The Scottish Thistle [Paperback]

Cindy Vallar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2002

A chieftain, Rory MacGregor puts her clan’s welfare ahead of her own and weds a stranger. An oath sworn on the dirk compels Duncan Cameron to forge an uneasy alliance with Rory, unaware that a Stewart prince comes to the Highlands to wage war against the usurper who sits on the throne. Duty and honor dictate they answer the call to arms, but will the bloody rebellion of 1745 sever the ties that bind them or will it forever strengthen the fragile threads that unite them?

Editorial Reviews

Review

A beautiful, adventurous and exciting tale of battle, magic, faith and loyalty. -- The Road to Romance, May 2002

Entrancing tale of love, honor and trust. Characters as vivid as the time and place they inhabit. A must read. -- Romantic Times

More succinctly told than Diana Gabaldon with more sympathetic and believable characters... Highly recommended. -- Myshelf.com

The Scottish Thistle is an epic Romance, an exceptional Adventure, and a Historic masterpiece. -- Romance at Heart, December 2003

About the Author

Born and raised in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, Cindy Vallar spent her formative years reading books and writing poetry. While in college, she saw a movie based on the life of Jean Laffite, a gentleman pirate who helped Andrew Jackson win the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. Intrigued by the mysterious, she started researching and writing a novel about Laffite. Graduation, career, and marriage put that manuscript on a shelf where it remained until she started working as the school librarian for seriously emotionally challenged teenagers. She returned to writing to relieve the stress inherent in working in special education facilities. During a boring staff meeting, she started writing about a caped figure who crossed the Scottish Highlands during a fiercesome storm. After ten years and numerous revisions, that kernel of an idea blossomed into her first published novel, The Scottish Thistle. She is currently working to complete that pirate novel started many years ago while researching another novel based in the Dust Bowl of western Kansas during the Great Depression.

During her senior year at college, a friend of Cindy’s mother introduced her to a young man who had attended the same high school Cindy had seven years before she had. Not only did they live on the same street as children, but he delivered her parents’ newspapers, his mother taught Cindy’s Sunday school class, and she went to school with his youngest brother. Tom and Cindy married a year later and celebrated their twentieth wedding anniversary by making a major life change when they moved from Maryland to Kansas.

Having retired from library work, Cindy pursues her dream of being an author. Her passion for doing research and a desire to make history more interesting inspires her to write historical novels intertwined with love stories. She’s the Contributing Editor of Pirates and Privateers, a maritime history column, at Suite101.com. She reviews books for Historical Novels Review, Ivy Quill Reviews, Appraisal, and The Book Report. In April 2002, NovelBooks, Inc. will publish The Scottish Thistle, her first novel. Cindy is also an editor and copyeditor for Wings Press, Ltd.

Her mother fondly refers to Cindy and her three younger sisters as her "Little Women." Cindy holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Towson University and a Master’s Degree in Library Science from the University of Maryland. She is a member of EPIC, The Historical Novel Society, Dalriada, and the Kansas Authors Club. She loves to read. Her favorite authors include Stuart Woods, Clive Cussler, Leon Uris, Nigel Tranter, and LaVyrle Spencer. When she’s not reading or writing, you’re most likely to find her watching professional bull riding, listening to country or Celtic music, collecting Teddy bears, or visiting Scotland.

Product Details

• Paperback: 389 pages
• Publisher: Novelbooks; N edition (April 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591050340
• ISBN-13: 978-1591050346
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,028,337 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Warning: You are about to be transported to the 18th century Scottish Highlands!, February 12, 2007

By 

MLTyndall (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Scottish Thistle (Paperback)

