For Love or Loyalty

For Love or Loyalty 
Jennifer Hudson Taylor 
Abingdon Press
November 2013
Fiction, Historical, Romance 

Scotland to Carolina, 1760

One conquest could destroy her, but avenge his family.

Malcolm MacGregor vows to free his family and exact revenge against Duncan Campbell. When the opportunity arises, Malcolm decides to use Duncan’s daughter as the bargaining price. Lauren Campbell is the perfect answer, until she begins chipping away at the bitterness in Malcolm’s heart and changing everything. Her bold faith and forgiveness ignites guilt he would rather avoid and a love he doesn’t deserve.

Lauren Campbell never expected to discover such a caring and protective man behind the façade of Malcolm MacGregor’s fierce reputation. When they arrive in America, things turn against them, and Lauren finds herself in a fate worse than death. Now Malcolm has the dilemma of freeing the rest of his family or rescuing Lauren, but time is short and with little means, he needs a miracle.

This book started off rocky and confusing and I nearly put it down. I'm glad I didn't. Taylor introduced a number of characters as the very beginning that were very hard to follow. I actually thought I had stumbled into the middle of a series rather than the start of one. I stuck with it and the main characters quickly grew on me. 

Malcolm was a bit confusing as if he couldn't quite decide whether he was bad or good. Lauren is a sweetheart of a character that seemed to have emerged from a very dark place. I had to remind myself that things were very different back in the "ole days" because it seemed quite unbelievable that Lauren and Malcolm could just disappear as they did. 

The love story was believable and intriguing. It's one of those books where you feel like the writer has maybe written herself into a corner and you're just along for the ride. It was a good ride. While a bit amateur in writing and story development I did enjoy this one and would be willing to pick up another book from Taylor. 

My thanks to Abingdon Press for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my real and honest review. 

Five Days in Skye

Fve Days in Skye
Carla Laureano
David C. Cook
June 10, 2013
Romance, Fiction, Modern


Hospitality consultant Andrea Sullivan has one last chance to snag a high-profile client or she'll have to kiss her dreams of promotion good-bye. When she's sent to meet Scottish celebrity chef James MacDonald on the Isle of Skye, she just wants to finish her work as efficiently as possible. Yet her client is not the opportunistic womanizer he portrays himself to be, and her attraction to him soon dredges up memories she'd rather leave buried. For James, renovating the family hotel is a fulfillment of his late father's dreams. When his hired consultant turns out to be beautiful, intelligent, and completely unimpressed by his public persona, he makes it his mission to win her over. He just never expects to fall under her spell.

Soon, both Andrea and James must face the reality that God may have a far different purpose for their lives—and that five days in Skye will forever change their outlook on life and love.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not typically a big fan of modern fiction. However, this book may have just changed my mind. It was excellent. Such a good read! I was swept away to Scotland and found myself searching flights to I could go visit the land of my ancestors (you may have noticed the main character and I share a last name). Andrea is strong and defiant but is completely worn down by James. James is public yet very private and he's extremely likable. Like watching your favorite romantic comedy you won't want this book to end. You're going to want to grab some girlfriends, cook together, and then plan that trip to Scotland. Read it. Do it. 

My thanks to David C. Cook (holler at my favorite publishers!) for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my real and honest review. 

Mine is the Night

Liz Curtis Higgs is back! After this review after her last book I had my doubts about picking up this book. However, my love for Higgs and my desire for her to captivate me once more had me pushing through. She did not disappoint. This is the second of two and can absolutely stand alone, in fact I would recommend skipping the first and getting right to this one. It took me a whole first book and a few chapters into this one to realize this was an interpretation of the story of Ruth. Anyone else out there take as long as me to figure that out? Anyway, with that added twist I was hooked immediately. The language was still a bit challenging at times but I adjusted quickly and loved the story. The characters are full of depth and they'll feel like your closest friends before you're done. You always know a winner when you finish abook and keep thinking about the characters. Annoying, but a mark of a truly excellent story and storyteller.

Following the Jacobite rebellion Elizabeth and her mother-in-law, Marjory, flea penniless to Marjory's former hometown. Finding refuge with a distant cousin Elizabeth and Marjory begin to rebuild their lives in a way that looks nothing like their former existence. Beth takes up a needle and thread and Marjory begins cooking. Both begin to fall for two dashing men who capture their hearts and therein lies the tale.

This is one of those books that you just have to read to truly appreciate it. I promise you'll enjoy this one. Pick it up and be prepared to be transported to 1700's Scotland.

WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group provided this book to me for free in exchange for this honest review as part of their Blogging for Books program.