Celtic Hearts series first book The Hawk Lady is a Very Enjoyable book! It's a rollercoaster ride that brims with tension building twists and turns, trials and tribulations, danger, deceit, a prophetess and suspense that will keep you sitting on the edge of your seat. Susan King has given readers a book that is well-written, filled it with great cast of characters that come off the pages and pull you into this emotional ride that keeps you involved until the very end, fast paced and great dialogue. With setting descriptions and action sequences that are wonderfully vivid that brings the story to life.

I received a ARC copy from NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

This is the fist book of the series Celtic Hearts and my first time reading something by this author. I think she did a really nice job of bringing the story and the characters to life. Isobel has the gift of visions. Her father wants to protect her and betrothed her to a strong night. But Isobel sees a different man in her visions, a man called the Laird of the Wind who was once a laird but is now an outlaw. When he comes to her rescue after her castle is attacked by the English, he has only one goal in mind. To use her as a bargaining chip to have his captured cousin released. But James soon realizes that although he loves his cousin dearly, Isobel has also taken up space in his heart. He no longer wants to trade Isobel, but how will he save his cousin?
A well-written story that captured my attention from start to finish. Both Isobel and James were strong characters and I enjoyed watching their relationship develop. The story was entertaining and enjoyable and I look forward to reading more by this author.
I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing and am voluntarily leaving my review.

Book:’’ The Hawk Laird” formerly ‘’Laird of the Wind”
Author: Susan King
Series: Celtic Hearts, Book #1
Publisher: Dragonblade
Length: 340 Pages
Overall Rating: 5/5 Stars
Blog Rating: 5/5 Saltire Flags

Scottish Lowlands, 1305

This book starts with Lady Isobel of Alberlady who is a prophetess and tells the future, also known as Black Isobel due to her long, dark, raven hair. As could see the future: she saw a vision of William Wallace being betrayed by people he thought he could trust and would die because of the hawk! Now one of the men who betrayed him is trying to get himself out of prison but goes to William to warn him not realizing he had been betrayed too! Except this vision was not absolutely accurate as most of her visions were metaphors. When Jamie realizes William has been caught he knows the English will torture him and give him an agonizing death! Jamie tries to give his friend a quick, painless, death, unfortunately his arrow missed his mark! He is accused of betraying him which is not the truth!

Now it turns out the Hawk is Jamie Lindsay the former Laird of Castle Wildshaw who is misinformed about this prophetess, thinking she has helped ruin his name unfairly plus she is also betrothed to his enemy Sir Ralph Leslie! He was given his castle by the wicked English King, since Jamie is a hunted Scottish outlaw and Leslie is a Scottish turncoat who sides with the English betraying his own people! Jamie had expected Black Isobel to be an elderly crone, not a beautiful goddess forced to accept Leslie’s marriage proposal by her father and their Priest! However everyone is using Isobel for her abilities and she knows it too. Furthermore Lady Isobel’s castle is under siege where she and her people are starving! She is also a Scot and very kind and caring too which was very unexpected to Jamie.

Isobel has been misinformed her entire life by men saying she is protected and not able to leave her own castle due to her godly gifts. This was because she was a prophetess and because she is also just a feeble, weak, woman! She realizes now she had been held captive not protected as even her own father was being advised by their priest. Isobel was expecting James “Jamie” Lindsay who she thought was her champion and savior since he saved her from dying as the English attacked her castle burning to the ground. She soon discovers he only came to make her his captive to trade her for his cousin Janet who was taken as a captive in his place. Ralph Leslie is a man she detests and only wants her for her supernatural abilities, to make him more respected and wealthier by the English nobles. Soon Jamie reveals he lives in Ettrick Forest but takes Isobel to his secret lair where only a special few outlaws like Wallace knew of its existence. He realizes he had been wrong about Isobel and feels truly torn. They also discover a Hawk where Jamie had been a falconer as well as Isobel’s father so she is no stranger to the birds. They train the bird together and fall in love.

However soon time goes on as Jamie hates her heartless betrothed Sir Ralph Leslie, a turncoat Scot who sides with the English as Jamie wants to save his cousin Janet. He wants to trade captive for captive. The problem is he is in love with Black Isobel! Except he has nothing to offer her being on the run, being hunted and living as an outlaw in the forest. He feels Ralph can give her a peaceful existence except Isobel refuses to go! She rather be on the run with Jamie as he has given her first feel of freedom and rebels against all of those who had tried to keep her hidden because of her abilities where she was truly captive. On top of that Jamie does not know what to do as he loves his cousin like a sister but is madly in love with Isobel. What will Jamie do to trade Isobel to a man that only wants to use her or leave his cousin as a captive?He is between a rock and a hard place and does not know what to do? Read and find out.


