Mary Wine

To Conquer a Highlander is the first book in Mary Wine’s Highlander series of Medieval Scottish romances. Following the murder of King James I, the Earl of Atholl, a traitor to the throne, rises up, trying to usurp power from James’s young son, and he has the backing of some Scottish clans, including the McBoyds. In an effort to weaken those who support the reign of James II, our heroine’s father, Laird McBoyd, attacks our hero, Torin McLeren’s lands. Torin is honor bound to retaliate, but instead of a direct attack, he follows Shannon who is being sent as a bride for Atholl to solidify that alliance. In the dead of night, Torin attacks, taking Shannon captive and killing all but one man who was with her. Shannon expects to be abused, but is surprised to find that Torin is a reasonable and honorable man who treats her with respect, which is far more than she ever received from her father. From the moment they meet, she’s physically attracted to him, and as he shows her kindness, that attraction only grows deeper. Shannon has always wondered what it would be like to lie with a man, but she’d always been kept strictly off limits to the men in her own clan. Now as May Day approaches, she considers going out with the other young women for the festivities, hoping that perhaps Torin will choose to bed her. It happens sooner than she expects and she finds the experience even more pleasurable than she’d imagined. Soon she’s falling for her handsome captor and dreaming of a day that he might feel the same way. But with James II now crowned and Atholl having been branded a traitor along with all who supported him, she knows that her father will likely hang soon and the man who is acting as a proxy for James until he comes of age, may order her execution as well. It will be up to Torin to convince them otherwise, but when he’s called away to battle and she’s taken to Edinburgh, he may not be able to reach her in time.

Shannon’s father has no kindness or respect for her, instead physically and emotionally abusing her and treating her like little more than a servant in her own home. When he attacks the McLerens, she believes he’s made a grave error, but saying so only gets her struck in the face for her audacity to speak. However, seeing an opportunity to solidify his alliance with the Earl of Atholl, McBoyd sends Shannon as a bride for the man he hopes will become king. Along the way, they’re attacked and Torin captures her as his prize, taking her back to his castle. Some of the McLerens view her as an enemy, but although she didn’t expect it from him, Torin treats her well. As she bravely takes on whatever tasks are put before her to do, she begins to earn the respect of some of the people in the castle as well. Although her father strictly guarded her virginity, viewing it as the only thing about her that was valuable to him, Shannon sometimes overheard other women talking of being bedded and has wondered what it might be like. The more time she spends around Torin, the more he tempts her. Knowing that even if she were ever returned to her father’s keep, he’d simply assume she’d been raped, she views it as an opportunity to satisfy her curiosity when Torin expresses an interest in her as well. Soon she discovers just how pleasurable the act can be, and although he begins to speak of marriage, she’s simply enjoying being Torin’s mistress, believing that nothing more can feasibly come from their relationship. In the back of her mind, she knows that her father will likely soon be executed for his role in the attempted coup and fears that she may be put to death alongside him.

Shannon is a real spitfire, who bravely stand up for herself. She has a backbone and isn’t afraid of hard work when she’s given tasks to complete around Torin’s castle. On the downside, as someone who’d clearly been abused by her father, she showed no real ill effects from it. I felt like she could have been a good tortured heroine, but nothing like that ever materialized in her characterization. However, she’s also very stubborn, which can sometime serve her well, such as when she courageously stands up to the king’s proxy in the face of possible execution, but other times it became a tad annoying. Even though Torin clearly treats her far better than her father ever did, in the beginning, she still talks of returning to her father’s lands as something she must do. As she grows closer to Torin, those protestations dissipate, but she still fights him on other things, including right up until the end, refusing to become his wife. I admit that her actions in that moment were rather selfless, with her thinking that he could better unify his clan by taking someone else as his bride who wasn’t viewed by some as a traitor, but it still put a small damper on the connection between them to have her still pushing back that late in the story.

