SURRENDER

Author: Pamela Clare ISBN: 0843954884 3/2006 HISTORICAL Publisher: DORCHESTER/Leisure
Time Period: Colonial 1755

A hand-picked cadre of warriors, they had the fierce courage of their Scots forefathers, combined with the stealth and cunning of the Indians who lived beside them in the wilderness. Battling the French in no-holds-barred combat, they forged a new brand of honor, became a new breed of men… Iain MacKinnon had been forced to serve the British crown, but compassion urged him to save the lovely lass facing certain death at the hands of the Abenaki. He’d defied his orders, endangered his brothers, his men and his mission, all for a woman. But when he held Annie’s sweet body in his arms, he could feel no regret. Though he sensed she was hiding something from him, it was too late to hold back his heart. In love and war, there are times when the only course of action is… Surrender.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Whew! Talk about a non-stop ride! And Jamie Frasier, you'd best lookout. You're not the only Highlander in the Colonies to twist a reader's heart into knots. You've now got fierce competition from another Scots warrior—namely, one by the name of Iain McKinnon.

Ever since Marsha Canham retired, some of us that loved her intense, action packed historicals have been a bit bereft in trying to find stories that could match up to hers. By that, I mean those stories with realistic characters who we care about and sometimes fall in love with; storylines that are intense and sometimes heart pounding; stories with substance and that are emotionally charged. Thank goodness, it looks as though I may have found a replacement in Pamela Clare, and SURRENDER is one of those wonderful stories.

The story begins when the American raised Iain and his brothers, Morgan and Connor, are blackmailed into service to the Crown during the French and Indian War. Though Catholic with Jacobite sympathies, they have no choice but to fight against the French and their Indian allies in the name of England, though they despise both the Protestant English king and their blackmailer/commander, Lord William Wentworth. Sent to discover the number of French troops stationed in Fort Ticonderoga, their mission becomes compromised when they stumble upon a violent, yet all-to-common scene: the torture and massacre of a defenseless settler. As Iain watches the young, valiant woman stand against her attackers, he knows all her struggles will be for naught. But her courage and stance of defiance strikes a chord with Iain, and though he faces a possible death sentence for desertion if he helps her, he knows he has no other choice than to try and save her.

Lady Anne Burness Campbell has been wrongly accused of a crime by her devious uncle, branded and shipped to the American Colonies, sold as an indentured servant. When her owner's farm is attacked by the Abenaki Indians, she escapes, only to be chased down and cornered like a wild animal. Terrified and wounded, yet proudly defiant, she faces her attackers and vows to fight until the bitter end. Yet, just when all seems lost, she is saved from her fate by the intervention of a tall, strangely-marked Highlander, a member of the Clan MacKinnon. Afraid he'll discover her brand and resell her, or learn she's a member of one of his clan's most hated enemies, the Campbell's, it seems she has no other choice than to lie about her true identity. But as "Annie Burns" becomes drawn more and more to her courageous protector, just as he is to her, she becomes torn between keeping her past a secret, or telling all and possibly losing Iain forever.

This is how I love my romances—breathtaking, exciting, filled with non-stop action that transports me right into the thick of things. The pace begins at breakneck speed right from the first page, barely stopping long enough through the rest of the book to let a reader catch their breath. The battles are graphic and realistic, the historical backdrop honed to perfection, and the emotional and sensual attachment that grows between Iain and Annie, first simmers, then sparks and consumes us all in a conflagration of white-hot fire. Mark my words, this is one hot, hot romantic pairing between two perfectly matched and courageous leads, and one heck of a roller coaster ride for the reader. That's not to say there's no obstacles besides war and battles here, as religion, Annie's indenture and Iain's service to the Crown all come into play and threaten their relationship at every turn, making this ride all the bumpier but much more thrilling for the readers.

Be forewarned that this is not a book you'll put down lightly. Once you start, you'll be hard pressed to do anything else but travel along on this journey filled with action, danger, fantastically vivid historical events, and written in almost liquid prose: non-stop and ever flowing words that blend together in a lifelike portrayal of colonial times and the people that stood up to almost unimaginable hardships, written only as Pamela Clare can write them. If there's one book to pre-order for this upcoming year, and you're a fan of "meatier" reads, then SURRENDER is a must-have for any historical romance lover's TBB list. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

Nancy Davis