In The Highlander, a stunning, gorgeous Victorian romance from Kerrigan Byrne, can the fiercest master of battle conquer a woman’s heart? They call him the Demon Highlander. The fearsome Lieutenant Colonel Liam MacKenzie is known for his superhuman strength, towering presence, and fiery passion in the heat of battle. As Laird to the MacKenzie clan, the undefeated Marquess has vanquished his foes … vanquished his foes with all rage and wrath of his barbaric Highland ancestors. But when an English governess arrives to care for his children, the master of war finds himself up against his greatest opponent. . . in the game of love.
Defying all expectations, Miss Philomena is no plain-faced spinster but a ravishing beauty with voluptuous curves and haughty full lips that rattle the Laird to his core. Unintimidated by her master’s raw masculinity and savage ways, the headstrong lass manages to tame not only his wild children but the beast in his soul. With each passing day, Liam grows fonder of Miss Mena—and more suspicious. What secret is she hiding behind those emerald eyes? What darkness brought her to his keep? And how can he conquer this magnificent woman’s heart . . . without surrendering his own?
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My absolute favorite in the series. I can’t even. That brogue. I’m just … going to reread now.
In The Highlander Kerrigan Byrne doesn’t only rip out your heart in the prologue it continues into chapter one where she fully eviscerates every emotion you have ever had. The question becomes, do I love that level of self inflicted misery because no one is forcing me to read these books? Why yes I do.
Philomena needs to leave London after escaping a bad marriage and an insane asylum (yes, a demented asylum run by creepy rapists), where better to go than the Highlands to live under the protection of the Demon Highlander? Liam Mackenzie maybe scary, strong and sexy AF but he also has a soft spot for his kids, his clan and Mena.
We met Mena in book two as the browbeaten wife of St. Vincent. I loved her strong but gentle nature. When she merely says “No, Thank You “ standing up to Liam or teaching his kids etiquette or helping Andrew keep his puppy, she possess a ladylike steel spine. Liam as a character had such dimension; the Demon Highlander, the sexy clan leader, the caring father and the protective man. His level of jealousy over Mena meeting Lord Thorne and when he strips the thorns off the roses for her, were just wonderful caring moments.
There were a few parts of The Highlander that really stood out to me. When Mena says “We may try to leave the past, but I don’t think the past every truly leaves us. It is a part of us; it shapes us into who we are. I don’t think any of us escape that fate.” That is just so telling, Liam can’t change the way his father abused him or his brothers, he can’t change the lives he took in the army or the madness of his first wife, those things all created the man he is today. Then when Liam says “Tomorrow is tomorrow, yesterday is yesterday. But tonight. Tonight is for us.” I just wanted to wrap his tortured, broken heart in a big warm hug.
While The Highlander is more of a slow burn than I expected it to be once they got together, it was on- in the woods, on a train! I appreciated the descriptions of hot Scot Liam working out and his affection for curvy Mena’s body!
I loved seeing Christopher (my book husband) helping Mena to escape the prison – “No, Chief Inspector Morley, I — found him like this.” The scenes with the couples from the past books provided levity and a feeling of family bonding that I appreciated to balance out the heaviness of Liam and Mena’s story.
Love a good historical romance here you go!!
The Governess
Mena St. Benchley is on her way to Scotland. In disguise as a governess for the children of the man known as the Demon Highlander. Terrified of the unknown ahead of her as much as what she left behind, she must face her fears and be strong. As she begins to feel safe, she finds herself in the middle of more violence between Highland brothers. Hate, violence and fear have been her life for five years. Nevertheless, she loves the children and their father. Dare she hope for forgiveness when her secrets are revealed. Not exactly an easy book to read. Triggers from abuse to women and violence.
Powerful!
I loved this atmospheric offering from one of my new favorite authors!
Mena is on the run after being imprisoned and beaten by her cruel husband. After her friends help her escape, she lands in the employ and under the protection of the Demon Highlander. Is she safe in this cold Scottish keep with monsters around every corner? Steamy, eerie, suspenseful!
As always, Derek Perkins nails this audiobook!
This is my first Kerrigan Byrne. I was *not* ready for the prologue and first chapter, which were very heavy on violence. However, from there, the romance was very compelling and steamy, for people who like steam. I liked how Mena was always strong but didn’t realize it, and Liam was a great alpha!
Lieutenant Colonel Liam MacKenzie, Marquess of Ravencroft and Laird of the MacKenzie Clan, is better known as the infamous Demon Highlander. He’s intimidating to everyone, including his children. After so much time away at war, Liam doesn’t have the best relationship with his kids and asks his sister-in-law for help finding a governess to improve their manners. The last thing Liam expects is to want to keep the lovely lady for himself.
Miss Philomena Lockhart is surprised by the Laird’s reaction to her, as her family has always led her to believe she was unattractive and undesirable. She’s even more shocked by how safe and at home she feels at Ravencroft Keep and at her own ability to stand up to the beastly laird. As the working relationship between Mena and Liam grows, feelings develop rapidly between them and he begins to grow more suspicious of the secrets he knows she must be keeping and to wonder if they are enough to keep them apart.
