Highland Heat

by Jennifer Haymore

[Linda]

This review was originally posted on (un)Conventional Bookviews
Highland Heat had a fantastic balance of hot romance and heady mystery, and it kept me interested and flipping the pages fast!



Not everyone can pull of a historical romance heroine who actually helps out at the battleground of Waterloo, without swooning, and without really caring about propriety. Highland Heat featured such a heroine, and she was fascinating to say the least! Her name, Grace, does say it all as she showed both grace and strength as she dealt with wounded and dead soldiers. And when she discovered Duncan alive, it was all she could do to help him to his feet and to see a doctor. Of course, him being a Scottish sheep-farmer, and she a British noble didn't make their instant attraction go away... It rather intrigued them both that they got along so well, and it irritated Grace that the ton was such a snobbish lot as to not let her be with Duncan if she wanted to.

Because Duncan's superior officer has been chosen for a secret project, and includes Duncan in this, Grace and Duncan travel back to England together, and they spend quite a bit of time getting to know each other better. And their attraction just keeps growing - which makes it impossible for them to stop thinking of each other. Highland Heat also has a great mystery, where the Highland Knights are sent to Manchester to stop a possible revolt against the crown at all costs. And this is another place where Grace needs to be strong and fight with all her might.

Crossing boundaries and opening up communication across classes is something I find interesting in historical romances, and this was well done in Highland Heat. There was a lot of reflection both on the class differences and on the fact that women had very little say in their own lives in that period. Haymore managed to introduce these themes into the story with ease and it brought another layer to the characters and kept me enchanted from start to finish. Written in past tense, third person point of view, the story was evenly paced and and touched both my heart and my mind.



Lord, he was a handsome man. Thick and muscular, with a ruggedly masculine face and russet-brown hair. And those startling light blue-green eyes. He wasn't dark or brooding like her brother-in-law; he was quick to smile, and there was a sort of boyishness to him she found intensely appealing.

Was this how it was done? She knew a kiss consisted of one person's lips pressed against another. She'd seen a few kisses in her life. But this... this was... Oh, God.