Lord of the Black Isle (Black Douglas, #3)

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Lord of the Black Isle (Black Douglas #3)

3.12 of 5 stars 3.12 · rating details · 68 ratings · 26 reviews

Praise for The Return of Black Douglas

"Intriguing...Bestseller Coffman spins a rewarding love story between her two intelligent, stubborn protagonists, keeping their relationship fresh and their conflicts credible...A satisfying time-travel romance."--Publishers Weekly

A Warriors Life...

Laird David Murray would give his life to pull his clan through this time of strife and...more

Paperback, 352 pages

Published June 5th 2012 by Sourcebooks Casablanca

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The Duke's Perfect Wife by Jennifer Ashley

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Historical Romance Novels 2012

152nd out of 198 books — 98 voters

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May 09, 2012 ♡ Sassy ~ Amy ♡ rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: highlander, historical-romance, arc, part-of-a-series

Thrown back in time, Elisabeth, a doctor, decides after being kidnapped & rescued, she is going to use her knowledge for the greater good & to study the ways of the monks in a hospital.

Her rescuer, David Murry, takes her to the hospital & later retrieves her to help his sister, a nun, who is dying of a high fever. Since there is no antibiotics available during this time, the nun dies. There is nothing she can do.

Eventually David wants to keep Elisabeth close & gives her a gift...more

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Apr 15, 2013 Elizabeth marked it as dnf-did-not-finish

Shelves: historical-romance

Second time I’ve tried to read this book. At least I made it a little further this time - page 29 instead of 19. The writer’s style just drives me crazy. The story begins with exposition through dialogue, which just felt clunky. More importantly, even though it went on for pages, I’m still not sure I got what I needed to know though I picked up lots of extraneous detail. FOr example, after several pages of exposition dialogue, a key character spends a paragraph telling us how broken hearted she...more

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Feb 03, 2013 Dawn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-books, historical-romance, highlander

Elizabeth Douglass has been transported back in time with her twin sister to medieval Scotland. Elizabeth is unhappy , she was unhappy when it first happened, then she was kidnapped for like a year, then she finally falls in love only for her betrothed to be ordered to marry someone else on the day of their wedding. Finally Elizabeth figures she should do something worth her time and she used to be a doctor so it seems like a good profession to continue here. David is a laird who is very familia...more

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Jun 21, 2012 Blodeuedd Finland rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance

This is book 3..but not really book 3. Since it's all about book 2 and 3. Book 1 is about a distant ancestor. Those are connected, but book 3 can still be read as a stand alone. We hear that Elizabeth has been brought back in time and her story to love begin. Book 2 was about her sister and Elizabeth wasn't really in it as she had been kidnapped. But this then is her book.

A highlander book, do I need to say more? A hot hunky highlander who wants to sweep our heroine off her feet. He is a bit bro...more

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Jun 08, 2012 SOS Aloha rated it 3 of 5 stars

There is a great peculiarity about the Highlands and Highlanders; and they are such a chivalrous, fine, active people. - Queen Victoria

Elaine Coffman built her career on delivering chivalrous, fine, active people from Medieval Scotland. She continues with her trademark “alpha male meets independent woman” with LORD OF THE BLACK ISLE. In her latest release, Dr. Elizabeth Douglas (and her twin sister) have followed their ancestor, the Black Douglas, back in time. Just as Elizabeth settles into med...more

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Mar 28, 2012 Judy & Marianne from Long and Short Reviews rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical, non-erotic

Originally posted at: http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.c...

What a delightful sight to see a fresh-bathed knight drying in the Scottish sunlight. However, if one is running from kidnappers then first things must come first.

Dr. Elizabeth Douglas copes with being snatched from the twenty-first century and plopped down in sixteenth-century Scotland. She even puts her life back together after having the man she planned to marry snatched away by order of the King’s regent, but she is really tired o...more Originally posted at: http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.c...

What a delightful sight to see a fresh-bathed knight drying in the Scottish sunlight. However, if one is running from kidnappers then first things must come first.

