Fate bound them together, but love will set them free. With no chance of escape… since the man is known as the Savage Slayer. Her plan is simple: pretend she’s crazy. But what happens when the man she thinks she wed turns out to be hiding behind a facade cleverer than her own, one that conceals passion she didn’t believe possible and tenderness she never dreamed existed? What’s a lass to do when the very man she successfully drove away is the only one she’s ever wanted near?
The best laid plans…
A second son relegated to life in the shadows, Highlander Brodee Blackswell left home to serve as the enforcer for the King of Scots, longing to one day govern his own lands and castle. And now that Brodee has become a legendary warrior, the king grants him exactly that. But even rewards have a price. The castle comes with a broken, albeit beautiful, lass he must wed. Yet for a man with no desire to marry, a woman lost in her own world might just be the best possible option. Except Brodee quickly discovers who Patience truly is, and the complicated, caring lass is awakening parts of himself he’d rather leave dead.
May be their undoing…
The potential of a dazzling future dangles just within reach for Brodee and Patience, but dangers they never conceived consume them, threatening their fragile, newfound trust. Their only hope of survival is to shed their meticulously crafted masks and relinquish the pain of the past to embrace the promise of healing, enduring love.
If you love romantic, page-turning books set in the mysterious, rugged Medieval Highlands that are about honorable, alpha Scottish warriors and the brave heroines who capture their hearts, then this is the perfect novel for you!
Secrets, seduction, and romance sizzle in the Highlander Vows: Entangled Hearts novels from USA Today bestselling author Julie Johnstone.
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Fate bound them together, but love will set them free, with no chance of escape…
When Patience Kincaide learns she’s being forced to wed for a third time, she’s desperate to compel her husband-to-be to stay away from her. Her plan is simple: pretend she’s crazy.
But what happens when the man she thinks she wed turns out to be hiding behind a façade cleverer than her own. Brodee conceals his passionate nature and tenderness behind that very façade.
A second son relegated to life in the shadows, Highlander Brodee Blackswell left home to serve as the enforcer for the King of Scots, longing to one day govern his own lands and castle.Now that
Brodee has become a legendary warrior, the king grants him exactly that. But even rewards have a price. The castle comes with a broken, albeit beautiful, lass he must wed, a woman who has been wed two other times to cruel men who had no care for her.
The potential of a dazzling future dangles just within reach for Brodee and Patience, but dangers they never conceived consume them, threatening their fragile, newfound trust. Their only hope of survival is to shed their meticulously crafted masks and relinquish the pain of the past to embrace the promise of healing, enduring future of love.
Brodee and Patience are a couple with much mistrust between them. With so much danger around them they may be the only hope for one another.
A broken wife and a warrior who wants his own lands even if it does come with a price that he isn’t exactly willing to take on.
This may have been the best book in this series yet! Although part of a series this book can easily be read as a standalone title.
I gave this book 4.4 of 5.0 stars for storyline and characterization.
I received a complimentary copy of this book to read. These thoughts are my own.
This in no way affected my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.
I absolutely loved Brodie and Patience story. The King finally gives Brodie what he has worked so hard for but he also gets a wife. He does not want a wife, but has no choice if he wants the castle and land the King just gifted him. Patience has been sold into marriage twice before by her I caring father and she is determined to make Brodie think she’s crazy which backfires on her. But these are those in the castle that will do what they can to destroy their relationship.
Both carry the scars both physical and mentally and it will take a special person to take down the walls each of them has out up to protect themselves from further hurt.
This is a great read and you will call in love with Brodie and cheer Patience on as she gains the confidence in herself.
I received this book for an honest review.
The building of the conflict added to the movement of the plot. Complex characters keep the reader guessing about who is good and who is truly bad.
5 stars!! A captivating read, I could not put down. The storyline was riveting. Such well developed characters from hero to villain. This series is the best!
Be prepared for your heart to be engaged as this magical story of two wounded souls are brought together. Just when I thought surely Julie could not possibly surpass the last book she wrote, she of course does and with a hero and heroine I could not help but love.
A man who set out to prove himself, Brodee was awarded a castle by the king but it came with a wife. That is after he took the castel and killed the Laird. He was determined to not give his heart again but sometimes the heart has a mind of it’s own.
