Review: Chieftain’s Rebel by Frances Housden
Series: Chieftains
Historical Romance
Released: March 1, 2016
Escape Publishing – Harlequin Enterprises
Reviewed by Sheena
For a year, Rory has dreamed of a lass, a Norse lass, under the summer solstice moon. Unable to give voice to her name or recognise her face, he will never forget the feel of her skin, the scent of her hair, or the emotions she wrought inside him. So when war threatens between the Norse Clan at Caithness and the Irish, Rory rebels against his father and willingly puts his heart before his duty.
Ainsel once shone as a shield-maiden, but an abusive marriage to a husband, gone but not mourned, has leeched the spirit from her soul. Her only salvation is her baby son, born of a last spark of rebellion and a passionate solstice tryst with a tall, fearless Scot. But with his return to Caithness, he threatens the life she has rebuilt, the independence she has scratched out of the dust of her marriage…
I’ll slay the elephant in the room and profess that I am no lover of secret baby trope. Blood lines are sacred and I get twitchy when fiction fathers are effectively cut off from their children by cowardly, selfish, and misguided heroines. One lone caveat I’ve considered is in cases of abuse, neglect or life or death extenuating circumstances. Chieftain’s Rebel tells the story of a young woman, abused and terrorized by her brutish husband and how one night of her own private rebellion created a love child whose truth in birth would have signed death certificates for mother and child. Oh, and it is a highland historical novel to boot. Needless to say, I was intrigued.
Rory is such a good, kind hero that I loved him from the start. Courageous and honorable, one night at a bonfire he finds himself bewitched by a mysterious woman who he can’t identify, but whose smell and softness sings to his senses. She is sensual, and bold and he is (drunk) and entranced. He awakens alone with only the memory of their tryst and she goes on to return to her own personal hell.
Sadly, all highland men are not gentleman with their bonnie lasses. Ainsel is physically and emotionally abused by her husband. He embarrasses, bruises and batters her good and often. In an effort to take a stab at doing what she wanted to do for once, she seduces Rory, content to take only her memories of how wonderful he treated her that Solstice night he worshiped her body and soul. Fate would have it that a bairn in her belly is the unplanned and most dangerous consequence of her one night of freedom. Ainsel’s husband is quite cruel, with his affairs and flying fists, so much so that when he thankfully perishes, I breathed a sigh of relief. Later, when her late husband’s clan cleansing plots are discovered, Ainsel is faced with how and when to finally tell Rory that he is the father to her son, Axel. To my frustration, she does not confess to Rory right away. Or even in a timely fashion. Soon we learn that even with her traitorous husband’s death, the baby boy’s life is still in danger, further complicating matters.
Most of the story is composed of sweeping descriptions of the highland and clan politics in regards to the impending Irish war. Chieftain’s Rebel is the sixth and final book of the series, so there is a lot of tying up clan family trees and histories. Too much of the plot was gobbled up with “will they/won’t they” and blast! When is she finally going to tell him! Ainsel and Rory had a great chemistry and more than the warring clans, I would have liked to see a bigger picture of how they deal with the fall out of the paternity reveal which is literally the last quarter of the book. My heart broke for Rory and I wish Ainsel had trusted his strength to protect both she and her son. Especially when she confided in others. If the jig was up- it was up and it was high time to pay the piper!
Family is a strong theme in the book, along with loyalty and love. Though in precarious danger at times, Ainsel had family who loved her and looked out for her as much as they could. Rory had quite the relationship with his own father, some of my favorite scenes when his dad advised him and Rory would take or leave the wisdom. Did I mention that Rory was amazing? Easily one of my favorite heroes I’ve read this year, thus far.
I’ve only had the pleasure to read one other book in this series, book two, Chieftain by Command. Much like Command, Rebel is a slow and easy read. Even the action and battle preparation is more of a drawl than a punch. Rebel is a good rainy day, lazy weekend read. Stands alone and ends on a pleasing and joyful note. It was good for me. If you are a fan of slow and easy historical fiction and fancy your men bare-barrel chested and in kilts, I’d recommend giving it a try. I intend to check out other books in the series I skipped the next time I have some time to kill and want to lose myself in a warm highlander romance.
Grade: C
Previous Frances Housden Reviews: Chieftain by Command
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