Book Review and Giveaway, Three Copies: Sins of a Highland Devil by Sue-Ellen Welfonder

I loved the characters with this interesting plot.
Sins of a Highland Devil (Highland Warriors) by Sue-Ellen Welfonder

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Forever; Original edition (January 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446561789
• ISBN-13: 978-0446561785

     Price: Print $7.99; Kindle $7.99
     Genre: Historical Romance
     My Rating:  3.75 of 5.0

Product Description
The first book in the Highland Warriors trilogy, in which three heroes make a pact to insure that a rival clan does not take over their Glen of Many Legends. At the same time, three women plot to marry these heroes to insure peace.

In SINS OF A HIGHLAND DEVIL, James Cameron is concerned when the King's decree states all three neighboring clans must have a battle to the death in order to lay official claim to the scared Glen of Many Legends. James attempts to make a pact with the heads of the other clans to fight this decree. But he ends up fighting his own fierce desire when coming head-to-head with Lady Catriona of the opposing MacDonald clan, who has her own plan for peace.

Review:   Since I particularly liked many of the characters in this book I thought it was a shame that two thirds of the book was sensual play instead of focusing on the interesting plot.

James Cameron is a sinfully sexy highlander chieftain, known as “The Devil”. Too bad for Catriona MacDonald that bonnie James is in the wrong highlander clan.

There is a long history of disagreements, often murderous, of the three clans who occupy the Glen of Many Legends.  The King has ordered the clans to submit 30 of their best warriors to battle to the death.  The clan with the most men standing after the battle will win the authority to reign the Glen.

Catriona is a flame haired beauty who is feisty, proud and bit reckless.  She met James Cameron when she was young and their encounters have gendered sparks ever since. No other man interests or excites her although she knows she shouldn’t have anything to do with a man from another clan.

James knows that he shouldn’t lust after the sister of an enemy chieftain. But he can’t help the consistent sizzling pull towards Catriona and what mere mortal man could resist her seductive provocations?

These characters are really wonderful as are their siblings who, I am sure, will offer their own headstrong battles in other books in the series. I also thought the challenge to find peace instead of slaughtering each other presented an interesting plot although it didn’t work out as I had hoped. I do not mind battle, blood and gore but this type of forced battle for spectacle wasn’t to my liking.  Although I prefer the battle results to the alternative they were not consistent with the King’s decree of “to the death.”

I did like the mystical aspects with ghosts, a great spirit stag and an ancient couple who add their riddled fortune telling wisdom and meddling spells to the story.  I also liked "the fate thread" pulling characters together. What annoyed me, although I am sure many romance readers would not be bothered by it, were the pages and pages of sensual imaginings with James fantasizing about Catriona and Catriona, not so innocently, imagining the things James might show or teach her.  A little sensual tension goes a long way for me and I thought that two thirds of the story devoted to that lustful chase was a bit much.  I was ready to get on with the mystery of the cloaked trouble maker stirring up each of the three clans and what tragedy or sacrifices would have to occur to achieve peace.

This is the first book I have read by this popular author and I have to wonder if other stories have the same ratio of sensual chase to interesting plot.  Yes the characters are grand and the plot is interesting but the book could easily have been seventy five pages shorter by cutting out the repetitive lustings. That would have made it more enjoyable for me.

THANK YOU TO HACHETTE FOR PROVIDING THE BOOK FOR MY REVIEW AND FOR PROVIDING THREE BOOKS FOR GIVEAWAY.

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