Torin grew up not expecting to become laird of his clan. The author explained why this was, but I think she left out a few pertinent details, because despite rereading the passage, I struggled to understand the exact reason. All I know is that part of it had something to do with his father rejecting the bride who was chosen for him and instead marrying for love. His parents are now gone, and no mention is made of any other close family members such as siblings, only a cousin who seems to think he has some claim to the lairdship and uses Torin’s relationship with Shannon to try to elevate his own cause. In any case, having grown up with parents who loved each other very much, Torin is searching for that same kind of love with the woman he marries. Over the years, he’s had some mistresses, but I like that he’s a one-woman kind of guy who gives whatever woman he’s with at the time his full attention. Unlike other Highland lairds, he has no interest in having multiple women at his beck and call or siring bastards like crazy. In fact, many think him sterile because he has no known illegitimate children. Torin is an honorable man who treats women with respect and shows Shannon that same kindness. He’s sort of a mix of alpha and beta, having that Highlander arrogance, but still showing a softer side and not shying away from falling in love and expressing his emotions. I couldn’t help feeling that Torin was somewhat underdeveloped, though, with what I’ve mentioned here pretty much being the full extent of his characterization. We get very few scenes from his POV and those that are present tend to be rather short, so the reader isn’t really privy to much of what he’s thinking throughout the story. Most of what we learn about him comes from Shannon’s observations more like what you might see in a story written in first-person perspective. For as well as I got to know him, though, I did really like him.

Overall, I’d say that I liked To Conquer a Highlander, but I didn’t love it the way I wanted to. It got off to a great start with some action as Torin’s clan is attacked and he later retaliates by kidnapping Shannon. Once they’re back at Donan Tower, though, things slowed considerably. The ending was also reasonably exciting with Shannon being taken to court without Torin’s knowledge and a little suspense around the question of whether she’d be sentenced to die alongside her father. However, that middle section pretty much only consists of Shannon’s lustful thoughts about Torin and eventually lots of steamy sex when he decides to claim her. This book isn’t billed as an erotic romance, nor do I think that it qualifies in the traditional sense (there’s nothing kinky or anything, just lots of steam), but the author does seem to focus an inordinate amount of page time on either sexual thoughts or actual sex. Unfortunately this was IMHO to the detriment of the storytelling. Now don’t get me wrong, I love my romances steamy and I can also enjoy a good erotic romance, too, but when I go into reading a book with the expectation of a strong plot and get mostly sex, I simply have to call it out. There were missed opportunities aplenty to deepen both the plot and the characterizations. The story wasn’t bad, but I just couldn’t help feeling that it could have been a whole lot more. In fact, I struggled with how to rate it. Shannon’s stubbornness aside, she and Torin were pretty good characters and I thought they were well-matched. They also share a couple of romantic interludes outside the bedroom that were nice and even though I thought there was a little too much sex, those scenes were pretty well written. Because of this, I toyed with giving the book a four-star rating, but in the end, given it’s many weaknesses, I felt I had to downgrade it a little.

The next two books in the series are about Torin’s friends, Cameron and Quinton. I’m not quite sure what to make of both men laying kisses on Shannon in front of Torin without permission from either one. I guess it was some kind of odd tradition maybe [shrug], although Cameron also kissed her much earlier in a somewhat predatory manner that kind of rubbed me the wrong way. He said it was just to test her reaction to make sure she was worthy of his friend, so I guess perhaps I can let it slide. However, in the moment I wasn’t entirely sure if he was meant to be friend or foe, which was a little disconcerting, especially now knowing that he’s the hero of the next book. I’m open to continuing the series at some point, but given that this book wasn’t a huge winner for me and Cameron’s is next, it’s not going to be at the top of my list.… (more)

Wow. From the love interest's name, Syon, to the lack of any good feeling toward women, I hated the part of this book that I read. I'm pretty sure that this author doesn't like women at all, doesn't know how amazing and strong they really are.

