Greatly enjoyed this installment of Highland Brides. It’s one of the funnier of the series and lets us get to know Aulay and Rory (and even Alick) better. I have to say, Aulay’s now one of my favorite Buchanans. Of course, I like them all, but if I had to rank them… Aulay’s right at the top of the list.
We know from previous books that his facial scar has left him a bit hopeless about ever winning a wife, but in this book, he meets someone who thinks the scar is rakish and prefers it because it keeps him from being too beautiful. As the book starts, the anniversary of his twin’s death is approaching. Aulay retreats to the family lodge to suffer his annual grief and melancholy away from his loving family’s annoying interference. The lodge has been rebuilt (due to events in book 4) close to the seashore and Aulay plans to go fishing. Unfortunately, Alick is slightly clueless (as usual) and tags along.
When they reach the beach, Aulay spots something floating in the water. It turns out to be a woman strapped to the broken mast of a ship. She’s half dead with terrible head wounds (see strapped to mast during horrible storm) but she’s conscious enough to smile and call Aulay her angel. (Cue touching cheek caress by damsel.) Then she sleeps for 3 weeks as she recovers from her brush with death. With healer Rory advising, Aulay is her nursemaid and he calls her Jetta because of her jet black hair.
When Jetta finally awakes, she has no memory of what happened, where she’s from, or even her name. She jumps to the conclusion that Aulay is her husband - otherwise why would she be alone in a bedroom with him? Aulay is a bit gobsmacked that she’s not repelled by his facial scar and wants to clarify this case of mistaken identity, but Rory tells him to play along in order to help Jetta recover. Thus begins a great adventure of mistaken identity, heartfelt longing, and ultimately, true love.
Reading the synopsis, you know that someone is trying to kill Jetta. Unfortunately, the Buchanans seem to be inordinately thick in this novel so it takes quite a while for them to figure out who the culprit is. (If you pay attention, it’s one of the more obvious mysteries of the series.) For all the intelligence that Aulay has shown previously, love seems to have addled his brain a bit (he’s almost as bad as Murine in this one - again, book 4). But the rest of the book more than makes up for it (especially with how the mix-up is dealt with) and it’s another happy love match for the Buchanan clan. Aulay’s love declaration is one of the more romantic/sweeter declarations made by a romance hero (let alone a Scottish one) and it left me a little verklempt.
Auley: I do no' ken if what I feel is love. But I think o' ye all the time, even when ye're no' with me. And these days since ye've woken have been the happiest o' me life... I want ye fer me wife, lass. I want to wake every day to yer smiling face, lass. I want to ha'e beautiful bairns with ye that we can raise together to be fine, strong men and women, and I want to live to be an old man and die in yer arms, for 'tis as close to heaven as I've ever been.
Hers is great, too:
Jetta: You are all I could wish for in a husband, Aulay. In truth, you are probably more than I ever dared hope for. I would consider myself lucky to be your wife, bear your bairns and die an old woman in your arms. I see a happy future with you.
Looking forward to the next book!
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Warning: not a clean read. Not a surprise given the author, but in case you’re wondering, there are several mature bits in this one.
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