jamie and Caitrina.

Against a background of Highland political turmoil and feuding clans, the battle of wills between Caitrina and Jamie was what gave this book its intensity. Gradually fight turns into passion and love but this doesn't happen easily. There are trust issues, family issues and hard choices to be made. The choice between the love for each other and the loyalty and duty to their respective family members runs strongly throughout the second part of the book and made the book less light compared to the other books I've read by Monica McCarty.

Even though the characters, the historical details and facts, the love story and the plot all enthralled me here was a minor thing that bothered me a bit throughout the book. It had this somewhat modern feel to it, despite the historical details, Scottish vocabulary and a story fitting the time-period. It's not something I can clearly explain but without the historical facts it could have been a story placed in a more modern time and this is not what I expect in a historical romance from Monica McCarty. I remember having a few moments where I thought: "Did they really do or say those things those days?" Of course there is always something called the author's creative freedom and it's still fiction but I don't remember having this feeling in the other trilogy and I hope this feeling will be taken away with the next installment of the Campbell Trilogy.

That being said, overall it was another great book that I really enjoyed reading. The very first pages of this novel pulled me straight into a story that was rich in historical details, filled with highland politics, star-crossed lovers and lively characters. I went through a number of emotions, from endearment to anger to sorrow. At the base of the story is the vendetta (based on true historical facts) between the Campbells and the MacGregors. Monica McCarty did a great job in fusing historical facts and romantic fiction together in a compelling, ornate and wonderful tale of passion, action, duty, betrayal, loyalty and trust.

Quote:
The taste of him was like the darkest, richest wine, pouring into her soul until she was drunk with pleasure