| Highlander Untamed: A Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: Monica Mccarty
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Category: Book
List Price: $6.99
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You Save: $6.98 (100%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  28 reviews
Sales Rank: 67780
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 416
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.3
ISBN: 0345494369
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780345494368
ASIN: 0345494369
Publication Date: July 31, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 28 | | NEXT » |
 A slow start that takes off galloping to a great story! 5 stars November 20, 2008
I must admit that it was the cover that hooked me and when I started the book, I was put off from so many unfamiliar terms and Scottish words. But once you are introduced to the dilemma of Isabel McDonald who is young and beautiful, but has grown up in a family that has ignored her and not made her feel loved and cherished, you are hooked. Her only friends are her nursemaid Bessie and servants. Nevertheless, she loves her cold and indifferent family, longs for their love and appreciation. So when Isabel is chosen by her father and evil uncle to be a spy and a thief, she hopes her willingness to be a "handfast" wife will make her family love her and make her finally feel a part of the clan. A handfast wife is a woman who is given a year with a man and at the end, they are either truly married, or the husband repudiates her and sends her back home in shame. Her treacherous, ambitious evil Uncle Sleat wants to use her as a sex pawn to get the rival McLeod clan's leader to fall in love with her, share secrets with her and then steal an important family heirloom.
The descriptions start off a bit tediously with too much about her heaving ample bosom and with Rory McLeod's muscles but after a few chapters, I could not put it down. The story is full of twists, turns, suspense about clan warfare, long held grudges and political intrigue.
Isabel shows the McLeod family, who at first do not trust her, that she is smart, kind, resourceful, humble and loving. The fact that she has a job to do that she believes is critical to the well being of her own McDonald clan adds to the tension and enjoyment of the book.
Descriptions of life in the Scottish highlands are vivid and the attraction/avoidance dance between the two lovers, Isabel and Rory is fun to watch. The author does a great job with the lesser characters too. They are well rounded and not cardboard. The villains are 2 dimensional, but they are going to go away, so why waste investment on them?
It's almost a Cinderella story too. Isabel starts off as timid, unloved, invisible to her family. She grows more confident in the McLeod castle and starts to grow up and become a wonderful woman. She blossoms in beauty, in love, in importance to all the people she comes in contact with. The character of Rory is a great match for Isabel. He makes a terrific hero in every sense of the word. The sex scenes fit the story. Nothing awkward of forced about them. I loved this book. I am re-reading it. Only thing this book needed was a glossary of words and terms to help the readers who are not familiar with Scottish culture and history.
MOST FABULOUS HIGHLANDER ROMANCE - TAKES YOUR BREATH AWAY!! March 17, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
If you enjoy the early books the like of Julie Garwood and Woodiwiss and want your books to suck you in from the very first page, then dear reader, this is right up your alley!!!
Full of great dialogue, unbelievable great characters, Scottish brogue, a hero and heroine to die for and STEAMY love scenes, this is what Romance novels should all be about!! This novel is incredibly well written and researched. The historical detail, vocabulary and allegorical description of the times, is superb. I will not get into the plot, since there are already loads of reviews prior to mine, but I will say this is one the best books that I have read in a VERY long time.
From the moment the book opens, you are thrust into the lives and the events of the MacDonald and McLeod clans. Rory is the typical alpha male, completely taken by Isable's extraordinary beauty - with a sole purpose in life - the safety and prosperity of his clan. He discounts his attraction for Isabel (but he is drooling on the side!) and believes that he can persevere and endure the year's handfast without having any physical contact with his bride. (Yeah right!!!!).
Isabel is conscious of her extraordinary beauty and loathes that every man that gazes at her countenance has never been able to look at her as a person.
Used as a pawn by her ruthless and malevolent uncle, Isabel embarks on a crusade of establishing herself as a trustworthy person in the eyes of her family who have always dismissed her and have barely acknowledged her presence. As hard as she might, Isabel tries to seduce The McLeod. Though Rory lusts after her and is becoming increasingly taken with his wife's kindness, beauty and intelligence he repudiates her advances, as he means to renounce the handfast at the end of one year.
This novel is a rare gem - not only are the H/H beautifully developed, but the emotion of how their love flourishes will take your breath away. The secondary characters are wonderful and you will love them as they change with Isabel's joy, kindness and infectious love for life. Rory's keep is soon transformed with laughter and he learns the true meaning of what life is about and why it is worth living. If you have not read this book yet, I entreat you to buy it post-haste!
 Romance and Espionage in Scotland February 20, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Intrigue abounds in this satisfying novel. Isabel MacDonald is forced into a handfast marriage by the king and her nefarious uncle. Her groom is Rory MacLeod, Chief of a rival clan. Isabel must spy on her husband and find a special banner hidden in the keep.
Rory has agreed to this one year marriage with every intention of repudiating it at the end of the promised year. Isabel is beautiful and hard to resist. She is under pressure to seduce the secrets from her husband. Rory suspects something is afoot but without evidence, must rely only on his intuition.
Isabel is pressured from all sides; her father's clan, her husband's clan, her uncle, the king. She falls in love with her husband and knows she can never betray him. Her greatest concern is being exposed as the spy she is.
Isabel is incredibly kind hearted. She is forgiving and even though she occasionally has a stubborn streak, it doesn't become annoying. Rory is determined to protect his clan and his family. His divided loyalty between his family and Isabel has him in a quandary. An added bonus was that some of the events in this book are based on actual events, so there is a nice little history lesson in this novel too.
Great Book February 8, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
This was a very good book. It kept you on the edge of your seat. I could not put the book down.
Highlander Untamed-A Joyfully Recommended Title! February 8, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The MacLeods are a powerful Highland clan. Their chief, Rory MacLeod,
is brave and daring. His duty is to protect his clan and avenge any
wrongs done to them. One such wrong has led Rory to swear vengeance
on the MacDonald clan. When the king orders Rory to wed Isabel
MacDonald, the two enter a handfast marriage. Although Rory plans to
send Isabel home after a year and a day, he finds it hard to resist
the incredibly beautiful woman.
Isabel MacDonald has been sent by her uncle and father to spy on the
MacLeod clan. Charged to use whatever means available to her, she is
to discover MacLeod secrets. Secrets held only by the chief himself,
Rory MacLeod. Rory arouses feeling in Isabel she never experienced
before. Isabel also becomes friends with Rory's siblings. For the
first time, Isabel finds happiness. Faced with betraying her uncle
and father or the happiness she has found with the MacLeods, Isabel
must follow her heart.
Annmarie
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed
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