Product Description

A Thrilling Rescue. . .

Highland warrior Artair Sinclare would do anything to find his missing brother. But the only woman who can help him is about to be burned at the stake! Zia, a talented healer, has been branded a witch by vicious local villagers. Swooping in to save her at the very last moment, Artair swears to protect her . . . even if the only way to keep her safe is to pretend to be her beloved husband.

A Tempting Alliance. . .

Marry this savage stranger? Never! Yet the beautiful and determined Zia soon realizes that she needs Artair's help to proceed with her life's work. She submits to their risky charade, growing closer to Artair all the while. Hunted by treacherous enemies, they escape to a wild, wooded place deep in the Scottish Highlands, where unexpected desires ignite . . . and Zia finds herself utterly, wholly under the Highlander's spell.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #50730 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-01
• Released on: 2008-09-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 384 pages

About the Author

Part of the fun in writing, Donna Fletcher admits, is doing the research. Getting lost in 1514 proved exciting, and learning about pirates and the high seas thrilled and surprised her. But it is with her characters she has the most fun. She loves giving life to fresh characters and feels their excitement as they face the pleasures and pitfalls of falling in love.

Donna's own adventures have taken her to England, Ireland, and Scotland. She has walked the fields where battles were fought centuries ago, toured haunted castles, stood where beheadings were commonplace, explored the mystic mounds of long ago, and collected a plethora of memories and research that will live long in her heart and mind. She also loves exploring and photographing old abandoned homes, and she often takes long walks in the woods with camera in hand. She feels her life is rich and full, having three terrific sons, two fantastic daughters-in-law, an endless supply of friends, a loving dog, and a crazy, black, one-eyed cat named Bear.

Customer Reviews

engaging sixteenth century romance
In the Highlands Artair Sinclare searches for his missing brother Ronan. When he sees a mob about to burn a healer as a witch, he intervenes and rescues her. Zia saved the life of his sibling, but in payment for saving hers, he demands she guide him to Ronan.

As they travel together, Artair keeps Zia safe while she provides help to people. He persuades her to visit Ronan's pregnant wife to insure she is okay. Posing as a married couple, they fall in love, but witch hunters want her dead and collateral damage to include his pregnant sister-in-law is acceptable. Only in marriage can Zia be safe, but her unknown heritage makes her unacceptable regardless of how Artair feels.

The second Sinclare brothers' sixteenth century romance (see RETURN OF THE ROGUE) is an engaging historical made fresh by the unique lead female protagonist. The first meeting between Artair and Zia occurs as the crazed villagers screams "Burn witch burn". The story line is somewhat typical of the Highlands historicals, but sub-genre fans will find themselves under the author's spell as Donna Fletcher provides a fun passionate romance.

Harriet Klausner

Highly Enjoyable!
The ongoing adventure of those wonderful Sinclair brothers, this book is about the life of Artair, who is by far my favorite. The first book of the series, "The Return of the Rogue", with the brother Cavan, was a highly enjoyable read as well.

What I liked about both books was the main characters were well written, the stories different and original, and the dialog believable. What more can you ask for!

Hardly spellbinding
The heroine of this story, Zia, is the real focus of the book, although she's hardly under the Highlander's spell. The highlander in question, Artair Sinclare, we met in the previous book by this author. However in this story he seems to have somehow become emasculated and his only action appears to be to follow Zia around, making sure that she gets enough food and saying he'll protect her. His idea of protection is getting her to marry him; once she's a member of the powerful Sinclare family then the various people who are denouncing her as a witch will find they can't get anywhere with the accusations. The common theme in this sort of book, that of the hero having to come to a realisation that he is in love, is rather too hackneyed and feels too unrealistic to work well in this setting.

Zia is a rather stereotypical healer - entirely unselfconscious when healing, totally devoted to her patients, liable to do foolish and risky things in the name of healing. She also seems remarkably successful - there were no deaths of people she was treating during the course of the book which must be very unusual in that time. Perhaps more evidence that she really is a witch! The minor twist at the end with a secret that the Bishop holds wasn't particularly surprising although it did allow the story to be wrapped up well, but also didn't bode well for the Bishop's honesty and integrity in his clerical role.

With the rather unbelievable Zia, the nebulous Artair and a subplot about Artair's brother Ronan which wasn't resolved in this story, the book felt rather unremarkable. It is as if it's a transitional book between the author's stories of Cavan, the elder brother, and Ronan, the younger. Artair and Zia didn't really have anything special in the book that will help me to remember it in future. The setting in 16th century Scotland had rather more potential than was realised in the book and the fact that various characters regularly broke out into modern American English meant that this story is not one that piqued my attention or that will stay with me.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2009