Customer Reviews

Her Irish Warrior (Harlequin Historical, MacEgan Brothers Book 3)

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

 

 

What makes this book so good is that the leads are not what I expected. Heroine Genevieve de Renalt is vulnerable and brave. She is unafraid of her emotions and even though she has had a scarred past, is doing everything she can to make her present and future better.

Hero Bevan MacEgan is also a wounded character. He has lost his beloved wife and child and has put his heart away forever. Furthermore, he has lost his lands to Normans due to his inattention because of his deep grief.

These two meet early in the novel. Genevieve is running from her abusive fiancé and Bevan initially has the opportunity to save her but cannot because he must protect his men who are arming an assault to capture his former castle, now occupied by Genevieve and her horrible fiance. Genevieve's Norman family has dowered the castle to her. Bevan despises the Normans. They killed his wife.

Later Bevan is captured by Hugh, Genevieve's fiancé when he attempts to rescue Genevieve. Genevieve is a very strong character and does not fall apart after a beating by Hugh but manages to rescue Bevan and his brother.

They take her to their family's estate and there Genevieve begins the slow process of healing both physically and emotionally. Bevan is softening toward her. He is aware that Genevieve controls his lands and the sensible thing to do is to marry her so he can regain his holding but Bevan is stubborn. He just won't let go of his first wife's memory.

Fortunately Genevieve is patient and determined. She, more than he, is the logical one in the relationship and this was a refreshing change. She sees the big picture while he focuses on his grief and resentment.

There are several good twists and turns in this novel. Genevieve is really the star of this story and she holds her own in every way.

I found Her Irish Warrior a delightful read and thoroughly engrossing. I simply couldn't put the book down. Although this book was written BEFORE Her Warrior King, I'd advise any reader to start off with Her Warrior King first since it takes place (1170) before this book.

One of my favorite characters in the book is young Ewan MacEgan. He tries so hard to impress his Brother Bevan and looks up to him. And yet Bevan doesn't think he'll ever be warrior materal.

A total delightful book. I look forward to reading more books from Michele.

I enjoyed another one of this author's books, and thought it was well written. So, this one was a disappointment. For one thing, to me it lacked the feeling of being realistic. The main thing was, though, that the hero was stuck on his dead wife all the way through the book until the last few pages. Actually this same conflict was used in the other book I read by this author. Only it was handled in a better way. He started caring more for the heroine sooner. In this book, I don't see why the heroine fell in love or at least why she didn't decide it had all been just a passing attraction that didn't hold up. I got tired of it and started skimming. It annoyed me that she wanted anything to do with him after the twentieth time he thought of his dead wife and pushed her away.
Another thing that was off in the book was that for a guy who was supposed to be such a good warrior, he sure goofed up a lot in the warrior business. Also, it seemed odd after one of those goofs that he didn't as quickly as possible get help to rescue his men who were captured. That just didn't make sense. After weeks of not doing anything, he says that they are probably dead by now, so oh well you win some, you lose some. Really this guy lacked as a hero.

HER IRISH WARRIOR, set in 12th century Ireland, is a heart-warming Medieval historical romance with excellent characterization, a scene setting made alive to the senses, a suspenseful plot and authenticity to the Medieval literature.

Genevieve de Renalt is engaged to Sir Hugh Marstowe. Although her father supports this marriage, Genevieve cannot allow herself to marry such a man now that she knows him and his true character. When her father cannot rescue her, she escapes. She comes across Bevan MacEgan, an Irish warrior, in the woods and pleads for his help and protection. Pulled between his duties as a warrior and the feelings she inspires, as well as his desire to recapture Rionallis, the land taken from him and now part of Genevieve's dowry, will he choose her and will his choice be made from a desire for her or the land? Will Bevan and Genevieve's past secrets come back to haunt them or can they find true love despite all the obstacles others pose? Can they open their hearts amidst or will oaths and duty win over love? In the Middle Ages and in the background of this romance, marriage was a political alliance. Add to this the fact that both Genevieve de Renalt and Bevan MacEgan have been hurt if not abused by previous partners. The heroine and hero are respectively a Norman lady and a Irish warrior who hate the Normans. Add all that together and more and the chances of these mixing pleasure with any possible marriage alliance seem pretty close to nil....but can hearts win out over both force and vulnerability?

