Customer Reviews

Highland Destiny (Highland Trilogy, Bk 1)

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

 

 

The year is 1430 and we are introduced to the Murray clan, headed by Balfour Murray, the laird of Donncoill. After hearing the news that the family enemy, Sir William Beaton, captured his younger brother Eric, he sets out to Dubhlinn intent on getting Eric back. But when they are met by defeat, they head home planning another attack when a woman steps out on the road. When she offers to tend to his brother Nigel's wounds, he finds that she had a real gift of healing and offered his hospitality in return for nursing his brother back to recovery.

Maldie Kirkcaldy knows that Balfour's kindness would change had he known of her true identity. However, seeing that they are both intent on exacting vengeance from Beaton, and knowing that she could use some shelter and food while planning her revenge, she journeys back to Donncoill with the Murrays, even though she is aware that Balfour's interest in her goes beyond her healing skills for deep down, she is also aware of her shared attraction with the laird and it doesn't take long before she finds herself disgusted by her weakness to his seduction.

Soon the passion they share lead to deeper feelings for each other. But in spite of their growing love, both are tormented by their secrets and doubts. Balfour knows that Maldie isn't exactly who she claims to be and he is intent on knowing the secrets of the elusive and skittish woman who has captured his heart. Maldie on the other hand is torn between revealing the truth to Balfour and risking everything they had shared, while still planning to fulfill the vow she had made to her dying mother. And when his suspicions of her betrayal forced her to escape and rescue Eric to prove her innocence, Balfour soon realizes his mistakes and now seeks another victory: Maldie's heart.

Although it lacks the humor of the other books in the Highland series, Highland Destiny features good leads and secondary characters. Balfour is not your typical alpha-male for he is plagued with insecurities about his looks and even feels threatened by his brother, Nigel, who also falls in love with Maldie thus adding to a bit of competition. And Maldie isn't your usual well-bred lady having been born illegitimate and having endured a harsh life with a bitter mother who nearly forced her to a life of prostitution.

HIGHLAND DESTINY is the first in Hannah Howell's trilogy set in medieval Scotland featuring the Murray brothers. Filled with deceit, misunderstandings and passion, it is a good introduction to the Murray brothers who would surely capture your heart. The other two books are HIGHLAND HONOR featuring Nigel and HIGHLAND PROMISE with Eric.

I love a romance about a strong woman who when faced with a problem, jumps in and takes charge. Mauldie does just that and more. The struggle they both go through with their feelings reads very real and by the end I felt I knew these people. The other characters added a wonderful dimension to the story and I couldn't wait to read the next two in the series.

The hero (Balfour) and heroine (Mauldie) are enemies -- yet the hero doesn't realize this right away -- he believes he's found a nursemaid (of course she's a stunning beauty and on a secret mission for vengence) for his battle wounded brother (Nigel)...

Mauldie soon realizes who the handsome warrior is...but decides to hide her identity as he's the one she'd swore vengence against. She grudgingly nurses his brother, while all the time warding off seductive advances from Balfour...

Through a series of dangerous events and intrigue, the prideful couple realizes their strong love for one another -- but are stilled separated by deceit and misunderstandings...

Mauldie & Balfour seems well matched, strong characters and this story ends beautifully. I would recommend this title.

Hannah Howell will always be one of my favorites. It strikes me as funny that the lead female has "very long legs, slim & beautifully shaped. (even though she is very short and has on a dress). To give Hannah credit it does say that the dress is old and worn, fitting her snugly. I don't know how you can tell that legs are beautifully shaped while wearing a long dress.

The Scottish brogue in this book makes it a hard read. I usually like a little bit of this added but this book is full of it. I also felt like Hannah keeps going around & around in just about every chapter how Maldie will be seen as a spy if they find out she is Beaton's daughter. I never could understand this plot. She wanted the same thing Balfour did - Beaton's death. It never made sense to me why she kept it a secret.

STORY BRIEF:
Beaton bedded many women and produced many illegitimate girls, never a boy. Maldie was one of those girls. Her mother became a prostitute to support herself and Maldie. When the mother died, she made Maldie vow to kill Beaton for revenge. Maldie then traveled to Beaton's village.

Several years ago Beaton's wife got pregnant by a Murray and had a boy. Beaton put the baby boy in the woods to die. A Murray found the baby (Eric) and took him home. The Murray clan raised him. Beaton has been ill for a few years and needs a boy to inherit his place as laird. He kidnaps Eric. The Murrays attack the Beatons hoping to get Eric back, but they are defeated. The remaining Murrays return home to heal and plan another attack. Maldie sees them on the road and asks to go with them. She tells them she is a healer and can help. Balfour is laird of the Murray clan and agrees to let her stay.

