10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Silent hero, talkative woman, March 12, 2001
This review is from: Highland Wife (Harlequin Historical) (Paperback)
I'm not usually fond of the "misunderstanding" plot line - you know the kind, where there is some type of misunderstanding in the first chapter of the book. The couple then spends the next 8 chapters not explaining what really happened. They finally explain in Chapter 9 and everyone is happy by Chapter 10.
The misunderstanding in this book is a little more complex. The hero is deaf and her father fails to mention that to her. Immediately on the heals of the wedding, they are forced to flea her father's home because an angry, jealous cousin attacks the keep.
When Robert realizes Mairi doesn't know he's deaf, it's already too late. He wants the marriage to work, but his honor won't let her make the final commitment to him (consumation) until she knows the truth. But he wants to wait until he's home to tell her the truh. He is equally afraid of her pity and her scorn. He feels that by showing her how he has kept his keep and has the respect of his people will prove to her that he will be a good provider.
Without the marriage consummated, she can still back out of the marriage contract. His honor demands nothing less.
This story line worked because Robert had very real reasons for keeping his secret. He wanted her told. In fact, it was a stipulation to the marriage contract in the first place. That the misunderstanding occured was not his fault and it was something he wanted to rectify very badly.
I liked how the author dealt with a deaf hero. Especially a deaf hero in an unusual time period - Medieval Scotland. She mention a few of the signs he learned and created over the years. She even mentions how he managed to survive without his hearing and became a knight.
I liked how his honor was important to him. I liked how Mairi took the news, dealt with it in a clear headed fashion. She was a strong heroine, full of courage and passion.
This was a very good book - I highly recommend.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Loved it!, April 13, 2009
This review is from: Highland Wife (Harlequin Historical) (Paperback)
Robert MacBain travels to the Highlands for an arranged marriage with Mairi MacInness. He thinks that as part of the negotiations, she has been told about his deafness, but she hasn't, then they are attacked and one calamity follows another and he can't find a good way to tell her. The plot revolves around him trying to find a way to tell her, and her trying to figure him out. The whole miscommunication plot threatens to get frustrating, but somehow the author pulls it off. What sets this one apart is that unlike every other "wounded hero" romance, Robert is not some aloof, cold-hearted jerk--he's really sweet and generous. And Mairi is not some sheltered bimbo, she actually shows some intelligence. Also the story is not entirely from Mairi's point of view; about half the narration is from Robert's POV, and we find out a lot about how he lost his hearing as a small child, and how his mother invented a sign language and taught him to speak and lip-read. The descriptions of his deafness are very realistic; the author indicates in the dedication that her son is deaf, which explains the realism.
The Bride of Trouville is the story of how Rob's mother and stepfather met when he was a child, and The Quest is the story of Rob's stepbrother Henri.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Hero Who's Overcome a Signficant Obstacle, December 3, 2008
This review is from: Highland Wife (Harlequin Historical) (Paperback)
I really loved this book. I thought it was so neat to have a deaf hero, and to see how he has compensated and become a very strong, capable man during a time when people with disabilities were discounted and not even considered worthy of having their own properties and running their lives. I also enjoyed the relationship between Mairi and Robert. Lyn Stone knows how to write romantic and sensual, and interesting love stories. A must read."
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