Characterization is one of the strengths of this romance. Genevieve de Renalt's betrothed is a power hunger man who thinks love is dominating a woman. Genevieve is an excellent heroine, determined and clever, full of passion and tenderness and a wonderful contrast to Hugh. Michelle Willingham allows the reader to see both the warrior and the man in Bevan MacEgan, his strength and loyalty plus the scars from battle and in his heart. A suspenseful plot with some interesting turns and conflicts makes HER IRISH WARRIOR a fast paced page turner. Hugh, her betrothed will stop at nothing to kill Bevan and take back his possession. In a world where marriage can be a political alliance, even King Henry has a say in Genevieve's marriage on account of her dowry, land that used to belong to Bevan! So many conflicts, so many secrets, so many hurts and past wrongs....will Genevieve and Bevan be able to find real love when all conflicts, inner and outer, seek to prevent their union? Michelle Willingham has a gift for creating a scene and details that are both faithful to the Medieval tradition and which also make this romance accessible to modern readers. One bedroom scene in particular takes a custom fairly commonly seen in Medieval stories and adds a nice heart-warming, romantic twist. HER IRISH WARRIOR has several echoes from Medieval literature, but each time, Michelle Willingham adds details and context that heighten the tension and romance between the hero and heroine. Michelle Willingham's writing of the snow adds a tactile landscape into the scenes in a manner that makes the historical background feel alive. The vocabulary is authentic and yet accessible to the modern reader. HER IRISH WARRIOR is a Medieval reading delight!

I really liked this one, mostly because its not your everyday romance scheme. It has a great catch at the end. I was nervous to get this one because of the negative reviews but I must say if you like the other books in the series then get this one.

My first by this author and not my last! I read it in one day.

Fast paced and fun, this book delivers with a punch, especially if you love medieval romance novels. The only problem is that the heroine of the story- Geneviere- seems to lack a bit of self-esteem when it comes to becoming Bevan's second wife. While she seems eager to pursue his love, she seems to be willing sometimes to let Bevan treat her like crap in order to pursue that. In the end, however, she gets stronger in character and eventually wins his love. Great book, enjoyable to read, easy to follow and hard to put down. Read it today!

Enjoyed this very much, even more than Her Warrior King or Her Warrior's Touch (book before and book after this one). I like that Genevieve was a strong character who though she had doubts after her betrothed abused her, she still stayed strong. She wanted Bevin and was not about to let him push her away. He was stuck on his first wife, which I admit got a little annoying towards the end (since she seemed a bit frigid), but was somewhat understandable since she was taken in a raid and he felt guilty. There is an interesting and heartbreaking twist towards the end, but of course it work out in the end as all romance novels should. I felt a lot for Genevieve and wanted her to win Bevin's heart. Maybe I might have given this 4.5 stars but it was more deserving than 4 so I bumped it up. A great second installment to the MacEgan brothers story!

This, like the first, was an excellently written, sensual and romantic story. This story follows the second eldest MacEgan brother, Bevan. The heroine is Genevieve de Renault. The chemistry between the two characters was good, and they sizzled from the very beginning. Once again, Michelle Willingham expertly built the sexual tension between the hero and heroine, leaving the reader anxiously awaiting when the two would finally get together.
There are two reasons I didn't give this book five stars. One - as another reviewer mentioned, the hero is too focused on his love for his deceased wife. This isn't such a huge deal because there are some twists to the story that resolve this hiccup, however, I've never been one to enjoy a romance novel where the hero spends a good deal of time pining for another woman. Although this distracted me from the story somewhat, it did add to the character's depth. The second - in addition to spending too much time pining for his deceased wife, the hero took a bit too long to accept his love for the heroine. It's one thing to build up the tension, but I find it was drug out a bit too long in this story. The hero continues to question his feelings and deny his love for the heroine, even after the two marry (to save her from her abusive ex-fiance and to give him his land back). It got a bit too frustrating.
All in all, though, these were minor annoyances, and the book was an excellent story and definitely worth reading. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

This is the story of Bevan and Genevieve, and out of the series, so far this is my favorite. The characters were very likeable, and story moved along at a good pace. It held my attention and I finished it within 2 days. There was even a nice twist at the end that you wont see coming. Overall, it was one of the better books I have read lately and I read a lot!