Highland Heart by Heather McCollum
Highland Hearts series #0.5. Historical Scottish romance novella with a smidge of magic.
Chieftain Alec Munro wants revenge from the man who swindled his father. Capturing the man and his traveling companions, Alec is finally ready to move on, but he’s surprised by the feisty and beautiful daughter that stands up to him. She has the power to stop a blood feud if only the men will listen to her. Rachel has healing magic and it could be the key to everything.

An intro to the series, this short novella can be read at anytime during the series and tells the story of Alec and Rachel’s meeting and falling in love.
Wars and feuds are not gentle, nor is Alec or Rachel, but I’d still call the romance a gentle fall into love. Alec and Rachel have to be strong to lead the clan but their love for each other is soft and squishy and delightful. ( )

Original review here: http://offbeatvagabond.blogspot.com/2013/02/entangled-publishing-presents-interv...

Highland Heart is a historical romance about a young woman named Rachel and her sister, Isabelle, traveling with their father. Things are going well until they reach a forest and notice something isn't quite right. They are under attack and must flea quickly before they are kidnapped by the enemy. Before hand, Rachel sees a strange man standing in the forest, but he ends up injured and she saves him before she is taken. But she doesn't let being kidnap bring her down. She escapes but ends up finding the same man in the forest she saved, She doesn't know whether he is friend or foe, but she knows he will help her.

Now this was one sexy little read I could read a million times over. I absolutely loved this. Alec is definitely book boyfriend worthy. Now that was a man. I loved him and how much he tried to defend his father against Rachel's dad. It seems as though Rachel's father, William, was swindling Alec's father out of his product. Alec definitely wanted payback and he deserved to get it. Rachel is an absolute favorite as well. That woman has balls of steel. No damsel in distress here. I love how she will do anything to get to her family. She steals a horse, goes running in the forest and through the mountains, and all while it is raining. She would do anything to get to her family and she didn't panic. Not to mention she has the ability to heal people. I wish we got more on that actually in this book because it was interesting, but still, she was amazing and that is all that matters.

Now let me rant a little bit about Rachel and Isabelle. He was swindling Alec's father out of his money, but that is not even close to how awful he was. When push comes to shove, he didn't stick up for his daughters when it counted the most. The guy was scum. Rachel even makes excuses for his behavior which I guess makes sense since that is her dad. But that was too good for him. The guy was terrible. Not only is he crap, but then the story changes when we meet the men that kidnapped Rachel. You won't believe how the father acts then, hell you won't believe where that goes. I have never seen anything more crazy. Too many crazy men on one page let me tell you. My head was spinning with anger by that time. But I love all the emotion I got from this novella, so it is just part of the fun.

Buy this little gem right now. It is super short, sweet, and sexy. The characters are a blast and I hope to read more about them. Besides not knowing much about Rachel's powers, I would have also liked to have known more about Rachel's and Alec's pasts. Both individually and together. We find out that they knew each other once when they were kids and she gave him a scare near his ear. But we don't learn much more than that though. Nonetheless, this was a great read even though there were no sex scenes. It was so close though. McCollum is a tease. Highly recommended. ( )

I typically don't read a great deal of historical romance, but thoroughly enjoyed Heather McCollum's Captured Heart, and was so excited to hear about her novella, Highland Heart. We originally met Rachel and Alec in Captured Heart, but they were much older. Highland Heart takes place before Captured Heart and is the story of how Rachel and Alec met. Rachel is what many would call a witch, but she calls herself blessed, a healer. Alec Munro is the leader of his clan and is quite the character, rough as they come while at the same time very desirable. He experiences Rachel's gift firsthand. Though the novella is only 50 pages, it is packed full or action, fantasy, and steamy romance. Since reading Heather McCollum's novels, I will never think of men in kilts the same way. I mean, who would have ever thought 15th century burly Scottish men who called their women "lass" could be so hot and passionate. Well they are, at least they are in the world Heather McCollum creates, which also includes adventure, beautiful imagery, fantasy, and historical elements. If you enjoy historical romance then I would recommend you check out Highland Heart and Captured Heart. ( )

HIGHLAND HEART by Heather McCollum is an exciting Historical Fantasy Romance (Medieval Scotland). A novella. A quick read filled with passion,Highland Warriors,Scottish Lore,magic,danger,revenge, and forever love. Follow Alec Munro, chieftain of the Munros and Rachel Brindle on a adventure of secrets,and magic. Fast paced,and magic filled. An English lady and a Scottish Highlander with a bit of magic,and a lot of passion what not to love. "Highland Heart" will capture your heart with strong,engaging characters and an intriguing plot. A must for historical romance readers who enjoy Scottish warriors,Highlanders,clans and romance with magic.Received for an honest review from the publisher. Visit the author's website,Entangled Publishing (Flirt),and My Book Addiction and More for more information.
RATING: 4.5
HEAT RATING: MILD
REVIEWED BY: AprilR, My Book Addiction and More/My Book Addiction Reviews ( )