WHEN THE LAIRD TAKES A LADY is book two in the Claimed by
a
Highlander series. I read this as a standalone book,
without having read the first book, Taming a Wild Scot.
There is an overarching story of who stole a necklace to be
gifted by the king to his new bride throughout the series,
and that question is not answered in the current release.
Isabail Grant is the only surviving child of an abusive
father. Her brother was a justiciar for the king, and was
poisoned. Everyone believes that Aiden MacCurran killed
Isabail's brother after stealing the queen's necklace, and
the king confiscated the MacCurran lands and keep,
Dunstoras, in response. Isabail is on her way to the king
to petition him to grant her the MacCurran lands in
recompense of her brother's death, when she is kidnapped by
the laird of MacCurran himself.
Aiden MacCurran has been unjustly charged with John Grant's
murder. His clan has been kicked off their lands and are
living as outlaws. Aiden wants to clear his name. He
believes Isabail is the key to doing so, as she must know
the names of the strangers who were visiting her cousin the
Earl's castle Lochurkie that night that her brother was
murdered. He thinks one of those men committed the crimes
with which he is accused. Aiden kidnaps Isabail to ask her
the names of those men so that he can solve the mystery of
who the murderer and thief is, reclaim his lands, and save
his clan. The problem is, he has only a week to do it,
before his lands are given by the king to someone else.
Isabail is treated better than she expects to be while with
Aiden and his men, and she soon begins to question if he is
truly the killer she has assumed him to be. A widow, she
quickly falls into bed with Aiden, which I thought was way
too rapid for someone who she thought killed her brother
and who she saw kill some of her guards when he kidnapped
her. Isobail's brother's old personal attendant Daniel
ends up in Aiden's camp shortly after, injured by falling
into a badger's nest. Daniel convinces Isobail to search
for the missing necklace, swearing that Aiden has it
squirreled away somewhere in their camp. Isobail wavers
between believing Daniels's accusations against Aiden and
believing Aiden's protestations of innocence.
Although our two lovers reach their Happily Ever After, the
book ending does not wrap the mystery up, leaving me feeling
like I'm still hanging. This incentivizes the reader to read
the next book, To Kiss a Kilted Warrior, which will be
released in December 2014. While I enjoyed WHEN A LAIRD
TAKES A LADY, as I enjoy historicals set in Europe, this is
not a book that stands out particularly from the crowd.
Lovers of Scottish historicals will likely find this a
satisfying light beach read this summer, but be forewarned
that many questions are not answered in this story.
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....