Review: To Love a Highlander by Sue-Ellen Welfonder

This book is what I consider to be pure, indulgent romance.  And I mean that in a good way.  It's probably the sort of book that someone who thinks romances are boring and sappy would dislike, but for those of us who want a really good love story, this is perfect.

There isn't a lot of conflict or angst - or rather it's there, but gets resolved without too much difficulty.  (And on this topic, I almost find the easy, quick resolution to be more realistic.  I was thinking about this as I read the book, stories in which people go out of their way and to great extents to hold grudges and carry out revenge are the less realistic characters.  In real life, won't most people just give in and do what makes life easier?)

There's just enough danger and violence to keep the story exciting - this is, after all a story about a highlander.  The setting is Stirling Castle - which I happened to visit while reading this book, so that added to my enjoyment of the story.

This is the story of Sorely and Mirabelle.  Sorely works for the king, and Mirabelle is the daughter of a Highlander who is visiting Stirling.  Years earlier, when in their teens, the two met, they danced together, but Mirabelle's father's men stepped in.  Sorely being a bastard wasn't considered worthy of Mirabelle.  But all these years, the two haven't forgotten each other, even though at first they don't mention what happened years before, leading the other to think they'd forgotten.

Mirabelle's father is in talks to have her married to someone she doesn't want to marry.  Lucky for her, this someone is an enemy of Sorely.  She goes to Sorely with a rather shocking request to make sure the marriage doesn't happen.

What I thoroughly enjoyed about this book was the way the author writes about these two characters wanting each other.  This is what I meant by indulgent romance.  The descriptions of their desires, the heat created from the slightest of touches are more intense than some actual sex scenes in other books I've read.  I very much enjoyed this, as it was perfect for pure escapism, though I'm fairly sure I may have been blushing as I was reading parts of this on the train ride to and from Stirling.  This is the second book I've read by this author.  The first was a prequel to this book, and I remember a first kiss seeming to go on for almost three pages, and enjoying every bit of it - thinking, this is what a kiss sh
ould be like.  That's how I felt with this entire book.  This is how romance should feel.  Every moment together intense and heated, before they've even touched each other.

This story is definitely steamy.  Also, I loved the characters.  Looking forward to reading the rest of this series and more by this author.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley.