The Laird

I did not enjoy this book.  Because I normally like this author,

I did not enjoy this book.  Because I normally like this author, I pushed myself through it thinking that it would
surely get better.  It never did.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book is truly boring! I love many of Ms. Burrowes' books -

This book is truly boring! I love many of Ms. Burrowes' books - and actually, like the first two of this series; but, this one is BORING, IMHO!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is Michael's tale and it was, admittedly, harder to read th

This is Michael's tale and it was, admittedly, harder to read than the others in this series.

From the beginning, there was this darkness that lingered over Brenna. The more I read, the more my heart wept for her. It wasn't over the way Michael abandoned her so soon after marrying her. It was the secrets she kept, the depravity of a man she should have been able to trust while her husband was off to war, and the loneliness she felt because of the burdens she carried.

I love strong fictional women, especially those who are strong in spirit. They cannot be broken, will not kowtow to anyone, will not hide in the shadows to save face. Brenna is that kind of woman. She stood strong no matter how much the her misdeeds weighed on her. She carried on and gave being laird by proxy her everything.

Michael couldn't have chosen a better woman to be his wife. After years campaigning abroad, he returns to his wife, clan, and castle to find a lot has changed. Families that were there have left. Brenna's grown in a beautiful but secretive woman. The villagers despise his wife. His Uncle Angus and Brenna no longer get along. Ten years away was ten years too long.

They say patience is a virtue and that good things come to those who wait. Michael's willingness to exhibit those two things toward Brenna paid off. He gained her trust, her love, and access to one of the secrets she kept. The other secret... That's what made this story hard to read. The depravity of mankind toward those weaker, smaller, and younger is an important part of Brenna's history and is the basis of the discord between her and Angus. It was heartbreaking when Michael discovered it. The anger, hurt, and disgust he felt was so intense I could feel it through my ereader. And each time I thought of it, of him discovering it, my heart broke again.

But you know what? It was worth it. Everything I felt while reading this book was worth experiencing. A definite recommendation for anyone looking for a historical Regency romance with amazing characters, mystery, intrigue, and (of course) an awesome happy ending.

***Received from NetGalley for an honest review***

Wonderful! A poignant, satisfying love story: I love the way The

Wonderful! A poignant, satisfying love story: I love the way The Laird opens with the delicacy of a minuet and the danger of a Scottish sword dance. After nine years’ separation, Brenna and Michael carefully search out ways to reconnect -- as friends, and as wife and husband. But closeness requires trust and honesty, and Brenna fears her revelations would mean the loss of Michael’s love and of the life she has carefully constructed during his absence in a village where most seem to despise her.
Michael’s opening salvo in defense of his wife is brilliant and effective; their mutual wooing proceeds with caution, sharp edges rubbing, and the occasional sweet joy. The overshadowing conflict is revealed to the reader bit by bit: like a trail of bread crumbs -- or perhaps, poison mushrooms -- with the final resolution both poignant and satisfying.
As with many of the books I love, I finished it, then almost immediately started it again. This book has depth in its characters and a virtuosity of plotting that will bring me back to it time and again. I laughed when Michael discussed his marital difficulties with his horse; worried about the threat that looms like the blackest cloud (or perhaps seeps beneath like a sucking bog); and shared the delight when the wooing between Wife and Husband finally blossomed into joy, lust, comfort, and a fullness of love.

Readers of this review should know: I exchanged an advanced reader’s copy of a book I edited (now in print and e-form!) for The Laird. Thank you, Grace, both for the offer to read our ARC and for all the wonderful books you have written.

As always, I stand in awe of Ms. Burrowes and her talent for com

As always, I stand in awe of Ms. Burrowes and her talent for coming up with unique and exquisitely delicate ways of dealing with some of the harshest of realities.




This is the third book in the series and it deals with Michael, who served as "the Traitor's" assistant while he was in France doing what he was doing. Michael hasn't been home in ten years and he left a wife behind when he fled (in part because he didn't know how to be a husband). He comes back and finds a strong woman in place of the little girl he wed.




