2.5 rounded up

The story opens with Thomas Annesley, Baron Annesley, Lord of Darlyrede wounded and fleeing his home. His beloved Cordelia is dead and her father, Lord Hargrove is trying to kill him. He comes upon travelers who offer to help him, but when he learns they are going to Darlyrede, he takes off into the night.

30 years later, Tavish Cameron is a merchant in Edinburgh, he has done well for himself and his mother, but is still not as successful as he would like. When a man enters his shop and locks the door, Tavish has no idea how much his life is going to change. Turns out, Thomas Annesley fled and was saved by Tav’s mother, Harriet. Thomas is Tavish’s father and has been captured and condemned to die – before that happened, he bequeathed an unentailed property – Roscraig Tower – to Tavish. Tavish is floored and can’t wait to claim his inheritance and the title of laird, so he notifies King James and sets off.

Glenna Douglas has lived at Roscraig all her life and believes her father is the rightful laird. So when Tavish comes claiming he is the laird, they are immediately at odds. Glenna’s father Iain is not well and the castle and the village are in disrepair, not to mention most of the inhabitants have died from a sickness that seems to target their lands, as a result, the fields are barren and there is no food. Glenna is almost starved, her clothes threadbare and living alone in the keep with her dying father. But none of this stops Glenna from acting like Tavish is a peasant beneath her notice and she refuses to even look at the papers Tavish has. She says she will wait for the king to come and uphold her father’s claim.

Tavish wastes no time improving the property and his mother Harriet is a sweetheart and takes over the care of Iain, who seems to improve under her care. When Tavish’s friend Audrey Keane arrives with the intention of marrying Tavish, things start to get interesting at Roscraig and Tav offers to let Glenna stay, as his mistress.

I have to say, of all the characters in this book, the only one I really liked was Harriet – Tavish was unlikable for a good portion of the book, but even he can’t compare to Glenna for the title of total jerk of the book – she was a snob, acted completely entitled and was unforgivably mean to Harriet. There was an ongoing misconception that the title of Laird elevates the holder to nobility (it doesn’t) and the title of Miss was not used until the 17th century – and while this is promoted as a medieval, it reads more like a regency. In addition to all that, I have no idea when (or why for that matter) they fell in love and the first half of the book was slow and repetitive, it does pick up a little around the 2/3 mark and the last 10% of the book is one non-stop surprise after another. The ending was jaw-dropping and saved the book from being a 2 star read. This is the first book in the series while I didn’t love it, I will most likely read the next book because of revelations in this book that have pulled me into the mystery of what happen to Thomas Annesley!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher.*

Wow, I really wasn’t expecting something this good. I really loved this. There was a real sense of peril, of conflict. It was exciting and while I was always expecting an HEA, I was constantly worried about how much the protagonists would have to suffer before they got there. Heather Grothaus also had a fine sense of the period and really conveyed a sense of menace and darkness.

Tavish Cameron is a prosperous merchant in Edinburgh, born a bastard, he had always though he was Dolan Cameron’s son, Dolan has died after attacking his mother again. His mother Harriet is a strong, loving woman, married against her will by a cruel father. She was pregnant by a young man she had rescued and sheltered as a young woman, his name was Thomas Annesley. Her father injured her permanently and married her off because she would not betray Thomas.

For Tavish, life has been a struggle, against his common origins and the unfair and cruel rules of the nobles who run Edinburgh. He feels constantly belittled and humiliated by them when he is trying to earn his living. A lord Montague, a knight of the garter from King Henry’s court arrives and tells him of the murders his father Thomas was accused of: Cordelia Hargrave, his betrothed, a vicar and a deacon and a number of others, and tells him that his father bequeathed a Scottish property called Roscraig to him before he was hanged.

Tavish is exultant! He knows that King James of Scotland has to agree his ownership, but he finally feels he can become someone of note and be Laird of Roscraig, and wed the daughter of a prosperous merchant: Audrey Keane. He and his mother make preparations to go to Roscraig.

Lady Glenna Douglas is living in extreme poverty at Roscraig, her father Laird Iain Douglas is extremely ill, having had a stroke. The castle is deserted, as all the staff and locals have been decimated by repeated epidemics of the plague. The castle is neglected, and the lands also, Glenna has no food , and is trying to nurse her father with no resources. There is no one around, except for a brutish farmer called Frank Roy, who is determined to have Glenna, and a mysterious black monk called Dubhan. Tavish and his mother arrive, and Tavish is determined to evict Glenna and her father. He gains access to the castle by deception, and starts to employ staff and put the keep and the lands to rights. He doesn’t show the same consideration to Glenna and her father. He is determined to evict them, and offers Glenna a Cottage n the estate until her father dies. Glenna refuses to vacate the castle. Tavish is unnecessarily cruel to Glenna, questioning her noble status, ordering his staff to never address her as Lady Glenna, and insisting that she and her father leave as soon as the rain stops.

