A bold laird and plenty of action and passion make for a perfect Highland romance.
A Highland warrior wins a battle but loses his heart in this novel.
Cain Sinclair has been raised to lead and conquer. His father, a brutal man who was rendered more unstable by the death of his wife, raised Cain and his three brothers as the four horsemen of the apocalypse. And when his father dies in a heated battle with the Sutherland clan, Cain, the horseman of conquest, is more than ready to lead the Sinclairs and avenge the patriarch’s death. But this is easier said than done, as the chief of the Sutherlands and the person responsible for killing Cain’s father is the beautiful Arabella. In a game time decision driven by practicality and a good dose of lust, Cain decides that rather than kill Ella and beat the Sutherlands into submission, he’ll marry her instead to gain control of her clan. Predictably, Ella is not keen on her new role as a battle prize. Despite Cain’s efforts to woo her and her own feelings for him, she struggles to maintain her autonomy and win back her freedom, all while guarding a secret of her own. McCollum is a seasoned romance writer and knows her stuff. Does her latest novel break any new ground? No. Is it predictable? You bet. But it sure is an enjoyable read. Cain is the classic leading man; his gruff exterior is just a front for a protective and chivalrous heart. Ella is a familiar romantic heroine: a beautiful, smart, and spunky match for her main squeeze. Their love match is easy to root for, as the two protagonists have survived brutal and broken upbringings, leaving them with scars both inside and out. And while the plot moves right along, there are just the right number of steamy sex scenes to break things up a bit.
A bold laird and plenty of action and passion make for a perfect Highland romance. (glossary)Pub Date: April 28, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-64063-747-4
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
A propulsive thriller with heart that will keep readers guessing.
A husband learns his wife is hiding a secret life.
Emma and Leo have been happily married for seven years, although they’ve weathered their share of struggles (such as infertility and Emma’s cancer diagnosis). Emma’s a marine ecologist and erstwhile TV presenter whose bubbly personality is loved by all, while Leo is an obituary writer and his wife’s No. 1 fan. Both are head over heels for their young daughter, Ruby. Although Emma’s currently doing well, Leo is given the job of prewriting her obituary, a common strategy with people who are in the public eye. In his quest to write the perfect tribute to his wife, he starts looking into her past and discovers a few inconsistencies he can’t explain. Why did Emma lie about her university degree? Why is she so cagey about her life before Leo? How is she connected to a famous actress who just went missing? And, most importantly, is her name even Emma? As Emma attempts to cover up her secrets, Leo digs through their house for clues and tracks down people from her past in an attempt to figure out why she’s lying and what she’s hiding from him. The old life Emma tried so carefully to hide threatens to destroy the new life she’s built with Leo. Walsh masterfully shows both Emma’s and Leo’s points of view while maintaining an intoxicating air of mystery. As readers get to know them both, it seems unbelievable that lovable Emma could be deceiving Leo…but how else to explain the secrets he’s uncovering? The big reveal about Emma’s life manages to be both surprising and heartbreaking, with many twists and turns along the way.
A propulsive thriller with heart that will keep readers guessing.Pub Date: March 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-59-329699-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Pamela Dorman/Viking
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A surprisingly sensual sports romance.
A collegiate diver and swimmer secretly pursue kink together, and risk falling in love along the way.
Scarlett Vandermeer is struggling. Despite a successful recovery from the injury that almost ended her Stanford diving career, she hasn’t been able to get her head together, and it’s affecting her performance. Plus, she’s trying to stay focused on getting into medical school. A relationship would be out of the question. By comparison, Lukas Blomqvist is a swimming idol, a record-breaker who wins medals as easily as breathing, and Scarlett has long been convinced he would never look in her direction—until one fateful night when a mutual friend lets slip that they have something unexpected in common: Scarlett likes to be submissive in the bedroom, while Lukas prefers to take a dominant approach. Now, they both know a big secret about each other, and it’s something neither of them can stop thinking about. It’s Lukas who suggests they have a fling—purely physical, just to take the edge off, so Scarlett can get out of her own head and stop overthinking her dives. Initially, their arrangement is easy to stick to, but the more time they spend together, the more Scarlett starts to realize that what she feels for Lukas is more than physical attraction. Complicating the situation is the fact that Scarlett’s friend Penelope Ross used to go out with Lukas, and the longer Scarlett keeps mum about her true feelings for him, the more difficult it is to keep the situation hidden from another person she really cares about. While Scarlett and Lukas’ relationship does begin as a physical one, their deeper psychological connection takes a little too long to emerge amid all the other storylines, resulting in a somewhat rushed resolution. However, Hazelwood’s latest is proof of the depth and maturity that has emerged in her writing over the years, and it highlights her embrace of sexier, more emotional elements than were present in her original STEMinist rom-coms.
A surprisingly sensual sports romance.Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780593641057
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