I see a lot of other reviewers who think Liam wasn’t as good of a hero/anti-hero as Dorian or Christopher Argent and I see where they’re coming from, but for me, he was just a different character and I, for one, loved that. I love the fact that this series, though quite dark and difficult to read/listen to at times, has these well-drawn tortured heroes who are different as sometimes it seems that there is a formula for the tortured hero and they’re all quite similar. Liam was unique and no less beautifully flawed for it. Even more so, I really enjoyed Mena and the degree of change she underwent throughout the book and the amount of growth she showed was remarkable as she truly came into her own. This book does feature situations that some will struggle with but I won’t mention here, so if you have any questions about triggers, etc., please feel free to message me. I loved this book and am happily continuing on my audio binge of it and would highly recommend narrator Derek Perkins’ rendition.
Philomena (Mena) St. Vincent was punished by her husband for her role in exposing his sister and brother-in-law in the last book. He had her declared insane and institutionalized in an asylum. Just as things were beginning to get even bleaker, she’s rescued by her benefactor who then helps to hide her. She’s disguised as a governess and sent to care for the children of the widowed Liam Mackenzie, renowned as The Demon Highlander. Liam has earned that moniker as he’s imposing and fierce but gets completely dismantled by the unassuming yet courageous Mena Lockhart. It’s a sometimes battle of wills and always an interesting challenge of wits when these two interact.
I didn’t know what to expect when Liam was mentioned in the earlier books and was unprepared for the force that is the Laird Mackenzie! I loved everything about him, including his jealous, irrational nature and quick temper. He’s neither good or evil, just an extremely flawed man with great intentions and leadership skills. He doesn’t suffer fools and was brought to heel by Mena who, despite her terror of him, took him on toe to toe. Their developing relationship was so natural as this kind of passion had nowhere to go but down a romantic path. For once, a romance that didn’t feel forced or take too long to materialize…all natural.
The conflict in the story came from some sinister issues arising from Liam’s past and, of course, the big secret Mena was harboring about her true identity. The tension and excitement arising from those situations came at a perfect time in the story, leading to a compelling finale that was so fitting for these characters. Derek Perkins was excellent again in his narration. His performance brought these wonderfully crafted characters to life outside the pages. I can’t imagine continuing the series without the audio versions and I’m loving every story.
I have fallen deeply in love with the Victorian Rebel series. Each of these books are so captivating. Liam and Mena and every other couple that I’ve been introduced to in this series have lived through horrible circumstances, but always rise above their past.
The Demon Highlander wears a beautiful mask, but darkness still lives underneath. On to book #4!
Kerrigan Byrne writes dark, tortured heroes (my personal fav hero) in a unique time period (Victorian England) and I love the way she pairs these brilliant, powerful but damaged men with really strong, inspiring women. I’m a fan of her writing and this series.
4.5 Stars
A wonderful Byrne historical with another compelling and deliciously dark and mysterious hero. With a nickname like The Demon Highlander, how can he not be? This third book in the Victorian Rebels Series has a decidedly gothic feel that’s solidified by a ubiquitous and menacing “presence.” Lots of dark back story surrounds both main characters which add to the mystery/suspense. While the previous books have moments of humor to lighten the darker elements, The Highlander has the most entertaining and fun “meet-cute.” The term sounds trite when combined with the grittier content of this story, but it’s the only way I can find to describe their first encounter. It’s destined to become a favorite scene in the whole series. All I can say is that this author can write!!
Great series!!!
This one was a pretty good read. I loved Mena. She was brave, and sweet. The hero Liam was okay for me. I would like him one minute and want to beat the crap out of him the next. He would do stupid crap that I couldn’t stand oh like accusing the heroine of sleeping with his 13 year old son, and his brother, or the hero going off to a hooker to try and forget about Mena. I know he didn’t sleep with her and that all he did was kiss and touch her but it still ticked me off. Still even with the stupid acts of the hero it was an enjoyable read.
“…inside every soul was a void so dark and lonely that it could take months of falling to find the true end. And contained in the depths therein was only madness.”
Liam MacKenzie, known far and wide as the Demon Highlander. He has faced many foes, killed more men than he can count, and is feared by all. All but one Miss Mena Lockhart. Miss Mena has joined his household as governess to his children…but Mena holds terrible secrets…secrets that can threaten her life as well as her soul. Can their love be enough to save them or will they be condemned by their past and damned to escape their fate.
With each Kerrigan Byrne story, I swear that hero is my fav…I’m not sure how she can do better than Liam. This fierce Highlander stole my heart. I did not want his story to end! Highly recommend!!
Fav quotes:
“She made him want things. Dark things. Had him considering sins that would not just condemn his soul, but hers as well.”
“We are bound in some inescapable way, thee and me. I’ve known it since I first laid eyes on ye”
“Ye are my blanket of stars, Mena, my reason to look to the heavens. My map when I am lost and my point of light when all is dark.”