Highland Captive

By Alyson McLayne

4 Stars. Best enjoyed with a glass of wine behind a locked door. 

This book is #4 in The Sons of Gregor MacLeod series, although it can be read as a standalone, which is exactly how I read it. 

Laird Gavin MacLeod is looking for his son who has been lost the last two years after being taken away from the site of a clan gathering following the death of his distant and cold wife from the plague. His single minded search for Ewan MacLeod has turned him into a bitter and angry man, blind to anything other than finding his heir and holding him in his arms again. Little does he know that his young son has been given to the care of Lady Deidre MacIntyre under the guise of him being a bastard son of her own husband. Lady MacIntyre has grown to deeply love the young boy who so lovingly calls her ‘mother’ and the child is the only thing in the MacIntyre estate—in her very life—that she cares about. When Laird MacLeod storms the estate for the boy, Deidre refuses to let the child go without her, and Gavin MacLeod is forced to take his son’s adoptive mother with him, albeit reluctantly. 

As Gavin gets to know Deidre and sees the love she has for his son, feelings begin to stir deeply within his heart—and lower—feelings he hasn’t had for anyone in quite a few years. Feelings that Deidre’s own body echoes back in secret. However, the kidnapping of Deidre begins the stirrings of a war between the patriarch of the MacIntyre clan and that of her family, while there are also parties in the shadows who have been scheming against Gregor MacLeod and his foster sons, including Gavin. Will Deidre and Gavin’s feelings remain unrequited or will the growing feelings of love and physical attraction give them the strength to conquer all?

I really did love this story and I’ll tell you what—Alyson McLayne knows how to write a steamy love scene! Good Glory! The characterizations were deep and meaningful and the growing feelings between Deidre and Gavin weren’t instant, which I always appreciate. Both of the main characters had a lot of their own demons to overcome, both inner and outer. I also love stories where the heroine is well read and the Highland Captive delivered this, along with a fierce and protective hero who could seriously rev some engines! 

The plot was fast paced and many of the characters were both relatable and likeable when they needed to be, and repulsive and unlikeable when it called for it. I had a ton of sympathy for Deidre’s life—she had it rough—but she also more than overcame it with a little encouragement from Gavin and grew to be less timid as the story went on, which is believable and often happens when someone who is pushed into the shadows is brought back into the sun. 

Although I have not read McLayne’s other works, you can bet that I’ll be picking up the others in short order!

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca in exchange for a fair and honest review.