From page one of The Scottish Thistle, the reader is thrown into heart-thumping action as the hero, Duncan Cameron, is about to be murdered by robbers. Rescued at the last minute by the mysterious Thistle, a champion of the poor and protector of the outlaw Clan MacGregor, Duncan is brought to the hidden MacGregor village. When he recovers from his wounds, Duncan informs the clan leader that he has been sent by Lochiel, chief of the clan Cameron, to honor the pledge of an ancestor and marry a lady of the clan, Rory MacGregor, a union which pleases neither of them. The Scottish Thistle is unlike other arranged marriage stories where the couple begin their relationship begrudgingly only to end up falling in love, because Rory is unlike any heroine. She's the chief of her clan, a warrior who can best any man in battle. Embittered by a painful past, she neither needs a man to protect her, nor desires one, and finds loving and trusting anyone extremely difficult. However, being the true leader she is, she marries Duncan because it aids in securing the safety of her people.
The Scottish Thistle is a brilliant historical epic of a tumultuous time in Scottish history when Scotland's and Britain's political wars became intertwined in a battle for the British throne. Step by step, Cindy Vallar takes us on a journey through the Scottish Highlands, to the lowlands, and all the way to England, immersing us in the language, the culture, the customs, and the magnificent surroundings of these powerful people. Drawn in by her exquisite historical detail and heart-warming characterizations, we become a part of the events surrounding the Stuart uprising seen through the eyes of Rory and Duncan, two unlikely lovers who find themselves at first thrown together against their will, and then torn apart by war in a world where duty and honor prevail.
If you're looking for a mushy romance, this is not your book. If you're looking for an escape into 18th century Scotland where you can smell the heather, feel the damp moss under your feet, the cool mist seep into your bones, and where you are a part of the struggles, wars, and heartaches of the Scottish people, then you'll love this book. I highly recommend The Scottish Thistle for all lovers of history, Scotland, adventure, and romance.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars If you enjoy 'historical fiction' written as a 'Lifetime Original Movie"...., January 7, 2008

By 

A. Hauser - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Scottish Thistle (Paperback)

Sorry, have to agree with other 2 star reviewer. The premise is ridiculous, and would not have occurred at this juncture in Scottish history. I could not quite fiugure out why I was not 'getting into ' the book after first several chapters, and then realized, yes, indeed, this was but a romance novel that happened to be placed in a specific period/geography. The interspersed useage of 'Scottish dialect' was maddening, and the characters were thinly drawn~ the feisty heroine, the dashing hero, good guys, bad guys,etc...Did not find the desricptive/narrative passages particularly colorful or well-drawn.
If you LIKE romance novels, then , probabaly a pleasant read for you.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Timeless Tales review, September 14, 2002

By 

"tteditor" (Washington DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Scottish Thistle (Paperback)

By TT reviewer Amanda Schmidt [Full review on our website]

Set in one of the most turbulent times in Scottish history, Scottish Thistle gives us the heartrending story of love coming from war. Rory is a young, lovely, intelligent woman who is chieftain to an outlawed clan. Over the course of her young lifetime, she has witnessed things that no one, especially a child, should ever have to see, including the murder and destruction of her clan. While these events would have destroyed a lesser person, they made Rory a stronger person, but her inner strength has come with a high price. It has become nearly impossible for her to trust, and to love. Duncan Cameron, meanwhile, has grown up as the foster son to a powerful chieftain whose clan is respected, and Duncan himself is the chief's own personal bodyguard.

While Rory and Duncan meet under a strange set of circumstances, it was destiny. Rory's late father and Duncan's foster father, Sir Donald, had come to an arrangement years ago that Rory would marry a man of Sir Donald's choosing. Rory has a hard time accepting this, but for the sake of her clan, she gives in and marries Duncan. They are just beginning to understand the love they have for each other when events unfold that will forever change the course of their lives. Charles Edward Stewart comes back to Scotland and leads the clans in an uprising that would restore the Stewarts to the throne. While not happy with going to war over something that already seems lost, Duncan and the Clan Cameron go out of loyalty to the Stewarts. Though the war goes badly and the Stewart cause is lost, Duncan and Rory come to realize just how great their love is for each other.

I really enjoyed this book. Rory is definitely an independent woman, which is unusual for the time period. Duncan is the perfect hero. He accepts Rory as she is, and doesn't try to change her. I also like the fact of how their story is told among the events of the uprising of 1745. I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys romance set against a major historical event.