The love interest is a bad boy rocker who continues to kiss the protagonist, Kate, even though she says no every time. Syon (ugh) and his bandmates talk shit about women constantly. Kate's characterization is inconsistent at best, and no one in the story treats her well.

I have no idea why a woman who started her own business and has a reputation as a consummate craftsperson would agree to travel on a tour bus with a man (and his friends) who treat her with so little respect. Oh, and she apologizes for shit that's not her fault. I will not be reading any of this author's other books.… (more)

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

Introduction
This was my first steampunk that I have read in a long while and I was all in for this, it was utterly delightful. I am not sure why I took so long to read it but thank goodness for the "Romanceopoly Reading Challenge" to get me to read books from my TBR that I have really been neglecting. I absolutely adored this one so dearly, and while it was far from perfect, as a steampunk romance, it was such a solid read and I can't wait to explore more as it has me itching for this intriguing world.

Summary
In this one we have our heroine, Janette Aston, who sneaks into the Illumists guard to discover secrets, only to be discovered by the formidable warrior and protector of the order, Darius Lawley. Janette has been forbidden most of her life to even be curious about the Illuminists and what they are about, but her mother secretly fed her science and math so that she would be ready when her time came. Darius, is a protector and warrior for the order, and protects their interests and laws no matter the cost...until Janette. There was an instant connection between Darius and Janette but their chemistry was forbidden by her father. But when through a course of events, Janette's life is in danger, she is brought to the order and she is discovered to have a fate different than any she could have imagined. But can she embrace the hidden passion that Darius brings out in her...

My Outlook
This was such a captivating read and the relationship that builds between Darius and Janette was so fascinating to me. Their chemistry is off the charts, and maybe I forgot, but this author actually writes such solid spice. For those that are new to steampunk, its basically where you mix science, historical, and paranormal aspects together. Think Sherlock Holmes but with supernatural elements. Its really a fascinating sub genre that has always intrigued me but I haven't really read that much of it. I have also been curious about Mary Wine's backlisted stories and I have to admit this was so much better than I could have hoped for. It definitely intrigued and fascinated me on a deep level and the world building on this was just enough to keep you fascinated but the focus is the ROMANCE. So if you don't really want the romance, and just steampunk, maybe skip this one here. But if you love a good romance focus, then this one might be for you. I am also intrigued by the other players involved and seeing how that developed in the companion novel.

Overall View
I found this one to be so interesting and I can't wait for more. Its a story of the magic of science and a victorian era that we never actually got to experience except for a small glimpse, Mary Wine, really captured the essence of steampunk in a brilliant unique way while being true to the romance...

Rating Evaluation:
Plot: 5
World Building: 5
Cover:5
Hero: 4
Heroine: 4
Steam: 4
Heart & Feels:3
Ending:4
Overall View: 4.25… (more)

Highland Heat
3 Stars

With her reputation in tatters, Deidre Chattan is forced to accept her banishment to the abbey. But even amongst the nuns, Deidre cannot escape her impulsive nature, and she soon finds herself agreeing to a masquerade that lands her on the doorstep of Quinton Cameron. A powerful highland laird and nobleman, Quinton is fascinated by Deidre's fiery spirit and is determined to have her for his own. Can Deidre and Quinton overcome their clash of wills to find happiness together?

Series note: This is a direct continuation of the events in book #2.

Highland Heat is similar both in structure (Deidre held captive in Quinton's castle as he tries to seduce her) and pacing (the first half is slow but picks up halfway) to the first two installments.

Quinton and Deidre have great chemistry, but their romance is undermined by the couple's inability to communicate, which ultimately leads to a prolonged and unnecessary separation. In fact, Quinton isn't even present for about 1/3 of the book.

The best aspects of the story, and in fact the series as a whole, have been the inclusion of historical figures and events. This time period in Scotland following the assassination of King James I with its political machinations and upheavals is fascinating, and Wine manages to weave it all seamlessly within the narrative.

In sum, although this is the weakest book, the series has been enjoyable overall, and I will be reading more of Wine's work soon.… (more)