Customer Reviews

Embrace the Highland Warrior

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was very excited to read Embrace the Highland Warrior, the cover is hot, the title sounds romantic, and I always love warriors. Historical romance readers, do not be confused, this book is contemporary paranormal romance, not historical. With that said, I really liked Embrace the Highland Warrior, I have found a new series and author to follow. The Connor Clan is a clan of warriors who are tasked with fighting and killing demons. Our heroine is Shay. After a scary break-in Shay travels from her home in Scotland to visit the home she left as a teenager after finding out her family was not really her family. Shay is reunited with her childhood sweetheart and lover, Cody. Shay left on bad terms and it takes Cody and Shay most of the story to work through problems and uncover truths. As it becomes clear that Shay is being targeted by supernatural beings, Cody and his clan step in to protect Shay. Shay has to confront her past and the truth of her identity, she has to sort through lies and half-truths, and she has to learn quickly to keep herself and Cody safe.

The recurring theme of Embrace the Highland Warrior is secrets. Everyone has secrets, Cody has secrets, Shay has secrets, Shay's aunt has secrets, even the demons have secrets. The result is chaos and arguing and an increasingly complex and fascinating story. This is no simple world in Embrace the Highland Warrior, it is a world filled with supernatural creatures such as demons, vampires, and the warriors with super-human abilities. There's even a touch of time travel. Even though the story is complex, and I did not read the first book of the series, I was able to understand the world pretty quickly. One thing is sure, I was never bored. I actually read through the book pretty quick, I was very curious to uncover all the secrets and to read the characters reactions once secrets were revealed.

Shay is a good heroine, she never knew exactly why her friends and family lied to her, but she felt very betrayed by those she loved. When the truth started to come out, she handled everything pretty well. Sometimes when heroines are introduced to the paranormal world, they flip out and get mean or catty, but Shay kept a pretty level head. There's not much to not like about Cody either. He did hold onto his secrets pretty tightly, but he was typically male and clueless as to why Shay would hold back from him. There is not instant love here, Cody and Shay's relationship develops in a realistic manner, and I understood both characters.

Embrace the Highland Warrior will take readers on a thrilling adventure with plenty of action, jealousy, demons, and warriors. Anita Clenney has blended paranormal, romance, and highlanders into an exciting, and hopefully long-running series. In Embrace the Highland Warrior, future story lines are put in place as characters appear more throughout the book, and I am very much looking forward to reading the next installment in the series.

I received this book for review*

Don't you just love those books that when you reach a certain point the action keeps building and you CAN'T put it down until you finish it? This book was like that. It's full of wonderful Scottish warriors and damsels in distress, fighting vampires and demons, and it has mysteries and clues woven in. I love the blend of past and present. My daughter, who's studying novels and writing, tells me that when you write it has to be believable even if it's fantasy. I can picture these characters in flesh and blood even though it would be strange to have a family of brawny Scots living next to you. Strange, but AWESOME! The way Anita Clenney writes about them, it's totally believable. This series is great! I could do with a little less sex, but then I guess they are Scottish warriors and they can't help it. Anyway, I can't wait for the next volume to be published!

Review: 5x5
Scottish Warriors ... in kilts need I say more? Yes well, This is a great book. It has action, warriors in kilts*oh wait covered that already*, steamy couples, strong love, and yeah warriors in kilts!! This second book in The Conner Clan really turned me onto the series and yes I must now backtrack and read the first in the series. You can really not go wrong with this read. The writing is spectacular and the story line is really intriguing.

One thing that draws me to series books is if I really love the first book, I just have to read the rest because I just can't get enough of these characters. I want to revisit them again and again and this book was no exception. I devoured the fist book and I knew almost immediately I just had to read the second.

Like Bree, I really loved Shay- she is a spitfire and that lately has been my favorite type of heroine. And even though she is tough as nails type of girl, she has the soft side too. As for Cody, oh yes definitely my type of hero, fiercely protective and doesn't stop to get what he wants. I loved how their relationship was already thare. It was a refreshing change, instead of guy meets girl , boy, smex action, refusal of feelings type of deal. They have a history and I liked that.

Oh one thing I have to mention is the secondary characters, Ronan(I so love him and I really hope he gets his own book), Brode and several others are back as well as Shay's Aunt Nina and Matilda. Matlida I love her, she is very unique and so funny.

This book also had some jawing dropping moments, I have to say I didn't see coming but still left me with some questions as well. No, before you ask there is no cliffhanger just some unanswered questions that I hope get answered in the third book.

