Claimed by the Highlander

Claimed by the Highlander by Julianne MacLean  505

Angus MacDonald is determined to reclaim Kinloch castle after it was stolen from him by the MacEwan's because of his father's support of the Jacobites. He storms the castle and quickly overcomes all resistance, except for the late Lord's daughter, Gwendolyn, who is acting as ruler of the castle until her brother can be located and comes to take over. Seeing that she could pose a problem, Angus wastes no time in declaring that he and Gwen will marry and that their son will one day rule over Kinloch. Gwendolyn is furious and has no intention of marrying Angus, but can only smile and agree with him while secretly hoping that her brother or the English army shows up and throws Angus out. She writes to the English to ask for help and while she waits she strikes up a bargain with Angus; she will marry him and be loyal and dutiful, and in exchange he agrees to put off the consummation until their wedding night. When the English arrive she realizes she has made a dreadful mistake as she has destroyed Angus's trust and earned his anger.

Angus is furious that she has betrayed him, but takes her second vow of loyalty at face value and agrees to continue with his side of the agreement. Both of them are immensely attracted to the other so the wedding can't come soon enough for them to get their hands on the other. Angus had betrayed a friend to English, was thrown out of his father's house, and spent a year living with an oracle. He believes he has no heart so when he starts to feel deeper emotions for Gwen he is scared that he is becoming weak and that he will be dependent on someone else. Gwen is coming to care for her husband because there were so many times when he could have been cruel, but instead has shown himself to be caring and kind. But when his old lover comes back and claims that she had a vision where Gwen betrayed him, Angus can't help but believe that his love has been misplaced. Gwen is horrified that her husband can so easily disregard her word and has no trust for her and it will take a lot of hard work and trust for both of them to admit their love for each other.

Gwen was a feisty heroine who wanted to stand up and fight for her family's keep, which I admired, but what I admired most was her levelheadedness and her ability to recognize when it was better for her to "submit" to her fate and accept what had happened to her. She did what she could to save herself and her family's legacy but when she realized that this would not be possible she made the best of the card's she was dealt and fell in love with them in the end. I liked that when she did fall in love with Angus she fought for him and put herself on the line for him several times. Angus was very hard and slow to warm to everything and I had difficulty seeing why Gwen fell in love with him. At first I was impressed with his ability to forgive her for her initial betrayal and his sympathy towards women when it came to sexual experiences was also interesting. However when his fear that Gwen would betray him took over him I quickly lost patience and was disgusted by some of the things he did to her. He turned what should have been a happy moment between them and made it horrible and I don't see how it was forgivable.

There was a lot of sex in this book and it was quickly apparent that these two found it absolutely impossible to keep their hands off of each other. Despite the vast amounts of sex it was not really exciting or hot; it was quick and almost entirely lacking in emotions really and did nothing for me. This book also fell into a trap that I really can't stand in romances by having real arguments or discussion or problems suddenly end in them having sex. There were several instances where she was upset with him, and had a real genuine reason to want to talk to him and get him to apologize, but instead it ended with him sexing her up and the problem magically went away. Also- I had a problem with him referring to her "pastry" even if it was kind of a joke in the book, and with her saying twice (!!) that there was no need for foreplay because she was so turned on. In the end I don't really see how these two were able to make it work after everything that had happened and all the trusts that were betrayed. I did enjoy the side plots involving the uprisings (multiple!) and her family.

Rating: There was too much between Angus and Gwen that made me unhappy, and while the book was a fast read, I just could not root for Angus even while I loved Gwen for the most part.

Portrait of a Lover

Portrait of a Lover by Julianne MacLean 1124

When Annabelle Lawson meets Mr. John Edwards on a train to Scotland she immediately senses a connection and decides to take the biggest risk of her life. For an entire summer she and Mr. Edwards meet secretly for fishing, paintings, and cuddles under the sky. She is heartbroken when she discovers that John is really Magnus Wallis, her adoptive brother's cousin and worst enemy. Magnus is in love with Annabelle but because he had been cast out of by the Whitby's he does not have much money and does not move in society. He thinks he is not good enough for her so he claims that he was merely using her and runs off to America. For thirteen years they both try to forget each other until Magnus comes back to England and wants to show one of Annabelle's paintings at an art gallery he recently acquired. She is wary of the meeting, but Magnus is not as he is determined to prove to Annabelle that he is good enough and that he is finally worthy of her trust and convince her to marry him.

It is not long before the two are back in their old rhythm of discussions and heated conversations with sexual overtones. He knows that her art is something special and his confidence in her abilities inspires her and awes her. But her brother, the Earl of Whitby, is in the back ground if not in person, marring their happiness with the knowledge that her brother will never accept a match between them. She takes a risk by escaping with him for a weekend and she knows that he is all she ever wanted in her life. There is so much bad blood between their families as she and Whitby have been told that his father was a murderous madman and that Marcus himself killed Whitby's older brother, while Marcus is resentful that the family kicked his father out for not being as strong as the old Earl expected. Marcus is a changed man and he no longer feels the need to be part of the ton, so when Annabelle offers to bring him into her world, he worries that she does not know him at all. Both must risk their pride and take a giant leap of faith for them to end up together.

