Heat Factor: It’s medium hawt

Character Chemistry: Neither one will budge, and one of them absolutely should (cough, cough RORY)

Plot: Saerla is a seer and the last sister of three who is unattached to their enemy. Rory is the clan chief of their enemy—and after he captures her, both Rory and Saerla are swept away by the heat between them in the face of their inevitable destruction.

Overall: This book was so angsty that it was equal parts misery and heat

Ho, Nelly. So to begin, this is the last of a three book series featuring sisters who are running (or attempting to run) their own keep on sacred land. I have a strong feeling that this is the sweeping conclusion—and boy, is it sweeping.

Saerla is a seer who opens the book with a vision of Rory, laird of their neighboring clan, forcing himself upon her and ending with the implied destruction of everything she holds dear. To avoid this vision from coming true, Saerla rushes into battle hoping to kill Rory but ends up being taken hostage instead. Rhian, her sister, has defected to Rory’s keep to be with her true love, and Rory’s best friend has defected to the sisters’ keep to be with his true love. The entire plot is basically Rory and Saerla falling in love while steadfastly committing to their causes—for Rory, overpowering the sisters’ keep and taking their land, and for Saerla, protecting the Glen and maintaining control of their keep.

Here’s the thing, Rory when he’s just with Saerla is very tender and sweet, but he’s also unwaveringly committed to screwing over everyone who has ever stood by him. It’s not a good look. And he doesn’t put those urges in check until it’s the literal last second. There were moments I had a really hard time rooting for them as a couple because of this. Rory DOES show evidence of development but it’s very much a two steps forward, three steps back type of situation for the majority of the book. Also, he’s always like, I’d never hurt a woman, I’d never kill her, but then spends three quarters of the book telling everyone he’s going to kill her and eventually holds a knife up to her neck in a threatening way, public execution style.

However, as I said, I started this series at the end. I suspect I’m missing a lot of action that created this undercurrent of resentment and hurt that leads Rory to spurning the people who care for him. There were a lot of little comments and moments where I believe Rory’s hurt and lashing out were probably pretty understandable within the context of the larger series, but which looked a bit harsh and unnecessary without that additional emotional padding.

Saerla is big-time babied by her sisters (like, one of her sisters suggests that she’s meant for being protected and having visions but not to have a life outside of her magic and gifts), but again, it seems like she’s considered more fragile and gentle than this third book suggests. She’s very strong and thoughtful, and committed to the best course of action rather than the easiest.

Here’s what I loved about the book—the setting was very dynamic and the larger plot structure was dialed in. The sisters are very fascinating—there’s one who is a warrior, one who is a healer, and then of course we have the seer. They’re meant to protect the keep but Moira is fighting for the clan elders’ approval to run it after the death of her father and brother, which is hampered by her having fallen in love with the best friend of the enemy. It’s juicy and complicated and the setting is mystical and interesting.

I feel like this book was the culmination of a slower build, and that starting on book three doesn’t really do it justice. However, if you’re into wild, witchy, badass historical women paired with men who need their heads adjusted, you’ll probably really enjoy this, especially if you start at the beginning.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report.

Unputdownable, Scottish Historical Romance

Rory is a man, full of anger. He considers love a weakness. His two best friends fall in love with their enemies. Will he be next?

Rory wanted MacBeith land at any cost. He promised his people he would capture it, and he would walk through the fires of hell to fulfill his promise. Could falling in love with a woman of light and magic change his course?

Saerla must kill Rory. He wants to destroy her people and steal their lands. Her visions show her that Rory will make her his. He captures her on the battlefield, but her visions and the man she sees before her are entirely different. Her visions make her think he will force her, but angry Rory has a gentle side she had never anticipated.

Rory and Saerla are sworn enemies. Nothing seems to deter them from their course. Can love be stronger than hate?

This story was absolutely riveting. It kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end. I loved it and would recommend it to those who like Scottish historical romance.

I love villains that turn into softies. Laura Strickland is a very gifted author. Very beautiful writing .
Thank you to netgalley for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

Book: Keeper of the Light
Author: Laura Strickland
Series: The Three Sisters MacBeith, Book #3
Publisher: Dragonblade
Length: 320 Pages
Overall Rating: 5/5 Stars
Blog Rating: 5/5 Saltire

Scotland !620

This is the third book of The Three Sisters MacBeith trilogy. This story centers on the youngest fey sister Saerla MacBeith and Chieftain Rory MacLeod, the dark hearted villain of this series. It is light versus darkness.The cruel greedy selfish MacLeod Chieftain still wants to steal all of Clan MacBeith’s lands and holdings. Except Rory took an arrow in his back with a near fatal injury on this last battle that nicked his lung. He is a man that should never underestimate the power of a woman, especially the power of three ginger haired sisters who all have supernatural abilities.