I can almost say this book was better than the first, which as all of you know I loved quite a bit. Anita did well with the sequel and can't wait for book 3, Unleash the Highland Warrior. Which still don't know the date and its driving me crazy. I know I will be getting it as soon as its available.

So if you read the first book then this one is a must read for you as well.

I strongly suggest you start this one early in the morning because you won't be able to put it down!

I can't wait until the next book comes out! The story line from the first book to the second flowed easily,and the book was hard to put down.

This is the second installment in the series. I recommend reading "Awaken the Highlander" first. But that shouldn't be a problem, as both books are so good.
This book has some humorous elements that I liked a lot. Lately I've read some books that had so much sex,it got in the way of the story, so I was glad that this one didn't overdo it. I am eagerly awaiting the next installment in this series.

I love stories centered in the Scottish Highland, especially good ones. Embrace The Highland Warrior is one of those. Demons and vampires; Highland clans; drama and suspense; betrayal; love...what could make for better reading? Anita Clenney has continued to spin a tale that a reader can't resist. My only suggestion would be to first read Awaken The Highland Warrior so that you are involved with the entire saga. Well written, a page-turner.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca for my ARC.

Embrace the Highland Warrior By Anita Clenney
Connor Clan Book #2
Grade: C

"Are you waiting for a real knight in shining armor to show up?'
"Knights aren't all they're cracked up to be. Armor tends to get rusty after a while."

Shay Logan left Virginia nine years ago after her best friend and lover Cody, revealed that everything she had grown up believing was a lie. Her parents were not her real parents and she is really a part of a Scottish clan of warriors that battle demons and vampires. Someone believes that she has an ancient book called the Book of Battles and that person will stop at nothing to get to Shay and the book. Shay must now depend on the people who once betrayed her trust and learn to find her own inner warrior to save herself and those she loves.
Cody MacBain has always loved Shay and done everything in his power to protect her even when they were little kids. He knows he betrayed her trust so many years ago but he refuses to lose her again. As a warrior in his clan, he has battled many demons and even destroyed one himself, but nothing prepares him for the battle he will have to face to save Shay, the Book of Battles and the future of his clan.
Embrace the Highland Warrior is the second book in the Connor Clan series and starts up right where Awaken the Highland Warrior leaves off. This book cannot be read as a stand alone and you should read them in order or else you will be very, very confused about what is going on. I was very confused for the first eighty pages of this book and I read the first book. The story begins with Cody and Shay reuniting and it takes a while for their relationship to be explained and even longer to find out why Shay left so many years ago. After a while the story doubles back and we get back into the warriors that we met in the previous book and back into familiar plot territory. I thought the long detour was unnecessary and very confusing.
Cody is introduced in AHW and we are given a little of his story but not much. I was very excited to read his book and found him to be a great highlander/alpha male. I thought he saved a lot of the book and made me want to keep reading. Shay on the other had was just okay. I wasn't crazy about her but I don't dislike her. I found her to be appealing and times and really annoying at others. Most of the time I wanted to yell at her for always running away when she got her feelings hurt or putting herself in harms way.
All the warriors from the first book return and we get to see how Bree and Faelan are adjusting to married life. I love the plot set ups for upcoming books and can't wait for the next book Unleash the Highland Warrior which is Tavis, Faelan's brother, and Anna who is a really great strong warrior in the clan. I hope that all of the warriors get their own book because I really think this could be a great series. I mean what's not to love about highlanders, vampires and demons all rolled into one book?
Again, not the best book but certainly not a bad book. I think this is going to be a must read series and one that I will be looking forward to reading.

I must start off by saying how much I enjoyed this addition to the series. However, at times I didn't like Shay all that much. Yes they kept things from her, but they were putting their lives on the line for her and she acted so ungrateful at times.

Shay's ex, Jamie, I absolutely loved! I hope he gets his own book and finds happiness. I was constantly torn throughout this book between Cody and Jamie. I knew going in that it was going to be Shay and Cody, but that was before I met Jamie. Is it bad that I fell for Jamie more than Cody? Don't get me wrong, I liked Cody, but I loved Jamie.

I was pleasantly surprised by the addition of vampires in this installment. I don't recall there being vampires in the previous book; just demons and minions.

Each and every one of the characters are so well written and creditable that they come alive on the pages. Even down to the minions. Plus you have strong, sexy men in kilts. What's not to love! This is definitely a series worth getting hooked on.