Dr. Elizabeth Douglas copes with being snatched from the twenty-first century and plopped down in sixteenth-century Scotland. She even puts her life back together after having the man she planned to marry snatched away by order of the King’s regent, but she is really tired of being kidnapped by the MacLeans. When the gorgeous knight, David Murray whisks her away to escape her abductors, she is not sure if she is being kidnapped again, but riding in front of him on his horse is magical and tilts her world. When he leaves her at her intended destination, a famous hospital with the friars where she is to study their methods, she feels a sad emptiness when he rides away. Elizabeth knows healing is her calling and sets about to learn how she can use her talents in this age before modern methods and medicines were known. The reader has a fascinating journey with Elizabeth as she moves toward her destiny, of course, with the Black Douglas ghost meddling along the way.

David Murray, Earl of Kinloss, an honorable knight with a sad almost unbearable past, feels the wholesome, pure, goodness, and giving nature of Elizabeth’s heart and soul as he holds her while they ride to the famous hospital, the House of the Holy Trinity, between York and Edinburgh. He comes to wonder if she was truly real or just a fantasy. Leaving her with the friars was one of the hardest things he had ever done. But he is mindful of his duty to his clan, a duty that he never shirks. When he has Elizabeth brought to Asiling Castle on Black Isle to tend his dying twin sister, another facet of his personality comes to light—a fearsome side. Dark, unhappy days come for all. How things evole makes intriguing reading.

If you’ve read The Return of the Black Douglas, you’ll recognize many of the secondary characters like Isobella, Elizabeth’s twin, the McKinnons, the MacLeans, and, of course, the Black Douglas ghost with his humor, compassion, sage advice, his guardianship, and especially his meddlesome ways. He brings a unique quality to the story.

Elaine Coffman’s compelling writing style gives a definite sense of time in history without getting into the wars and fighting. She focuses on the lives of the ordinary people and how they live, love, and take care of each other. The conflicts come from personal agendas rather than from political ones.

In Lord of the Black Isle, Ms. Coffman sprinkles in many jewels of literature that bring to mind old truths that still touch the emotions and senses. The poignant quotes that announce each chapter are special bonuses—many of them bring back memories of college days and long discussions about life. Also, her descriptions are captivating. They quicken the senses. For example one can almost feel the cold water of the burns and the cold damp that seeps in and chills when the sun disappears and the stinging cold of the rain driven by the cold wind comes. But one also sees the sparkling beautiful of the harsh country when the sun shines brightly.

Best of all in the descriptions is the love that grows strong and true--mental, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, plus the love scenes that swamp the senses and sweep the reader along on a euphoric tide toward ecstasy with the hero and the heroine—sensual, sizzling, and so satisfying.

The denouement of Lord of the Black Isle that lets the reader know how Elizabeth creates a way to let her twenty-first family know that all went well with her and Isobella is phenomenal. Of course, the poem tells so much and leaves so much for the reader to think about, not only in the story, but also in one’s own life. What a happy “happy-ever-after”!(less)

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Jun 05, 2012 Paranormal Haven rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed-read-by-stephanie

Brought back in time by the ghost of their ancestor, Elisabeth and her sister now call sixteenth-century Scotland their home. After suffering the loss of her love, Elisabeth decides to set out on her own to use her skills as a doctor to help those in need. Called upon to help a sick relative of David Murry, the Earl of Kinloss, Elisabeth is surprised to see the man she briefly met but has never forgotten. David has laid awake countless nights thinking about the beautiful doctor and now that he h...more Brought back in time by the ghost of their ancestor, Elisabeth and her sister now call sixteenth-century Scotland their home. After suffering the loss of her love, Elisabeth decides to set out on her own to use her skills as a doctor to help those in need. Called upon to help a sick relative of David Murry, the Earl of Kinloss, Elisabeth is surprised to see the man she briefly met but has never forgotten. David has laid awake countless nights thinking about the beautiful doctor and now that he has her in his home, David will do whatever it takes to make Elisabeth his.

I wanted to like this one more than I did because I was in the mood to read a highlander/historical but this book didn't satisfy my craving. Elisabeth is a decent heroine who is as intelligent and skillful as she is caring. David is the type that has a hard exterior but is actually a caring leader. He just doesn't know how to handle his feelings for Elisabeth. They both feel a connection from the start, which was more physical than anything else, but they both have their own personal demons to conquer before they can be together. I didn't think there was a point in this book that I thought that these two were unquestionably in love. They would get close but then one would pull back or something would happen and after a few times of this, I stopped investing in the outcome of their relationship. There were some qualities I found I liked in each character but their relationship just didn't do it for me.

