“Come, lass. Get on a plane with me.”Mathilda:A Highlander walks into a bar…My father’s conference, to be exact. The Scot is huge, overbearing, and his gaze sets me on fire. He wants to take me home to see his mighty tower.I’m tempted. I really am.Except I just had a proposal from someone else. One that could give me everything I wanted.Apart from love.But when did I ever have a need for that?… give me everything I wanted.
Apart from love.
But when did I ever have a need for that?
Callum:
I know what I want when I see it, and I’d move mountains for the lass with a whip-smart mind and killer legs.
But I came here to reclaim a debt. The man who screwed me over put my castle on the line. My ancestral home where I raised three brothers. I cannae let that lie.
If it means storming his party, then so be it.
Storm the Castle is the first in a major new contemporary romance series. Set in the gorgeous Scottish Highlands, this story of big love brings Highlander romance into the modern day.
Be swept away by this steamy romantic standalone tale and start this series now.
more
A veritable Wall of Highlander rescues Mathilda!
I have found a new favorite author! I absolutely loved every hilarious, heartwarming, frustrating, triumphant word in this brilliant novel. Callum is everything a girl could want in a book boyfriend, Mathilda is strong and sassy and more than able to hold her own against the men in her life, and the writing just couldn’t be better. The first-person, alternating POV has a few cheeky, breaking-the-fourth-wall moments that splendidly draw the reader into the characters’ hearts and help us to fall in love with both Callum and Mathilda through the other’s eyes. It takes serious literary talent to make us feel what they feel on such an elemental level.
The world-building is outstanding, describing the setting beautifully and populating the story with both Mathilda’s and Callum’s families, warts and all. No one-dimensional characters here; even the worst of them are shown to have a sympathetic side. And of course, there are plenty of sheet-clenching steamy times and an HEA that will leave you cheering.
It’s been a while since I’ve so enjoyed a book, and I highly recommend this one to any fan of romances, Highlanders, or both. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
Storm the Castle by Jolie Vines is book One in the Marry the Scot Series. This is the story of Mathilda Storm and Laird Callum McRae.
Callum is struggling to keep his brothers and his castle going after being taken by a bad deal. When he goes forward to get what is owed him her runs in to Mathilda the mans daughter. Sparks fly between the two and he plans of perusing those sparks, but he also needs her father to come through for him. Mathilda is working to help her little sister to move in with her which their father won’t allow unless Mathilda is married. So Mathilda is considering her father’s business partner, Dominic Hanswick as a husband. This wold be a marriage of convince for them both, but now she has met Callum who is messing with her plans…or is he?
Enjoyed their story and hope to read more from this author.
What a wonderful story. Lots of chemistry, romance, family and sexy time. Then throw in the humor and you have a book you won’t want to put down. Definitely recommend.
5 CRANKY STARS
Let me just say right now, for me to give a romance novel 5 stars is a rarity. Normally I feel they are too predictable and wishy washy. Not so with this one though. I loved the characters. They were strong willed and determined and cared about their families.
Mathilda is the daughter of a shrewd businessman. He is a self-made millionaire and proud of it. However, he rules his family with an iron fist. When Mathilda was ten, her sister was born and she has always felt like Scarlet’s protector. Scarlet and her Dad don’t get along and she constantly acts out. Mathilda has been trying to get her Dad to let her sister live with her.
Mathilda doesn’t work for her father nor does she want to. She wants to be an event planner. While stuck at a business dinner her Dad forced her to attend, she sees a handsome brute of a man across the room. Being already upset by a proposal her Dad’s business partner made, she tries to escape the party but of course falls and is rescued by the mystery man. He’s Scottish and his accent and good looks have her hooked.
I don’t want to spoil this story with spoilers so let me just say the action is plentiful. It’s also suspenseful and definitely a “can’t put it down” book. Looking forward to book 2 which will tell another character’s story.
*** 4.5 Stars ***
Storm the Castle (Marry the Scot #1), Jolie Vines’s debut novel, is a contemporary highlander romance told in dual POV featuring a smart, independent, feisty heroine and a strong, sexy, Scottish laird.
The book opens with Mathilda Storm contemplating a marriage of convenience to her father’s business partner, Dominic Hanswick, a man she does not love. Without giving away any details I’ll just say that they both have reasons for considering a union to be advantageous. But when Matilda meets Callum McRae their mutual spark of attraction is difficult to ignore, and he sets out to pursue her. Things are further complicated when she learns that Callum’s estate is struggling financially largely due to Dominic and Mathilda’s father reneging on a business deal.
Will Mathilda go through with the marriage arrangement to Dominic? Will Callum convince her to be with him instead? And will he still want her after he finds out who her father is? Can Callum and Mathilda find a way to get everything they need along with what they want, or will they be forced to choose between the two?
