Customer Reviews

The Reckless One (Premier Series)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Raine Merrick (Rafe) and Favor McClairen are two people that could have loved each other from the day they were born... that is how perfectly matched they were in spirit and in life. Unfortunately she grew up hating him and he just grew up hating. The only change I would have made was to mention Ash a little more, he was missed in this book. It does go to show that this is not your typical loving family (no Cynster's or Malory's here...). The family history in this book is filled with so much anger and murder you have to remind yourself that you are reading a romance! However, this is a beautiful love story filled with unexpected twists and surprising humor not to mention my favorite villain, Carr! I finished it over the course of a day and that unforunately is the biggest problem with this particular storyline. Now I have to wait forever for Thomas and Fia's story!

In MCCLAIREN'S ISLE: THE RECKLESS ONE, Connie Brockway continues the dark saga of the Merrick family begun in MCCLAIREN'S ISLE: THE PASSIONATE ONE. In this installment, middle brother Raine Merrick gets the spotlight. Raine has escaped from prison in France with the help of a mysterious and deceptive lady. The manner of his escape, while perturbing, does not sway Raine from his goal: to return to McClairen's Isle and find the treasure he witnessed his late mother, Janet, secret away when he was a child. Despite his goal, his false lady still preys on his mind.

Favor McClairen has been told for years that she was the tool of her clan's ultimate downfall when she prevented Raine Merrick's execution for supposedly raping a nun. Her salvation, in her eyes and in the eyes of her remaining clansmen, lies in returning to McClairen's Isle and marrying Ronald Carr, the lord who betrayed the McClairen clan to the crown during the Jacobite rebellion. Thus, McClairens will rule the isle once more through her children once Carr has died. If only she weren't so distracted from her designated role by thoughts of the prisoner she betrayed in France.

Both Raine and Favor are stunned by each other's presence at Wanton's Blush. They embark on a quest to aid each other in their individual endeavors, but can they each triumph over Carr separately when they have an undeniable chemistry between them?

Raine does not seem as reckless as the title implies - at first. But when he risks everything to save Favor from her own demons, rolling the dice that will either bring him eternal happiness or eternal torment, we see why Brockway has named this book THE RECKLESS ONE. As in its predecessor, deep-seated honor and strength of character flow freely through the younger generation of Merricks, while Carr remains the epitome of evil. The secondary characters are extremely satisfying; our view of Fia is progressing nicely, so that we anticipate her story in the conclusion to the trilogy.

Those who enjoyed the first book in this trilogy will not be disappointed. Brockway's writing is consistent and satisfying. Highly recommended.

I did enjoy reading Raine and Favor's story, though there were many times while reading this story I felt cheated. With an obviously dysfunctional family and a psychopath as a father, Raine turns out to be a surprisingly levelheaded youth. He might be called "The Reckless One", but in truth he is "The Considerate One" or even "The Dependable One". Except for his undercover attempt at finding hidden jewels (which he sensibly wants to use to start a new life in America), Raine is not very Reckless. Maybe when he was younger (between 15-17) he rebelled looking for his father's attention, but even then it didn't sound like he did too much that was "Reckless", youthful indiscretions maybe, but hardly Reckless. He spends the whole book trying to selflessly help Favor, never once really doing anything for himself.

Favor is an interesting character insofar as she is strong willed, but by knowingly letting herself be manipulated, I'm not sure how to define her. Strong willed people do not usually let themselves be manipulated and I had a hard time reconciling the one with the other. It is pretty obvious throughout the story that she is doing what she is doing because of guilt but she does it half-heartedly and risks the whole thing by acting Recklessly in her relationship with Raine. I also missed having a more thorough relationship with the siblings. Ash is mentioned once or twice in passing, so at least Raine doesn't think he was totally abandoned in France, but some sort of reunion would have been nice. Raine also does not have much contact with his sister Fia. This is done on purpose and we get a brief glimpse into the next story (seeing that Fia isn't all that bad, and does love her brothers even though she barely knows them) but I would have like to have seen some more interaction.

Lastly, I hope we find out what happens to Raine and Favor. Where are they going to go? What are they going to do? What happened to Muira? What about the rest of the McClaines, what is going to happen to them? The story ended unfinished. Although it seems like I am ripping apart this story, I did enjoy reading it as a fast light read, and look forward to Fia's story.

