Customer Reviews

Highland Scoundrel: A Novel

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

 

 

Having just read the first two enjoyable books in the authors new Trilogy, "Highland Warrior" and "Highland Outlaw", I was really looking forward to reading the final installment, "Highland Scoundrel", the story of the eldest brother Duncan. As the story unfolds ten years ago, when Duncan and Jeannie first met, it held my interest, but once the story goes into present time, it degrades to endless, and I mean endless, pages and pages of redundant inner dialog, rehashing again and again the same emotional issues. The same can be said for the lovemaking, pages after pages of the exact same descriptive language you've read many, many, times over. If I were to average it all out, I would say 25% real story, 40% rehashing of emotional issues and 35% rehashing of lovemaking. I can only shake my head in puzzlement how other readers could give this book a five star rating, and truly wonder if the author has lost her clarity. Why would ANYONE want to re-read the same thing over and over and over again? Very, very, disappointing!

Highland Scoundrel was a great read because Ms McCarty knows how to create wonderfully complex heroes. Duncan has been wronged by a lot of people but the one that hurt him the most was Jean Grant. When he finally returns to the Scotland to reclaim his right to his homeland he must use her to get to the bottom of what happened to make him labeled a traitor.

What I enjoyed the most was the incredible angst of the situation that both Duncan and especially Jean found themselves in answering the age old question... how important is "family/clan" loyalty when it clashes with the love of your soulmate? Ms McCarty didn't make this a cookie cutter fix and the reader was held in the story to the final pages. The added pluse was the appearance of Jamie and Lizzie and their spouses from the first two books which brought this whole trilogy full circle to a very satisfying end.

The only draw back to this and other of her books is that she uses a bit more narative than I like, but that is a personal preference. However, for those readers who love Scottish romances, she offers something much more than the typical "kinna/dinna" books by effectivly using Scottish Gaelic. She also knows her Scottish history shown by her use of the word "tutor"

But most important she, unlike so many other Scottish romance writers, knows that Scottish Whisky is never spelled with an "e".

It was love at first sight when Duncan Campbell spotted Jeannie Grant at Stirling Castle. But fate tears the young lovers apart when Duncan is framed and convicted of treason. Escaping to the continent to avoid the hangman's noose, Duncan leaves everything he's known behind, including the woman whom he loved and was betrayed by. Now, Duncan has returned to clear his name and to do that he needs Jeannie's help. What he finds instead is himself at the wrong end of a pistol.

Jeannie can't believe the man she shot is the same man who abandoned her ten years ago. Duncan has returned to Scotland and is demanding her help, but though she wants to aid him, Jeannie has secrets of her own she has to protect. Yet, Jeannie finds she can't allow the man she once loved to be put to death.

As Duncan and Jeannie search for the truth, each finds that the lust - and love - they once felt for each other has never died. But with time running out and Duncan's enemies closing in on the pair, the lovers must decide if they can learn to trust one another again and bare all their secrets for a chance at a love that has stood the test of time.

Deception, warfare, and intrigue provide the perfect backdrop for this stunning romance from Monica McCarty. Highland Scoundrel is everything a historical romance should be with its engaging blend of fact and fiction combined with characters who will grab your heart and a plot that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

What I love about Highland Scoundrel, indeed about all of Ms. McCarty's books, is that each character feels real. From Jeannie and Duncan down to the tale's villain, no one is written in black and white terms and, whether or not I agreed with each character's view on any given point, I do understand their perspective. I applaud Ms. McCarty's ability to do this so seamlessly; I didn't even notice it until the book had ended. Yet that's exactly what draws me to Ms. McCarty's work - the three-dimensionality of her characters. Even Duncan and Jeannie are not infallible and it's the mistakes they make as much as their good points which made me unable to put Highland Scoundrel down. I read the book in one sitting, incapable of stopping because the characters were so likeable and I was invested not only in their romance, but the book as a whole (the details of which I'll forgo going into so as to not give any spoilers).

