I received this book for free from Zebra in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
My Lady Captor by Hannah Howell Published by Zebra on March 27, 2018
Genres: Historical Romance, Medieval Era, Scottish Highlands
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Source: Zebra
ISBN: 142014376X
New York Times bestselling author Hannah Howell pens a sweeping romance set against the breathtaking Scottish Highlands, where a young woman holding a warrior hostage tries to resist his passionate seduction . . .
Lady Sorcha Hay is devastated to learn that English soldiers are holding her young brother captive. Penniless, the only way she can pay for his freedom is by taking a hostage for ransom herself. Her captive--a wounded knight plucked from the battlefield--is furious to be imprisoned by a woman. But nothing will stop Sorcha from keeping Sir Ruari Kerr enslaved, even as the sight of his bronzed body sets her mind reeling and her senses afire . . .
With her dark mane and soft curves, Sorcha is everything Ruari has ever desired in a woman. As she tends to his wounds, Ruari fights the intense attraction that ignites at her very touch. But he can't afford to lose his heart to his tempting captor. For when he's finally rescued by his men, Sorcha will pay dearly for her treachery--and loving her could put both their lives in peril . . .
My Lady Captor is a republished work from Hannah Howell that was written back in 1996. I have read many books by this author but not in a while, and I was pretty sure I hadn’t read this one. When I saw this one up on NG, I just knew that I had to grab it because I just looked at this gorgeous cover and I knew that I needed to have it. And I very much wish that I had picked it up way sooner than I had. I don’t know why I kept putting it off, but I knew I needed to pick it up especially since I have been in the mood for highlander romances lately. Its a plot that was very different from what I have seen from this author, which includes some paranormal aspect of ghosts and spirits (I have NEVER seen Howell put this in a historical and I LOVED it). The plot was very interesting and I didn’t want to put this story down once I fully got into it.
My Lady Captor begins when our heroine, Sorcha and her cousin Margaret have gone after her foolhardy brother, Dougal who went to fight in a border skirmish between the Scots and the English. As she goes in search for her brother on the battlefield, she comes across a live Scot….Sir Ruari Kerr who is injured. She learns that her brother has been taken by the English to be held for ransom. So she takes Ruari and his cousin (another soldier wounded) back to their keep. But she hatches a plan on how to get her brother back. She knows that Ruari is head of a clan that has many connections and wealth. She knows they could never afford to pay the ransom, but she knows that Ruari would be worth alot to his clan for his return. Sorcha is part of a clan that is cursed, and whenever a girl goes through puberty, “ghosts or spirits” haunt them and play tricks. And each girl receives some type of gift. Sorcha’s gift is that she can talk to ghosts. She attempts to try to help them solve what is keeping them on earth and helping them move on.
Ruari is not a happy camper when he learns that his savior is intending to keep him her captive and to be held for ransom. His cousin, is more than willing because he is falling in love with Margaret. But Ruari, even though he is drawn to Margaret, he is furious that he is being held against his will even if its a comfortable room. Sorcha is nervous around Ruari, because he makes her feel things she never thought that she would ever feel. She feels she has no choice but to do whatever she can to get her brother back, because he is laird and its her duty. However, she also bears a lot of weight on her shoulders in the guilt she feels about keeping Ruari and his cousin against their will. But everytime they are together, chemistry flares and they end up kissing and touching and soon she feels herself falling in love with Ruari and wants to enjoy every moment she has left with him.
What ye must ask yourself is which ye will regret the most–following your heart, taking a wee chance no matter how small it may be, or continuing to hide and never even trying to grab what ye want.
But now the time has come for Sorcha to return Ruari to his clan and for her to go get her brother back. She gets Dougal back, but at a price including a encounter with a Englishman that she knows will cause her trouble in the future. Sorcha loves Ruari and misses him, but she knows that they could never have a future together. For one she kidnapped him and held him against his will and she knows that he will return the favor one day and he thought her a bit crazy for believing in ghosts.
Its now been three months since Ruari left, and Sorcha heads to a festival with her brother, her aunt and her cousin Margaret who has been depressed since losing the man she fell in love with. Sorcha is feeling heart broken, but she is a leader for her people and has had to remain strong. But what she doesn’t expect is to find Ruari and his men at the festival, and he comes after her and against all attempts she gives to flee (some very creative ones) and before she knows it Sorcha and her cousin have been taken captive by Ruari and this time Sorcha has no idea what he expects from her. But Sorcha doesn’t play dead in her kidnapping, she fights in her own way and she helps a ghost find his closure and Ruari and Sorcha reconnect again but their road isn’t an easy one and Sorcha will have to get very creative and crafty in order to be with the man she loves for good.
There are a great many reasons why I love ye and why I was a fool to try so hard not to love ye. Ye have strength, spirit, and beauty.
My Lady Captor was a bit different and I really enjoyed all the elements that brought this book together. For being a republished novel, it was a gold ringer…I simply had a blast with this book. It had its slow moments at times, but the plot and the romance was way too endearing for me to ever be tempted to put this down. I loved the way that this story develops and seeing both of these people deal with what they are face with. Another delight was the other two sub plot love stories. We don’t see too much of these couples, just glances and hints, because the focus of the story is on Sorcha and Ruari.
This is one of those type of medieval romances that is rich in history and culture but also sizzles in the heat and the romance. I was so cheering these two on so proudly. There is a portion of the story where they go at it like cats and dogs, they can’t decide if they hate each other or love one another to distraction. They have some powerful chemistry that shows through the pages, and I loved the dynamics of the curses and the ghosts. That was very interesting and added some nice delights to the story. I found this book to be one of the most detailed and dynamic that I have read in historical all year. It was such fun to get to know these characters and follow them along their journey towards their HEA. BRILLIANTLY DONE!!
About Hannah Howell
After five years and many rejections, I finally got my first book on the stands in 1988 – Amber Flame – from Leisure Books (reissued a while back under the title His Bonnie Bride). Also the western – A Taste of Fire published by Kensington in 1988. (and reissued by them several times since then) After about 10 years of writing English, Scottish and western historicals for several publishers (even venturing into the occasional pen-name) I settled in at Kensington writing Scottish historicals. Thus was born the great Murray clan (and a very prolific clan as well.) In June 2009 I started a series set in late-Georgian England concerning two connected families – the Wherlockes and the Vaughns. The first – If he’s Wicked – was that June, the latest – If He’s Tempted – was released April 2013. My cunning plan is to then do one of the Wherlockes and one of the Murrays each year. We’ll see how that works.
I grew up in New England and my family (on the maternal side) has been here since the 1630s. The paternal side is half Nova Scotian and half English. Met the hubby in England on a trip to meet and greet the English side of the family, bought him a drink in a pub, and the rest is history. Been married for 42+ years now. I have two sons, one a graphic artist (Sam) and one a mechanical engineer (Keir), a daughter-in-law who is a teacher (Beth), and three stunningly attractive, highly intelligent grandchildren (boast much?) – Benjamin, Jennifer, and Evelyn Rose. And they all live within driving distance – hooray. Being mildly insane I also have five cats – Matilda (high strung), Shadow (who is a little ferally and lives under a chair in my living-room because she does not like the ‘kittens’ I brought home years ago.), the demonic duo – Jackson and Perkins, and the latest addition, Mungo.
When I am not writing – which isn’t often – I play games on the computer, play the piano (took 13 years of lessons when growing up), crochet (very addicting), read, and garden (some day I will conquer the demon weed).
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