While there, she and Balfour are attracted to each other. She does not tell Balfour that she is related to Beaton and wants to kill Beaton. This is her big secret, and she is worried that Balfour will feel betrayed when he finds out. He senses she has a secret, but he doesn't know what it is.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
The first half of the book felt like nothing but "filler." The main conflict was that Maldie was keeping a secret from Balfour. I found this ridiculous. First of all they had a common enemy. If Maldie was reasonable, she would have told Balfour she was on his side, and they could work together. He wanted Eric back. She wanted Beaton's death. Also for the entire first half of the book, both Maldie and Balfour spent too much time pondering. She pondered her lust for him and her worry that he might discover her secret. He pondered his lust for her and why she wouldn't tell him her secrets.

Finally some plot developments and action occur during the last half of the book. But it was ordinary, it was predictable, it's been done before. There was no interesting character development, no interesting dialogue. I can't think of anything positive to say, other than the second half was better than the first half. I wanted it to be over and almost stopped reading it in the middle. The only reason I finished it was for the benefit of this review.

The heroine was "stupid" in some of her thinking and actions which I won't go into so as to avoid any spoilers. I was annoyed with this.

The author wrote all conversation in Scottish brogue. I don't mind a little of it or occasional use, but this was too much. It was tedious and hard "for me" to follow. For example: Ye make a mon greedy. Ye make me feel verra greedy as weel. Howbeit, I think... I ken that ye can see naught but a woman hurrying away to betray ye again.

Minor problem, publisher's fault, the cover picture is wrong. Balfour has hair to his shoulders. Cover guy does not.

This is the first book in the Murray Family series (ten books so far).

DATA:
Story length: 299 pages. Swearing language: none. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: 6. Approximate number of sex scene pages: 11. Setting: 1430 Scotland. Copyright: 1998. Genre: historical romance.

If she was going to have any more dilemas about telling Balfour (what a name by the way)the true reason she met them on the road I was going to slit my wrists it was THAT irritating! Half the book was about her wondering whether or not she could be honest and just tell him why she wanted to see Beaton. This was just an OK read and I'm actually disappointed I spent any money on this book,luckily it wasn't much!

This was not the worst book I have ever read, and not the best. The story line was pretty good. However the brogue was "verra" strange and I couldn't get over the main character's names. "Maldie" made me think of "moldy", and what kind of name is that for the heroine anyway?! Balfour also is weird and doesn't make me think of a handscome Scottish laird at all. The conversation had a Shakespearian feel to it as well. I could never get into Shakespeare, thus I couldn't get too much into the conversation flow here either. But, it does start the Murray clan series books, so that's why I read it.

This book was not bad but at the same time not good. It seemed to drag forever. I also didn't think the characters had much depth and you really couldn't feel their passion and why they were instantly attracted to each other. The storyline was good and had promise. I will try the next book and if it's more of the same I'm done with this series.

This is one of the worst books I have ever read and I am shocked that it got more than one-star reviews. The book was 324 pages of debating and rehashing the same reasoning. I found myself skimming the pages saying to myself "here we go again," Maldie is bemoaning that her mother was a whore and a deathbed promise Maldie irrationally felt she was compelled to fulfill. Then the same redundant debating with the hero (Balfour)--"Do I trust her? Do I not trust her? She has secrets; what are they? Duty to her or duty to the clan?" Oh for pete's sake--where's the action? where's the plot? are there any interesting characters in this book? Forty percent through my Kindle version, I no longer cared if they all went to the devil.

The heroine was thought to be a spy. Why did she not tell the truth to Balfour (hero)? What was the big deal, she was Beaton's daughter and she hated him. She and Balfour were on the same side and had a common enemy! But then the book would have ended on page 100 and the author needed to fill 224 more pages. Maldie's "escape" from Doncoill Castle was lame and implausible. Then she used the same excuse moaning about her "woman's ailment" to escape from Dublinn Castle. Couldn't the author come up with something better than to twice use the same lame excuse?

Maldie was supposed to be a great healer, but all the reader saw was Maldie helping Nigel with salves and physical therapy, (oh and there was a child with gas pains!). I dislike when an author "tells" me that a character possesses a trait or skill but shows me no interesting examples that are related to the plot.

I also dislike when an author has a character relay an action event. Most of the action takes place "off screen" probably because the author has no great skill in writing about it, so the event is told to me by other characters. The brevity of the tale is excused because the spy character needs to take a bath and get some sleep! Really? The clan is going to war the next day and needs the information from their spy but instead he needs to bathe and sleep? And then the reader is denied all the detailed spy information and the matter is dropped.

As other reviewers mentioned, the Scottish brogue was awful---"hasnae," "willnae," "mon".....what a botheration to a pitifully weak story.

Do not waste your time or money on this boring, poorly written tale that was based on flimsy rationale by uninteresting characters.

Why is it that some authors need to make us work at trying to figure out what the characters are saying? I am looking for story to enjoy. A book that I can curl up with. Instead I get a book that is hard to read. Ms. Howell is infamous for doing this. Please stop.