Hard-Hearted Highlander

The wonderful narrator Derek Perkins brings this story to life with vivid portrayals of all the tortured players in an arranged betrothal gone awry. To save his family's lands after the Scots' bitter defeat at Culloden, Rabbie MacKenzie must marry an English bride. Rabbie has been deeply depressed since the brutal death of his fianc�e, and he's in no mood to court an English lass. Young and na�ve Aveline is bartered into marriage--and is way out of her depth. It falls to her former governess and companion, Bernadette, to try to help these two to get along. But Rabbie, who wants nothing more than to join his beloved in death, is increasingly intrigued by the companion with a secret past, and the feeling is mutual. L.C.L. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

April 3, 2017
London’s third Highland Grooms installment (after Sinful Scottish Laird) takes the reader on a journey to mid-18th-century Scotland, where there is much distrust between Highlanders and the English. Bernadette Holly is a governess and lady’s maid to young Avaline Kent, daughter of Lord Kent, who has agreed to wed Avaline to Rabbie Mackenzie, son of Laird Mackenzie. Rabbie is reluctant to wed, but if he doesn’t agree to the marriage, Lord Kent will buy up all the land that the Mackenzie clan depends on for crops and livestock. Rabbie remains distant from the young Avaline after meeting her, put off by her shy manner. Though he initially spars with Bernadette, he admires the governess’s forthright nature. After Rabbie encounters Bernadette on one of her walks by the sea, the two engage in a passionate interlude, and their initial contentiousness turns into intense sensual attraction. London’s multidimensional characters are not at all who they appear to be at first glance. The fascinating love triangle, set amid the wilds of Scotland, creates a page-turning read that will resonate with fans of Highland romance. Agent: Jenny Bent, Bent Agency.