Sins of a Highland Devil
Sue-Ellen Welfonder

Forever – Hachette
January 3, 2011/ ISBN
Historical Romance / Autumn 1396 Scotland
Amazon

Reviewed by Linda Young

The Glen of Many Legends. A glen in the highlands of Scotland shared by three clans. The Camerons, the MacDonalds, and the Mackintoshes. I use the word “shared” loosely because the tensions are always high in the glen. Those tensions become even higher when one woman who holds the rights to the whole glen dies and fails to leave her last wishes in writing before she is gone. Now the King orders there to be a battle between the three clans and the champion will rule all. She was born a MacDonald, married twice, once to a Cameron and once to a Mackintosh. After being widowed the second time, she chose to spend the rest of her days in a nunnery. Now, each clan claims to have the right to rule the glen, and each clan claims their own magical stories and ghosts that roam the glen.

James Cameron watches as the king's own mark off the battle field and begin building the observation stands for the highborn lowland onlookers who will arrive any day along with the king. As all highlanders, James despises the idea of lowlanders invading the glen. They bring nothing but trouble and have no understanding of the way of life in the highlands.

James decides to go into the woods to visit the old ones, mystical beings that only show themselves to Camerons. He is hoping they will let him know that his clan will be victorious. But on his way, he sees a mysterious black cloaked figure in the mist. He tries to follow it but loses it in the mist just in time to run into Catriona MacDonald, a fire brand she-devil that has haunted him for years. Once, several years ago, he had caught her in these woods just as he had now. He has had a burning desire for her ever since and that angered him even more.

Catriona MacDonald is a force to be reckoned with. She has a temper as fiery as her hair and a hidden dirk that she knows how to use. Right now her temper flares high as she looks into the eyes of the man who had brazenly threatened her years ago in these same woods. He had warned her of what happens to young maidens who roam the woods alone. Now he was doing the same thing. Only this time he was dragging her back to her own land to put her back into the hands of her brother. Both James and Catriona desire each other, even though they know that to do so could cause an even worse battle than the one to come because of their blood.

As all prepare for the battle, the sisters of each clan chief eventually meet each other. Catriona keeps seeing a ghost that looks just like James Cameron's sister, Isobel. Her brother has become enchanted by the Mackintosh chief's sister, Marjory, and now Catriona is determined to bait James Cameron to the point that he can't live without her. The sisters become fast friends and decide to make a pact to help each other get their man.

This book is the first in Welfonder's new trilogy, “Highland Warriors.” She does a great job of blending highland lore and magic with romance and a little mystery. You get a good sense of living amongst highland clans. The tension, the blustering, rules of hospitality, and just plain men being bragging, oversized boys, showing off for the women. It is fun, steamy, intriguing, and just plain good reading. I enjoyed the history and all that went with it. If you like good highland stories mixed with romance, you'll love this one. And don't be surprised when all of the sudden you break out laughing and everybody looks at you like you're crazy. No, really. They did it to me here at home. Two thumbs up for Welfonder.

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