I loved Callum and Mathilda’s story! They are both fantastic lead characters – spirited, loyal, capable and honest. I really enjoyed the secondary characters as well. The setting was vivid and I was easily immersed in their world. The writing is so good, it’s hard to believe this is a debut. A sweet, charming, romantic, sexy, and dreamy tale. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
*** I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC. ***
What a fantastic read! I absolutely fell in love with Callum and Mathilda’s story. This was a book about soulmates. About love conquering all. Add to that a Scottish castle, a sexy-as-sin laird and a smart, feisty heroine and you’ve got absolute perfection. I found myself thinking about this story, about these characters after reading them, to the point that I slowed my pace, not wanting it to end. I cannot wait for the next in the series! A Must Read!
Callum McRae is tall, sweet, sexy, and loyal. What more can you ask for in a hero? Add to that his Scottish accent and there are no words to describe that kind of perfection. His heroine is Mathilda who is confident, independent, sassy, and knows what she wants out of life. Reading their story was an absolute pleasure and one that you don’t want to miss out on! I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a super steamy and sweet romance (essentially the perfect kind of romance)!
I really had a hard time deciding whether this book was 4 stars or 5 stars, so I’ll give it 4.5. And it’s mainly Callum. He’s just… BRAW! As Jolie would say. He is EVERYTHING I think a woman would want. He’s all for winning Mathilde. I found Mattie a solid, smart and strong woman, but Callum and his family of brothers just sold me. Great book! 4.5 stars
Loved this slow-burn romance!
“Each time she squeezed my fingers it was like she had a hold of my heart and was plucking the strings.”
Callum McRae is out of his Highland comfort zone and in London for a confrontation with his co-investor. He never expects to meet the captivating Mathilda. He’s never felt such a connection with another woman before and he plans to do everything he can to win her over.
“Ever since I was a little girl, I’d dreamt of a man sweeping me off my feet and stealing me away to his stronghold.”
Mathilda Storm is focused on her sister’s welfare and, as such, is on the verge of making a decision that she’s not 100% sure is right…especially once she meets Callum McRae. However, there seems to be a few obstacles in their way, so she tries to shut down her feelings and his attempts to charm her. However, the more time she spends with him, the more she finds it very hard to deny what is in front of her.
“He made my toes curl and my heart burst with life, and kissing him changed everything I knew.”
Gah! I just loved this story so much. Callum is just dreamy! Bullish and rough round the edges but so charmingly direct with the biggest, softest heart, and super broad shoulders to bear his burdens. I’m fell for him hard! He and Mathilda had a fantastic connection and I loved how well they understood each other. Mathilda is a good woman – heart is in the right place, almost to the detriment of her own happiness. I just adored how well she gelled with Callum. The two of them had an honest relationship with no unnecessary angst. I loved how well they dealt with every problem. The chemistry between them was hella hot! It was a slow build-up between them but well worth the wait! Such a fabulous read!
Omg what a find…
I was hooked from the get go and just binge read the whole series…
Loved, loved, loved the characters, the story and their growing love for each other gave me all the feels x
Mathilda is awesome, she’s smart, a bit sassy and knows what she wants but her sister means more than her own happiness, then the fates put Callum in front of her not one, not twice but three times and you know the saying … Third time’s the charm!! You feel Mathilda’s conundrum with the choices she has but then you a like really lass look what’s in front of you a deliciously giant hot Scots man where family means everything and is willing to show his heart and sole to win the girl. You are rooting for then to overcome the odds to come together and you get loads of laughs, more delicious Scotsman, family, fighting for want you want and a major compulsion to move to Scotland!!!
I love a hard-headed, brash, big-hearted hero, and Callum McRae didn’t disappoint! This story is sexy and sweet, filled with family and a heroine I truly liked (and I tend to be tough on poor heroines…).
I can’t pack up and go to Scotland right now, but Jolie Vines took me there! I’m off to buy book #2 in the Marry the Scot series.
Fantastic! Absolutely loved it!
Loved the growth arc for each of the MCs: Callum becoming more thoughtful rather than reactive, and Mathilda taking action to secure her own happiness. Love how they become one another’s safe place and become stronger individuals together.
I’m so excited to read more of Clan McRae’s HEAs. I find myself attached to the whole lot of them.
Storm the Castle is a sweet romance.
I truly do like Callum and Mathilda. They are so fricking adorable.
So what do you do when you get a proposal from a douchebag? Why you find yourself a sexy Scot, that’s what. Mathilda seems to have it all, but as we have come to learn, that’s not true. While she seems at her lowest, a proposal is made to her, while she contemplates it, fate steps in. Callum enters her life and takes it by storm.
While I do like the story, I just couldnt get as much into it as I thought I would. It didnt keep my attention. I felt there were certian parts in this that just didnt need to be there, those parts, for me, seemed to drag the story down. I truly did love the ending if this book.