Uncaged Reviews – Highland Heather Series by Collette Cameron

To read the interview with Collette, and an excerpt from Scandal’s Splendor, please see the December issue of Uncaged Book Reviews.

All three books are December Top Reads.

Triumph and Treasure
Collette Cameron
Historical Romance

A disillusioned Scottish gentlewoman.
Angelina Ellsworth once believed in love—before she discovered her husband of mere hours was a slave-trader and already married. To avoid the scandal and disgrace, she escapes to the estate of her aunt and uncle, the Duke and Duchess of Waterford. When Angelina learns she is with child, she vows she’ll never trust a man again.

A privileged English lord.
Flynn, Earl of Luxmoore, led an enchanted life until his father committed suicide after losing everything to Waterford in a wager. Stripped of all but his title, Flynn is thrust into the role of marquis as well as provider for his disabled sister and invalid mother. Unable to pay his father’s astronomical gambling loss, Flynn must choose between social or financial ruin.

When the duke suggests he’ll forgive the debt if Flynn marries his niece, Flynn accepts the duke’s proposal. Reluctant to wed a stranger, but willing to do anything to protect her babe and escape the clutches of the madman who still pursues her, Angelina agrees to the union.

Can the earl and his Scottish lass find happiness and love in a marriage neither wanted, or is the chasm between them insurmountable?

Uncaged Review: A historical read with substance. I was complete enraptured with this book, and the author has a way of weaving a historical story, that is easy to relate to, with characters and plots that keep you entranced.

Angelina is married to a man she adores, Charles, or so she thinks. As soon as they are wed, he violates her and is caught when a baron comes and lets her know, that she’s not married – that Charles is already married to his mother and his real name is Pierre, a slave-trader. Angelina flees to England, to have an extended stay at her Aunt and Uncle’s home, finding out along the way, that she is pregnant.

Flynn, the Marquess of Brethridge, is in a poor position. His father, had lost his whole estate, and then shot himself, to Angelina’s Uncle Ambrose Waterford. In order to make due the debt, Waterford tells Flynn that if he marries his niece, he’ll call the whole thing off.

Flynn and Angelina come to an agreement to an arranged marriage, for both their sakes. Angelina would then not shame her family giving birth to a child out of wedlock, nor would Flynn lose everything that his father gambled away.

But the danger is ever present for Angelina, as Pierre said he’d be back for her… but can she trust her heart to Flynn?

Very well paced, the romance brews slowly and thoughtfully. One of the reasons I love to read books by this author, is she has a way of weaving the language and the atmosphere of a historical without it being stuffy and pretentious. Highly recommended for historical readers.

5 Stars

Virtue and Valor
Collette Cameron
Historical Romance

BartholomewYancy never expected to inherit an English earldom and had no intention ofmarrying. Now, the Earl of Ramsbury and last in his line, he’s obligated toresign his position as England’s War Secretary, find a wife, and produce anheir. Only one woman holds the least appeal: Isobel Ferguson, an exquisiteScotswoman. Brought to Scotland to mediate between feuding clans, he doggedlywoos her. 

Disillusioned with men pursuing her for her attractiveness, rather than herunusual intellect, Isobel has all but abandoned any hope of finding a husbandin the Highlands. Not only does she believe Yancy no different than her othersuitors, he’s a notorious rake. She’s been told he’s practically betrothed.Therefore, his interest in her cannot possibly be honorable, and so she shunshis attentions. 

When Isobel is mistakenly abducted by a band of rogue Scots, Yancy risks hislife to rescues her. To salvage her compromised reputation, her brother andfather insist she marry him. Yancy readily agrees, but Isobel–knowing full wellshe’s fated for spinsterhood by refusing his offer– won’t be coerced intomarriage. 

Can love unite a reluctant earl and a disenchanted beauty? 

Uncaged Review:  The Scottish Highlands. Romance and Danger. An intensely handsome hero, and an intelligent, beautiful and spirited heroine. All these make up this intriguing story, and it will keep you engaged throughout.

Isobel Ferguson is unenchanted with the men in the Highlands, and the only man she has loved for years is already affianced. With an intense yearning to learn and uncover artifacts, she often goes out on her own discovering. But venturing away from Craiglocky Keep is dangerous, as a feud between clans is escalating.

Yancy has inherited an earldom and he will have to surrender his position of Secretary of War, with one last stop in Scotland at the Ferguson’s, to stop a feud between clans, and a chance at winning the heart of the only woman that has ever captured and held his attentions, Isobel Ferguson.

Isobel is headstrong and stubborn and sneaks away from the Keep for her own time in digging for artifacts and is kidnapped by rogues, and Yancy could be the only one who can save her.

Ms. Cameron never fails to ensnare me into her books. Full of the right amount of danger, intrigue and romance, I was easily kept engaged and didn’t put the book down for long. For historical lovers, Highland Heather series will not disappoint.

4 1/2 Stars

Heartbreak and Honor
Collette Cameron
Historical Romance

Abducted by a band of renegade Scots, Highland gypsy Tasara Faas blackens her rescuer’s eye when the charming duke attempts to steal a kiss. Afterward, Tasara learns she’s the long-lost heiress Alexandra Atterberry and is expected to take her place among the elite society she’s always disdained.

Lucan, the Duke of Harcourt, promised his gravely ill mother he’d procure a wife by Christmastide, but intrigued by the feisty lass he saved in Scotland, he finds the haut ton ladies lacking. Spying Alexa at a London ball, he impulsively decides to make the knife-wielding gypsy his bride despite her aversion to him and her determination to return to the Highlands.

The adversary responsible for Alexa’s disappearance as a toddler still covets her fortune and joins forces with Harcourt’s arch nemesis. Amidst a series of suspicious misfortunes, Lucan endeavors to win Alexa’s love and expose the conspirators but only succeeds in reaffirming Alexa’s belief that she is inadequate to become his duchess.

Uncaged Review:  I read this book several months ago, and decided to revisit it after reading the first two books in the series, and I was just as entertained as the first time through. It was even more enjoyable this run, as I’d read the first two. While they all enhance each other, the books can easily be read as standalones.

It starts with a bang, Tasara (Alexa) is a prisoner protecting her younger brother and sister from the abuse and terror of her captors. Enter Lord Harcourt, who was helping out the rescue operation with Sethwick Ferguson, after his sister, Isobel escaped from the castle, with Tasara’s help.

Tasara believes herself to be a gypsy, but she turns out to be so much more. With a snotty society, mystery and romance, this book delivers an entertaining read that can turn a dreary day into an enchanted one.

4 1/2 Stars

All books reviewed by Cyrene