How am I ever going to find another Highlander Historical Romance series as good as this one?

Julie Garwood created three separate complex stories with lovable heroines and despicable villains. Her male protagonists are strong and honorable not horny and pushy. A lot of historical romance writers make the mistake of making the hero think with his loins instead of his mind. It annoys the hell out of me but Julie Garwood doesn't do that. And her heroines are classy yet full of spark.

In this book, Gabrielle witnesses a horrible act while traveling to the abbey where she will be married in one weeks time in the Highlands. King John is marrying her to an old Highland laird to win favor with the Highlanders.She and her guards see men disguised in monk robes trying to bury a man alive.

To save him, Gabrielle kills one of them with her bow and arrow. She and her guards sneak him into the abbey to get him help. They do not want anyone to find out they saw anything because they don't know what happened and who to trust.

The injured man is the brother of a brutal Highland laird named Colm MacHugh and he wants answers. If he can find the person who saved his brother, he might be able to get proof of who wanted him dead.

Colm MacHugh was the perfect Highlander male. He was disciplined, stubborn and a man of few words yet honorable. He would never lay a hand on a woman but he is also afraid love weakens a man so he holds back his feelings. I was pretty much in love with him throughout the book.

I am going to have a hard time finding a series that lives up to this one now that it's finished.

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Messy

I feel like this story was rushed. I keep comparing it to Ransom and it just doesn’t seem like it was the same author that wrote it. I had to finish it since I started it 😂 ( )

Many fans of Julie Garwood are probably overjoyed that she has returned to historical romance - no one does it better. Described as "exquisitely beautiful." Princess Gabrielle is certainly worth more than a trade, but that's what King John uses her for in an attempt to make peace in the Highlands. He offers her in marriage to a Scottish laird.

The journey to meet her laird is not an easy one as she and her escorts come upon a dreadful sight - some thieves are attempting to bury a man alive. Gabrielle to the rescue! She saves the man's life and chases off the despicable brutes. A short while later r husband-to-be is murdered, and she is banished.

Banishment is not so bad after all when she is taken in by Colm MacHugh. As is said, "the path of true love never runs smooth," so it's a rocky road rutted with considerable danger for Gabrielle and Colm. ( )

Again, another great story by Julie Garwood.

Princess Gabrielle of Saint Biel, daughter of one powerful English baron and cousin by marriage of Brodick Buchanan (see book II), is the perfect "coin" to establish peace between England and Scotland but her beauty turns some heads, especially two English barons that stopped at nothing to have her and the treasure she carries with her.
Pledge to an old laird, Gabrielle comes to Scotland to wed but on the journey she kills a man, protects another and finds herself outcast and without a home. All this is witnessed by Colm MacHugh and Brodick that decided that Gabrielle should marry Colm, not only for her protection but also to pay a debt but soon they found out that Gabrielle is not what she appears to be. Opinionated, free, smart and sassy, Gabrielle turns Colm head and life upside down, making him attracted to her.
Together they need to clean her name and replace the truth.

Colm is a warrior: brave, strong, smart and hardheaded. He doesn't want to like Gabrielle because he thinks she has the power to make him vulnerable. Still, the way she carries herself, strong and confident, is what draws him to her. I loved the way they circled each other and how they behaved together.
I like the way Julie Garwood mingles romance with action and humor. It's definitely a book that I recommend to everyone who likes Highlanders. ( )

I can't say I really liked the story, but I didn't exactly hate it either. I really liked the prologue and thought there was great potential. However, after the prologue the plot is slow to develop. It never really picked up.

The heroine was okay. Garwood's heroines are usually headstrong. It seems like Garwood wanted Gabrielle to come off as headstrong and independent, but she fell short. In the beginning she is a strong character and then she starts running away to daddy. It was a disappointment since I liked Garwood's other heroines.

The hero, Colm MacHugh, was another disappointment. At times he came off as an ox and then other times he was a coward. He stayed away from Gabrielle for a good chunk of the story for fear of showing his true feelings. When he did finally show his feelings he came off as a brute. He was not endearing or warm at all. This was a big disappointment for me considering that this is a romance novel and there was barely any romance.

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