The journey to practice medicine isn't an easy one of Elisabeth. Angus MacLean, the leader of a clan that's a rival to Elisabeth's brother in law's clan, has it in his mind that Elisabeth will wed his son and doesn't particularly care that she has no interest in doing so. This side story could have been better if Angus didn't randomly appear to kidnap Elisabeth, make a big deal about capturing her yet again, only to have her easily escape. Perhaps I would have liked the scenes more if there were dramatics to them.

I wouldn't say Lord of the Black Isle was a bad book, it just wasn't great. I did enjoy the details the author put into the history and setting of the book. Other than that, the romance didn't work for me, the characters did have some good qualities to them but nothing spectacular and there wasn't much in the way of actual story. Also, I think the fact that Elisabeth is from the future was made into a bigger deal in the official blurb for the book than it was in the story. I didn't think she was in any real danger of being called a witch. I may have liked the book more if she would've been.

This was a pretty easy read so if you've read some good reviews and are still interested in reading it, I say give it a try if you have the extra time. Me, I won't be continuing this series or going back to read any of the previous books.
- Stephanie(less)

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Apr 10, 2013 Andreasoldier rated it 1 of 5 stars

Time travel romance that just didn't cut it for me. Fair Amercian doctor travels back to old Scotland in the 1500s. Hunky hero with urge to protect her even though he thinks her spy. Little chemistry, some contrivance, but the killer was the time travel element. It just didn't work.
Both characters think to much and everything is their heads. When the fair doctor thinks about medicine, its like reading a PreMed 101 text. Each chapter opens with a literary quote, but they're from all periods and a...more

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Jul 11, 2012 drey rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reads, romance-historical-regency

Who doesn’t love a good time-travel historical romance? I know I do…

But. I couldn’t quite get into Elaine Coffman’s Lord of the Black Isle – there were so many references to events and characters from previous books in the series that I got all muddled up and confused. Also, some of the dialog was more of a monologue, and that lost my attention, too.

I liked David and would’ve wanted to get to know him better – he seems like he’d be the perfect historical romance hero. And his sister Ailis is pre...more

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May 04, 2012 Lynelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a series about twin sisters who were thrust back in time by the Black Douglas, a distant relative and a ghost. This book is about Elisabeth Douglas, and right off the back I liked her more than her sister Isobella, from the previous book, The Return of Black Douglas. There were many times that I compared this book to the previous one and many things I liked better.

Elisabeth was take back in time against her will and during this time she has been kidnapped by the McLeans and then taken b...more This is a series about twin sisters who were thrust back in time by the Black Douglas, a distant relative and a ghost. This book is about Elisabeth Douglas, and right off the back I liked her more than her sister Isobella, from the previous book, The Return of Black Douglas. There were many times that I compared this book to the previous one and many things I liked better.

Elisabeth was take back in time against her will and during this time she has been kidnapped by the McLeans and then taken back by the McKinnons, the clan that her sister has found a home with. She has found a place for herself, fallen in love and is about to be married when right before the wedding, her intended is summoned away to be matched with and married to another woman. Heartbroken, Elisabeth tries to find away to give her life purpose again and wants to focus on her medical/healer skills. While on her way to a monastery to further her learning, she is once again apprehended by the McLeans again. At one of their stops she wonders off and comes across a stranger, who ends up to be David Murray, who ends up helping her arrive at her destination safe and sound.

David Murray is the Earl of Kinloss is surly and closed off due to his father’s behavior towards him and his father’s opinion that he couldn’t do anything right, he’s lost many of his siblings, and that he doesn’t want to be the earl. When one of his sister’s becomes ill, he sends for an infamous healer, but when his men arrive with Elisabeth, he’s shocked and at first unsure what to think about this turn of events. David being tall, dark, and handsome, Elisabeth of course is attracted to him but works to keep her mind on her job. I liked David’s quiet devotion to Elisabeth and the subtle way that he works to win her over.

