Highlander in Love [Mass Market Paperback]

Julia London (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 26, 2005

The Lockhart brothers' quest for an ancient family heirloom has proved fruitless...and an unpaid loan has left them indebted to their rival, Payton Douglas. With no recourse, the Lockharts offer Payton their most valuable commodity: their sister Mared's hand in marriage.

Raised to despise the Douglas name, Mared outwardly agrees to the marital bargain for the sake of her family; secretly, she concocts a plan to ensure Payton will not wish to marry her. Seeing the handsome, virile laird Payton face-to-face, however, threatens a centuries-long enmity -- and awakens Mared's deepest desires. But she will not be swayed. Choosing to repay her family's debt by working as his housekeeper instead of wedding him, she finds herself inexorably drawn to the man she vowed to resist. Then a profound discovery changes everything....Now, no longer bound by a promise to her family, Mared must let her heart decide if the laird Payton is the enemy of past legend -- or if he holds the key to a future filled with a passion beyond her wildest dreams.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As heel-kickingly fun and high spirited as the ceilidh that Highland laird Payton Duncan throws to celebrate what he hopes will be his betrothal to lovely but stubborn neighbor Mared Lockhart, the final book in London's 19th-century Highlander trilogy (Highlander Unbound; Highlander in Disguise) will elicit satisfied sighs from readers. In this long-awaited installment, a smitten Payton attempts to convince Mared that it's past time they cast aside the deep-rooted enmity between their families and marry. But Mared's agreement to wed Payton is based on a debt the Lockharts owe him, and instead of gaining Payton's love, she longs to escape to sophisticated Edinburgh, where no one will know her curse: that violent death awaits any man betrothed to a Lockhart daughter. When Mared refuses to marry him, Payton takes her as his housekeeper for a year to work off the debt. Proximity forces Mared to realize that she does love him, but when her family's reversal of fortunes sends her to Edinburgh, she must choose between sparkling city life and her laird in the backward Highlands. Like the earlier books in the series, this one isn't especially deep, but London's charming hero and impulsive, vulnerable heroine are so likable—and get into so much trouble—that it's hard not to get caught up in their sprightly dance.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Despite the fact that her family has lost the money Payton Douglas loaned them, Mared Lockhart flatly refuses to pay off the debt by wedding him. There is no way on earth she will ever marry Payton. Instead, she tries to use the infamous Lockhart family "curse" to scare Payton off. When that doesn't work, Mared tries encouraging a romantic match between Payton and one of her friends. Finally, when every one of his efforts to either court or coerce Mared into marriage fail, a humiliated Payton comes up with another way for Mared to pay off the debt her family owes: she must spend one year serving as his new housekeeper! London brings her wonderfully witty Lockhart trilogy--Highlander Unbound (2004) and Highlander in Disguise (2005)--to a truly splendid conclusion as she constructs a thoroughly romantic, delectably sexy tale of two equally stubborn people, who, despite their best efforts, just can't help falling in love with each other. John Charles
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Star (July 26, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743465083
• ISBN-13: 978-0743465083
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #795,415 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Julia London is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than two dozen novels, including the popular Secrets of Hadley Green historical romance series (including The Year of Living Scandalously), the Cedar Springs contemporary series (including One Season of Sunshine), and numerous other works. She is a four time finalist for the presitigous RITA Award for excellence in romantic fiction, and RT Bookclub award recipient for Best Historical Romance for Best Historical Romance for Dangerous Gentleman. She lives in Austin, Texas.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars It's hard to love a story, when you hate the leading lady., August 21, 2005

By 

Alyce In Wonderland "The Looking Glass" (Over the hill or underland, or just behind a tree) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Highlander in Love (Mass Market Paperback)

From the very beginning of this story, I wanted to toss the book aside. I hated the leading female character (Mared) from the get- go. She only got worse as the story unfolded. At one point, she seems to finally come around. Then, she receives a large inheritance and decides she doesn't need the leading man (Payton) any more. She runs off and flirts with every man she meets.
Mared is selfish, spoiled, mean- spirited, and ungrateful. She is also lazy and spiteful. Payton, on the other hand, is generous, romantic, thoughtful, patient, and loyal.
By the end of the book, I was really wishing he would tell her off. I would have loved to see him get a stronger back- bone and find a woman worthy of his devotion.
I gave the book 2 stars, because the writting was vivid and fluid. It was enough to keep me reading to the end.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars pleased, but a little unsatisfied.., July 26, 2005

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ruth ann - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Highlander in Love (Mass Market Paperback)

Over all I think it is well worth a read. Very enjoyable but for one thing. Toward the end, Mared starts to really annoy me. Through the whole book it seems as if Payton begs for her love and she just keeps throwing/pushing it away. For me the end would have been a bit more solid had she been made to "grovel" for more then two seconds. I know this sounds harsh but I think people will understand once they've read the book. To be honest, I hurt for Payton so much, that at certain points in the book I really believed he deserved better than Mared.
So for me, it was a good read. But I perfer better balance of "power" with the two main characters.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What an idiot!!!, August 6, 2005

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M. DETWILER "fairval4" (Martinsburg, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Highlander in Love (Mass Market Paperback)

First of all, let me say that I really liked this book. But, I was so frustrated with Mared, the female lead. She was so dense. I may be super critical of the heroines in the books I read, but, come on, she had this hunk (and aren't they all in historical romances) who absolutely adored her and she couldn't decide until almost the very end of the book that she wanted him. If that had been me, the book would have ended about the 3rd chapter. It was a no-brainer. He had money, looks, was crazy about her. Come on!! Anyway, it was a very enjoyable read, all that aside. Mared was funny. I really liked her spunk and sense of humor. I have already described my thoughts on Payton.

This was a very well-written book, had interesting characters, and lots of spice. It also had, unfortunately, a "couldn't see the forest for the trees heroine". Ultimately, I give it 4 1/2 stars. Naturally, the deduction is for that goofy Mared.