Now he has captured one of the MacBeith’s treasures who is Saerla MacBeith, their youngest fey sister. She is a seer that has the sight and can predict visions about the future. However, the tables are turning on Rory MacLeod who started as the abductor thinking he could trade Saerla for the MacBeith lands and holdings. Soon he realizes he can never let her go like his best friend Farlan and cousin Leith, as a ginger haired, MacBeith, beauty, has also captured his heart too. Now it seems Rory is the captive and Saerla is the abductor in this battlefield of love.

Will Chieftain Rory MacLeod be able to put his sword aside and stop the senseless killing? Shall he discover he has all the treasure he needs with his special magic woman? Read and find out the conclusion in the beautiful series finale with a perfect epilogue that will touch any reader's heart!

Laura Strickland writes a breathtaking series that any Scotland lover will love as well historical romance readers. It is one of those rare remarkable series that is absolutely pure magic!

Furthermore it includes awe-inspiring, unforgettable, multi dimensional characters that will definitely touch your heart. Definitely have some tissues on hand as it is definitely an emotional read that had me sobbing like bairn! This can be read as a stand alone book but i think the extraordinary epilogue will make more sense if you read each book in number order. It was a dazzling series finale that was absolutely spectacular and I can not recommend it enough!

The Three Sisters, MacBeith
Keeper of the Gate
Keeper of the Hearth
Keeper of the Light

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

Buy Links:

hthttps://www.amazon.com/Keeper-Light-Three-Sisters-MacBeith-ebook/dp/B0CW1HG9K8

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/keeper-of-the-light-laura-strickland/1145060842?ean=9781963585261

I really loved this book! It is the third book in the series. I really loved how the story continued. I would highly recommend this book!

Keeper of the Light is a deeply emotional and thrilling conclusion to the Three Sisters MacBeith series. I loved each book in this series. They are full of suspense, magic, and love. The love of three sisters, their clan, their land, and their men. Each book is better than the one before, and although each can be read as a standalone, reading in order gives the greatest enjoyment.

Saerla and Rory come together in this story like light and darkness, yin and yang. Although they had been enemies throughout their lives, I loved the way they couldn’t help the powerful connection they felt to each other. Opening themselves to each other gave new perspectives and a path to their HEA. Ms. Strickland created wonderful characters who, while not perfect, were willing to grow, learn, and risk everything for love. I highly recommend this series!

I absolutely love, love, love this series. I know each story can be read as a stand alone however I strongly advise reading them in order to gain the absolute full effect of the history, characters and ending. Beautifully written characters Saerla and Roy come together on a battlefield. Saerla brings her healing light to the forefront and Roy falls into her light. Excellent chemistry, dynamic, intense, emotions abound. I highly recommend reading this series, it's one you will read more than once.

Enemies. Magical Presence, Gripping:
This is the third and final book of an amazing series. The characters are very dynamic, courageous, and honorable to the end.
I have loved each book. They can be a standalone book, but I highly recommend reading 1-3 in order.
This is a gripping intense love story that grabbed my heart and gave me many teeth clenching moments The passionate complicated romance was heart pounding when Rory and Saerla both let their guard down and accepted their destiny. Fan worthy ladies.
The terrifying ending was extremely well written and after all of the hatred and battles the story came to a beautiful finish plus a 10 year into the future epilogue that brought a joyous conclusion.

Having read all three books in this series, I am hard-pressed to say which of them I enjoyed most. Certainly, the whole series is filled with suspense, magic, and romance as the three MacBeith sisters, each with their own power and gifting, find their place in Glen Bronach. With a young and very ambitious laird wanting to conquer the whole valley, he leaves death and destruction in his wake. When Rory MacLeod captures Saerla MacBeith on the battlefield, he is both horrified to realize that he has a woman in his arms, but also experiences excitement as it means he has a bargaining chip to use against her Clan. However, Rory did not mean to come under her spell or to allow the light she brings into his life to dissuade him from his main objective. As the novel comes to a dramatic conclusion, one wonders whether there will even be peace in the valley, and that is when the light that Saerla carries shines brightest. The series is well written and comes to a beautiful conclusion in this last book, a copy of which I received as a gift through Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

Third book in a series about three sisters defending their people and lands.
Featuring Rory Macleod who is determined to conquer and own those lands no matter the cost to lives and friendships.
Saerla the sister endowed with visions foresees a future with this difficult invader just as her sisters before her had encounters with Macleod men.
Storyline intense and pulls all three books together with a HEA conclusion.
Enjoyable read for a not very likable man

An exciting, well written, and emotionally deep page-turner! The storyline is engaging and interesting with drama, twists, suspense, steam, and more. The characters are likeable and memorable; the chemistry between them is instant and off the charts! Definitely recommended!