These two were featured in Love According to Lily where Magnus was portrayed as a downright scoundrel and I was worried that MacLean would not really be able to resurrect him. However, MacLean does a superb job as she quickly puts to rest any fears that Magnus really was heartless. It was so clear that he loved her and that it was only his insecurities that kept him from staying with Annabelle. His situation was made even better because he eventually came into his own and became confident in himself that Annabelle's station and his lack of station, no longer mattered. He desperately wanted Annabelle to trust him and sometimes it became a little unbelievable that he expected her to trust him again after only a week or so of being reacquainted. I understood that his explanation to her was thorough, but it really made me dislike his character a little. I did admire that he was, for the most part, a self made man and it was a nice change of pace from the lords that populate most romance novels. I also admired his change of heart about being accepted by his family and how he was confident enough not to need their acceptance.

Annabelle was not quite as well rounded as her main plot line in this story was her fears about trusting Marcus again and she seemed to be searching for a reason not to trust him. At the same time this was a tad annoying, it also seemed very wise on her part as it showed she learned from her mistakes. I admired her loyalty to her family and how she did not want to just throw them over for the man she loved; she went digging and coercing in an attempt to get the two men she loved to find some common ground. Although I really don't consider myself much of an art aficionado, I liked that she had her own talent and that it didn't take over the book with talk of paintings. There was an undercurrent of sexual tension throughout the book and I really liked how it simmered just below the surface; it created some quite nice anticipation to the story. There was one extended sex scene that was quite sexy and hot and incredibly romantic. I also really liked that she featured characters from her previous novel in important, yet not overwhelming. It was clear that they were living happily ever after but it was in the back ground, and I did not feel like it was being shoved in my face.

Rating: I liked the emotions that really carried this book through and I admired both of the main characters, although the book could have used some more excitement.

Love According to Lily

Love According to Lily by Julianne MacLean 901

Lily Langdon has known Edward Wallis, Earl of Whitby, since she was a child as he is her brother's best friend and despite the age difference they were always "friends" and he treated her well. While Lily has come to notice Whitby as more than just her older brother's friend, he has yet to notice that Lily has become a woman. She has harbored these feelings for him for years and has been scared of her feelings since believing herself in love when she was younger and having her heart broken. When Whitby shows up at her brother's house party she tries to flirt with him but he is obviously sick and spends his time drinking, sleeping, and being generally lethargic. Eventually a doctor is summoned and everyone believes that he has Hodgkins disease and he is worried that his dissolute cousin, Magnus, will inherit the title. Lily decides to gather her pride and make Whitby an offer; to marry her and produce an heir so that his cousin doesn't inherit.

He is at first reluctant, but he is finally starting to see Lily as a woman, and she claims that even though he is dying she wants to be with him at least once in order to be happy. She says that even if he lives she will not regret their marriage and wants whatever he can offer. Sure enough the two get married and set to making the heir but are shocked when the doctor comes back and says he is not going to die- he has an unknown illness that is going away. Lily is scared that Whitby will regret having married her and realizes she made a mistake when she told him she could live without hislove. Whitby does indeed have second thoughts, but they revolve around Lily's newly discovered pregnancy and his fear that she will die in labor as his mother did. When she comes down with the same illness as he had and her pregnancy does not go smoothly, Whitby realizes he may loose her and he is in love with her.

Another story where one of the characters has been in love with another for years and has been hiding his/her emotion. While not exactly new in romance novels I think this plot can be so much fun in romances and done really well and it was done respectably here. I really felt as though Lily was so young in this novel and really did not learn all that much from her earlier mistake. She was in love with Whitby for reasons I could not really figure out and was risking a whole hell of a lot to be with a man who had spent the last few years drunk and whoring his way around England. Whitby apparently feels some sort of connection to Lily from back when she was a child, as if they were kindred spirits, but I did not really buy this and thought it was a long shot for creating feelings between two adults. Really there could have been a whole lot more of them getting to know each other as adults and really falling in love.

One thing that does exist between them in spades is attraction and there is plenty of sex and it is quite hot really. I was also incredibly impressed with the medical research the author obviously did for the illness that strikes Lily and Whitby and for Lily's pregnancy. At the time I thought she was pulling our leg and was just making stuff up but in her afterward she details how she was really historically accurate. A nice little lesson in late 19th century medicine. One of my favorite characters is Lily's mother, Marion, who had been a dutiful daughter and a dutiful wife to a cruel man so she could not understand how or why her daughter was being so defiant and running off with this man that no one approved of. MacLean's writing is a very fast read in a book that could have used more humor and, especially given the unrequitted love story, a little bit more angst and brooding from both characters.

Rating: The lovestory between the two was a tad unbelievable but it was entertaining and interesting to an extent.