Category: ARC

Highland Treasure by Lynsay Sands (Highland Brides #9)

I received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall

First, I feel terrible. I got this book AGES ago and read it back then. But, you know, I’m a teacher, and *gestures at the world* pandemic. This is horribly late, and it’s probably the last ARC I’ll ever get from Edelweiss, because of it but alas.

Anyway, I’ve reviewed the entire Highland Brides series, and I remember saying AGES ago, the only Buchanan brother I cared about was Rory. He was the only who seemed to have a personality outside of his brothers because he was a healer. I really do love this series because it’s reliably entertaining, and in 2020-21, we need this. Outside of the first book in the series (Ross & Annabel are unmatched)

We open with Lady Elysande de Valence being smuggled out of her home in England, meeting up with Rory Buchanan who is in England, finishing up a job and heading back to Scotland. Elysande’s family has been slaughtered, and Rory is supposed to escort her to the Sinclaires (Cam & Jo from Book 2) because Elysande is Lady Sinclaire’s niece. It’s a road trip romance, which are some of my favorites.

This has all the hallmarks of a Lynsay Sands romance — melodrama, lusty heroes and heroines, and honestly, Rory is my favorite hero since Ross. I like Elysande, but she’s probably not my favorite heroine in the series. There’s a few things she does that drives me nuts (we’ll get there in the weeds), but overall — I’m happy with the way this romance is written. Rory’s the healer — he’s used to that being the most interesting thing about him. It’s why I wanted to read his book! But with Elysande, it’s not the most important to her, and I think it’s really sweet and fun for Rory to see that he’s more than just a healer.

This was a very sweet, very sexy romance, and one of the best Sands books in a long time. They’re all good, mind you, but I was very happy with this.

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Hunting for a Highlander (Lynsay Sands)

Note: I received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review from the publisher. This book is scheduled for release by Avon on January 28, 2020.

Overall

I’ve read every historical romance Lynsay Sands has released, including all seven previous entries of the Highland Brides series. She’s an author who plays into specific tropes with an incredibly melodramatic style of writing. That’s not a criticism — as a soap opera lover, I love melodrama and there’s honestly not a lot of authors who can do it well. She’s one of them.

When I first started reviewing the Highland Brides series, I hadn’t yet identified why exactly I go back to Lynsay Sands over and over again because I don’t read a lot of authors who write in this style. And it’s because her melodramas are incredibly entertaining, almost always satisfying, and comforting. She writes lusty heroes and heroines who have a lot of sexual chemistry are always in the middle of murder mysteries, and I always know exactly what I’m getting when I pick up a Lynsay Sands novel.

The Buchanan brothers were introduced to us in The Highlander Takes a Bride when the sole sister of the rambunctious group, Saidh, gets married. There are seven brothers, and Hunting the Highlander is the fifth of their stories. Geordie is one of three unmarried Buchanan brothers who returns to the keep to find it filled with unmarried women looking for husbands to inherit their father’s land because they have no brother. This is a good opportunity for the Buchanans who have a lot of brothers but not a lot of titles.

Geordie seeks solace and silence by sleeping in a tree in the orchard only to be woken up one of the potential brides fleeing tormenters. We meet Dwynn Innes, heiress to a holding by the sea in the Lowlands.  Dwynn is not a typical beauty, but she and Geordie hit it off immediately and there’s not a lot of conflict as to whether they’re going to end up together. They’re immediately attracted to one another, but someone seems to want to cause Dwynn harm.

I really liked this book. I think that Geordie and Dwynn are probably my third favorite couple in the series (Ross and Annabel are always going to be number one). The attacks and attempted murder stuff is all fine and predictable. The most I can say in relation to that stuff is that it doesn’t drag the book down and it’s nicely paced. As always, both our leads get injured a lot which lets the other person confront their feelings. That’s a Sands trope I’m ready for.

I think my only critique of this book is the focus on Dwynn’s breasts. Her sisters lower all of her necklines to an excruciating degree (there are lots of times when we’re told her nipples are basically showing) and I feel like that doesn’t match the fashions of the time period. It’s a weird central theme that repeats until literally the end of the book. Early on, Geordie even sees Dwynn and only recognizes her because he’s looked at her breasts more than her face. It’s a discordant note in an otherwise delightful book.

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