Having suffered so much and detemined to keep the next man away, Patience tried to act like she was crazy, but Brodee soon saw through her ruse.
An emotional love story that seared my heart with Julie Johnstone’s prolific writing that never fails to make me sigh and believe in love all over again. Heartache, intrigue, untruths, love… this has a little of it all that is needed to bring this story into one of my favorites. Thank you Julie!
Both hero and heroine carry baggage as most relationship do. In this case, neither truly want to wed, but the command of the king and Brodee Blackswell’s need to have a keep of his own, a dream which normally doesn’t happen when a male is not first born, is most powerful.
Patience wants to avoid marriage because she’d been in two other marriages where neither were bliss. Why would she put herself into a position to be ridiculed and abused again?
But marry they must and marry they do. Brodee is a gentleman and tries to give his bride some space to get use to the idea. Hence a marriage in contract, but easily dissolved if not consummated.
Danger lurks close at hand and forces are ready to prevent a true marriage. The author writes the story in a style where the reader knows who the antagonist is, but Patience and Brodee do not. On the contrary, she thinks this individual a friend. Brodee at first suspects evil everywhere because he’s taken over the keep, killing the previous laird and has his hands full.
The story has enough danger to give it a good edge. Of course, as I got more attached to Patience, I was ready to kick Brodee in the head!
Hope you enjoy the story as much as I did!
Abused, degraded, and made fun of by the entire clan, Patience was for the third time to be wed to someone she does not know.
Brodee was the right hand of the king, since he saved the king, he is given lands, a castle and the hand of the previous laird’s wife.
A touching story about a woman who has been subject to a couple of the worst of men trying to learn to trust again. I really liked the way Brodee tries to win her trust and her love. Julie Johnstone has worked domestic violence into a touching, exciting and romantic story that grabbed me and kept me interested to the last page.
A can’t miss!
Julie Johnstone has authored another winning, sensual, historical Scottish romance with this adventurous story about Patience’s and Brodee’s arranged marriage and subsequent hijinks in the “getting to know you” courtship following their marriage. There is some intrigue, too, which adds to the excitement of their tale. A delightful read!
This book is about Broddee the “Savage Slayer” and Lady Patience Kincaide.
Broddee is the Kings Right Hand and he has been fighting all his life to gain land of his own that he has rightfully earned himself. And he is close to achieving this goal but his King order him to marry Lady Patience in order to have the castle/land he had earned. So not to angry the King Broddee agrees, even through his future dreams ever included being married.
Lady Patience has been sorely used by men all her life and just wishes to be free of them. But the choice of a third marriage is not hers to make, but father. With no choice in the matter she must marry Brodee, but that doesn’t mean she cant try and get out of it with any means she can think of.
Both Brodee and Patience must come to terms that other people control the strings of there life when it comes to there marriage. But the future as men and wife can be there to control. There story is one of over coming ones past and learning to trust in not only each other bit in an uncertain future. They must learn to leave the darkness of there past behind and emerge into the light by healing each others past and showing everyone there true self.
I did feel that some of the conversations through out the book what no where, one minute they be in the middle of a story and they would never finish telling the story yet each person in the book understood like they had been told the full story. It was a bit confusing a times and some parts left rushed over to me. The characters spent most of the story in there own head having conversations with them self than actually talk to the other characters. But some how they developed a deep understanding for each other past and fall in love with out really have a normal conversation with each other. maybe it was just me, but overall the story has good bones but the only reason you know the whole story of each of there past was either by hear say or them have conversation in there own heads. I thought that the two main characters didn’t have enough time to get to know each other. The book felt like it was missing something to me. It didn’t feel like a normal Julia Johnstone book to me. The book overall felt incomplete to me.
The two main protagonists in this 9th book by Julie Johnstone in the Entangled Hearts series are Brodee Blackswell, a warrior knight for King David of Scotland, and Patience Kincaide, the widow of the lord of the last castle Brodee recaptured for the King. Patience is expected/forced to marry Brodee when the King gifts him the castle. She is not happy to remarry because both previous marriages were to cruel men who abused her either physically or mentally. Patience tries to make Brodee believe she is crack-brained in the head. There are many funny moments with the ploys she uses. Patience tends to speak out loud her inner thoughts, so Brodee initially believes there might be something wrong with her. I almost laughed out loud when the drunk priest, who was to marry them, commiserated with her and said, “I see now the affliction you suffer. You believe yourself to be a dog.”
