The Highland Warrior Chronicles #2
Christina Phillips
Medieval Romance
Published in 2017 (originally 2014)
H/h - Cameron MacNeil/Princess Elise of Circinn
Setting: Scotland and Pictland, 843.
Read in August, 2017.
My rating:
[spoiler alert]
I just finished book 2 of Christina Phillips’s fabulous The Highland Warrior Chronicles, Her Vengeful Scot.
Have to admit I’m loving this series a LOT. This book also had its
share of drama and intrigue, much like book 1. The stories are
well-written and, as far as I could tell, well-researched too.
The
Highland Warrior Chronicles is set during the time of Kenneth MacAlpin,
arguably the first king of the Scots, around 843. He makes his
appearance in both books, though less in book 2 than book 1. He wasn’t
really someone I cared much about. You’ll find out the reasons in my
review. He was also the king of now extinct Pictland. The author’s
website has a short intro about the Picts and Pictland which I found
fascinating.
Book 1, Her Savage Scot, takes place a few
months prior to book 2. Connor and his men travelled to the Kingdom of
Ce, a segment of the Pictland, with a proposal for the King of Ce from
his own King Kenneth MacAlpin. Recently, MacAlpin , the King of Dal
Riada has had this notion that he should be the reigning king of
Pictland seeing his mother was a Princess. The Royal Lineage, in the
case of the Picts, comes via the mother and not the father, so MacAlpin
was determined to grab what he deemed was his. The kingdom of Ce,
Circinn and the others were being ravaged by the Vikings. MacAlpin asks
that the eldest Princess of Ce be married to one of his warriors with
Royal blood, in this case Connor’s elder half-brother, Fergus. In
return, he’s willing to be allied with the Picts and help them fight the
Vikings. Quite a lucrative offer no doubt. Connor was tasked to make
sure the elusive Princess and the King, with other nobles be brought
back to Dal Riada to discuss everything. If all agrees, the marriage
will take place posthaste.
Connor, a second son, knew he had no
Royal blood but he wasn’t all that bothered even though Fergus was an
all around a$$hole. He pitied the Princess for he knew Fergus will be a
horrible husband but it’s the King’s wish. And Connor make sure MacAlpin
gets what he wished for. However, fate had other plans when , unknowing
to both, Aila, the Princess in question and Connor MacKenzie falls for
each-other on spot. Even though physical attraction was what brought
them together, they developed feelings for one another very soon. When
Aila is announced as the eldest Princess, the King of Ce agrees to
MacAlpin’s offer despite his, and everyone else’s, misgivings to
strengthen his forces against the Vikings. Connor is now fated to watch
the woman he loves marry his brother; a nightmare he never wanted to
witness. Aila, though wanted Connor to help break this betrothal,
finally decides to do her duty to her country despite the fact that she
was numb with the possibility of losing Connor.
The next chapters
were filed with much drama; intrigue and climax of murder and betrayal
but also of love and hope, when fate brings Connor and Aila together
unexpectedly once more. Even though they marry with MacAlpin’s
blessings, they still had a long way to go. Mistrust and
misunderstandings put their relationship in jeopardy more than once but
in the end, love wins over. I really enjoyed book 1 and eagerly dove
into book 2, Her Vengeful Scot.
Book 2 begins right
after book 1 so I recommend that you read the series in order. Some
incidents such as the political intrigue occurring in book 1 plays a big
role in shaping of the story here. I never thought Cameron MacNeil, one
of Connor’s best warriors, would get book 2. He didn’t have as much
mention in there as another guy named Ewan. Elise, on the other hand,
was quite an active secondary character. Cameron AKA Cam’s hatred for
the Picts were so palpable that he wouldn’t sleep with any Pictish woman
when his fellow warriors were doing so left and right. I was very
interested to know the reason behind it and to find out how he got
entangled with Elise, the last person it seemed he wanted anything to do
with.
Cam accompanied Connor to serve MacAlpin, but he had an
ulterior motive. He had vengeance in mind; the revenge for the brutal
death of his young sister, years ago, at the hand of a Pict who ravaged
his home, his sister and killed his father. Cam was barely 16 but
already away training and doing what warriors-in-training do. The guilt
of not being there for little Isla when she needed him the most had been
eating away at Cam every since. This time, he’d found a way to
investigate the person in concern, Ferelei mac Urguist. Cam will avenge
his sister or he’ll die trying, doesn’t matter what befell him
afterwards.
Elise, maternal cousin to Aila and the youngest
Princess of Circinn, was married off to an older man thrice her age when
she was barely 15yrs. old. It was a MOC and she had no say to her
autocratic mother who had only one thing in mind; the monetary gains
thru the marriage. So yep, they literally sold their youngest daughter.
