Customer Reviews

The Ranger: A Highland Guard Novel

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

For those of you who haven't read The Chief or The Hawk, this is a new take on our Highlanders, and a new take on Highland Warfare. Imagine "special ops in kilts." Now that we all have that lovely image in our minds, (I know I'm imagining a Navy SEAL in a kilt, and yummmm)..I'm sorry, where was I?

After William Wallace was killed, Robert Bruce finally steps up to the plate and looks at what is best for Scotland. In this series, he finds the best warriors in Britain, and uses their specialties; so about a dozen men, all trained in different skills, but trained to work together. It's not easy.

Arthur Campbell has a special skill of having heightened senses. He gets a feeling, he can hear things before others can, and he's a damned good fighter. He is also deep undercover, part of the Highland Guard loyal to the Bruce, but on the surface, he's working for the English. One night, Arthur accidentally saves a lass from an ambush by his men, and in doing so, seals his fate.

A year later, he is sent by the Bruce into his enemy John of Lorn's castle as a spy. And finds out the beautiful lass he'd saved was his mortal enemy's daughter! What happens next is such an intriguing, suspenseful ride that I almost wish it could also be marketed as a romantic suspense. Obviously it can't be as simple as boy meets girl, they fall in love, happily ever after. Oh no, it has to be not only are they on opposite sides of the war, but they can't even tell each other that much. Between the secrets, and the passion, and stress of remembering which side he's really on, Arthur is trying his hardest to keep Anna at a distance. But her father has asked her to keep a close eye on him. In other words, she follows him around til the men are poking fun at Arthur. One of the hardest parts in the book for me to read was where Arthur saved Anna and her brother from an attack, only to find out he'd killed 9 of his own men. My God, how does he live knowing he saved the enemy at the cost of his friends' lives?

At one point in the book, Anna has been utterly rejected by Arthur, who can't let her get close to him, and she agrees to marry a former suitor and potential ally. Her father sends Arthur with her as a scout, and Arthur goes crazy with jealousy. One of my favorite scenes happens after Anna tells Hugh Ross she'll marry him. I think that watching Arthur realize he's in love with her was wonderful, but being an alpha male, he pulled the whole, "I can't have you, but I won't let anyone else have you either" crap and it drive me nuts!

Anna is blunt, caring, feisty and sweet. She is the perfect match for Arthur who just needs someone to love and understand him. That his solitary existence has been to protect himself from getting close to anyone, that he's not a freak with unnatural abilities. He's just a man who loves a woman so much he won't do anything about it, so that when the war marches to her door, and her world falls apart around her, and she sees he's betrayed her, that maybe it will save her a bit of hurt.

I loved the way Anna was able to see through Arthur's exterior and love him despite his attempts at pushing her away. I loved how Arthur couldn't let her marry Ross. And I loved how Anna handled the discovery that Arthur was a spy and her father had him tortured.

I urge you all to read the author's note, because it's so full of the real names, histories and clans that Monica McCarty uses in her series. It's amazing how much true history is woven through this Highland Romance. I love how easily it is to visualize the descriptions and how realistic everything feels as you read.

STORY BRIEF:
During battle Arthur's father could have killed Lorn but allowed Lorn to live if he surrendered. The fighting was over, the father turned his back, then Lorn stabbed and killed him. Arthur was a boy when he saw this. He vowed to kill Lorn for revenge.

It is now years later. Arthur is one of the Highland Guard, a group of special warriors serving King Bruce. Most of the Scottish clans are united under Bruce except for about two. One of them is Lorn's. Lorn is recruiting fighters to join him in fighting Bruce. Arthur joins Lorn as a spy. The problem is he falls in love with Lorn's daughter Anna. She wants him and lets him know it. He tries to be cold and insulting to her. He knows she will hate him when she discovers he is a spy.

Arthur's uniqueness includes a psychic intuition knowing what is going to happen a few moments before it happens. He also has great skills with a sword and spear. When a spear is thrown, he can grab it out of the air before it hits the target. He's the strong, silent, observant, loner type. Anna is smart, perceptive, determined, kind, and smiling. She wants to help others.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
Most of the story is Arthur's approach-avoidance conflict. He loves her but has to act like he doesn't. After their first passionate sexual encounter she tells him she loves him, but he acts like he doesn't care. He says "You see what you want to see - not reality. Little girls who believe in faerie tales only grow up to be disappointed" (page 248). By this time I was tired of his act. I wanted him to say yes I love you but let's not do anything until after the coming battle. So my summary: his hurting her and reluctance went on for too long. It was no fun after a while, and I skimmed a few parts.

There was some torture in the book which was unsettling, but not as bad as it could have been. The rest of the story was ok but like many others. There were some good battle strategies and action and some good parts in the end. The author's note in the back of the book was impressive. She was historically accurate as much as possible regarding clans and battles.

Sex scenes were ok but might have benefited from a little more emotion.

Unfortunately I'm annoyed with the publisher's cover picture not matching Arthur who has dark hair curling in loose waves at his neck and forehead. Cover guy has no hair below his ears.

DATA:
Story length: 406 pages. Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: 3. Estimated number of sex scene pages: 17. Setting: 1307-1308 Scotland. Copyright: 2010. Genre: historical romance with a little paranormal.

