Review: Ravished by a Highlander by Paula Quinn

Ravished by a Highlander

by Paula Quinn

2010 Forever

Release Date: May 1, 2010

Trade Paperback; 368 Pages

ISBN: 978-0-446-55238-7

Genre: Historical Romance

Source: Review Copy from Forever

4 / 5 Stars

Summary

Davina Montgomery is no ordinary English lady.  For her own protection, she's been locked away from society, her true identity the Crown's most closely guarded secret.  Until a shocking betrayal - and a bold rescue - land her in the arms of a fierce highlander, a powerful warrior whose searing gaze and tantalizing touch awaken her body and soul.

As the firstborn son of a powerful Scottish laird, Robert MacGregor has no loyalty to the English throne, but he's not the kind of man to leave a woman in distress.  He vows to deliver Davina to safety, unharmed and untouched.  Yet one stolen kiss leaves them both smoldering with desire...and desperate for more.  With Davina's secret threatening to destroy his clan, Rob must choose between everything he holds dear and the one woman he can't live without.

My Thoughts

Ravished by a Highlander was an enjoyable historical romance; it was full of enjoyable and quirky characters, romance that I loved, enough drama that I was satisfied, and full of historical facts about Scottish history that I have always found fascinating. 

One of the things that I really enjoyed about this novel is the depth of the characters and their character development.  I will admit that the idea of Scottish highlander men who are totally fit for battle, having trained since they were small, certainly causes a thrill and I can always picture myself in the rugged mountains envisioning the scenes where they practice and test each other's skills at arms.  The cover of the book certainly helps one envision them as well and makes you want to get into the book to find out what those Scottish men are up to this time.  Not having read any of Ms. Quinn's previous novels, it was a treat to be introduced to the rugged MacGregor clan and its diverse personalities.  The MacGregors are certainly interesting characters and I love the fact that the women are equally strong in this family.  Davina herself was a delight as she displayed a carefree attitude to the world, one who took every day and just embraced it, but at the same time stood up for herself and her beliefs, even against the strong personalities of the MacGregors.  You have to admire her for that.  Both Robert and Davina faced some difficult choices and it was interesting to see the byplay between loyalty for one's clan and love for one another and how you sometimes have to sacrifice one for the other.

I found the love and romance between Robert and Davina to be great.  They had a wonderful emotional connection and I enjoyed how it grew slowly and developed over the course of the book. This is one of the strengths of this novel.  I do have to admit that one of the things I found somewhat unbelievable however, is the subplot, and this is the reason why I only rated this novel a four instead of a five.  I found it difficult to believe that someone like Davina could be hidden away for twenty-four years without anyone knowing about it.  I also found it somewhat unbelievable that a man like Gilles could be felled the way that he was considering the type of man that he was;  everything happened a little too easily for it to be believable.  

Verdict

Ravished by a Highlander was a fast-paced, enjoyable read with clever and enjoyable characters.  Seventeenth century Scotland is an interesting period of history and Ms. Quinn introduces us to a memorable cast of characters in order to bring this era to life, using a mix of fact and fiction.  Historians will enjoy this romp through time while romance lovers will not be able to get enough of Robert and Davina.  I am definitely looking forward to the next book in this series, Seduced by a Highlander, featuring Tristan MacGregor, Robert's younger brother.