Highland Scoundrel is the third book in Ms. McCarty's irresistible Campbell trilogy. While the book does stand on its own, fans of the first two books will delight in seeing familiar characters, including the heroes and heroines of Highland Warrior and Highland Outlaw. A wonderful conclusion to a perfect trilogy, Highland Scoundrel is not to be missed!

Shayna
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I read Highland Warrior: A Novel & Highland Outlaw: A Novel and all I can say is with each book the story only gets better and better.

Duncan fell in love with Jeannie Grant and she fell in love with him. The polictics of the Highlands would pull them apart, causing them to distrust each other- to be manipulated and set adrift by family.

Duncan Campbell's is a bastard, and a man who has something to prove. His integrity and honor surpasses any Highland Warrior--even after he is driven from the Highlands because of lies--he becomes well-renown on the contenient.

Upon his return, he finds Jeannie Grant, now Gordon, a widowed, with two children--and the only person he knows who might be able to clear his name. Jeannie only wants to protect her son--Duncan's son--the reason she married another man--and now Duncan if he learns of the child's birth will endanger his inheritence and live by merely acknowledging him as his son.

The romance in this was compelling and made this one a real page turner!!

What a wonderful and enjoyable story. Both the characters of Duncan and Jeannie were woven together extremely well, Ms Mccarty has done it again.

I enjoyed this book and stayed up very late, captivated by each page.

This is the third book i have read by Ms Mccarty, and i have not been disappointed. i am a massive fan of Ms mccarty and can't wait to read the rest of her books.

This book grips your attention right from the start. Once the author reunites the hero and his love years later in a very compromising position for both characters, she goes into a lengthy flashback from the starting point of the relationship to the circumstance that led to their separation.

In my opinion, we have a hero that although his youth, was very mature and responsible, unlike his romantic interest. The heroine is extremely naive and cosseted by an overpowering father, and although she witnesses/encounters questionable conversations that will assist her hero in his quest for finding out some truth to his dilemmas, decides to remain self sheltered and comes across as lacking not one ounce of bravery. Even when she is faced with evidence of the betrayal executed by her father years ago, she maintains her emotional blinders on and her personal excuse for doing so was rather lame; she sends her son to be fostered by his biological uncle and hopes to guard her secret from his true father (the hero) and his family. The heroine did not seem to match her hero both ten years ago when they met and later on when they reunite. The heroine claims that she matured and grew up, but her lack of loyalty and faith in her hero down to the very last chapters of the book was extremely trite.

It was refreshing to have all the main characters from the prior two books of this saga come into the picture towards the end of the book, but they seemed to eliminate the suspense of what could've been a great ending; they kept revealing their suspicions on which the ultimate villain was. The hero exiles himself ten years ago due to the fact that one of his brothers is the clan's henchman, yet in this later reunion said henchman provides him with shelter and protection at its fullest and acts contrary to his personality traits portrayed in Highland Warrior. With this said, this particular turn of events seemed a bit farfetched. Finally, other than sibling jealousy it did not seem realistically convincing why the villain betrayed his very own family or what the actual gain of his actions would've accomplished. The wrap up of the ending felt a bit rushed and did not seem to close well for me, but the hero really held this book together, as well as the author's excellent writing skills and why the read is a bit more than average.

I'm conflicted on this one. At times it seemed she was repeating the same info over and over again, just in a slightly different wording. I felt they could have easily shaved 50 pages off the story and you wouldn't miss much. Because of that I found myself sighing out loud and very frustrated.
I did really like the story of Jeannie & Duncan though and thought it was worth reading. I've read other books by her and they didn't seem redundant at all. Overall I would have liked to give it about a 3.8 because of the issues I had with it.

This one was my favorite of the series. I could not put the book down at all. Finished it in one day!!!

I have been collecting all of Monica McCarty's highlander books;this series is a must read.

Monica McCarty is among my new favorite authors. Her weaving of the romance with the historical content and complex characters make this series a delight to read anytime.