Highlander for the Holidays

A warm Yuletide romantic tale

Following a brutal assault in Atlanta poor Mrs. Eric Dixon relocates to Pine Creek, Maine because the population of 800 allows her baby steps to heal mentally from the trauma. Using her maiden name of Jessie Pringle, her service dog Toby and her friend Merissa Blake stop at Pete's Bar and Grill where they meet Duncan MacKeage and his nephew Ian.

Duncan dances with Merissa who will return home to Atlanta in a week. Ian does likewise with Jessie who plans to buy a house in Pine Creek. Ian and Jessie fall in love, but she remains hesitant still struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder while he stays patient with her waiting for the right time to bend down on one knee. While limping in the woods near the lake, an elderly man gives Jessie a cane that he insists will help her heal.

Fans of the Pine Creek Highlander romances (see A Highlander Christmas) will appreciate this warm Yuletide tale of a strong man giving the woman he loves the time to heal. Although the story line never digs that deep into the roadblocks to the lead couple's relationships caused by her PTSD and physical scars of the attack, readers will enjoy a stop with the magical MacKeage of Maine.


Harriet Klausner

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Doggie lovers

Great Christmas story especially for dog lovers.

Highly Recommended

Janet Chapman is one of my favorite authors and she never fails to deliver an amazing story!

Awesome Book Ever

I know the whole attack thing sometimes this happens to people but some peoplle think think attack ew this book is gonna be 0 stars will this is an awesome book so you should read it!

My fav part was when Jess said Toby Was coughing up a hairball

Janet Chapmen if your reading this please please please write more Highlander Books you should keep writting you have a talent Please NEVER GIVE UP your so awesome

Yours Truely,
Melina

A hot winter read with an interesting female lead and a spunky dog

Complex Females. Jessie was messy. Not only was she recovering from a failed marriage and devastating loss of a child. She lost both the unborn child and (soon to be ex) husband when an unknown assailant attacked them in their home. Leaving Jessie riddled with traumatic flashbacks, disfiguring scars, and leg issues.

Now, before you go thinking “This is too much for me” or “I don’t like my romance heroines so tragic” Know that such events only lead to Jessie’s character seeming more spunky, funny, down-to-earth, and vulnerable. She seemed real. And this accessibility was because of her soap-opera like past rather than in-spite of it.

The Dog. Loved the dog in this book. Toby was as much of a main character in this book as his human counterparts. I don’t know if it was Ian’s innate connection with animals…or all of the various expressions Chapman gave Toby. But when Jessie starts talking to her dog like a person and he begins to respond (doggie style, no talking animals up in here)…You won’t think it’s weird at all. Mind you he doesn’t speak, but as a service dog trained to protect and comfort his owner a correctly placed tail wag can speak volumes. Bringing him into the story not only added a ‘cute’ factor but depth as well.

Hot Scottish Men. Let’s just repeat that statement. Hot, Scottish, Men. When you hit the scene where half the clan is splashing around a pool…the first time in a very long time I wished I could hop into the book. All those abs…

The premise of this series is that warriors from 18th century (or so) Scotland are tossed forward in time to find the women they are to love. Granted Ian isn’t an original clansman…instead a first generation child. The clan mentality with all its protective instincts and hearty family ethics are very much present in the tale. It’s like reading a historical romance with modern amenities. Very, very fun.

My only caveat with this tale was that we didn’t delve into Ian’s issues (war, being the prodigal son) as much as I’d have liked. I’m not sure if there was more prepping in earlier books(?) but reading this as a standalone I felt as though I was constantly being reminded of Ian’s issues without really seeing evidence of them.

Magic. So color me shocked when real magic began to happen in this book. Lead by Roger (the original Laird of the clan) the paranormal aspects were slowly seeped into the novel. Again, I think because I was so late to the game with this series I was really able to appreciate how well Jessie was integrated into the magical elements. I was new to them too and felt fully prepared when the big magic hit. I loved that. So many times in a series the reader was fully inundated into the world so you miss how choppy or quickly new characters are hit with the world. So I was so happy to see how smooth it all was. And how much I loved the character of Roger. You gotta read this to see him…I enjoyed him so much!

In the end this wasn’t the most “Christmas-y” of reads. True, it happened over the holiday. But could easily be read as a juicy winter read. Don’t be put off from the title simply because you didn’t have time this season…Or if you’re new like me, use the year to catch up and enjoy Jessie, Ian, and Toby next year. If you can wait that long!

Great Story!

As always you get a great story from Chapman. I love her highlander stories and enjoyed visiting with them. I hope we get many more books in this series. A great holiday read.

Good read!

I have always liked series books about families in all walks of life & parts of the world. I really enjoy Janet Chapman's books & keep a list handy so I don't miss the latest

I enjoyed this one as much as her previous books

She writes fun stories with great characters that I find entertaining when I want to escape for a little while.

Enjoyable read

Great book, heartwarming, read it in two days

couldn't put it down

loved it so much I down loaded the whole series!

I Loved this book!

This book was a pure joy to read...Mrs. Chapman has a way of transporting you to a magical place where love and romance live in the form of strong, hot, sexy highlander men who know how to treat a woman. If you like highlander books then you will absolutely love this series.

Highly recommended

I love the way she writes I thought it was really good. I hope they go on forever I love finding out how the others are doing. If you havent read any of her books start from the first you'll love them!!!

Great

I always love Janet Chapman

Love the book

Great read

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