Tamed by a Highlander by Paula Quinn
Children of the Mist, Book 3
Forever
Historical
ISBN: 978-0446552363
Reviewed by Vanessa




Connor Grant felt he needed to serve his king and family, so he left the love of his life behind to fulfill his duties.  Connor tried very hard to move on without his love, and he thought perhaps he finally had.  Yet, he was soon brought to the startling realization that he hadn’t moved on when he is forced to spend time with Mairi MacGregor in the king’s court.

Mairi MacGregor couldn’t forgive Connor for seeing fit to take up his familial duties and deserting her.  He knew she would never want to abandon their homeland, and she couldn’t understand how he could put other things before her . . . not if he loved her!  Mairi isn’t too happy to be forced into his company while at court, but she still plans on helping her fellow friends in uncovering the intrigue and plots that involve their homeland.

Tamed by a Highlander was a story of two stubborn donkeys that refused to compromise, until they realized what they could ultimately lose.  I had eagerly anticipated Connor’s story from reading the other two stories in The Children of the Mist series.  I wanted to see if he was as awful as he sounded and what his explanations would be for his womanizing ways.  To my delight, I found that Connor wasn’t that awful and that Mairi needed to grow up and stop expecting everyone to give in to her demands.

Mairi had a good reason for not wanting Connor to go to England and fight.  Later, Connor sees and experiences some of that in Tamed by a Highlander.  That was a very nice touch, and I think it helped for him to look at things from her perspective as well.

The explanation that Connor gave for his womanizing ways in Tamed by a Highlander irritated me a bit.  It was the same old tired cliché that the other woman didn’t really mean a thing because he had been thinking of her all along.  It would have been better if Connor had just taken himself in “hand” and thought of Mairi then!

I was actually surprised that some sex scenes actually toed the line of risqué for one of these novels, but they didn’t completely cross that line.  However, I was left thinking that Connor may just broach that area in the future.  There was one scene in Tamed by a Highlander that actually had me chuckling.  I could not believe how Connor kept himself from spilling.

For some reason, I just could not get lost in Tamed by a Highlander as I had with the previous books in The Children of the Mist series.  My guess would be because of the setting, the king’s court, and the fact that although we were told Mairi was some great warrior, we are never really shown as she is so easily duped by the villain of Tamed by a Highlander.