The highlander's bride, Michele Sinclair

The highlander's bride by Michele Sinclair

Published by Zebra

Highland laird Conor McTiernay had always dreamed of an enduring love. But the reality of women who desired him only for his title and lands made him swear off marriage forever. That is until he first set eyes on the Englishwoman his men found hiding in the forest. Beneath the dirt and grime it was clear Laurel Cordell was beautiful. But would she prove to be yet another beguiling seductress or had Conor finally found the one woman who could lay claim to his heart?
Laurel trusted that the Scottish chieftain would keep her safe from the cruel laird from whom she had escaped. Looking deep into Conor's silver eyes she saw only his calculating warrior ways but his quick arousal to passion. But before they can explore the growing desire between them, their newfound love is threatened by secrets from her past …

Conor McTiernay is the laird of his clan . While him and his many brothers are on their way home from the wedding of one brother, they find a girl hidden in the trees. She is dirty, covered in bruises and her dress is torn up.

She begs Conor for help, and he swears to protect her. His brothers and clansmen are immediately smitten with the English Lady Laurel, and do what they can to keep her comfortable while they travel back to the castle.

Even though Conor has sworn off marriage, he falls in love with Laurel. She loves him just as much but because they have very different personalities and ways of doing things, she does not think that a relationship with him will work. Besides, she cannot stay with him for too long. The reason she was hiding in the trees is because she escaped from a mean laird and his son who kidnapped her. They will come after her, and she does not want to put Conor or his clan in danger.

What I liked best about Conor and Laurel is that they are similar to real life couples. They fight hard and love hard. They go through all the 'couple stages' that seems to be lost in many romance books. Conor and Laurel fight, they say hurtful things to each other, they annoy each other. They also love each other deeply. They apologize, they make up for their attitudes, and they come up compromises. They are both very stubborn and set in their ways, so for them to admit when they were wrong was a big deal.

One of my very favourite lines in the book is this,

"The woman of his dreams had married him today. Several times he felt himself growing overcome with emotion. In such a short time, she had become the most important thing in his life. These past few weeks, they had proven that they could depend on, listen to, and support each other for the rest of their lives."

I enjoyed The highlanders bride very much. A B+ from me.

The love story was believable and had my favourite kind of happily ever after. I enjoyed Laurel and Conor as a couple. Everything about them was honest and true.

I will admit that the story started off slow for me, but I think it has to do with the way the story opened. It was mid dialogue, and that is not something I enjoy.

After checking out the authors website I am pleased to see that there is another McTiernay brother book on the way. Actually, there are many on the way! It looks as if each of the brothers is getting his own story. I am happy about that and I can't wait to read the rest of the books.