Review: Scottish Soap Opera, With A Lotta Mist!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 3, 2013
Friends from childhood, Branan and Catriona are parted when Branan is secreted away from his foster family in order to prepare to become the laird of his clan. Without a word to Catriona, he disappears for years and is reunited with her, as well as her brother Gavin, when their home is attacked and their parents murdered.  Murdered, in fact, by the same man who killed Branan's mother years ago.  The two seem to pick up where they left off, having an intense connection to each other.  Catriona is strong-willed without being shrewish, and knows how to shoot a bow and arrow with accuracy.  Branan has grown into a massive warrior who, due the mistreatment of his mother in her marriage, abhors violence against women (Hold your swoon, Ladies, until the end of the review!) and has dreamed of revenge against the man who killed his mother and has made victims of Gavin and Catriona's parents, Strickland.All sounds wonderful, right?  Well, enter the rub: In order for Branan to be financially supported in his attack on Strickland, Catriona's father has betrothed her to a wealthy landowner, Richard, who wants to cause hardship for Strickland, a rival, without being overt about it.  Richard will supply Branan with funds, mercenaries, and information in his fight against Strickland, but only if Catriona follows through with the marriage agreement.  As Branan and Catriona grow closer, so does her wedding day. Will Branan choose his love over revenge?  And even if he does, will Catriona allow him to sacrifice the satisfaction of defeating Strickland for her?I enjoyed the way that Branan and Catriona seemed to have an immediate connection. It didn't take much time for them to develop a deep friendship as adults, and the interaction between the hero and heroine and her brother Gavin was also particularly poignant.  There were some character inconsistencies that bugged me a bit, though. For all her strength and intelligence, Catriona kept breaking down! She'd snatch up a crossbow and nail a sucker in the face with an arrow, then cry. Or watch someone's skull get split open in battle, but be brought low by headaches and the stress of running a household by herself, and then fall apart in Branan's arms. That got a little old for me.  And she kept asking Branan if he was going to leave her again and "return to the mist." Huh?  True, when he left to return to his clan as a boy, she saw him kind of disappear into the mist, but it's not like he literally vanished. She kept harping on that, and I got the feeling it was just to draw attention back to the name of the novel. I wanted to slap her and say, "No, you idiot, he's not going back into the freaking mist! Cowgirl up!"I am interested to see if some of the secondary characters, especially Gavin, get their own stories. Several of the mercenaries were also intriguing in the brief times they came into play, so I'd say a bit of a series is warranted.  Without the mist.