A Highlander Never Surrenders

Having truly enjoyed Laird in the Mist, I was anxious to read the sequel. Paula Quinn doesn't disappoint. This story was just as exciting and as sensual. I loved the heroine, feeling a bond with a twenty-first century woman stuck in a time where her talents and independence aren't appreciated. The hero was perfect, not only in characterization but perfectly matched with heroine Claire. A wonderful read, Ms. Quinn! Looking forward to more great stories from you!

This was a great sequel to Laird of the Mist. I hope she writes more with these characters. Like Brodie or Angus. And especially Anne & Robert Campbell's story

The year is when Scotland's Third Civil War has re-emerged. Oliver Cromwell has died. General Monck of the New Model Army wants to see Charles II restored to power, so he enlists the help of men like Lord Robert Campbell, Earl of Argyll, a Presbyterian and Graham Grant, highlander, Royalist and first in command of the MacGregor clan. Claire Stuart has been captured by some Puritan Roundheads. Claire winds up getting rescued by Lord Robert Campbell and his friend Graham Grant. Unfortunately Claire is anything but happy to see Robert and Graham. Claire is on a mission to save her sister, Anne from getting married to General Monck. Actually Claire is more than mad she is out to kill someone and that someone winds up being General Monck. But first Claire has to escape Graham in addition to keeping her true identity of being the king's cousin a secret. In order to keep Claire from ruining things, Graham tells Claire he will help her to rescue her sister. What Graham will soon learn is he was better off letting Claire do her own thing as she is one hellion, especially with a sword. I just loved the characters in this book. They were so strong and independent. This statement 100% applies to Claire with her take charge attitude. I found it to be an enjoyment, especially when her angry was aimed at Graham. It was funny because Graham would treat Claire like a two year old but at the same time this is when you could also feel the sparks between these two. I have to admit that it wasn't hard to enjoy this book but because one it was written by the lovely Paula Quinn and two it was set during the Scottish times, which is a favorite time period of mine. A Highlander Never Surrenders was a royal pleasure to read. I am already anxiously awaiting Ms. Quinn's next release.

Paula Quinn sets her romance during a tumultuous period of Scottish history when factions of Scotland's Third Civil War re-emerged. Oliver Cromwell has died and General Monck, a man who had served Cromwell and Parliament throughout the civil wars, now aligns himself with forces seeking the restoration of Charles II. A HIGHLANDER NEVER SURRENDERS opens with a vignette into this fascinating explosive time with a vision that focuses on two men and a woman caught up in the political drama of the period. Graham Grant, the first in command of the MacGregor clan, sits in a pub with an unlikely friend, Robert Campbell, the Earl of Argyll discussing their order from Monck to find the Royalist rebel Connor Stuart. Two unlikely friends, Royalist and Highlander Graham and Presbyterian, or Roundhead, Robert Campbell join forces seeking to save Scotland from anarchy. Captured by Graham and his forces, Claire Stuart knows she must hide her identity and link to the royal family from the Roundhead men she sees before her. With her brother Connor dead, Claire has one goal and one goal alone --- to save her sister Anne from the treacherous Monck. Graham knows he must stop Claire from her plot against Monck so he proposes a compromise, getting Claire to agree to join forces with him in exchange for his assistance rescuing her sister. Political intrigue infuses this romance as alliances are not so easily discerned and Claire's brother and sister have become pawns in a political clash between Roundheads and Royalists. The heroine Claire is one feisty woman! Taught by her brother to fight, Claire is a woman who carries a sword not a broom. She would rather fight than sew and when it comes to love, Claire is just as tempestuous and passionate. Commander Grant, the hero, is just as full of fire, tempered with just enough insight and patience to get what he wants. Thoughtful and knowing in battle, women are mere diversions, to be enjoyed and left for more important political aims. Grant certainly meets his match in Claire, a woman as single-minded and devoted to politics and her family. When these two come together, love is combustible! A secondary pair complements these two perfectly -- Robert a man as chivalrous and honorable as Galahad and a man who respects the law and Claire's sister Anne, a true lady in heart as well as lineage. A HIGHLANDER NEVER SURRENDERS strikes the reader with its beautiful use of language, dynamic dialogue and amazing detail. In one scene where Paula Quinn describes the eyes of a potential enemy, readers feel the danger in an almost tactile way as if looking into his eyes. Paula Quinn carefully orchestrates intrigue as one small detail, talk of a letter or a certain phrase, emerges later in a more ominous circumstance whose framework has been carefully planned earlier. A HIGHLANDER NEVER SURRENDERS is a sexy romance, as much for the subtle facial expressions and dialogue between the hero and heroine as the kisses and beyond. Passionate emoti

Having read the first book in the series and enjoyed it, I was a bit aprehensive of the second in what looks to be a trilogy. Could it measure up? Actually, I found this to be much more enjoyable than the first book. What made the first book a delight, the witty banter, is found equally in this one but is actually more enjoyable as it is the hero and heroine who get all the best lines. To me it read like a meatier Julie Garwood, complete with a well seasoned warrior matching wits with a heroine who thinks nothing of challenging him with his own claymore. You got to love a heroine who thinks nothing of throwing stones at her hero after he has been shot. If only we all had a bit of Claire in each of us. I found Claire Stuart to be a breath of fresh air as she embraces the life of the warrior and the cause of the Royalist rebels and yet along the way she learns to accept if not easily embraces her feminine side. Claire is not a twit and clearly has no problem giving as good as she gets be it with a sword or her sharp tongue. Graham Grant, is my kind of hero a seasoned warrior but wasn't put off by his lady's warrior prowess and he actually embraced it. Of course until he fell in love with her but she too is leveled by love and they are fun to watch. Especially as Graham becomes what he fears most: a love sick pansy. As a reader it is always fun to watch a couple struggle to find their paths to each other. Readers will enjoy the expertly crafted sexual tension that grabs the reader within the first couple of chapters and does let go until the very end. The intimacy scenes with this couple were not overdone and were effectivily used to show the heroine' and hero's growth from lust to love. If there was one character that needed a good shot in the dark it was Anne, but then she was Robert's problem. She was a good contrast for Claire but at times she was just to caught up in what was proper but provided a nice contrast for Claire. The story was well grounded in the history of the period, a period that is sadly lacking in historical romances be they Scottish or English of late. Ms Quinn knows how to effectivily place her well developed characters in the history of the period to provide a sense of time and place, without hitting the reader over the head with it. For those who like trilogies or spin offs, Ms Quinn effectively foreshadows events/people in this books which this reader hopes is a promise that in the future we readers will be able to visit with this couple and those of the first book to resolve those events still unsolved in this book. If you like Scottish romances and aren't all caught up in the typical historical periods of Scottish history (1300's/1746) and enjoy a story not peppered with cliched "kinna/dinnas" then you must place this one at the top your to be read pile. You won't be disappointed.