Glenna is starving and terrified, she doesn’t know what to do, but she is not convinced of the veracity of Tavish’s claim, and she defy him. Harriet ignores Tavish’s wishes, and feeds and looks after Glenna and her father.

Glenna and Tavish clash repeatedly. Glenna tries to negotiate with Tavish, and is rebuffed. They are reluctantly, extremely attracted to one another. Glenna is disconcerted by the arrival of Audrey Keane, and a keep full of the local nobility. The class differences between the commoners and the nobles start to become apparent, as does Glenna’s poverty compared to Miss Keane and the other well off guests.. Trapped upstairs with her father, she is more and more apprehensive about her options and her future, Frang continues to menace her, and Tavish is waiting for King James and the court of judgement. He is increasingly obsessed with Glenna, and she with him, although they still don’t trust each other. Everyone assumes he has taken her as a mistress despite Niall sending his daughter to Tavish with a wedding dress.

Iain Douglas starts to rally, and the king, and a certain sinister Lord Hargrave arrive. Glenna and Tavish will need to trust each other if they want to avoid the wickedness coming their way, and prevail against the kings court. People have started to disappear, and Lord Hargrave seems to have an extremely detailed knowledge of what is going on in the castle. Who can they both trust, and how will they be able to solve their problems and admit their feelings to each other.

What was incredibly refreshing in this book was that Tavish was not a perfect and unassailable Alpha hero. He was flawed and very sensitive about his origins, he behaved badly to his friends and the women in his life, however he did realise he had been cruel and unreasonable and tries to make amends. His feelings towards Glenna soften and humanise him, as does the peril he faces - accused of murder, violence and fraud, can he escape with his life and his inheritance and fortune intact, and who is trying to set him up? I felt the suspense/ mystery was very well done, although I had a bit of. A problem with the depiction on one of the villains in the book.

Really enjoyed this.

I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book and all opinions are my own.

Also posted on Goodreads

The premise of this story had so much potential and there were definitely parts of it that shined. However, I find it difficult to believe that Glenna could fall in love with a man who was so unnecessarily rude to her. I absolutely get the idea of a Scottish Laird being dominant and rugged - but to be an outright ass ALL THE TIME - it just felt a tad too unrealistic to me. That being said, the ending was very satisfying and I am still glad I read it.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for the eARC!

Tavish Cameron has acquired some wealth as a merchant in Edinburgh but is plagued by ridiculous taxes and tolls and harassment from the town burgess. Until he receives information that stands to change everything: he stands to inherit the lairdship of Roscraig and the castle there. He just has to admit to being the bastard son of a baron charged with murder and remove the impoverished and haughty Glenna Douglas from the castle that has always been her home.

Glenna has lost nearly everything. Her father is ailing and her village has been decimated by sickness and now a stranger has invaded her home. Until King James arrives to settle the issue once and for all, Glenna and Tavish share Tower Roscraig and their mutual hatred may manifest into a different kind of passion. But when it becomes clear that Roscraig is being undermined by someone and danger lurks all around, Tavish and Glenna are forced to develop a partnership beyond their fiery animosity.

What some may consider to be spoilers lie ahead.
Yet another another shrewish heroine masquerading as a "strong" woman. Of course her reaction to Tavish wouldn't be positive, but he acted like a bear and she was a total banshee. I get she was in a terrible position but her haughty attitude and constant assertion of her highborn status over Tavish as being a commoner and illegitimate got very old very fast and was a total turn off for me, especially when she had no right to her snobbishness. Don't worry that I'm harping on the heroine either because the hero was a right pompous a$$ as well, willing to hurt the heroine and the woman who presumed herself, albeit wrongly, to be his betrothed, by taking the heroine as his mistress.

Of course the hero and heroine both eventually came to their senses and I did enjoy the twists and turns the plot underwent towards the end, even if they were a bit predictable. What annoyed me, however, were all the loose ends left undone. Of course, I presume much of this is to tease the next book in the series, but some things that were very relevant to this story were left unaddressed and it made me feel like these characters weren't really getting a true ending and for that reason I will likely continue with the series.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It started with murder and a young man on the run.
A lot of twists and turns when the title of Laird of a holding is contested. Only the judgement of the King will be the final word. Be sure to keep up with this one, because the end will be a surprise.

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
As far as Highland romance goes this was a decent novel. The language and description of the land appear accurate and realistic. Having said that the story felt long and uninteresting. Tav and Glenna are fighting to keep the home they inherited and work together to trick those trying to lay siege. I just didn't feel the connection between the characters and the plot felt long winded. Didn't enjoy it as much as I would have liked to.

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review

I have such mixed feelings- it’s such a rich story with so much fascinating historical detail. But the romance is kinda rapey, and then out of nowhere it’s wrapped up with a bow to give the obligatory HEA. Eek.