I’m sure Elise’s older sisters suffered the same fate but they’re not
really mentioned much in the story. In fact, Elise’s whole family living
in Circinn is there only by mention. Elise don’t visit them in the
story, and I certainly understand if she won’t!
Elise was in Ce
trying to forget Ferelei’s imminent return by flirting with the warriors
around them. She hated to be a ‘wife’ to that POS, though she’d ceased
to be one literally because Ferelei was unable to perform in bed
anymore. Thank God for small blessings! Elise likes to flirt with the
warriors but she never takes her flirtation to bedroom. Even though she
wasn’t being true to her a$$hole of a husband, Elise had a reason for
not wanting male touch. The reason behind it was the husband himself;
that guy was gross, trust me. But Cameron MacNeil was proving to be a
different, and difficult, case. That man seems to have all the dislike
for her, or her people in general for she’d never seen him smile even
once. He’s always glowering whenever she looked at him. And every time,
it seemed like his intense gaze is upon her. What in the world...? Elise
can’t even imagine what’s on his mind, though she finds her own
attraction to him rather disturbing but not disgusting by any means! And
that may pose to be a problem, Elise was already
aware of it.
Elise was blonde and blue-eyed, very beautiful and
Cam all dark haired-eyed tall, muscular warrior hot stuff. :P I couldn’t
blame either of them feeling the sizzling attraction. Cam already knew
Ferelei was Elise’s husband, while she had no idea of what Cam had
planned to do. Though, after they are unofficially introduced and have a
chat or two with each-other, Cam begins to waver from his
determination. He found that Elise was as vulnerable as any woman he
knew of, which appealed greatly to his protective instincts. Cam soon
knew that trying to hate her would be pointless, because he liked her
more. He knew she was flirtatious but also found out that she had never
followed through to any of the assignations planned with his fellow
warriors. So what was it? Was she in love with Ferelei, as gross as the
thought was? Was she being faithful to him? After knowing her, and
finding out her attraction to him, Cam is rather baffled. He knew he was
going to kill Ferelei, though he felt really bad for her.
Fate,
again, plays its hand when Ferelei returns suddenly. Both Cam and
Elise’s life is changed forever after that. She was aghast to see her
husband and wished him to go away forever. Cam wished that that bastard
was dead. Together, it seemed that fate had decided to grant them their
wish. Both are soon relieved of Ferelei’s presence.
Elise is SO
stunned by the news of her widowhood that she couldn’t wrap her head
around it at first. She had resigned herself to suffer through Ferelei’s
presence and being bound to him, it seemed like, forever! Now all she
can do is cry the tears of freedom and heave a sigh of relief! She had
been having some premonitions and vague visions from Bride but she
didn’t know it concerned her own future. As I mentioned before, women of
Elise and Aila’s family were gifted that way, though the gift may skip a
generation or two. Their grandmother has the same thing as her own
grandmother. That’s how it’s been for generations. Elise treasured her
gift, even though hers wasn’t as potent as Aila’s. She also felt that
Cam would prove to be a valuable asset to her. Elise had a younger
half-brother, a long buried secret of her father’s that was forbidden to
talk about. Droston was captured by MacAlpin but he wasn’t any
important noble. Elise loved him and wanted to free him if he was alive.
She needed help and felt that Bride was guiding her towards Cam who was
capable in every way possible. But Cam didn’t believe in her pagan
beliefs so Elise keeps her plan to herself for the time being.
Elise
and Cam begin their affair soon afterwards, not knowing how far they
can go. It wasn’t just another lusty affair either. For Elise, she
wanted Cam like no other man while, for Cam, he felt something so deep
for her already that he couldn’t put a name on it. A warrior can’t think
of love and Cam has never been in love. His life was no fairytale to
begin with. Even before Isla’s horrific death, Cam’s own legacy was
marred by his father’s brutality towards his own mother. He was the
product of rape himself, though his father forced his mother to marry
later. Twisted irony was, Cam’s mother was also the spoils of a raid,
much like Isla, but being only 11 she didn’t live through the ordeal of a
baby that followed. Cam hated his life, his home and buried everything
in blood and war and in occasional women. Elise, a Princess and such a
beautiful one at that, was someone Cam could only look at in awe and
reverence. He didn’t understand her attraction to him cause he deemed
himself rather uncouth, definitely not someone up-to-the-par of a
Princess.
What no one knew was that Cam had noble blood in him.
We find he’s a Prince much later in the story cause his mother was a
Pictish Princess, even if from a lesser known family. But Cam never
acknowledged his maternal side of the family, vehemently disliked them
for they abandoned his mother to the brutality of his father and washed
their hands off of her. Cam had no social grace for he had no interest
in socializing. He was straightforward in his words, something that
attracted Elise equally as much as his imposing physique. She knew he
would never flatter her to get her to bed. If he wanted her, he’d tell
her just that. And Cam made it no secret just how
much he wanted Elise.