Susan King has always been a favorite author of mine. I read this under ‘’Laird of the Wind’’ many years ago and I love Scottish history. I loved revisiting this book again number one when I read it the first time I had not been to Scotland yet. Now I have been to Scotland and been to specific sites she described in this book like Dunfermline Abbey. I too have been to the thorn tree where allegedly William Wallace’s mother was buried where it is still marked today.Also King Robert the Bruce’s body rests at Dunfermline Abbey. Furthermore I am so excited Susan King is with Dragonblade Publishing now being one of my favorite publishers too! I can’t wait to read The Falcon Laird next!

Celtic Hearts
Book 1 - The Hawk Laird
Book 2 - The Falcon Laird
Book 3 - The Swan Laird

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy and an advance reader copy from Dragonblade publishers. I voluntarily agreed to do a fair review and blog through netgalley. All thoughts, ideas and words are my own.

A great historical love story by Susan King, set in Medieval Scotland. Isobel of Aberlady is known for her visions which have been controlled by her father and others.
Sir James Lindsay rescues her from her beseiged castle for purposes of his own. Fabulous main and secondary characters, especially Gawain the goshawk.
Susan King gives us a wonderful glimpse of Scotland at the time of William Wallace. Loved the detailed research Susan did writing this story.

The Hawk Laird by Susan King is a book about the time shortly after the brutal execution of William Wallace (Scotland) and one of his many followers who has been labeled a traitor and outlaw. James is one such man and the rumors have flown so even his own people no longer trust him. He had tried to rescue Wallace, to no avail, and spent his last arrow trying to kill the man, to spare him from the degradation that was to follow. He failed. Now he was trying to capture Black Isobel, a seer who had foretold it all and who he figured he could trade for his last living cousin. He and his men were fearless and so climbed a cliff face to get to her keep, where he discovered not the crone he had expected, but a beautiful young woman. As they set fire (to keep the English from having it) to the place and receded back down the cliff face, he carried her wounded body. As the days passed they got to know one another, and both were surprised at what they found.

Isobel had been used by her father, the man to whom he had betrothed her, and even the local priest. They twisted her prophesies to suit their own purposes, a fact of which she had not been aware. She never remembered much of what she’d seen and they “wrote it down” for her. Now she saw her father in a dungeon and knew her betrothed wanted her for her gift, not herself. James seemed to see her for what she was and it made her heart flutter. When the blindness gripped her after one of her trances, he helped her. James was a good man, brave and caring, who had fallen victim to a “smear campaign.” Both were excellent characters, well-written and sympathetic. The plot was a good one, somewhat dictated by history, but enjoyable. The biggest criticism I have is that it may have been slightly too wordy and formal for its audience. A bit more editing might have made it a better book. That said, I enjoyed it and look forward to the next. Thanks, Susan King!

I was invited to read The Hawk Laird by Dragonblade. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #Dragonblade #SusanKing #TheHawkLaird

The Hawk Laird by Susan King is a revised edition of "Laird of the Wind" under a new publisher. It is a Scottish historical romance infused with a bit of magical realism set in the early 14th century, during the aftermath of William Wallace's unaliving.

Lady Isobel Seton, a prophetess, is abducted by James Lindsay to be traded for a very important person in James' life who is held captive by Lady Isobel's fiancee. James Lindsay was a laird who now lives in the forest as an outlaw. Naturally, James and Isobel were at odds with each other. But beneath the facade of hatred is a budding romance between them.

The plot and some scenes are based on real historical events, legends, and folklores, which are explained in the Author's Note. I like historical fiction authors who make the conscious effort to be as historically accurate and authentic as their books' storylines permit. Susan King is a postgraduate historian. Need I say more?

This is a slow-burn, will-they-wont-they romance with spice level of 4/10 in my standard. And I like it that way. It falls under the "captor-and-captive" and "enemies-to-lovers" romance tropes.

But it has a good amount of action and delves on serious themes such as politics, rebellion, sacrifice, loyalty, love for one's family, ambition, freedom, and forgiveness. The unfolding of events and revelations kept my interest from beginning to end.

One thing I did not quite like was how the author dwelt so much on the process of taming the wild hawk that they found in the forest. I get the parallelism between the hawk and the lead characters' situation, and all the things that it symbolizes. But I felt that it could have been better without too much detail.

The writing is good. There's no elegance that litfic normally offers because it's not litfic. But it's better than many of the historical romance books that I read.

I just found a few dialogues that spit too much information a bit cringy. I think they are better off shown or described in the third-person narrator's voice instead of the character's voice. Maybe it's just me, but I find that historical romance are prone to this. But at any rate, this is very minimal and tolerable in this book. It didn't ruin my reading experience at all.

