Review 225: The Chieftain

The Chieftain (Return of the Highlanders #4)
Author: Margaret Mallory
Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: Forever (February 26, 2013)
Received From: Publisher for blog tour

Whats it About According to GoodReads:

Four fearless warriors return to the Highlands to claim their lands and legacies. But all their trials on the battlefield can’t prepare them for their greatest challenge yet: winning the hearts of four willful Scottish beauties.

A Warrior’s Heart

Connor, chieftain of the MacDonalds of Sleat, holds the fate of his people in his hands. Rival clans are plotting to take over his lands, and duty determines whom he will fight, trust . . . even marry. Seeking guidance, Connor turns to Ilysa, a young lass with the gift of foresight, who reveals an approaching danger-and a passion that burns only for him. But the warrior must make a powerful marriage alliance, and Ilysa’s bloodline is far too humble.

With her powers to heal and see evil where others cannot, beautiful Ilysa dresses plainly, speaks softly, and loves her chieftain from afar. Yet when Connor finally stokes the embers of desire that have so long burned within her, Ilysa feels bliss unlike any she’s ever known. Now as he is forced to place duty before happiness, Ilysa senses Connor is in grave peril. Can she find a way to prove she is the woman he needs by his side?

What I Thought: Not having read any of the other books in the Return of the Highlanders series, I didn’t quite know what to expect. However since I’ve loved the last couple of books written by Margret Mallory I was pretty sure that I would enjoy The Chieftain and I was right.

While the story was a little predictable and had some elements that just seemed out of place, over all the story had a good pace and really likable characters. I was able to connect with both Connor and Ilysa, and a couple of the secondary characters.There were a few times where I was almost 100% sure that Ilysa was going to end up with Lachlan, who is one of the ‘main’ secondary characters. However, she didn’t and with the way his character was written I’m pretty sure we will be seeing more of him in the future. At least I hope so.

There were a couple of points during reading where I wanted to throttle the two of them. I wanted her to stand up and say something to him about how she felt, and I wanted him to realize that although she couldn’t bring him an alliance with another clan, she was already basically doing the duties of a wife, minus the sweet sweet action in the bedroom. But alls well that ends well, and in the end these two realize that they do love each other and really cannot bear to be separated.

Do I Recommend: I do. While The Chieftain worked for me as a stand alone, I would also recommend reading the other books in this series first because I feel that they would have added a little more backstory for some of the secondary characters.

Other Books in this Series:
The Guardian
The Sinner
The Warrior
The Chieftain

As part of this blog tour I can give away 2 copies of this book, and 2 copies of Seduction of A Highland Warrior by Sue-Ellen Welfonder which I reviewed yesterday. Fill out the Rafflecopter for your chance to win Also, know that this is my first time using Rafflecopter so if I seriously mess up I apologize!

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