HIGHLAND REBEL

Author: Judith James ISBN: 9781402224331 9/2009 HISTORICAL Publisher: SOURCEBOOKS
Time Period: 1650's England, Ireland, Scotland

Amidst the upheaval of Cromwell's Britain, Jamie Sinclair's wit and military prowess have served him well. Leading a troop in Scotland, he impetuously marries a captured maiden, saving her from a grim fate. A Highlands heiress to title and fortune, Catherine Drummond is not the woman Jamie believes her to be. When her people effect her rescue, and he cannot annul the marriage, Jamie goes to recapture his hellcat of a new wife... In a world where family and creed cannot be trusted, where faith fuels intolerance and war, Catherine and Jamie test the bounds of loyalty, friendship, and trust...

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

HIGHLAND REBEL started out hot! You have the hero, Jamie Sinclair, who is dark, handsome, and mysterious. Then you meet Catherine, a Highlander who was raised to do battle with any man to protect her family and clan. She’s tough, beautiful, and rich.

For the first few chapters, the book barely left my hands. Then, by the middle, it started to cool a bit. It was frustrating for me, the reader, to wait for the intimacies that were dangling on a rope, so I can sympathize with poor Cat, who kept getting frustrated with Jamie to finally get on with it.

Jamie started out as a dark and dangerous man, someone to fear, but then he turned into a broke joke. When Cat went to look for him at his residence, he had turned his home into a modern-day topless bar.

It wasn’t as exciting to read the middle chapters as it was the beginning; but then, once Jamie and Cat connected again, she helped to build him back up, only to have him loose everything. Unfortunately, that part was left loose and dangling; nothing ever was said about Jamie’s former mistress and how Jamie and Cat got back at her, especially after she tried to kill them. The story started to pick up again close to the end, but it still wasn’t on track with the beginning.

I definitely think HIGHLAND REBEL is a worthy read with some very good parts to it, but I cannot rank it as a Top Pick.

Sheila Smith