Upon MacAlpin’s summons, Cam journeys
towards Dal Riada and Elise tags along. Connor and Aila were already
married and expecting their first child. MacAlpin wanted that child to
be born in safety, but Connor made it sure that Aila gets to visit her
own family when she’s ready to give birth. Now that this was settled,
MacAlpin had other plans churning in his mind. Elise’s own plan to
follow Cam was not only to be close to him, but to secure Droston’s
freedom, though she was yet to confide in him. On the other hand, Cam
was worried about his King’s plans seeing what happened to Aila’s family
and those Pictish nobles. His premonition comes true when MacAlpin
orders Elise to be married ASAP. He needed one more Princess under his
belt (though not the way you think, thank God!). Fortunately, Cam’s own
Royal lineage comes into play here. The one he’s hated to acknowledge
saves Elise from being married off to some other warrior of MacAlpin’s
choosing. Cam receives order to convince Elise and marry her ASAP.
It
was the stuff made of Cam’s most forbidden dreams. He had dreamed of
proposing to her, make her his own but was never sure if she’d be
interested in him beyond an affair. What he didn’t even imagine that
Elise was already halfway in love with him, so she surprises the hell
outta him by accepting his proposal on spot with much enthusiasm. :D It
seemed fate smiled upon them once more.
Cam and Elise’s marriage
took place soon. From there, they journey towards Dunmar, even though
Cam never wanted to set foot in that place again. Elise was already
surprised to know that Cam was a Prince, now she was more than excited
to see his home. I mentioned Isla a bit more than I wanted to because in
Dunmar, is where one of the most beautiful and heart-wrenching scenes
take place. And it was in Isla’s room. Elise already sensed a presence
in the house, maybe more than one and she knew it was not Cam’s a$$hole
of a father cause the presence wasn’t dark in anyway. One turned out to
be his mother and it leads to a great, big discovery that helps Cam
accept his heritage as a Pictish Prince. But the scene I’m taking about
comes when Elise discovers Isla’s locked up and long abandoned room and
something beckons her inside. She feels Isla’s calming presence all
over, trapped because she couldn’t move on. :( Because she was aware
that her brother was hurting for her. When Cam comes into the room too,
Isla makes her presence known by becoming an iridescent aura of rainbow
around him, her way of showering him with her love. That scene fairly
took my breath away, and I begin tearing up with Elise. Cam later
witnesses the aura as well, finally believing in Elise’s words when she
said he must forgive himself to help her move on. So Cam’s whole trip to
Dunmar wasn’t as bad as he’d initially thought it would be. Old wounds
began healing. Alongside Elise, both incidents work as a balm to his
soul. He has never been as happy as he was now. At long last, Dunmar
begins feeling like home.
But even basking in such marital bliss,
both Elise and Cam had their vulnerabilities. Cam’s was worse because
he still couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that Elise has chosen
him. And because MacAlpin played part in it, he was scared of losing
her. Cam knew Elise would be disgusted by any notion that suggested he
married her on order, and not because he was mad about her. The later
was obviously the main reason, however the way Cam keep pushing off
telling Elise the truth, I just knew another big
misunderstanding was on the horizon. -_- Elise also never told
Cam her true relationship with Droston, even though she told him that
she wants him freed. She was under blood oath, but hello, when it’s
ripping apart your happy marriage with the man you love, will you still
continue to keep your so-called blood oath? That’s stupid! Cam was
pretty sure Droston was her lover, and she preferred that guy over him
(*SMH*) which is why she accompanied him from Ce. Lord help me! *sigh* I
mentioned in my review of book 1 that the author overused the trope of
misunderstanding there, which was the only thing that vexed me
throughout. In here, she didn’t overuse it but it wasn’t any less vexing
to know how wrong they were about each-other. :D
So there
it was, the crux of their unhappiness that sprouted its head later in
the story. I had wished that they talked and avoided the heartache but
that was not to be. BUT, once again, the author manages to neatly tie up
all the loose ends and gifts us with a really beautiful epilogue.
Believe me, you’d love LOVE Cam because he was one of a kind; an honest
man to boots who had simply endured too many heartaches of his own and
deserved his HEA. Elise was a great heroine as well and complemented Cam
for she believed in him, even through the heartaches. She helped him
overcome his sad past and made him happy, which sure made me happy for
them both!
I don’t know if there’ll be a third installment or not
(I was unable to find any hint in the story or any announcement for
that matter :( ) but I really hope the author doesn’t finish the series
here. There are plenty more secondary characters IMO who deserve to have
their own books. With that note, I’ll end my review with a rating of
4.25 stars. Recommended if you’re looking for a steamy, well-written
medieval romance.
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