2008-05-12 Helpless Highlander

Three years ago James Drummond was wrongfully accused of murdering his wife and deemed an outlaw. So he fled his keep and remained hidden all this time. Finally, the Laird has decided to return and get back what is rightfully his; Dunncraig Keep and his five-year old daughter Margaret.

Annora MacKay is a bast*rd as well as a poor woman with no dowry or lands to offer. So she drifts from one relative to another, relying on their charity to keep her alive. She had no purpose in life until she was summoned by her cousin to come and take care of his two year old daughter. That was three years ago and little Meggie has become her soul purpose for life now.

But Annora suspects something is amiss. Her cruel cousin shelters her and the girl, like a prison. Any disobedience is met with swift physical punishment, which Annora has learned to avoid. Still when a handsome woodcarver arrives at the keep, Annora is intrigued. She has the gift of 'sensing ones feelings' and this man carries a lot of hatred towards her malicious cousin. Why? Before she knows it, she's entangled herself in a deadly plot with seemingly no means of escape.

Just an OK book. I really enjoyed the complete change of plot in this one. Refreshing because I didn't get the sense of deja vu like I did in some of Howells other books (some seem to be the same book with different characters) Anyhow the setting is fresh and held a lot of promise, but failed somewhat. I never really felt that James was a "wolf", you know -on the attack, out for revenge- type. Not aggressive enough. He is too timid for me and a bit helpless. I understand that it is not possible for him to just go and attack the keep because he is an outlaw, but too flee? Like a dog with its tale between its legs? That just smacks of anti alpha behavior and I just plain like my highlanders as alpha males.

I did also notice that there is a lot of violence in this book compared to her others. I didn't really like that. Have sword fights, kill the enemy a gruesome way -no problem, but the abuse the heroine? A bit too much for me.

And then there is the revenge. How James finally finds the 'evidence' that Annora's cousin is the villain is frankly laughable. It really gives new meaning to the word stupid criminals. It is just too much of a stretch for me.

So if you've read Howell before then your used to the characters brogue (for newbies it takes a bit of getting used too -ye ken?) and if you don't mind the slightly less than alpha hero & the violence then you might like this one. A stand alone book with plenty of sexual tension and loves scenes. And the little girl is very cute too.

Not a bad read, just not my favorite Howell. Some of my other favorites in this genre include the authors Garwood, Sands, Quinn and McCarty.