Overall, it is a nice read for those who like Scottish historical romance.

Scottish Historical Romance with Treachery and Intrigue

Was James, the Hawk Laird, truly a traitor? He rescued Isobel from a seige so he could use her as a bargaining chip. He was angry with her, and she did not know why. Isobel was a prophetess, and he was in one of her predictions. As the two got to know one another, they found out that neither was what the other expected. Danger and treachery awaited them. Would they survive their journey? I enjoyed this story and would recommend it to those who like Scottish, historical romance.

Betrayal, magic, and love abound in Susan King's novel, the Hawk Laird.

Black Isobel is the prophetess of Scotland in this fantastical story set in the 1300's. Scotland is on the brink of war with the English, rebels of Scotland fighting from every nook and cranny of this savagely fierce country. Isobel is known for her glimpses of this battle's future, yet she pays a terrible price in exchange. Her freedom. Her father and her betrothed, along with a priest who has forsaken God, have locked her away in her family castle for her "protection." To defend her, "feeble female mind." But when her castle is under siege by the English, her father has been arrested for treason, and her fiance has apparently abandoned her, Black Isobel knows she is going to die. Until a handsome, dangerous laird with a broken past comes to her rescue if only to use for his purposes. James Lindsay, otherwise known as the Hawk Laird, plans to trade Black Isobel in exchange for another woman dear to his heart Isobel's fiance has been holding hostage. Janet. But as James and Isobel grow closer, the Hawk Laird is forced to decide. Is it revenge he wants? Or his one chance at love?

While this novel was decent, I have to say, that several parts of this book annoyed and disgusted me. First off, the characters were ridiculous and underdeveloped. Isobel frustrated me, and the chapters dragged on so much. The author seemed to need to use her thesaurus for everything. She actually used genuflecting in chapter one, and actually misused a word. [bemused] Normally, when I'm reading romances, time flies by and I'm devastated when I reach the end. The Hawk Laird had me constantly checking the chapter I was on to see how close I was to the end, and I was relieved when I finished it. Isobel was so weak and had the maturity of a fifteen-year-old girl. And the same under-developed brain to match. In Chapter Two, she thought, "Isobel rose boldly to face the embrasure gap, sure the English would stop when they saw her there." She was then immediately shot by an arrow. What sort of person stands on an embrasure when it is being fired at because they thought they were immune? The only decent parts of this book came from James's perspective, especially when he thought, "And he waited, silent and still, while a slender, ebony-haired girl cradled a pale rose amid destruction." But even he was unfortunately cringe as well. Let me list the worst lines from this book, by chapter.

"I trust you, Isobel Seton of Aberlady, or I would not tell you that." He smiled again and winked." -Chapter Six
"She watched him go, glad to have found a friend among outlaws." - Chapter Six [She was talking about a boy she met three seconds ago who smiled at her and gave her an oatcake. She's clingier than Real Housewife of Chicago.]
"Ah. I thought you sang it because you longed for the peace of the monkish life." - Chapter Fourteen. [She is not sarcastic, this idiot is actually 100% serious.]
"Seeing the gentle swell of his lips." - Chapter Fourteen [That is the WORST possible way to describe a mouth ever]
"I became cold inside. Fierce." - Chapter Eighteen [Well that's not cringey at all.]
"You are the man who took my heart" - Chapter Eighteen [How. My only question. HOW]
"Saint Ursula, patron of virgins, ran away from the marriage she protested. She took her female companions with her. Eleven thousand of them."- Chapter Nineteen [...if you don't mean for that to be gay, don't make it sound so gay]
"Isobel swallowed back a sob, but she could not reveal any feeling to the outlaw." - Chapter Twenty-Five. [TWO SECONDS AGO YOU WERE SCREAMING FOR THEM TO SAVE HIM HOW ARE YOU SHOWING NO EMOTION? I need explanations.]
"I only said what you wanted to hear," Leslie interrupted." - Chapter Twenty-Six [Wow, who doesn't love the complete villain-fession.]

Ahh, who doesn't love lines that just REEK of cringe? It gets worse, but I refuse to share spoilers, so you just get to wait and see! Now that you can see why Isobel and James annoyed me, I can explain about side characters that made me scream inside. In a bad way.

#1- Janet.

Who doesn't love the good old-fashioned whore? Janet, the woman who her cousin is venturing so courageously to save! Who is being missed by a man who loves her beyond measure! A woman who decided to sleep with her captor in exchange for better conditions! You know, someone who exchanges sexual favors for payment is the definition of a prostitute. The whole book kept talking about how brave she was, how daring, and yet when she needed to show courage, she chose to go the coward's way. When she meets her lover's betrothed, Janet is cold to her and ignores the betrothal so she won't have to face the fact she is sleeping with a man who will marry another. "I came to tell you Janet was waiting for you in your chamber." - Chapter Twenty-Seven. Nope.
Not cowardly at all.