When Elisabeth is summoned away to provide her healing abilities, let’s just say getting kidnapped is the story of her life. I’d like to say that the darn McLeans need to give it up already and leave her in peace! But David is not about to leave her in the hands of someone other than himself and his clan. ;) One disappointment that stuck out the most was how minimal the Black Douglas was present in this book, I like his character and his humorous personality!

ARC provided by NetGalley (less)

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Jun 04, 2012 Jo at Jaffareadstoo rated it 3 of 5 stars

Lord of the Black Isle is the third book in the Mackinnon-Douglas series, and continues with a time travel theme. Elisabeth Douglas is a doctor in her own time, and yet when she is lured to Scotland in the 1500’s, by the ghost of Lord James Douglas, her medical skills are looked upon with suspicion, but Elisabeth is determined to make her own way. David Murray, Laird of Kinloss is a brave warrior and yet has no-one to share his life with, he cares deeply for his clan, and when he needs the assis...more

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Jul 15, 2012 Atunah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: european-historical-romance, time-travel-romance, own-danl-store, read-2012, historical-romance

In the previous book "Return of the Black Douglas", we get the story of Izzy. In this one, its all about the twin sister Elisabeth. Both of them travel back in time in the last one.

There was a bit more humor and lightheartedness in the previous one, while Elisabeth has many more struggles to get through. Its a bit more gritty, for lack of better word. While I didn't mind the medical learning she does, the constant inner dialogues do get a bit tedious. They go on and on for pages and pages. So t...more

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May 29, 2012 Andrea rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-review

Full review can be seen at Seductive Musings.

I picked this book because the premise sounded great to me. I love time travel, I love highlanders, and I really love female healers. How could I not like this book?

Yeah... I didn’t like it. I knew early on that this book wasn’t for me. The first clue was all the literary quotes at the beginning of chapters and then Shakespeare quotes thrown into the dialogue. I don’t like that. The next clue was the detailed medical explanations. They were too deta...more Full review can be seen at Seductive Musings.

I picked this book because the premise sounded great to me. I love time travel, I love highlanders, and I really love female healers. How could I not like this book?

Yeah... I didn’t like it. I knew early on that this book wasn’t for me. The first clue was all the literary quotes at the beginning of chapters and then Shakespeare quotes thrown into the dialogue. I don’t like that. The next clue was the detailed medical explanations. They were too detailed and factual, I felt like I was reading passages from a medical textbook. My third clue was the personal musing. There were very involved private thoughts going on for pages at a time thrown into the middle of a dialogue. A conversation would start, the heroine would go off on her thought tangent, and by the time I got back to the conversation I wasn’t sure what they had even started talking about anymore. I found that irritating.

David and Elisabeth were very difficult for me to understand and get to know because their thoughts and actions wavered too much. I never got a good feel for them and never liked them. They weren’t good, they weren’t bad, I just didn’t care about them. That led me to another problem, I didn’t feel the chemistry between them. It was described, they thought about it a lot in their thought tangents, but for some reason I didn’t feel it.

The sex scenes confused me. I’m used to reading books with graphic and descriptive sex scenes. The sex in this book was ambiguous. They would start out kissing, then go onto fondling and all of that was pretty descriptive. It was once touching started happening below the waist that I got confused. No specific words were used so I wasn’t sure what was being done to whom. I actually had to stop reading and question if there was sex with penetration happening or if they were just rubbing on each other to get off. I don’t care if an author chooses to give me blow by blow descriptions of sex or if they choose to fade to black. It was the grey area this author chose which caused me so much confusion.

The best way to sum up my feelings on this book is to say that I didn’t care. I didn’t care about the characters, I didn’t care if they fell in love or if they had their happily ever after conclusion. This is not a bad book but this was definitely a case of me reading a book that’s not right for me. I’m sure there are people that love these types of books and are huge fans of this series. If you are, then read it, enjoy it and ignore me. I’m not one of them so I’ll move on and find a book more to my liking... hopefully :)

Overall Rating: 2 (I didn’t realize I was picking up a book in the middle of the series. It didn’t take me long to figure that out. Important events and key characters were glossed over in a way that left me confused. It was obvious that I should have read the previous books and known these things before getting into this one. That was my fault, not the author’s.)

