Highlander in Love

The Lockhart and the Douglas families have been feuding for centuries. So when Mared Lockhart is sent to marry Payton Douglas, as payment for a loan to her family, Mared is determined to find a way out of the marriage. Even with the supposed ‘Lockhart curse’, Payton has loved Mared for years. He’s done everything in his power to show her that he’ll care for her and treat her well in spite of her last name. Mared wants nothing to do with Payton. Having lived her entire life veiled by a curse, all Mared wants is freedom. She wants to be away from the Loch, where no one knows of her and the horrid curse.

When Mared feels cornered by Payton, she lashes out and hurts him terribly. Payton in turns responds with a change in their marriage plans. He calmly lays it out for her, that he no longer wishes to wed her but she will still repay the loan to him. Instead of being his wife, she will now be his housekeeper for one year’s duration. Mared is horrified and furious, but she has no choice. A Lockhart never breaks their word and in refusing Payton’s hand in marriage, her family has no choice but to accept Payton’s latest offer.

Julia London’s Highlander in Love is an amazing story from start to finish. It is refreshing to have a hero, time and time again bare his soul to the one he loves. Even when he swears to himself, never to allow Mared hurt him again, he can’t help but to open his heart to her every time. Mared rebuffs and rejects him at every turn and who can blame her knowing how she’s been treated her entire life. Ms. London has no problem making her readers care about her characters. She simply brings them to life through the pages. The dialogue in Highlander in Love is entertaining and comical throughout. Whenever Mared and Payton start to argue over what which ancestor did what to whom, they always end up laughing in the end because the antics of both families were ridiculous. Readers can’t help but laugh out loud at what seems like a juvenile rendition of, I know you are but what am I. I loved this book because of how I felt while reading it. I was completely into the story. My heart hurt when Payton realizes the only choice before him is to set Mared free so she can have the life she’s always wanted. It’s a testament to Julia London’s writing that readers will feel the emotions played out in the book. Highlander in Love is the last in the Lockhart trilogy and can be read as a stand-alone. I was already a Julia London fan, but Highlander in Love cements her place on my automatic buy list.

Reviewed by: Jaymi