Brodee is someone who had loved and lost. He is afraid to open himself to love again. The hurt was too deep. He doesn’t want to give in to his growing feelings for Patience. Patience believes Brodee is a good man and begins to care deeply for him. Because her previous husbands led her to believe she was worthless, she doesn’t believe Brodee would ever care for someone like her. Events take place which leads him to believe Patience’s life is in danger. He comes to realize that she has broken down the barriers to his heart but can he save her in time?
Julie Johnstone has written a very engaging highland romance with likable characters, flowing prose, a plausible storyline, and some sweetly steamy love scenes…just what I like. Favorite character quotes: from Patience, “I’m listening to see if the part of ye that’s dead can be revived”; from Brodee, “I think ye have silenced my ghost and gentled the beast.”
I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of this work and happily submit this voluntary review. All opinions stated are my own.
When he vows to never give his heart again. . . until he meets her.
Another awesome book by Julie Johnstone. Brodee Blackswell. The Kings right hand has been given a castle and a Bride for his service to the King. The bride is Patience Kinkaide, widow of the Laird Of said castle. Brodee has sworn to never love another woman. Patience has vowed to never marry again as her two prior husbands had physically and emotionally abused her. She feels that Brodee, who has earned the nickname of Savage Slayer, will be no different. Because of past painful memories, they have both erected walls to keep future pain away. They awaken feelings in each other they try to fight. I loved both of these characters. They, as well as secondary characters, were well developed and were so realistic you wanted to reach out and touch them. I absolutely loved it and I thank Julie Johnstone for sharing her wonderful gift with us. Hopefully there will be a book 10 in our future. I was gifted this book and am voluntarily reviewing. Five plus shining stars.
Brodee Blackswell, King’s Right Hand, has finally been granted his own castle and lands. Along with the castle he gains a bride, Lady Patience Kincaide. Neither has any desire to marry. Neither has experienced love, romantic or familial. Patience has been in two abusive marriages. She has no reason to trust that this one will be any different. As Brodee works to establish control in the castle, he and Patience work to come to know each other and cope with their marriage. Difficult enough, but treachery in the castle makes more challenging and dangerous.
Brodee is one of my favorite characters from this series. He is strong, honorable, and caring. (He is not tender; warriors are not tender; just ask him.) When we meet Patience, she is so frightened and distrustful that she pretends to be “cracked.” Watching her grow and gain confidence and trust is a delight. How to Heal a Highland Heart is another engaging Highland romance by Julie Johnstone. It is heartwarming and hard to put down. There is drama, pride, jealousy, unjust accusations, and treachery. There is also hope and humor. This one is a winner. It’s a beautiful story with a great ending.
How to Heal a Highland Heart by Julie Johnstone is book 9 in the Highlander Vows: Entangled Hearts Series. This is the story of Patience Kincaide and Brodee Blackswell. I have read the previous book (and Loved IT!!) but feel you can make this a standalone book if you wish to do so.
Brodee is a strong highlander who has been the right hand man to the King every since he proved himself when he left to serve as the enforcer for the King of Scots. Brodee had hoped one day to be reward with lands so that he can settle down in peace. When the King does grant him such a boon of a Castle it comes with some strings. Brodee has to marry the widow that is left from the previous Lair. Patience has been forced into two marriages by her father that have been very abusive so when she learns that she is yet again going to be given away in marriage she starts to panic especially when she hears it is to Savage Slayer legendary warrior Brodee. When they first meet she has just had a anxiety attack that has left her looking unhinged. Of course Patience starts to play into that thinking to drive Brodee away but she starts to learn that he isn’t like the previous men in her life. Brodee is really gentle and caring towards her even when he thinks she has the mental health issue she is faking.
Loved their story and of course this Ms. Johnstone writing. I look forward to reading more of her books!