This heroine is silly and vacant, but we're supposed to find her "adorable" (omg - how many times did I read that in the first 50 pages?) Long pages describe how happy she is, how sweet...like a "kitten". When she falls down twice within a few pages we're assured her clutziness is adorable because it makes her laugh, when men are trying to prepare for war she insists on dancing, feasts and games. I found her completely annoying and empty headed. At one point she has an internal dialogue lasting 11 pages (47-58) interrupted only very briefly by two conversations lasting less than a page each - the entire time she is trying to figure out why Arthur doesn't like her. We're subjected to all of her thoughts of her admirers opinions of her, her very many attributes and her few failings (one of which must be vanity she admits because she can't get over Arthur's apparent dislike for her, really she supposes, nobody is really liked by EVERYONE)...blah, blah, blah... seriously, 11 pages of this. In addition she abhors spies but spying for her father is apparently fine... as much as the rest of the story may have been interesting, I can't take anymore. Plus, I don't want to see Ranger stuck with such a simpleton.

This book is really fact-oriented, making it much more like a historical fiction than a romance novel. If she removed the sex scenes, she could easily re-market it for history buffs. However, it was just boring to someone like me who isn't particularly interested in the historical accuracy of battle scenes in an $8 romance. If she spent less time researching, and more time working on plot, it would have gone a lot farther in my estimatation.

There is A LOT of dwelling in this book...dwelling on feelings or hatred or desire...but not a lot of action. It could easily be 50 pages shorter if the characters weren't constantly trying to stay away from each other and re-telling the reader why they had to. We get it. We got it at pg 20, you don't have to tell us every chapter. The characters themselves are fine but their inner-dialogues needed to be cut.

3/5 stars for effort, but not for romance or character or plot development.

I haven't read the first two books in this series, so it's good that this one can be read without having read the first two. While this was a fairly good read and had likable lead characters there was something about it-and I can't put my finger on it exactly-that I found lacking. It was slow at some parts and not really engaging for some reason. I felt that the conflict was really drawn out, I mean how many pages did we have to read of Arthur trying to distance himself from Anna because he knows any relationship between them is impossible, I thought that some progress or resolution should have begun earlier in the book. And while some parts/scenes were very good and interesting, this also had some parts that just felt slow, drawn out and dragged.

I have read just about every "Highlander" book published but I must say, by far, Ms. McCarty is my favorite. This third installment definitely did not disappoint as she brings her elite Highland Guard closer to victory against the English and placing Robert the Bruce on the throne of Scotland. Author and Anna are wonderful soul mates that absolutely leave you wanting more. With all the other reviews I see no reason to go through the story other than to say you will not want to put it down. I will be anxious to see who the fourth installment will be about, hopefully Arrow or Viper.

I am so enjoying the Highland Guard series. This is as good as The Chief and The Hawk each one is slightly diferent to encompass the personality of each of th guard members. Cant wait for the next installment I hope its The Arrow.

Arthur Campbell is known as the Ranger to his Highland Guard brethren. For the past several years Arthur has been working as a spy for Robert the Bruce. Arthur has underwent many tough assignments working for people that he cannot stand but it's his job to dig out the information needed to take down the Bruce's enemies. Just when he thinks his time as a spy is over he gets one final assignment: bring down the Lord of Lorn. An assignment he takes to heart since the Lord of Lorn is responsible for his father's murder. Arthur's greatest goal in life is to avenge his father's murder and it's finally within his grasp, but what will it cost him?

Anna MacDougall is an exuberant young woman. She cares about her country and her family. When her father asks her to spy on a recently arrived young knight, she is up to the task for she already feels a startling connection to the man. As Anna stalks her prey trying to ferret out information, her attraction to Arthur becomes stronger. However, her keen investigative skills tell her that her knight is keeping something from her. Arthur and Anna attempt to fight their attraction but how long can these two hold out on something that feels so right? Can two spies fighting on opposite sides find a happily ever after?

The Ranger is an exciting historical novel filled with plenty of juicy Highlander heroes. Arthur may be known as one of the fiercest warriors of all, a highland warrior, but his toughest battle will be with a woman. Arthur and Anna are perfect mates. They both have a special sense about people. Anna is a sparkling character with plenty of spunk and sex appeal. Arthur is very a steadfast character and I love how Anna constantly messes with his calm demeanor. Arthur and Anna gave me many laughs during The Ranger. Another thing I really enjoyed about this story was I truly couldn't figure out how these two could have a happily ever after considering what lays between them. Arthur and Anna's story is set amidst a great war. There are action packed fights and a lot of turmoil to stir this couple up. Monica McCarty's The Ranger has a handsome hero and an effervescent heroine filled with explosive passion giving us an enchanting story! This is the third book in the Highland Guard series but this isn't a series you have to read in order to enjoy. It makes a great stand-alone book.

Miranda
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

4.5 stars if I could. Decided on 5 (not 4) since this book kept my interest and is the best on so far out of the series.

The third book in her Guard series. I was really apprehensive since the second book was not as good as the first one. This book sat in my "to read" pile for quite a bit until I decided to dig in. A dig in I did. I really felt the conflict from both characters particulary Ranger. While there was not alot of "action", Monica kept me interested. The story also gives alot more insight into future Guard series, such that I am really waiting for the next book.

This is the first book I've read by Monica McCarty. I loved it! Didn't think it was boring at all, finished it in little over two days--so a fast, enjoyable read. I'm impressed that she actually based the story in real events in Scottish history. And as another reviewer has said, I'm glad there was no Scottish dialogue (some Gaelic vocab, but no dialogue)--which comes across more distracting than realistic when used by authors. I liked both the hero and the heroine, and their story seemed very believable. Definitely going to read the others in the series.