Customer Reviews

Embrace the Dawn (Scottish Highlands Series #1)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Killian's once beloved husband has turned into an abusive, jealous man. Under the threat of another violent attack, Killian and her 5 year old son flee into a foreign land, exchanging a dangerous situation for one of unknown peril. Set in Scotland in 1691, the history and culture are rich with tradition, feuds, and castles.

While this period in history had not been my typical choice in fiction, I had been impressed with the author's Brides of Culdee Creek series. I was pleasantly rewarded with a enthralling tale of mystery and love. Morgan's versatility as an author is
astounding. Morgan has a gift in weaving a story that exposes the soul of its characters, draws in the reader and wraps them in authentic culture and history. At the same time, the story presents the way to true, abundant and everlasting life. Amazing. A book worth experiencing.

This book has everything! The wonderful meaning of the whole book is that freedom comes from forgiveness. Throughout the intrigue that enfolds in the pages of the book, the underlying themes of faithfulness in times of adversity; having honor and courage to admit when we are wrong is a very powerful message. The characters are wonderfully believable. I loved Ruarc from the first mention of his jade green eyes! The honor and courage the man possesses throughout the book is endearing and admirable for any hero. I highly recommend this novel. It is book one in a series. The second book, "Consuming Fire," is a great book also and continues the story of Adam Campbell, who is the protagonist in "Embrace the Dawn."

Embrace the Dawn is a Christian historical romance novel from Tyndale about an abused wife who kills her husband in self-defence, and to aid the man hiding in the woods spying on her clan for reasons of his own which become clear towards the end of the book.

She is a colonial from America, desperate to be loved and belong, but she betrays her clan and proposes marriage to the supposed murderer of her husband in order to try to save him from the gallows, and helps him escape from her cousin by marriage Adam, who immediately starts to desire the young widow for himself.

Adam and Ruarc MacDonald were once friends, but now rivals due to the unstable Sheila, whom Ruarc married and has supposedly murdered when he caught her in adultery with Adam. Thus the stage is set for disaster through all their human failings--only divine intervention can ever redeem any of them.

The novel is gritty and deals with a lot of issues to do with temptation, love, adultery, and surrendering to the will of God. It is also historically situated at the time of rising English ambitions in Scotland, with clan against clan, culminating in the horrible massacre of Glencoe. (1691)

I enjoyed the historical accuracy of the novel, and the romance was handled well, but the Christian aspect was actually a lot more vague than one might expect, I think because they are clearly Catholics, with a priest for their advisor. (A bit odd for a Tyndale book?).

The heroine's lack of guilt over the murder and ease with which she marries and is happy is startling and not true to life. The way the hero finally comes back to the church is also too pat.

The child Gavin is very sweet, when we get to see him in the book, but this is not too often. He is used as a plot device more often than not, so that the heroine lacks depth and her emotions and actions don't ring true.

The rivalry between the two former friends and the adultery were on virtually every page, making the whole thing seem inevitable and rather dull after a while.

Also: If neither of them murdered the girl, who did...... It takes them a long time to ask that question and by then we have long figured it out.

Still, I enjoyed the depiction of Scotland and how they triumph over their enemies one by one, except of course for the English, sadly. The end was rather rushed too; I hate when an author is clearly in such a hurry to finish a book that it really shows. The mentions of James trying to win the throne were few and far between, thus sacrificing what could have been real dramatic tension and giving the book a more epic feel.

Finally, the end leaves you hanging to find out if the hero will ever be pardoned by the king, King William of Orange, so no doubt there must be sequels coming up, which felt a little bit unsatisfying.

I really enjoy Morgan's books. Her Scottish series are my favorites and this one was no exception. The theme woven throughout this novel was one of forgiveness and renewal of relationships with God first and others second.

After being widowed from a man who was mean and abusive, Killian Campbell promises to never let anyone hurt her again. With circumstances out of her control, she meets Ruarc MacDonald and is soon pledged in marriage to him. She fights it at every turn.

Ruarc MacDonald is a man accused of killing his first wife and is in a fued with his once best friend Adam Campbell. Ruarc is a bitter highlander who lets his anger and hurt rule his actions and emotions.

This is a story of forgiveness and redemption. But as they say on Reading Rainbow, don't take my word for it, read it for yourself. :o)

Excellently written. Especially interesting for anyone from a Scottish heriage. My husband comes from Clan Henderson of Glencoe. This book includes the story of the Massacre of Glencoe. I am very happy to have this book. Charlotte Hughes

Kathleen Morgan's "Embrace the Dawn" reads like an epic romance. The reader is whisked away to the highlands of Scotland with our heroine, Killian. She is trying to escape from an abusive husband with her young son. In the course of events as she is running away, she is forced into a violent altercation with her husband, Alexander Campbell, and is rescued by Ruarc MacDonald, a Scotsman from a rival highland clan.

This sweeping, beautifully written tale has it all! Intrigue, drama, adventure, romance - all woven together with an exotic Scottish accent! The detail brings the story, characters and locations to life. This is a lovely book that I highly recommend. My only issue with the novel is that I would have liked to have a small dictionary in the back of the book so I could fully understand the dialogue.

From the first pages, I knew that this was not the usual Christian fiction fare. In an honest and gripping tale of an American woman taken to Scotland by her abusive husband, her despair and cry to God for deliverance as he seeks to take her life and that of her son, EMBRACE THE DAWN unfolds into a glorious story of hope amidst Scotland's green hills. The emotion of people who are slaves to their choices ring true on page after page. In this book, as in life, the solutions are not easy or without cost. This would be a great ministry tool for family and friends who loved Diana Gabaldon's OUTLANDER series.

I'm a sudden Scottland Highland romance novel freak. This book was pretty good - there were only three things that bothered me. One was that there was never any description of them kissing or anything romantic physically - in that I was a little disappointed. It doesn't have to be R rated, but maybe a little PG-13 wouldn't have been bad. The second thing that I noticed was there were moments when I was reading that I found my self saying outloud "What about your son?". It seemed as if the main character forgot about her son during important times and that bothered me, being a mother of course. The third thing was the religious aspect. I felt as if someone who wasn't religious might not be able to see past all of the references to God and might get bored. Being religious myself, it didn't offend me, but it did seem to take away from the story just a little bit. Overall a good book, though.

I have been looking for Scottish historical fiction since I come from the Campbell clan. I was surprised at the detail of history involved, but even more so, I was surprised at how accurately family traits and characteristics (which I know from being a descendant) were captured. I've heard family stories about conflicts between Campbells and MacDonalds, but never understood the history behind the feuds. I look forward to reading more Kathleen Morgan books.

I picked up this book in a store, not really knowing why. By the time I finished reading it, I had found my answer. This book deals with everyday struggles that keep us from having a deep, personal relationship with God. I would recommend this book to anyone. It was great!