Without mercy, there is no love in this third installment of the Sons of Sinclair historical romance series by award-winning author Heather McCollum.
Gideon Sinclair, the third Sinclair brother, judges everything in stark terms of good and evil. There is nothing in between, and he is efficient at passing judgment without mercy. Now that his clan has conquered the warring MacKays, Gideon starts the process of integrating them into the Sinclair Clan. He will sort the people, punish the bad, and better the lives of the good. Judging is as easy to him as breathing, until he meets Christina MacKay, who steals his breath … along with his Sinclair ring.
A young widow, Christina MacKay has given her life over to helping the orphaned children in the clan. But love won’t put shoes on their cold feet and food in their stomachs. Christina tired years ago of seeing the rich get richer and the poor suffer more and more, so she decided to do something about it. An agile thief of the rich by night, when she is caught, the new conquering chief must decide her fate.
When Gideon realizes that the thief is the same woman who had already captured his attention, he hesitates for the first time in his life. Letting her get away with her deed leads to more trouble when she is accused of stealing from King James and is arrested. Now Gideon must commit his own crime against the Scottish crown if he is to save Christina. But can a man who was raised to honor and uphold justice break the law for the woman who’s stolen his heart?
Eliza Wentworth is no lady. After the notorious pirate Jandeau murdered her family, she vowed to spend the rest of her life at sea, saving others. She'd rather be firing cannons than embroidering pillows-or worse, bowing to the demands of a husband. But when she's stranded on an island off the coast of Scotland, now she is the one in need of help. And that help comes not only from a man, but a man she struggles to resist.
Highlander Beck Macquarie has never met a woman like Eliza. He hasn't met many women, period, thanks to the blasted curse set upon Wolf Isle decades ago. To save the clan, he needs a wife and bairns, and rough-around-the edges Eliza is anything but wife material. She has no intention of staying once she's able to set sail again. He should let her go. But the desire between them is impossible to ignore.
When she asks Beck to teach her the ways of the bedroom while she bides her time on his island, he can't say no. As they learn more about each other, though, past trauma and secrets resurface. Now, Eliza must choose between the freedom and comfort of the only life she's ever known and sacrificing it all to save the people she loves . . . including Beck.
Contains mature themes.
Alec Munro, chieftain of the Munros, has captured the Englishman who swindled his father. Set on retribution, he's caught off-guard by the thief's beautiful daughter, a lass whose beauty and spirit leave him questioning the value of revenge. Rachel Brindle has a secret: she can heal people with her magic. While journeying with her father and sister into the Highlands, she becomes a prize sought between two warring clans. She must use her cunning and her healing magic to prevent the same slaughter that started the blood feud a century ago. But when her secret is exposed, will it condemn her in the eyes of the barbarian who has capture not only her family, but also her heart?
Contains mature themes.
Elena has spent her entire life hiding her family name while walking the thin line between lady and servant in a Protestant household. Keeping the secret of her lineage has been a success for years, but now, with a new, fiercely Catholic queen on the throne, Elena's Protestant caretaker is being targeted. And when Bloody Mary discovers Elena's true identity, she must not only flee to Scotland for her freedom, but also for her life.
Highland warrior Searc Munro has secrets of his own. In a family of healers, his own dark, killing magic must never be known. But when his father's life is threatened, Searc unleashes his lethal power to save him. With his clan's suspicious glances and whispers plaguing him, he sets off alone, only to find another use for his magic in saving a beautiful lass being attacked in the forest.
Teaming up as exiles, Elena and Searc head toward Edinburg to find refuge. Yet, with a series of ritual killings haunting the city and a traitor attempting to assassinate Scotland's regent, suspicion turns to Searc. As word of another British heir reaches the country, the two must find a way to trust each other, despite their secrets, before it's too late.
A lass begging to marry him might top the list of 'oddest things to happen,' but Chief Adam Macquarie is desperate. And no matter how much he hates to do it, he's not above lying to get what he wants. Starting with the fact that he just omitted the truth about the situation back at his home-where there are no women and only a handful of other people. Because he has a secret need for a wife himself, one she won't be too happy about when she finds out.
Lark Montgomerie is thrilled the brawny chief agrees to save her from her drunken father's machinations of wedding her off to the first fool that agrees. He's easy on the eyes and no one can be worse than her current options. Now a new life awaits her, on an exciting Scottish isle no less, and nothing will dampen her spirits. That is, until she arrives in her new homeland and realizes more than a few things are amiss . . .
Contains mature themes.
Will Wyatt has always played the part of pirate, but now he's a fish out of water in the Highlands of Scotland. With a bounty on his head, he's laying low by helping his sister and a troop of abandoned children journey to a new home. He didn't count on a spunky Highland lass stealing his breath after he steals a kiss.
Jonet Montgomery has longed for a chivalrous knight her whole young life. Instead she found herself wed to a cheating scoundrel and left a widow. Giving up on love, Jonet turned to helping the orphaned children of her clan, but when a lusty, silver-tongued rogue opens a crack in Jonet's routine life, she's tempted by his offer to taste adventure of the most pleasurable kind.
