Review and Giveaway: When a Laird Takes a Lady

When a Laird Takes a Lady (Claimed by the Highlander - Book 2) by Rowan Keats

Publication Date: 05/06/2014
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Signet Eclipse
Genre: Historical Romance
Pages: 336
ISBN-10: 0451416082
ISBN-13: 978-0451416087

(Received for an honest review from Signet Eclipse)

Purchase: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Indiebound

Rowan Keats on the WEB: website, twitter, facebook, goodreads

Books in the series: 

Claimed by the Highlander

1. Taming a Wild Scot
2. When a Laird Takes a Lady

Coverart: Click the Image for a larger, clearer view of the covers in this series.

Excerpt from, When a Laird Takes a Lady, courtesy of the author's website (Half way down the page click on 'read and excerpt').

Synopsis:

In the Highlands of Scotland, honor and loyalty are worth more than life itself. But when a haunted woman meets a wronged warrior, love will prove more powerful than anything they have ever known.

Isabail Grant has had to be strong all her life. Over the years, she has lost everyone close to her, and now she’s seeking justice for her brother’s murder. But en route to Edinburgh to petition the king, she is kidnapped by a fierce warrior—and is shocked to find herself irresistibly drawn to her captor.

Aiden MacCurran is an outlaw. The laird of a small clan, he’s been falsely accused of killing the king’s courier and stealing the Crown’s property—and the key to clearing his name and redeeming his clan lies in Isabail’s memories. But Aiden and Isabail must first weather deceit and treachery before they can find the truth and claim the love that’s growing between them....

Thoughts:

When a Laird Takes a Lady is the second book in the Claimed by a Highlander series written by Rowan Keats. This is a novel based on the ideas of honor, loyalty and trust, which are themes common in Scottish romance novels. Keats writes the highland people with respect to their way of life and understanding of the essential values that governed them. Romance readers and Scottish enthusiasts alike will find this book irresistible. Keats has a way with dialogue and originality that keeps her books realistic and true to the highland spirit.

What I liked:

I am of Scottish descent as many of you who read my blog often, know. I have read many books about the Highlands and the people who live there. I have stories of my own from my grandfather as well, that influence how I review any book set in Scotland. I have some pretty high standards when it comes to Scottish romance and not too many authors live up to them. Rowan Keats has got my interest peaked with this series. It is of course set in the highlands and Keats has done her homework as far as customs of the day, traditional dress and that sort of thing, but she has also written books that speak to the spirit of the highlander. Her characters embody the virtues and the flaws of the highland people, which is so much harder to capture than whether highlanders used the word know or kin.

In When a Laird Takes a Lady you have a typical Scottish romance theme, laird kidnaps a lady and falls in love, but it's so much more than that. I get tired of reading the same old stereo-typical Scottish characters and Keats gives readers something new fresh and new in Isabail Grant. Most highland ladies are written as with more heart than intelligence and most of them have been married off to men who are twice their age for clan conquest and not love. Isabail is neither of those things. She is a smart, stubborn woman with a lot of resilience and a heart of iron. She loved her husband and still mourns his death. I liked her instantly. She stood toe to toe with her abductor and came up with a pretty good plan of escape. Luckily, that wasn't in the cards!

Aiden was a warrior through and through. He had a small clan that he was trying to restore to it's former glory. He fought hard to prove that he was innocent of Isabail's brother's murder and needed her cooperation. When she finally realized that he was an honorable man and that he was not going to do her any harm, her attitudes toward him started to change. I liked his strength and his determination, his raw power and charisma. He didn't threaten her safety but he certainly laid to waste the guard she had on her heart. I liked them as a couple, because it was almost as if they were made for each other. They had their struggles and the mystery surrounding Isabail's brothers murder tried the patience of them both, but Keats eventually works it all out in the end much to the satisfaction of the reader.

What I didn't like:

This book relied heavily on the ideas of honor and trust, yet Isabail was willing to become Aiden's lover before she became completely convinced of his innocence. I found that detail a little hard to swallow because we weren't talking about something little, this was the murder of her brother. I'm pretty sure he would have had to prove to her without a doubt that he did not do it, before she would even remotely consider the idea of being with him.

Bottom Line:

For the most part I think Keats writes a Scottish romance with more originality than most. I think she understands the highland heart and what it needs better than some authors, but there were still a couple of things lacking with this novel. That's not to say that I don't recommend it. I definitely do, especially to Scottish romance fans. Like I said... I'm a bit picky!

When a Laird Takes a Lady is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.

I'm giving this one 4 out of 5 apples from my book bag!

About the Author:

Rowan Keats, author of Taming a Wild Scot, graduated from the University of Ottawa with an Honours degree in Business. She worked as a banker, stock broker, and marketing director before returning to her true calling: writing. Born to a French-Canadian father and a Scottish-Danish mother, she has centuries of rich history to draw from when penning her romantic tales of days gone by.

Giveaway Details:

The publisher is sponsoring a giveaway for one copy of When a Laird Takes a Lady by Rowan Keats.

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~ The deadline to enter this giveaway is Midnight EST, June 3rd.

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