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May 31, 2012 Terra rated it 5 of 5 stars

Another wonderful installment to the Black Douglas series that will surly charm you. It's nice to have a sweet romance with a bit of sass and humor to make the story so much more enjoyable.

Dr. Elisabeth Douglas has a ghost as a so called friend and guardian which has called her back to the past to make sure that the Douglas family line follows true to it's path to the future. She's a beauty to be sure and much wanted by more than one man which makes for an enjoyable game of who's got Elisabeth....more

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May 28, 2012 Sha Mslvoe ♥♥♥ rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, paranormal, historical-romance, scottish-highland, medieval, on-nook

As a time travel fan, I was excited to see that her book will be release soon. I love historical romance along with time travel. It’s my cup of tea.

I finished this book with a happy sigh for a good romance. Wow!! It is an amazing story! I’ll tell you ladies, this book blew me away and I’m so impressed with Elaine Coffman. Good story and well developed characters. And not to forget the appearance of the the Black Douglas as loving and funny ghost make this book a MUST READ. The Black Douglas alwa...more

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Oct 29, 2012 Tiffany rated it 4 of 5 stars

I would have only given the book 3.5 stars if the choice was available. I loved the storyline but there was a lot of conversations that didn't happen that I feel needed to happen. I just finished the book so the first one that comes to mind is the fact that Elisabeth never once had a conversation with Ronan while she was staying in his home.

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May 08, 2012 Tash rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley, historical, fantasy, favourites

Reviewed for Booked Up . Stay tuned for the review to be posted on Booked Up's goodreads account and the Blog

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Jun 04, 2012 Ginny Lurcock rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: review-copy, read-in-2012

(1.5 actually)

I should have known how this would turn out when about 10 pages in there was a 17 page dialogue about how this dude was bathing naked and he was glorious and isn’t that just the bees knees and I should feel guilty for watching him but I don’t because he’s handsome and look at those muscles play and I shouldn’t be watching but I am so I’ll tell myself that I’m a bad girl for watching…

For a full review, click here.

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May 15, 2012 Christy Wilhelm rated it 3 of 5 stars

www.pinkskullsbookreviews.wordpress.com

This honestly was an average tale for me. Chapter 1 Elisabeth is happy and in love, about to be married and BAM Chapter 2 she’s sobbing her way through a tissue box because the King orders her fiance, on their wedding day to marry someone else. I had a hard time believing that all and sundry believed she was from the future. Personally I think she’s lucky that she didn’t get burned at the stake. The appendix surgery is the real kicker for me. REALLY? The wr...more

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Jan 29, 2013 Stefania Casoni rated it 5 of 5 stars

Loved it! These books make me want to visit Scotland...NOW!

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Jan 06, 2013 Lindsay marked it as to-read-historical

On sale for $0.99 … one day only 1/6/2013

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Jul 30, 2012 Shagufta rated it 3 of 5 stars

Chemistry between characters was great.

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Aug 30, 2012 Cyndi Dorsey rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: genre-historical-romance

3.5

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May 19, 2012 Vampbard rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-books-read

4.5 stars - review coming June 6, 2012 to http://www.twimom227.com!

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Feb 06, 2013 Tara rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2013

not as good as her previous books in this series.

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Oct 27, 2012 Laura P rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction-historical, z-books-i-own-kindle, time-travel

3-1/2 stars

A little slow at times, but still a good escape read. Leaves me wishing the Black Douglas would make ghostly visits to me..... and bring a little excitement into my life! :)

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Jun 10, 2013 Inês Silva rated it 4 of 5 stars

Jun 03, 2013 Katie rated it 2 of 5 stars

May 31, 2013 Dayla marked it as to-read

May 30, 2013 Witchy rated it 2 of 5 stars

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About Elaine Coffman

Barbara Elaine Gunter was born in San Diego, California, to William Samuel Gunter, Jr., a naval officer and Edna Marie (née Davidson) Gunter, a homemaker. From the age of three she lived in Midland, Texas and graduated from Midland High School. After she received a degree in elementary education from North Texas State University, she taught elementary school in Midland, Texas, while working on her...more

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The Return of Black Douglas (Black Douglas, #2)

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