The Trouble with Highlanders (The Sutherlands Scottish Historical Romance Series, 2)

I usually like books by this author but gave the last book in this series a skip because I'm not fond of the premise of these heroes taking advantage of the heroines. However this week I was intrigued by the storyline of this particular book despite my misgivings about how the h had given up her virtue to the H in the previous book, without commitment from the H.***Spoilers***I'm so glad that I took the chance on Ms Wine again, she didn't let me down. The H did have a passion for the h and hadn't slept with anyone since taking the h's virtue in the previous book. He admitted to being enchanted by her. He had no desire for any other women even though he had the reputation for being a womanizer. He wanted to explore what was between them and clearly communicated his intentions to her. I was led to believe this took place over a longer period of time but in fact in was only a few days. The h had no desire to become a mistress or leman and I believe she would've returned home if circumstances hadn't changed. The H told her that he wanted to marry her before he went to court to clear it with the king. The original letter was faked by the villainess.The villainess, Sandra did her worst but it only took place over a matter of days and therefore was quickly resolved in time, if not within a few chapters.Take a chance on this book and I don't believe you'll be disappointed! It was a believable HEA!!!

Mary Wine writes wonderful highlander stories. I would recommend reading "Highlander's Prize" before reading this book, but it's not entirely necessary. You'll just understand more of the supplemental plot and also have a better understanding of Norris as a warrior and political figure.I would have enjoyed this book even if it was the cliched highlander storyline because Mary Wine does an execellent job of describing settings and creating tension between characters. Luckily, this book had a nice twist on the typical highlander storyline - in this case both Daphne and Norris have been lusted after due to their position and wealth (he stands to take over a very important clan and she is beautiful with a large dowry). Their love grows out of wanting each other for who they truly are rather than their position or what can be gained from being with the other.There's a lot of sex in this book, but it's part of the storyline that their relationship starts with lust and then grows to love.This isn't the greatest highlander story ever, but it's a solid addition to the genre and worth reading.

It seems odd to me that in most lists for best Highlander Romances, Mary Wine's books don't even appear. Having read all of Garwood's scottish tales, some Moning, and some Brisbin I took all the Mary Wine books off the shelf at my local library and I'm really glad I did.I've read two so far and they are both slightly different than the other Highlander novels I've read by other authors. For starters in every single other Highlander book I've read, the couple in question is always, always, always without a doubt married. Now they may not like each other, they may not want to be married for various reasons, but they always are.And this book was interesting to me because the couple WASN'T married when they first have sex (which happens off the page a few weeks before the actual book starts). It makes for some interesting politics that you don't often see in romance novels because everyone's so afraid of creating a heroine who doesn't adhere to the morals of the typical Good Christian Woman. She can never have sex outside of marriage. She can never cheat on her partner. She can never consider abortion. But in this book the heroine does all three and it's actually refreshing.In all the Highlander books I've read, you hear about lemans but you never really see one. Probably because authors are also afraid of making their male love interests irredeemable in the eyes of the audience. So even though having and keeping a mistress on the side was a very common practice in historical Scotland, no authors have the guts to write about it.Mary Wine does sort of take the easy way out here by making the heroine the leman for a short amount of time. And since it's a romance novel, you know she's eventually going to end up married to the hero because it wouldn't be a romance novel without the standard HEA, but I was pleasantly surprised to see Wine taking on the seedier aspects of Highland life including not being considered worthy of marriage, contemplating abortion to remove the stigma of having a bastard child, facing life as a mistress and not a wife.The plot itself was interesting with a twist at the end that I kind of wish didn't happen. The book didn't need it and I'm not sure why it was in there. It didn't really make much sense to me, but because the rest of the book was so good, I'll overlook it.It does lose a star due to being repetitive. There's a lot of craving going on. The heroine's belly twists with desire in literally every scene she's in. Everyone growls and/or snarls. Everyone. To convey every emotion under the sun. Snarling in joy, snarling in anger, snarling in confusion, snarling in humiliation. If you played a drinking game wherein you drank every time someone snarled, you would be dead from alcohol poisoning by the second chapter. But no book is perfect and I'll deal with the snarling just so I don't have to read the requisite 'forced marriage to a barbarian that I don't love but it's my duty to have sex with him' story line that makes up EVERY SINGLE HIGHLANDER BOOK EVER.So pick up this book for some hot sex scenes, some interesting glimpses into Highland living, and a couple who are attracted to each other but CAN'T get married as opposed to two people who are forced to get married.I also don't understand the other reviewers claim that it's not really a standalone. The other book I read had nothing to do with this one and I understood the plot of "Trouble" just fine without having read any other books containing these characters.

If you want a book that grabs your attention from the begining, this would be the book! There is passion galore throughout this story, and wow! What passion! The two main characters, Daphne and Norris, are a match made in heaven, when it comes to sex. The Earl of Sutherland, Lytge, was not supportive of the marriage, as the father of Norris. Neither was Bari and Sandra, a brother and sister team, who wanted Sandra to marry Norris, as the heir of the Earldom of Sutherland, and filthy rich. There of course where a few other people in this story that had a mind to interfere as well. There are a lot of loose ends which sends you straight to book 3 & 4, for the answers. This book kept me well entertained, however the reason behind my 4 star rating is I felt there wasn't enough connection between Daphne and Norris, besides only lust. I personally felt their character growth was a little lacking as to why they fell in love. Maybe it's just me......😏. Anyway, I recommend this series of books by Ms. Wine, I think they are truly enjoyable. Cheers! 🍻

This is my first review and am doing it mainly because i very much disagreed with the previous review. With mary wine's highlander books (if you have read them) you know what you are going to get. They are quite sexy, the lead man is very much a macho type one who gets what he wants and the woman is strong and independent. I liked norris - yes he was very much a womaniser - why wouldnt he be when most women are throwing themselves at him - however this changed with daphne. He did force her into coming with him to his home but this is no real difference to the other books - and he did it because he couldnt stop thinking about her. I very much enjoyed this book as i have enjoyed her other highlander books.

It was a good story but I though the ending could have been better and longer. I wanted to find out the outcome of the parties involved.

IF YOUR INTO HIGHLANDER BOOKS, YOU WONT BE DISAPPOINTED WITH BOOK.

mary wine is brilliant I would recommend any of her books

Great book