#2- Sir Ralph Leslie

The villain! The evil character we have to hate! I didn't hate him though, I was...apathetic. Ralph was stereotypical. He has a side chick while he's engaged, betrays his country in exchange for money, and locks up his soon-to-be father-in-law. Oh, and he also treats his betrothed like an animal! Real lovable. ain't he? He was underdeveloped, given the worst lines, and I honestly felt nothing for him.

Yay! I finished the book! That's the first thing I have to say at the end. While the characters were RIDICULOUS and the language could get a little too purple-y, it was still a book with a very decent plot, a few sweet characters I loved [Sir Gawain, I'm talking to you!], and a feel-good ending you can't help but smile over. While I wouldn't find this book a serious read, or a new favorite, it would still be a nice go-to if you need a light-hearted book that'll just give you some smiles and laughs. A 3/5 read that I would recommend to fans of Manda Collins and Virginia Heath.

This cover is stunning and the synopsis sounded so good. I love most stories set in scotland and add a dash of fantasy with a prophetess. This had the making of something I should have enjoyed. Sadly, I dnfed this book at 15% The story itself wasn't bad, it was the writing. I had to reread sentences so many times just to get a grasp on what the author was saying and how she was saying it. There were so many commas and information added that was repetitive. The dialoguw was so stilted, nothing flowed smoothly and I just couldn't continue on.

This story was fantastic!! Highly recommend reading. To me was an emotional story with such a good storyline. Definitely a must read.

This historical romance is set in a very troublesome time for the Scottish people. Our heroine is known to be a prophetess. She has been carefully guarded most of her life. Some are happy with her visions, because they show what they want. Others are not happy and think she is lying.
Our hero is an outlaw. Both sides are unhappy with what they have been told he has done.
This is full of adventure, discovery, treachery and romance. As well as a lot of lessons in how to train a hunting hawk.
I really enjoyed it.

This book was just what I wanted in a romance book. The romance was so good! And the plot was so well thought out and I could not put it down.

Wow! An amazing, awesome story wrapped in Scottish history. William Wallace is one of my favorite Scottish heros so this book immediately caught my attention. What takes place is after Wallace but gives the reader a taste of what life was for those who followed Wallace. James and Isobel are powerful characters extremely well written and so deep in realism that we feel ourselves walking the path with them. The history on goshawks and their training captured both the essence of the story as well as the beauty of interaction with these majestic birds. I loved every page, minute and word written within this powerful story. Bravo!!

Visions, Treachery, Savior:
A new author for me and I was pleasantly surprised how the authors words brought me right into this passionate emotionally driven story with an amazing amount of detail and knowledge that made the characters and plot come to life.
My interest stayed high all the way though with Isobel and James growing love story, the betrayals, visions, determinations, their patience, along with their history that feeds into the devilish plot.
A beautiful and gratifying ending that made this book a joy to read.
The authors Indepth research was incredibly detailed, interesting and appreciated.
I look forward to reading more of this authors stories.
✔Special Mention: Gawain the goshawk and Sir Gawain the knight. Both added an enormous amount of interest and joy to this story.
✔Cover: Excellent. Gave me a view of the characters and mystery.

The Hawk Laird by Susan King is an updated re-release. This was my first book by this author and I am very pleased to find another great author who writes in the medieval time period. Isobel is taken hostage to be traded for another lady. She has visions and is known as a prophet. James is an outlaw who is Swoon worthy and kind and caring to Isobel. Along the way he rescues a goshawk. He is really a Hawk whisperer. I loved watching him training the Hawk, named Gawain. Gawain is truly a Notable Pet.
Thank you to netgalley for the ARC

As soon as I started to read this novel, I realized that I had in fact read it previously some years back under a different title. Nevertheless, it is one of those stories that cements itself in your mind and leaves you with a feeling that however hard-fought for, there is beauty and justice in this world. In fact, I enjoyed this romance just as much as when I first read it. Given the time frame of the book, the plot moves slowly, and a great deal of attention is put on the main character's skills and teaching the woman he has come to love in the art of training a goshawk. James Lindsay is a strong hero and although Isobel is a fairly strong and resourceful woman, her visions and prophecies have made her emotionally fragile and dependent on the people around her. If those people are less than honorable, she is put in jeopardy. This romance is a standalone and comes to a very successful conclusion. I was quite gleeful at how it came about! I received a copy of this novel as a gift through Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.