The Highlander's Forbidden Bride [Mass Market Paperback]

Donna Fletcher continues her Sinclare Highlander series with The Highlander's Forbidden Bride. I had read a previous novel in this series so I knew some of the characters but by no means was I familiar with many of the Sinclare clan.

Firstly I absolutely disliked the heroine in the novel from the start and I mean disliked. She was mean, cruel, sarcastic and incredibly condescending. This was just supposed to be an act so no one would really know how sweet, sensitive, and kind she really was but I just did not buy into this scenario, probably because the heroine kicks a puppy that is intent on solely playing with her. Really, did she have to go so far with her charade that she was intentionally cruel to animals? She had already convinced the Sinclare clan she was unfeeling.

The heroine in this novel, Carissa was the daughter of a barbarian who had captured two of the Sinclare men. Ronan Sinclare has finally found Carissa and he wants to make her pay for her cruelty while he was a captive in her father's dungeon. Furthermore he hates her because he believes she killed a slave named Hope that he truly loved.

Carissa is taking refuge in a village and she is protected there but she has no problem taunting Ronan. With the help of the village leader, she escapes but gets trapped with Ronan in an empty home during a snowstorm. She again is incredibly mean, rude and dislikable with Ronan. This is supposed to be a ruse to cover up her sweet kind persona.

During their time in the cottage, Ronan discovers some hidden mysteries to Carissa. He changes his mind about her and wants to make sure she is accepted by his clan. I do not want to go into any detail as to what these revelations are but suffice it to say it completely changes Ronan's mind about Carissa and their future but not mine. I just cannot believe that a heroine lives a completely pretend life with almost everyone.

Several times throughout this novel the heroine doesn't seem to even know her own true nature. It was like reading about three different women, the cruel Carissa, the kind Carissa and the warrior Carissa and I never really could understand why the cruel Carissa kept popping up. Toward the end of the novel, Carissa snaps her dialogue often. She also arrogantly believes she knows what is best for everyone. Perhaps this was the warrior Carissa.

There were some gaps in this story which were insufficiently filled. For instance, I never understood how Carissa could learn tactics, strategy and fighting skills with her mercenary fighters when she was under the watchful eye of her father. Everyone says she loves dogs but she kicks puppies and won't go near family pets and the explanation for her response doesn't quite cut it. Rational people are not cruel to animals they claim to love.

The best part of this novel is the absolutely surprising twist in the plot line of this story. Ms Fletcher is known for giving the reader a jolt and she does this well. However, I just never understood Carissa's actions for a large part of the story and really only admired her in the final chapters.

Ronan Sinclare escaped captivity by brutal barbarians. He is coming home with two things on his mind: reclaim his inheritance and slowly kill Carissa who murdered his beloved Hope.

With the death of her father the vicious Mordrac the barbarian; Carissa is on the run as she has no protection from her sire's horde or the Highlanders who blame her for the sins of her father. She reaches the sanctuary Black, a village that welcomes everyone. Persistent Ronan traces her there, but once they meet his vow of vengeance proves difficult to enact; as she is nothing like the she-monster he painted of her from the cold accounts of others. Still he takes her prisoner until he can decide what to do with her; meanwhile she conceals that she once hoped to be his bride.

The latest early sixteenth century Sinclare Brothers Highlander romance (see Return of the Rogue, Under the Highlander's Spell and The Angel and the Highlander) is an enjoyable tale of love and hate. Carissa hides her inner warmth and her love for her "jailer" inside of an icy exterior, and Ronan is confused by his feelings for a woman he pledged to kill. Although some redundancy occurs with this overall fine capture-captivity Scottish historical romance, fans of the siblings' series will appreciate the one we have been waiting for since we first met the quartet.

Harriet Klausner

I loved the hero and the heroine. This story was sensual by way of love. I read all types of romance books but lately I have been reading erotic romance. To be frank this book was far more erotic to me than any of the books labeled "erotic" because the love shared, the depth of description, and the clear connection the hero and heroine had. Because of that their "joinings" and even basic moments affection were extremely moving for me. I fell absolutely in love with both of them. They both were extremely strong characters, yet so very emotionally vulnerable. Due to that they had engaging conversation without being too combative and the passion between them was well displayed. Ronan was very masculine and Carissa had a balance of strength and femininity. The book was an excellent wrap up of the Sinclare brothers series.

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