Will's heart of gold shines through despite his infamous past, making Jonet risk her reputation once again. But can she possibly be enough woman to keep this sexy pirate from straying? With her past embarrassment haunting her, she risks more than just her reputation this time. She risks her heart.
Growing up on a pirate ship, every day was full of adventure for Pandora Wyatt. It was also the perfect place for her to use her magic without persecution. But after her surrogate father is imprisoned in the Tower of London, Pandora leaves the safety of the vessel to rescue him before he's executed. She expects her mission to be difficult, but what she doesn't expect is to have her life saved by the sexiest man she's ever met.
Highland warrior Ewan Brody always wanted a sweet, uncomplicated woman by his side, but he can't fight his attraction to the beautiful enchantress who's stumbled into his life. He quickly learns, though, that Pandora is not only a witch, but also a pirate and possibly a traitor's daughter-and though she's tricked him into playing her husband at King Henry's court, he's falling hard.
Soon, they begin to discover dark secrets leading to the real traitor of the Tudor court, the one Ewan was hired to capture. Now, Ewan and Pandora must uncover the truth before they lose more than just their hearts.
Joshua Sinclair was once the fiercest and most notorious warrior of the mighty Sinclair clan of Northern Scotland. But now there's nothing and no one that can make him take up arms again. Except a beautiful woman, it seems.
When Kára Flett, daughter of a fallen Norse chief, finds herself unexpectedly sheltering the strongest, most brutal warrior in the land, she throws together a risky and outrageous plan to bring him to her side. Threats of violence bounce right off him. Offers of gold seem to entice him even less. Desperate enough to use the pleas of the village children to sway him, she's shocked when he's completely unmoved. There's only one tactic left for her: seduction.
Her hasty proposition falls completely by the wayside, though, as she and the Highlander come together in a carnal inferno. But bringing him into her life also brings his enemies to her clan's doorstep-the very clan Kára is trying to protect. And as their feelings deepen, Joshua will have to decide between duty and love once and for all.
Fleeing with only her bow, horse, enormous pet wolf, and the cryptic clues hidden in her mother's medicine journal, healer Meg Boswell gallops north towards freedom, running from the man who falsely accused her mother of witchcraft. Cursed with magical healing abilities, Meg knows that if she's captured, she will die like her mother-atop a blazing witch's pyre.
Winter winds rip across the Highlands, pressing Chief Caden Macbain forward in his desperate plan to save his clan. He's not above using an innocent woman to bargain for peace if it keeps his clan from starving. But Meg isn't who Caden thinks she is, and when she kills a man to save the clan, he must choose between duty and her life. For although he captured her to force a peace, Meg's strength and courage have captured Caden's heart.
Contains mature themes.
Shaw Sinclair, chief of the outcast clan of Sinclairs of Caithness in northern Scotland, has made a deal with the devil. Despite his strength and lethal skills, he needs help-specifically from a woman-to accomplish his mission to bring a bairn to safety to the coast. When he meets the brave and beautiful Alana Campbell at a Samhain Festival, he decides she's the one.
Alana Campbell is ready to show the world she's just as skillful with a sgian dubh as any man. Attracting the attention of the brawny chief who coerces her to join him on his journey to the coast of Scotland gives her that very opportunity. Sparks flash between them as they're forced to act as husband and wife to accomplish the deadly mission. However, when secrets threaten to tear them apart, they have to decide if their differences outweigh the reality of their feelings . . .
Contains mature themes.
The Bride by Julie Garwood meets To Tame a Highland Warrior by Karen Marie Moning in this new Highlander series from award-winning author, Heather McCollum.
Clever and bold Ella Sutherland has won the right to call herself chief of her clan and struggles to hold onto the chiefdom against those who doubt a woman's rule. When she's captured by the darkly handsome Sinclair chief, she chooses death over wedding him and giving up her clan to their long-time enemy. For she has a secret, an oath she took years ago to protect and keep the clan seat for a great ruler to come.Cain refuses to let his brother, Death, honor Ella's choice with an execution. He's never before met a woman so brave and passionate. Everything about her, from the scars she hides on her face to the way she can ride a horse while standing on the saddle, intrigues him. Despite their growing attraction, she continues to resist his plans to unite and conquer. When enemies within the Sutherland clan threaten the oath Ella made, she escapes the Sinclairs and Cain to defend it. Hurt by her desertion, Cain rallies his armies to take revenge, defeating the Sutherlands once and for all. But the wise words of his grandmother and the pressure growing in his heart make him question everything he's been raised to believe. Can victory possibly come from surrender?
Cat Campbell knows all about Nathaniel Worthington, fifth Viscount of Lincolnshire. The determined Englishman is never far from Finlarig Castle, where his sisters train women to do more than read and write. And thanks to the fiery kiss they shared nearly a year ago he is never far from her thoughts. No one ever trained her how to forget an irresistible man.
Nathaniel knows he should keep his distance from the fierce Scottish lass, but when an urgent letter from Queen Catherine calls Cat to London, he can't resist volunteering to escort her. The tension between the two has simmered for months, but the long journey in close quarters creates a raging wildfire that could burn them both.
Secrets of their past and the treachery lurking at court put both their future together and their very lives at risk.
Contains mature themes.