Brenna has suffered hideous fates over her years. Not only was she abandoned by her husband the day after they wed, but the monster who abused her was left to watch over her and Michaels' keep.




The subplot to this story is learning the true depths of horror that not only Brenna, but many other little children (boys primarily) have suffered at the hands of the monster. For me, there was no more heart-breaking scene, or freeze-frame moment, than when one of Brenna's brothers follows the monster into a Scottish village and sees toy soldiers abandoned by the doorstep of a house because their owner (a little boy presumably) has been summoned inside.....and the reader is left to draw their own (heart-wrenching) conclusions.




Brenna and MIchael learn about each other as they might have had he not gone away to war and gradually he finds a way to help her heal from the wrongs done her (not just the abuse as a child, but mistreatment/misjudgment as an adult as she tried to tend to Michael's people in his absence).




The final scene, or rather probably the ultimate in heart-pulling in this book once again comes when dealing with the monster just before his story is resolved. He acknowledges that he's a monster and seems genuinely to abhor what he does and the fact that he's not strong enough to stop. 




So in short, if you want a book that's going to tug on all your emotions, this is definitely the book for you. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will continue reading Ms. Burrowes' work with great delight for years to come.




Book provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Laird is the last of a trilogy that is darker than Grace Bur

The Laird is the last of a trilogy that is darker than Grace Burrowes usually writes but I found the entire series to be very good. Grace's books are well written and the plot keeps you reading, late into the night. I thought my favorite hero of the trilogy would be Mercia, but I love Michael! I've never met a man with so much patience. I do not write plot spoilers but I highly recommend this book.

Well this is the last book in this trilogy, and what is the sayi

Well this is the last book in this trilogy, and what is the saying “saving the best till last”, and I LOVED IT. That is why I give it 5 stars.




This book is about Michael Brodie, Sebastian St Clair’s ‘bodyguard’. It continues the story from The Captive and The Traitor and explains all about Michael Brodie. Michael’s father had made an arrangement with one of his friends that his son, should marry his daughter Brenna and this arrangement was made when Michael was young but Brenna was only 8 years old at the time so Michael used to watch and protect her as best he could because he knew one day she would be his wife. They married when Brenna was 16 and never consummated the marriage as Michael went off to war the morning after their wedding. He returned 2 years after the war had ended so Brenna was cross that it had taken him so long to come home. The story then tells the tale of what happened to Brenna before and while Michael was away and how they find the love that they have always shared.




This story contains a very sensitive sub plot which Grace Burrowes has dealt with in a very sensitive manner. I wanted to get into the story in some parts and shake (for a nice word!) one of the character as you felt you were there, and the twist in the story kept me entertained till the end. Congratulations on a Fabulous book. I rate this as one of my definite ‘MUST READS’, but read the trilogy from start to finish as this adds to the story.

I quite enjoy Burrowes¿ writing style.  She¿s eloquent yet fun.

I quite enjoy Burrowes’ writing style.  She’s eloquent yet fun.  This author paints a breathtaking picture of the highlands.  Not only can you see it, but you can smell it and all the castle’s surroundings.  I’ve never seen an author bring your olfactory senses so far to the forefront of a novel before.    She captures your heart and mind with the possibilities in this magical novel.  Burrowes also deals with some topics that are not only difficult today but would have been indescribably taboo at the time.  This makes her tale even more intense than it would have been otherwise.  It also breaks your heart, but gives you faith in mankind.  

My first thought on the cast in this novel?  The uncle is so skeazey that you can feel the slime coming off of him, even before you really get to know him.  I appreciate the fact that the male lead, although a laird and war hero, still tries to be a better person.  He also tries to make things right by his wife.  He never expects nor demands from her.  He is caring and emotional without giving up the essential toughness of a laird.  The female lead’s protective yet secretive nature is quite understandable based on her estrangement from her husband and lack of other family.  It becomes even more so when you find out her entire story.  Her persistence and resilience is astounding.  

This is a fantastic tale that transports readers through time and space to the Scottish Highlands of old.   It was a complete story in and of itself.  Even though it’s part of a series, I can easily be read as a standalone.  

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this work in exchange for an honest review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.