The Laird

May 25, 2015
In closing the Captive Hearts Regency trilogy (after The Captive and The Traitor), which closely examines post-traumatic struggles, Burrowes uses the familiar romance framework to tell a somber and affecting story about people who did the best they could under awful circumstances. Nine years after disappearing on his wedding night to go to war, Michael Brodie returns home to Scotland without warning. His bride, Brenna, isn't sure how they can put back together a marriage that never really got started, but her love for Michael means she's willing to try. While the typical romantic push and pull appear, the true center of the story is the damage caused both in war and by evildoers close to home. Burrowes displays exceptional skill in dealing gently with difficult topics, including sexual assault, and manages to build a remarkably positive story that ends happily; would that all such tales did. Agent: Steve Axelrod, Axelrod Literary Agency.

August 1, 2014

Returning to the responsibility of his Highland clan after nine years away, Michael Brodie is greeted not only by his loyal, competent, yet resentful wife, Brenna--no longer the child bride he remembers--but also by a strangely troubled family who are not at all as he left them. Unrest simmers just below the surface, and evil lurks in this seamlessly plotted story that drops enough clues for readers to connect the dots but doesn't lessen the impact when the crafty, perverted villain finally gets his comeuppance. A fiercely protective heroine with secrets to guard and an honorable hero determined to win her trust find understanding and love as they confront betrayal, child abuse, and deception in a tale brightened by shards of humor and exquisite character development. VERDICT Tender, sexy, and thoroughly satisfying, this final book in the "Captive Hearts" trio neatly ties up dangling threads but leaves major hints of a possible second series to come. Note: Each story stands on its own in this back-to-back trilogy about linked military heroes dealing with the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, but readers may wish to begin at the beginning with The Captive.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.