Review: A Scotswoman and Englishman find love
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 27, 2014
This story is set in 18th century, a little after the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion, England. Our heroine Mairi is Scottish and our hero Phin is English. Uh-oh. Phin, who was moonlighting as a pirate, is captured and told he will hang unless he brings the traitorous Scotsman Grant McFadden to King George.  Did I mention Mairi's surname is McFadden?  Phin and his buddies (I'm guessing these buddies have previous stories of their own, saw some reviews that state this is part of a series, but honestly, it must be a Fort Knox secret because I scoured the author's page and find no mention of a series) decide that the best way to get Grant to reveal himself is to kidnap the sister and bring her to London where Grant is thought to be hiding out.  We are then thrust into a scene where Mairi is awaiting Phin in his cabin, pistol pointed at the door.  Why? Well, things get a little murky but it seems one of Phin's buddies is/was a spy and has orchestrated the situation enough that Mairi thinks Phin is her only hope in finding her brother.  Yep, she is looking for him too, he's their Laird and Mairi is fast running out of resources to keep her clan, mostly made up of women and children, fed and taken care of.  Thus, follows a story of Mairi and Phin traveling to London, keeping secrets, revealing secrets, and ultimately falling in love.I was a big fan of Mairi; she vastly overshadowed Phin.  She is a bit nave at times, she's never been outside her town or away from her clan, a straightalker, tough, and sick of men and their delusions of grandeur leaving the women and children behind to deal with the fallout of these delusions.  The time period and Mairi's backstory really command this novel; the romance aspect was pushed to the background.  You'll want to weep and get angry with Mairi as she deals with the realities of what happens when men go off to war and refuse to accept certainties.  (If you're familiar with this time period and how the English treated the Scots, well, I'm sure you already have an ache in your heart and if not, imagine injustices that involve stripping a people of their culture) Phin?  Well, we are told he was a pirate but never experience it.  There is some backstory involving his sister that humanizes him more but for most of the story, he was just kind of there.  When the two finally come together I'm not sure I felt the chemistry.  Phin thinks she is petite and cleans up nicely in a ballgown, Mairi likes his wide shoulders and that he is there for her to lean on.  I just didn't have enough to be drawn to them as a couple.Even with those caveats, this is a fairly solid forthright read.  If you haven't read the previous books in the series (I think there are other books in the series, hopefully the FBI doesn't knock on my door as it seems I might be revealing a national secret here) you're going to feel lost in the beginning but if you have, hey, enjoy catching up with some characters.  The writing is strong, although, I did feel editing was needed as the story could feel disjointed and didn't flow the best at times.  It is still a quick easy read and my problems could stem from not reading any previous books. Reading about Mairi's personal turmoil and the lingering effects of the Jacobite uprising are worth the price of admission.Received a copy via Netgalley for an honest review.