Sometimes you just get lucky when you pick up a book in the grocery isle from an author you've never heard of before. This was the case with The Reckless One. This is the first book I've read of Connie Brockway's. She grabbed my attention right form the start. I loved the characters and have to read the first book from this triolgy "The Passionate One" as well as Fia's story :) It was a great read an I highly recommend it.

Ms Brockway returns to top form after the disappointing "The Passionate One". The story is unrelentingly dark and turbulent, with two characters tortured beyond tortured, but they find redemption through their love for each other. Raine and Favor are two people whose lives have been filled with nothing but pain and guilt and loneliness - watching them complete the hollow in each's soul is simply an enchanting experience.

The story is filled with exciting intrigue and the villian Ronald Merrick, Earl of Carr deserves the Loreena Bobbitt's VIP Cut Treatment. The secondary characters shine - Fia, Gunna - these people are as real as Raine and Favor.

Great plot, wonderful love, and an utterly satisfied reader - that's a great combination, right?

The Reckless One swept me up into a world of wicked rogues and regal ladies. Raine is the ultimate scoundrel hero, wounded in his soul yet shrugging off his troubles as he sweeps into Scotland and romances the mysterious lady he finds haunting his castle home. They don't make men like that anymore, and probably it's a good thing because my heart won't take it. Can't wait for the next installment of McClairen's Isle.

The Reckless One is so delicious. Especially if you've read The Passionate One (but it's not necessary in order to still enjoy this wonderful romance) Connie Brockway is doing something really special with this series. It's romantic, sexy and the characters are extraordinary. I love Georgians and Scottish castle where the book is set is terrific. The story is filled with fascinating people, secrets, mysteries and undercurrents. I can't wait for Fia's story!

I enjoyed the first book in this series, The Passionate One, and I never like to not finish a series so I bought the other two. Well I was very disappointed by this book. The story dragged, the plot was dull and the characters never really came alive for me. I hope the third book is better.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this series, McClairen's Isle: The Passionate One, but The Reckless One was a big disappointment! First of all, like other reviewers have stated, I had a hard time buying Raine as "reckless." He was far too gentlemanly to ever be considered reckless. I, too, was disappointed that his older brother, Ash, from the previous book, was only mentioned in tiny snippets; I thought that at some point the brothers would reunite. I also felt that the heroine, Favor, was a big wimp! She spent the entire book letting everyone tell her what to do and I kept waiting for her to stand up for herself and give Muira a good slap across the face! Throughout the story, I kept waiting for that pivotal moment when Favor would realize her true worth and become her own person, but it never happened! In the first book, Lord Carr was a much more complex character and we got to see his evil, ruthless nature, but if I hadn't read that book, I'd have wondered why everyone was so intimidated by him here. I had to finish the book and see how it ended, which I thought left too many loose ends. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I read the book because it was a nice escape for me, but I think the third in this trilogy will be much better-I HOPE!

There are a few problems with "The Reckless One" -

#1 - Raine is not really reckless at all. He's calculating, disciplined, and, as one other reviewer noted - considerate and dependable.

#2 - Brockway makes poor use of Wanton's Blush - in "The Passionate One" she throws Ash & Rhiannon into the lion's den; both of them are dealing with the evil, the scheming, the dissipation of the Earl of Carr's pleasure palace. But in "The Reckless One" Wanton's Blush is bizarrely incidental, although the whole book is set there. Raine is in hiding and Favor's problems come from a different direction entirely. So there's this great setting for all sorts of drama and conflict, but both the main characters avoid it.

#3 - Raine and Favor are too good at keeping their secrets. Raine doesn't tell Favor who he is; Favor doesn't tell Raine why she wants to marry Carr. And then, by the time the revelations do start pouring out, the book is almost over and there's no time to fuss over them. This means that Raine and Favor spend some quality time together, but their relationship lacks a certain trust, the bonds that come from struggling through difficult issues or cooperating.

#4 - Favor is so busy being told what to do that she never develops much of a personality. And Raine is so totally not what he is described as (i.e., he's called reckless but doesn't behave recklessly; he's called nasty and mean, but he is closer to being funny and sweet) that his personality is a big muddle.

#5 - Carr, who makes a really great enemy in "The Passionate One" is a pretty lame opponent in "The Reckless One" - deluded and delusional. Not an ounce of the cleverness or wit or ruthlessness that he displays in such abundance in "The Passionate One."

I am really looking forward to Fia's story - Fia is, by far, the most interesting character in "The Reckless One" and the only one who has any kind of consistency or definition. Hopefully it will be back up to the quality of the first in the trilogy.