“Paula Quinn captures the heart of the Highlands” (Monica McCarty, New York Times bestselling author) in this sweeping, epic romance, perfect for fans of Outlander. This Highlander will risk everything to find his daughter . . . Lachlan MacKenzie has nothing left to lose since his wife and daughter were killed. But when a shadowy figure reveals his little girl might still be alive, Lachlan will … still be alive, Lachlan will do whatever it takes to find her — even abduct a lass from the MacGregor clan for an exchange. Being caught would mean certain death. But the laird of the Black Isle won’t let anything — or anyone — interfere with his mission . . . not even his beautiful, stubborn captive.
Even his heart All Mailie MacGregor wants is to return home to her family. And the Highland beast who captured her can go to the devil. Her plan: to thwart him at any cost and win her freedom. But she never expected to be so drawn to the fierce warrior and the desire in his eyes.
more
Lachlan MacKenzie is a man with nothing to live for and nothing to lose, everything he loved was taken from him two years ago when his wife and daughter were murdered. Lachlan was a respected solider in the Queen’s army and a skilled warrior, but when his family is burned alive, he walks away from his career and hunts down the men that killed them. He kills all the men that stole his love from him and has the scars and the black soul to prove it. When Rannald Sinclair, the Earl of Caithness sends his lackey Robert Graham to find him and ask him to kidnap Mailie – Sinclair says they are in love and her father is keeping them apart, and the price he is willing to pay is worth the risk. Robert Graham tells Lachlan that his beloved daughter Annabel did not die that day and that Sinclair knows where she is and will give Lachlan the information once he delivers Mailie to him. Lachlan is not sure he believes Sinclair’s claim, but he cannot help but hope and agrees to his terms.
Mailie, the daughter of Tristian MacGregor and Isobel, is at a market day with her cousin and five of her kinsman, she wonders if she will ever find love like her parents and family have found, she has hope, but high almost impossible standards – she wants a knight like she has read about in stories and will settle for nothing less – certainly not Rannald Sinclair. When a distraction separates Mailie from her kin, Lachlan takes her. She doesn’t go easily or quietly – much to Lachlan’s dismay. He thinks he is helping her join her love, but even when he learns that is not the case, he still won’t let her go. Mailie vows to escape and will be happy to see her kinsmen kill him – in fact, she will help them! She thinks he is a beast, he is scarred and brooding, he refuses to answer her questions and will not let her go, but even when she fights him, he never raises a hand to her. When they reach his island, her father’s dog Ettarre finds them, but instead of attacking Lachlan, she lets him pick her up and lay her on Mailie’s lap. They reach his castle and she tries to escape several times, but he always catches her.
Lachlan is attracted to Mailie, which surprises him, he has felt nothing for so long and has been alone with only his pain, that she turns his world upside down. Slowly they form a friendship of sorts, he tells her about his deal with Sinclair and she vows to help him. He slowly starts to come out of the darkness that he has secluded himself in for so long and when Mailie starts changing things and bringing two orphaned children into his home, he is unable to say No – They are forcing him to rejoin the living. Mailie comes to love her dragon, but fears what will happen if her family finds them before she can convince him to send her home. She also loves Will and Lily, the orphans that she has forced Lachlan to shelter. Slowly they break down Lachlan’s walls and turn his castle back into a home. But Sinclair still wants her and her family is still looking for her – and she doesn’t know how to stop the bloodshed that will surely ensue if her family finds her with him. He wants to let her go, but how can he turn his back on his daughter? And how can he live without this woman who has stolen his heart?
Mailie and Lachlan declare their love and vow to find a way to appease her father, find his daughter and live happily ever after – but when Mailie overhears that her family is near, she takes off to intervene without telling Lachlan and ends up almost dying. Lachlan and the children can’t believe she left them and Lachlan’s fragile heart breaks all over again – but instead of retreating back into the darkness, Will and Lily give him a reason to carry on and as angry as he is at her, he is grateful for the gift she gave him when she brought the children to his home.
Mailie awakes on Skye and insists on returning – especially when she learns her father left her kinsmen with orders to kill Lachlan. She returns just in time and sees her beast in full on protective mode – he is amazing! When he sees her, he begs her forgiveness for doubting her and it seems like a HEA is theirs for the taking. But Sinclair is not done with them yet and before they can grasp their HEA, they will have more battles to fight and more tears will be shed.
This is an absolutely beautiful story, and that is saying a lot from me, because I am not a fan of second love – but I felt the connection between Lachlan and Mailie and I had no doubt that Lachlan loved his first wife, but that Mailie is his soulmate. The story has a bit of everything, action, fighting, steamy love scenes, adorable children, a lot of emotion and a swoon worthy hero. This is the 7th book in the Highland Heirs series, but it can definitely be read as a stand alone title with no problems. I loved this story and would happily recommend this book!
* I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher*
Paula Quinn Laird of the Black Isle is book Seven in The MacGregors: Highland Heirs Series. This is the story of Lachlan MacKenzie and Mailie MacGregor. I haven’t yet read the previous book in this series, so for me this was a standalone book.
Lachlan is still lost after the death of his wife and daughter although he was quick with his revenge it didn’t fill the whole that was left by them. When rumor swirls that maybe is daughter is possible alive he kidnaps Mailie thinking he can use her to exchange for information and or his daughter.
But almost as soon as he kidnaps Mailie he starts to understand she is more than an easy hostage. It does take her long to start taking of his home and bring him out of his sadness. But can these two be more than what they stared off as?
Love Ms. Quinn’s writing!!!!!
