Highland Warrior (Campbell Trilogy #1)

terrific character driven historical romance

In 1608 on the Isle of Bute, off Scotland, Lord Lamont hosts a Highland gathering at his Ascog Castle in hopes of finding an acceptable husband for his not always biddable daughter Caitrina. He hates using his offspring as pawn, but feels for the sake of the clan¿s safety he must arrange a marriage that brings a strong alliance with it. She understands the need and accepts her role, but prays that her fiancé is not a Campbell; a clan the Lamont tribe has feuded with for years.

Due to the pleading of her younger brother Brian to rescue a kitten from a tree, Caitrina climbs up, but her sibling leaves once she gives him the feline before helping her down. The Privy Council¿s enforcer Jamie Campbell arrives in time to help the damsel in distress out on a limb; that is after taking his time as he admired the view. In spite of the clans¿ disputes and Caitrina¿s trepidations, Jamie marries her. However, whereas he sees the world as black and white, she sees a rainbow. They fall in love, but their marriage remains fragile as he remains inflexible unable to understand that chastisement is not always the best response to right a wrong. When his beloved almost dies, Jamie begins to comprehend how fortunate he is to have Caitrina as his wife and to have her love as he begins to understand justice without passion leads to injustice.

The opening of Monica McCarty¿s latest Highland saga, The Campbells, is a terrific character driven historical romance that showcases a great author cleverly using a seventeen century setting to make a point about modern day justice. Love is not enough as Jamie as the enforcer never cares about circumstances when he doles out punishment in the name of justice. Caitrina is his opposite as she feels strongly all the pertinent information needs to be considered before determining the best fairest course of action. Fans will relish their dispute over what justice truly is.

Harriet Klausner

5 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

I wish i could have one of them!!!

This story is exceptional as Monica's other trilogy has been. It does not repeat the style or pattern which is good and keeps you turning the pages. I finished it in 1 day! i swear i could not even sleep till i had finished it! Jamie is very HOT! I LOVE him! Caitrina is a strong character and makes me like her all the more for it. This is a more than just enjoyable read you will not be disappointed. The story takes a very sharp and unexpected turn that you do not see coming. You will savor every last word of it!

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Very readable. Good series

I like her books and the series. You pretty much know how the story will go but I like how she creates the feeling between the characters. I also likes how she will tell what the woman is feeling and then show it from the man's point of view on the same scene. Good escapism.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Great Historical Romance

Caitrina "Caiti" Lamont is the spoiled daughter of the Chief of their clan with three loving brothers. She's content with her "princess" lifestyle and even okay with her father trying to match her up with a husband at the highland festival being held at their castle. Yet, the one man who captures her interest the most is a mystery and frustratingly tells her "no" unlike every other male in her life. Life is good with a few stolen kisses until the long-hated Campbell clan attacks one night and brutally murders her family & burns her home. Now, the grieving Caitrina is staying/hiding with her aunt and uncle until Jamie Campbell, the cute mystery man from before, comes back into her life proposing marriage for clan alliance. She accepts solely for the reason of gaining her family lands back, but before she knows it . . . love begins to change her view on the world.

Caiti comes off very young and naive in the beginning of the Highland Warrior but grows up a lot throughout the story. She still isn't my favorite female protagonist throughout the Campbell trilogy, but she does have some great character development and you feel her emotional change during the death of her family. Jamie of the other hand is quite sure of himself and though I didn't really notice much of a change in him within the story, he was very loyal to Caiti and open to making their marriage work.

Near the end of the book, there were many scenes of the two immaturely fighting over their beliefs/feelings/etc that it became quite tedious to read after a while, but even though everything resolved itself in time for the last page - I still felt as if something was missing from the tale. I did enjoy that the story preached loyalty (to not only ones partner, but family as well) as being just as important as love (i.e. don't make ultimatums!), which is a theme you don't find too often in romances but was surprisingly nice in this one.

Check out the rest of the Campbell trilogy:
Book # 2 - Highland Outlaw
Book # 3 - Highland Scoundrel

Likes: The silly ways that Jamie could easily get under Caitrina's skin in the beginning of the story (ex: kitten incident, archery competition, etc.)

Dislikes: The "honeymoon stage" (aka numerous sex scenes) near the end of the story became pretty consistent every other page and almost eclipsed the concluding plot. Don't get me wrong, I love the love-scenes. . . but it was almost too much for my taste and about the 4th to 5th time . . . I began skipping ahead.

Awesome

Must read the whole series there great

entertaining, exciting page turner!

This book made me stop and think what would I do in the same situation. Monica has yet to let me down, her writing compells the reader to never put the book down. She has quickly moved to the top on my favorites list!

A really good read

I have read all of her books now and really like her style. The history is well researched and I love that she explains it as well as where she gets her characters at the end. The characters feel real and very engaging.

This book was the first book in this series I read and after that I felt I had to read them all. From the first to the last page, I was drawn in completely. Oh and the romantic, intimate bits are great. Very well written, especially the way she tells much of the story from both main characters.

I look forward to reading more of her work.

Loved this book!

I don't usually read straight up romance with no paranormal spin but this book was recommended on a book addict blog that I follow so I decided to trust their judgement and boy...they were right!. This book was full of history,romance,happiness and complete sadness. It left me wanting a highlander of my very own. I will definitely read the next story.

A Great Read!!

The first of the Campbell trilogy. Loved it can't wait to read more

Spellbounding, tantilizing, stimulating

Recomended highly as historical knowledge, spellbounding, great reading.
One cannot put the book down. Loved it!!

Highland warrior

I have loved all of her books. Filled with adventure, strong women and men who are willing to admit that they love.

Great Read

Great storylines based on history. Wonderful romance, good characters!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Very very good

in order to get this book fallow the order of how they were written and then this one will make since and connect with the character,. In warrior i could not stand him but in this one i grew to love him and like him he earned my respect good book to read it keept me on the egd of my seat this is a good written book

A Wonderful Book For A Rainy Day!

Monica McCarty has done it again! I couldn't put it down once I started. Strong characters and good plot make this very interesting and exciting. Thank you for the wonderful book!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Not as good as Highlander Untamed, but still pretty good

Monica McCarty is a very talented writer in the genre. Her character development and historical research is quite great. She is one of the few who has it all: good plots, complex characters, beautiful writing, steamy love scenes, and romantic dialogue. I didn't love this as much as Highlander Untamed, but what can I say - Rory MacLeod is impossible to top. However, Highland Warrior was very good. I liked Caitrina. She was strong and intelligent, but at times too indecisive. I felt like several of her thoughts were repeated over the course of the book. Jamie was a good hero, but I didn't find him as dark or quite as alpha male as Rory MacLeod. This book is definitely worth picking up though! Monica can do no wrong!

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