In Bed with a Highlander

Greeting and salutations everyone. It's the first day of school for my kiddos, I have one who is starting her freshman year in high school and then my son is starting 7th grade. There was a lot of excitement at the bus stop this morning....not from my kids but the grade schoolers were very excited. The air was crisp this morning and very much felt like a fall day instead of August 23rd but it was a nice change from 70 degrees at 8:00am. It's hard to believe the summer is over and we are heading into another school year, time is going by entirely to fast.

Speaking of time, we are taking a trip back in time this week with Maya Banks newest book. We were lucky enough to get an ARC of this book and I just want to say a quick thanks to Ms. Banks and her publishing company for allowing us that privilege. This is the first in her McCabe Trilogy and after finishing the first the last two are already on my wish list.



In Bed with a Highlander, Maya Banks, Ballentine Books
Ewan McCabe, the eldest, is a warrior determined to vanquish his enemy. Now, with the time ripe for battle, his men are ready and Ewan is poised to take back what is his—until a blue-eyed, raven-haired temptress is thrust upon him. Mairin may be the salvation of Ewan’s clan, but for a man who dreams only of revenge, matters of the heart are strange territory to conquer.
The illegitimate daughter of the king, Mairin possesses prized property that has made her a pawn—and wary of love. Her worst fears are realized when she is rescued from peril only to be forced into marriage by her charismatic and commanding savior, Ewan McCabe. But her attraction to her ruggedly powerful new husband makes her crave his surprisingly tender touch; her body comes alive under his sensual mastery. And as war draws near, Mairin’s strength, spirit, and passion challenge Ewan to conquer his demons—and embrace a love that means more than revenge and land.

Mairin is the illegitimate daughter of the now deceased King Alexander of Scotland. She is also the heir to Neamh Alainn and whoever she marries and has a child with will lay claim to the land, which is why her location and identity have been kept secret. Duncan Cameron’s men, who seek to return her to their Laird so he can marry her, kidnap her from the Abby where she has been in hiding for most of her life. On the way to Laird Cameron’s keep, a young boy is caught trying to steal a horse and is captured and about to be punished when Mairin steps in to keep the boy from being harmed. What Mairin doesn’t know is that the boy is Laird Ewan McCabe’s only son and he is Duncan Cameron’s biggest enemy.

When the party arrives at Cameron’s keep, the Laird demands that Mairin marries him, when she refuses Cameron beats her unconscious. Later that night a servant helps Mairin escape with Crispen only to be found by Crispen’s uncle Alaric who seeing Mairin wearing the Duncan colors assumes she had something to do with the boy going missing and takes her back to the McCabe keep. Mairin is sure she has gone from the frying pan to the fire.

Ewan McCabe's clan has been struggling to rebuild for eight long years and Ewan has been waiting for the opportunity to avenge the death of his father. The unexpected arrival of the spirited beauty with royal connections seems like the answer to the woes of his clan. They need each other, he needs her for her land and money and she needs his protection.

Can a relationship forged from necessity grow to be your reason for living?

What an excellent start to this family trilogy. I have to say that the sexy McCabe brothers are some of my favorite highlanders but for me Mairin made this book. She turned out to be such a strong, feisty and sassy woman. I loved her habit of speaking her thoughts out loud without knowing she was doing it, and I laughed out loud every time it happened. Ewan is the kind of hero that every woman dreams of, he is protective and cares for his family and his clan and you know he would give his life for the people he cares for.

Strong secondary characters added depth to this book and made it even more enjoyable for the reader. Ms. Banks brings you into the McCabe clan and you can't help but totally fall in love with them. She also gives you just enough hints of what's to come to drive you completely crazy until the next book comes out. I am so looking forward to Alaric’s story in Seduction of a Highland Lass, releasing on September 27, 2011, and Caelen’s story, Never Love a Highlander, coming October 25, 2011.

So if you like your books to sweep you away to another time and place, if you like to laugh out loud one moment and find yourself on the verge of tears the next, if you like your men strong and your women feisty, then do yourself a favor and pick up In Bed with a Highlander, because I promise you won't be disappointed.

I give In Bed with a Highlander 5 chocolate dipped strawberries!!