Mailie is the kind of heroine I like – strong, feisty, undaunted, smart, complex, loving and can totally take care of herself. Add a flawed, wounded, scarred, braw, huge, yet caring and tender hero and you have an outstanding read! The prose is excellently written, the plot well thought out and presented and the characters are very relatable and likable. The children, Will and Lily, were delightful and you just wanted to hug them. Then there is Ruth – we all need a Ruth in our lives. The MacGregor clan are all just sigh-worthy and we do get to see a fair amount of Tristan, our heroine’s father, and Adam, future laird of Camlochlin, who is featured in the next book. Lest I forget, one of my favorite characters is, Ettarre, a devilish-looking hound with the most wonderful disposition.
I started out being sure that there was no way I was going to like Lachlan MacKenzie, Dragon Laird of Black Isle, Earl of Cromartie. His is a tragic tale of loss, suffering, and pain and when he was offered a deal with the devil, he agreed to inflict that same pain, suffering, and loss on another family. So, why would I ever decide to like him? Well, Ms. Quinn handles it wonderfully. She doesn’t white-wash what he did and doesn’t make it like it never happened – she makes it a tale of redemption, forgiveness, and love. He was always a sweet and wonderful man and when you hear his story, you will see why he shut himself away from the world with almost no human contact.
Mailie MacGregor is the much-loved daughter of Tristan and Isobel MacGregor. She is sweetness and light itself and always sees the best side of everyone and everything. She is also strong and smart and can usually take care of herself. As Mailie and her cousin Nichola are shopping in a village square they have no worries because they are surrounded by five MacGregor men who are twice the size of anyone else around. There is a distraction, one of the MacGregor’s has been accused of theft – everyone charges over to protest – and – in a flash – Mailie is gone without a trace.
Mailie does all she can to get away. She kicks him, screams at him, flings herself away – you name it – and it doesn’t even phase him. He puts her across his shoulders and takes off running – and he runs for what seems like forever. Then, he flings her over a horse and they are off again to a boat where he rows her for an interminable amount of time. He is huge, strong and inexhaustible! She has no idea where she is or how she will escape – but escape she will. She knows her kin will be looking for her and won’t ever give up until they find her, then Lord help the man who has kidnapped her because her kin will kill him without a question asked.
Within a day Mailie is taking over his castle and him. She bores into him with question after question and demand after demand. She is slowly but surely cracking the shell he has built around his heart and his life. She is relentless. She won’t let him shut her out – and the more she learns, the more she cares and the less she blames.
It is wonderful to watch these two find their way to their HEA. It takes a lot of work – on Mailie’s part especially – but it is absolutely wonderful to see. I just know you’ll love this book. There is also an excerpt from the next book, Highlander Ever After, in the back and now I can hardly wait for that one!
Please check out my reviews at:
Blog: https://flippinpages.blog/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/flippinpages…
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FlippinPagesRev
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BarbBookReview
“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”
Two years ago Lachlan MacKenzie lost the two people who meant the world to him. He was so broken that he retreated to his castle and the darkness letting no one close. When the Emissary for Ranald Sinclair tells Lachlan that his little girl might still be alive, he will do whatever he has to do to find her. He agrees to abduct a MacGregor lass and this definitely seals his fate because when her family finds him they will most certainly kill him.
Maillie MacGregor vows to escape from the man with a black heart and does everything she can to get back to those she loves but along the way she loses her heart to the beast who took her from her family.
This story grabbed my attention from the very beginning and I could not put it down. It was definitely a page-turner for me. My heart broke for the pain that Lachlan had been through and the dark, lonely life he was leading because of the loss of his family. When given a small hope this makes him do something that isn’t in his nature and my heart hurt for him once again. This is such a strong plot with a few twists and certainly the “feel goods” for the heroes. There is a kidnapping, heartbreak, sadness and a very, very evil man. However, there is determination, strength of character, strong family loyalty, humor, romance, hope and healing. This isn’t my first book by this author and with each book that she writes I have a new favorite and I certainly loved this story.
I received an ARC from Netgalley for an honest review.
Loved this book!
Lachlan MacKenzie is living in darkness — his wife and daughter were murdered in the worst way, burned in their home while Lachlan was away. He’s been spending the last two years avenging their death and working really hard to stay away from everyone.
When he’s approached to kidnap Mailie MacGregor with the promise of his daughter still being alive, he does what he has to do — he kidnaps the girl and takes him back to his home where he knows no one will dare turn him in or speak against him.
Mailie is full of fire and doesn’t take too kindly to being kidnapped. At first she hates Lachlan and tries to escape. But he’s not going to let that happen. As they spend more time together, Mailie ignites something Lachlan long thought dead inside of him. And Mailie also realizes that Lachlan isn’t quite the dragon that everyone would like to believe he is. The first half of the book is really all about Mailie and Lachlan learning about each other and eventually falling in love. There’s a couple of adorable orphans involved who help Mailie see exactly what she wants — and that’s Lachlan. I adored Lachlan’s transformation from rude and unapproachable laird to where he ends up at the end of the book, full of life and hope for the future.
Unfortunately, the creep that wants Mailie and had a part in her kidnapping isn’t about to just give her to Lachlan without a fight. Honestly, the last 40% of this book was amazing with plenty of action and lots of little twists that kept me interested until the very end.
Mailie’s family is also looking for her and they rounded out the cast of secondary characters. I’m really looking forward to Adam’s story as a result.
Overall, I liked this story but I did think that the first half of the book could have been paced a little faster and not been so repetitious. I struggled a bit with that, but the last half of the book made up for it with lots of action, interesting and sometimes nasty characters and a happily ever after that both Mailie and Lachlan deserved.
Laird of the Black Isle works well as a standalone. If you are in the mood for some Highland hotties, this might just work for you.
4.5 stars! This was such an awesome story. I loved Lachlan and Mailie. I enjoyed it all and couldn’t wait for the HEA. Such a great read!