Review: Very nice!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 26, 2012
Lady Cailin Macmillan escapes head over heels from her father's keep when she finds out that  she's supposed to marry a laird who is much older than she is. However, as soon as she leaves the protection of the castle's walls she is attacked by two English soldiers who try to rape her. Out of nowhere a Highlander appears and during the fight to protect Cailin he kills one of the soldiers. Although Cailin tries to persuade her rescuer whose name is Connor Fraser not to take her back to her father's castle she is taken there only to find out that the soldier who was killed by Connor to be the brother of one of the an English soldier who tried to misuse her some years ago. Cailin makes a very sudden decision: she disguises as a young man and follows Connor.Connor and Cailin where excellent main characters. Connor being torn between his pledge to the Scottish cause and the growing love to his wife. Cailin on the other hand was at the beginning of the book nothing more than a stubborn young girl who throughout the book matured into a strong and independent woman.  The secondary characters supported the plot perfectly, especially Bryce.The plot of the book had everything a successful story of this genre needs to have: a strong hero and a wonderful heroine who suffered a lot and was more than once saved by her hero, a persistent villain and a terrific end.What I really missed was a short prologue of the author, where would be explained what was fiction or fact in the book. Especially since this story took place during a very specific time period (First War of Scottish Independence) and reference was made to some important historic personalities (Simon Fraser? Nigel Bruce (brother of Robert the Bruce)  and his daughter Jenna? Fact or fiction? William Wallace, Robert the Bruce)  and terms such as "handfasting". Did the English soldiers really have the right to claim any Scottish woman they wished (as was mentioned during Cailin's trial)?Although the ending of the book was a bit too abrupt for my taste and there were some issues that should have been elaborated a bit further (e.g. what happened to the soldier who stabbed Connor without killing him? etc.) I loved the book and recommend it if you like this genre.