Review: 4 1/2 stars
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 21, 2010
I will be up front and say that this book has lost a star solely because the editing is bad and the author has rushed some of the stories and skimped on some details.  If I could have given 4 1/2 stars then I would have.  Regardless of the few negatives, the positives far exceed.  This volume is even better than the first one and I could not put it down.  I guess you could read this as a book on its own without the first, but it is so much better to read them all in order to keep the story flowing well.The publisher synopsis does a good job of explaining the plots of each woman's story without giving too much away.  I will just add that while the woman the stories are titled for are the main heroines, some of the stories contain more than one romance.  And the romances are just one part of the story.  The real beauty of this book is that it furthers the story of the McGregor clan.  You learn about the people in the village and their lives.  You see what happens to characters from the first book and you meet characters who will have their own stories later.  The book does not span very many years but it begins when the children of Kevin and Anna from the first book are older.  Meeting the characters from teh first book again is like meeting up with old friends.  And their presence is not to be obligatory nor does it take away from the story.  Instead, it enhances the story by reminding me of clan histoy.My favorite story here was Glenna.  This story had some skimp (especially when it came to Walrick's sister) but it was the most full and entertaining.  Her father sent a trusted person out into the world to find her a husband and the story was woven amongst the stories of the other women until it culminated in her own story.  Gillie's story was also a good one because it clearly sets out the start of the second generation and the war between Kevin McGregor's sons.  However, this story was also the weakest because it was so skimpy on several critical details  (ie.  why Sween did some of th things he did and what Gillie's thoughts were about her situation). I do not want to give the story away by saying more.  I will say that I am certain that the author had the story fleshed out in her mind that she probably did not realize she was skimping on setails.This book was a little unrealistic about some of the details.  I doubt a war would have been resolved in the mannner it was in the book and I found many of the scenes between the men and women unbelievable.  For example, i highly doubt there would ahe been so many unmarried women allowed to be alone with unmarried men without chaperones in these times but they were often alone and kissing in the book.  Rgardless, this is fiction and I did not mind a little poetic license with a story this good.All in all, this volume did a great job of showing the growth of the clan as well as the romantic stories.  I really felt like the McGregors were old friends and I really cared what was going to happen to them next.