Hero in the Highlands (No Ordinary Hero, #1)

by Suzanne Enoch

[stacey_is_sassy]

Should you follow blindly when your clan turns their back on you?

***3.5 Stars***

I enjoyed reading Hero in the Highlands. I’ll admit that at times I was crossing my arms and shaking my head, but mostly I was sucked into the story. I have been a Suzanne Enoch fan for years and when the opportunity popped up to read this story, I jumped at it. I’m a sucker for a highland romance. The fact that the hero is a Sassenach did not turn me off at all.

I was intrigued by the initial introduction to Major Gabriel Forrester seeing him in action on the battlefield. Gabriel is not afraid to run into danger and does not hide behind his officers. He is straightforward, brave and extremely intelligent when it comes to reading how a battle will play out. Gabriel is called to meet with his superior, Wellington where he is informed that he has just been named the new Duke of Lattimer. This was a complete surprise to Gabriel and not wholly welcomed. He returns to England and accepts the title and responsibilities with the hope to go back to the battlefield soon.

Fiona Blackstock is a very busy woman. She’s the Lattimer’s steward and has been since her brother's disappearance. Fiona can seem brash, blunt and bratty but her heart is in the right place. Her main focus is seeing that her people are looked after. If it means that Lattimer Castle has 100 servants, then so be it. If only the blasted curse didn’t make her job more difficult. With sheep missing and too many “accidents” to call them “accidents”, she seems to be fighting an uphill battle. Well, things seem to be going from bad to worse when they finally find a lost relative to the late Duke of Lattimer. The fact that he’s a redcoat and doesn’t plan to stay, makes it frustrating for Fiona that she’s very attracted to him.

From the minute Gabriel meets Fiona he’s fascinated with her and is determined to have her in his bed. Fiona isn’t as keen to jump into bed with the Sassenach and a wee, merry chase entails.

I’ll be honest, Fiona’s character was a little hard to take at times. Her sassy and bratty behaviour did not make her a likeable heroine. While I admired Gabriel, he did come across as a lust-filled fool with what he was willing to put up with to get under Fiona’s skirts. As the story progressed we get to know the characters better and understand why they acted the way they did.

I struggled with Fiona being an experienced heroine. Knowing this is probably going to sound strange, I actually enjoy historical romances because of the heroine's naivety and inexperience. Seeing the heroine learn and experiment with the hero as her teacher gives historical romance a very different feel than other genres approach to being a virgin. It comes across a little too modern when the heroine is led to the bedroom and she brags of her previous experience.

In the end, the story left me with a smile on my face. I definitely wasn’t happy the whole way through, but there were more good times than bad. I really liked Gabriel and his assistant Adam. Fiona and her clan grew on me, but I did not like her uncle at all. Seeing Gabriel and Fiona’s romance bloom was an absolute pleasure and I loved that we got a sneak peek into his mind to see his feelings grow.

Hero in the Highlands is the first in this series and I am definitely interested in Marjorie's story.

Stacey is Sassy, received an advanced copy of this story. The copy provided is not the final copy and may be subject to edits and changes.