My One True Highlander by Suzanne Enoch (No Ordinary Hero #2)
Released: April 4, 2017
Historical Romance
St. Martin’s

Reviewed by May

From the author:
Scotland, 1812—Rugged Highlander Graeme’s loyalty to his clan means that their enemies are his own—even when that includes his neighbor, the Duke of Lattimer. It’s a fight he doesn’t relish, but when Graeme’s reckless younger brothers foolishly kidnap Lattimer’s younger sister, all bets are off…

Lady Marjorie Forrester may be aligned with the enemy, but capturing her puts Graeme squarely in the middle of a war. If he turns Marjorie over to his clan chief, she could be killed. If he lets her go, his brothers could face prison. In addition, the woman can’t stop trying to civilize the lot of them! What’s a Highlander to do, then, but keep the stubborn lass close…and explore the unexpected passion that develops between them? But how can Graeme protect Marjorie and his brothers when both Lattimer and his own clan are on the warpath—and will do whatever it takes to tear these two star-crossed lovers apart

A Suzanne Enoch book is an automatic read for me, because I love the way she writes. She sweeps me along through a story with her rich characters, memorable schemes, and sparkling dialogue. I have but one problem with Enoch, and that is I’ve never loved another book of hers as much as I did the “adventurer’s club” series. (if you’ve not read those – you should!)

Back to the story at hand, there really isn’t much memorable about this one. Lady Marjorie’s brother was the star of the previous novel – but in no way is that story needed to read and enjoy this book. She’s on her way to surprise him with a visit when she acts very foolishly and gets herself kidnapped. Her saving grace is that she is overall a smart young lady so I didn’t let the set-up ruin it for me here.

My real issue with this book is that I never really believed the drama and hype. I understand that the young boys made a terribly bad choice, and nobody quite knows what to do, but “well we will just keep her longer” seems the stupidest one of all. I think the whole kidnapped lass plot simply didn’t work for me because it felt too forced and too heavy handed of a way to put them together.

She is going to be his neighbor in that his land borders the Duke’s and they could have run into each other or had a thousand different cute meets and other opportunities. I’m not trying to re-write this story, but I am trying to explain what bothered me about it. I just never could really feel the romance as fully legitimate while she was a captive – which was nearly the whole book.

If you don’t think that a kidnapped love story would bother you or the premise really appeals you might like this a great deal more than I did. It’s a fairly unremarkable story, but as I’ve said before Enoch writes in a way that is captivating and pulls you right into and along with the story even if you’re not quite buying it.

She’s a master with romance – and she definitely shows you why these two are perfect for each other, as well as bringing the heat. Another positive I have to say about this author is that she keeps the couple front and center, with a lively cast of supporting characters who enhance (but never block!) the story line.

The more detailed things I’d like to discuss about the (idiotic) ending, the (unsatisfying) resolution, or the overall wrapping up of this story are all complete spoilers so I will refrain for now. I’d recommend you go pick up the Adventurer’s Club series by Enoch first – but if you’re really in the mood for a brooding eldest highlander and a runaway heroine who gets kidnapped by his pain in the ass brothers and then held by him and then held (bow chica wow wow) by him… this may be your book.

Grade: C+

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