Brodee Blackswell, known as the Savage Slayer, has always wanted his own land and now the king is offering it if he marries Lady Patience Kincarde, but first he must take the castle and the woman. Brodee has vowed to never love anyone again, he’s lost love before and barely survived from the grief. Patience Kincarde learns she’s being forced to wed for a third time. Her first two husbands were unspeakably cruel to her so she has no desire to marry again especially to a man known as the Savage Slayer her plan is to she pretends she’s crazy. I love the interaction between Brodee and Patience, their witty banter as she tries to convince Brodee he’s crazy to a total 360 degree spin where she wants his love and acceptance in the clan. They both discover love conquers all if only they are brave enough to give their hearts to each other and live happily ever after before she’s murdered. A great adventure story filled with twist and turns in this Highland romance. An excellent story and one I voluntarily read and reviewed
I loved this story so much. It was so hard to put it down. Julie Johnstone is an amazing storyteller. The characters were wonderfully written.
I love it when Julie Johnstone releases a new novel especially in the Highlander Vows: Entangled Hearts series! Book 9 of the series is How to Heal A Highland Heart and it was a great read! Her writing is so smooth and it is so easy to immerse myself in the story which is wonderful since I love these characters.
I didn’t think it was possible for The Highlander Vows: Entangled Hearts series to get any better but Julie Johnstone blew me away with How to Heal a Highland Heart. This is without a doubt, my favourite book in the series. I couldn’t get enough of the story or the writing. I was thoroughly captivated. Julie writes with such emotion and I was able to feel it all. I completely fell in love with the characters too!! I loved Brodee, he was such a strong and enticing character with a tender side. Patience was this very interesting, soft, compassionate heroine that blossomed into a very likeable character. She was the perfect match for Brodee and I loved their story. This is a book that I will remember and definitely read again very soon! I highly HIGHLY recommend it!
How to Heal a Highland Heart is book 9 in the Entangled Hearts series by Julie Johnstone. Even though this is book 9, it can be read as a stand alone work. Although, I always recommend reading a series in order – it’s just a richer experience. I think Johnstone has written a masterful story. Lady Patience Kincaide is such a precious character. I loved her soft heart and gentle ways. She has already experienced two abusive marriages when she is commanded to marry the Savage Slayer, Brodie Blackswell. She decides to try to repel Brodie by acting insane and speaking to herself. There are some truly funny moments in this book and some tearful ones too. Brodie sees through her charade but puts up his own barriers to guard himself. Can there ever be any kind of good relationship between them? “The kiss started slow and thoughtful, the softness of it surprising. She’d been prepared for pain, punishment, anger, but this…this caress of his lips to hers sent the pit of her stomach into an odd, wild swirl, and she found herself curious and suddenly leaning toward him rather than straining to get away. A slide of his tongue over the crease of her lips made her gasp. It was darkly alluring, that velvet warmth. His lips massaged hers, coaxed and parted them, and her heart jolted when his tongue tangled with hers.” There are several steamy sex scenes in the story. I also enjoyed the surprise villain. I am looking forward to more from Ms. Johnstone. I was given a copy of this book.
IF I could I would rate this 6 stars!!! My heart is still pounding. I seriously can not believe how Julie Johnstone’s books command complete control over my beating heart rate!!! {(Heavy Sigh)} Ok this story is about Brodee, the younger brother (of a couple of breaths) of Broch (When a Highlander Weds a Hellion) who after leaving his clan to make his own way in the world, becomes the right hand of King David. King David has nicknamed Brodee the Savage Slayer. He has earned it, but mostly to protect his wounded heart. A heart he has vowed never to give to a lass again. King David awards Brodee an enemies castle and the dead laird’s widow. He must claim the castle and marry the lass. Then with his new father in law destroy another enemy, only don’t trust the man….no pressure. He obeys his king and takes the castle. He meets his bride and thinks she is a little nutty (she talks to herself and tends to speak her thoughts, not releasing it), not in a scary way but that she is just fighting some demons. The kind he battles.
Patience has been married twice, her first husband a serious abuser and the second a mental abuser both causing serious pain and issues. She now has to marry the Savage Slayer great! Patience has no allies, no friends (her late husband has taken care of that) and not knowing what to expect is causing her to regret breathing. She meets her husband and his warriors and immediately feels he is different than her previous husbands. As she gets to know him, she yearns to trust and love him. He is treating and loving her (physically) in a way she can’t describe and wants more. Brodee gives her what she needs and deserves and teaches her that she is very worthy. He just can’t give his heart…..yet!!! There is so much treachery and deceit around them that it clouds both their judgement. They both have to find a way through the evil find their HEA!!!
Julie Johnstone takes you on a thrilling ride with this love story!!! You will need oxygen!!