Highland Scoundrel (Campbell Trilogy, #3)

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Highland Scoundrel (Campbell Trilogy #3)

by Monica McCarty (Goodreads Author)

4.18 of 5 stars 4.18 · rating details · 1,035 ratings · 57 reviews

Framed for a crime he did not commit, Duncan Campbell, the illegitimate son of a chieftain, has returned to the Highlands determined to clear his name after ten years in exile. He is drawn to the unforgettable sensual beauty of Jeannie Gordon, the headstrong girl who once pledged him her love, gave him her innocence, and then betrayed him. Now, in the glow of the moonlight...more

Mass Market Paperback, 404 pages

Published March 24th 2009 by Ballantine Books (first published March 24th 2004)

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Jan 01, 2012 Sian Milne rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I actually can't be that bothered to do a long and indepth review on this.

This was definately my least favourite read out of the 6 books I have read of hers.

Jeannie and Duncan were apparently in love, there was a big misunderstanding, he thinks she betrayed him, she's upset that he doesnt trust her and he leaves Scotland under the label traitor. He comes back 10 years later and low and behold go to find her to help clear his name. She doesnt want to help...and has a big whopper of a secret of he...more

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Apr 08, 2009 ♡KarLynP♡ rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: published-2009, read-2009, genre-historical, genre-highlander, steam-hot

3.5 stars. A great ending to a terrific series. This wraps up the Campbell trilogy with the story of Duncan, the eldest brother. Ten years ago he was betrayed and found guilty of treason - a hanging offense. He escapes to Ireland, and has returned to see if he is able to prove his innocence. He believed Jeannie Gorden, the young woman he loved and wanted to marry, had betrayed him. Jeannie was in a terrible position of conflicting loyalties at the time, a situation which didn't change even after...more

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May 28, 2012 .þµŋψà. [Punya Reviews...] rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: monica-mccarty, frustration-alert, bitch-slap-coming-through

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. My review contains spoilers and they're mostly my thoughts as I went with the book...

Ah, quite disappointing ending of a great trilogy! And I thought Caitrina was the most annoying heroine but in comparison to Jeannie, she's a better option. Jeannie was so so irritating for the better part of the book, can’t even begin to tell you. Her loyalty to her traitorous father and husband was very applaudable but for that, what she did with Duncan was simply appalling!

So, this is what happened between Da...more

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Feb 21, 2013 Mel rated it 2 of 5 stars

Let me tell you, I have read loads of Highland romance novels. I love them. I can't get enough of the brogue. Sincerely, I have a thing about Scottish men. I once dated a Scot soley because he was gorgeous. I couldn't understand a word he said, but it really didn't matter. He was beautiful. But I digress. This romance novel was ok. As in all romance novels, we meet the couple, each individually think the other did them wrong. Of course, its more about miscommunication than anything else. And of...more

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Jun 13, 2012 BookChick rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: highland

Love Duncan! Jennie not so much. At about the half-way mark, I fail to see how she can be the bitter one. He was the one who was found guilty of treason and had to leave because she never said anything to him or anyone else about her father's betrayal. Did she really think he would stick around to clear his name when there was no evidence to the contrary (and she certainly was not offering it up). Family loyalty be dammed when your father treats you the way hers did, she even admitted as much to...more Love Duncan! Jennie not so much. At about the half-way mark, I fail to see how she can be the bitter one. He was the one who was found guilty of treason and had to leave because she never said anything to him or anyone else about her father's betrayal. Did she really think he would stick around to clear his name when there was no evidence to the contrary (and she certainly was not offering it up). Family loyalty be dammed when your father treats you the way hers did, she even admitted as much to herself that her father only saw her mother in her. Really? After all these years, your supposedly adoring father treats you like chattel, pretty much calls you a whore like your mother and you never say anything to the love of your life about treason?

So what if she was able to get Duncan to stay with her and not go into battle. Her father's treason would still have happened, Duncan's father still would have been wounded/dead, the Campbells would have lost even more men without Duncan to take up the reigns. Did she really think that he would look past that omission about her father's treason?

At 3/4 the way through, Duncan has asked her forgiveness for leaving without saying a word (though really could you blame him, he was convicted of treason and was a deadman walking). Even confronted with proof of her father's involvement (and possibly her dead husband) in Duncan's exile, she still refuses to help him. After everything he has done for her and her children (saving their lives), acknowledging that there could have been other people involved, promising not to drag her dead husband's name throught the mud along with her father's - talk about ungrateful. Give the man a bone would ya. Jeannie is selfish, she has yet to apologize or even acknowledge her involvement (silence in my opinion is involvement) with Duncan's conviction and exile.

Jeannie had ample opportunity to explain - at the alehouse the night before the battle, again when he came to see her the night he left, when he returned from exile to clear his name, but she never did. He gave into her and I'm a bit disappointed when I feel that Jeannie was the one who did the bigger wrong.

Finally the truth of her son comes out and she blames Duncan for leaving and putting her in the position to decide her and their child's future alone. Again a bit selfish, especially when she left him no choice but to leave or die. She never told him she was pregnant, I really don't think he would have left if she had just opened her mouth from the beginning or even the night he confronted her about everything before he left.

Incredibly, Duncan blames himself for leaving her because he didn't trust her. Trust is a two way street, she apparently didn't trust him enough to say something about her father. Again, if she had just opened her mouth and said something to begin with he wouldn't of had to leave. She had ample opportunity, she would start and then stop. He asked her point blank what she was hiding or what she knew and she stayed silent.

I guess you could say i really don't like Jeannie and the games she played and her total lack of remorse, acknowledgment, or acceptance of her part in the whole fiasco. I loved Duncan, but he slipped a notch when he took the blame for her predicament.(less)

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Mar 30, 2012 Johanna rated it 5 of 5 stars

Highland Scoundrel
(The Campbell Trilogy Book #3)
by Monica McCarty

Genre: Historical Romance

Duncan Campbell is a natural born leader, possessing all the attributes for a Highland chieftain except for one: legitimacy. Forced from the Highlands for a crime he didn’t commit, Duncan has earned a reputation as the fiercest, most skilled mercenary on the continent. Vowing to restore his name and clear the cloud of treason hanging over his head, Duncan returns to the Highlands to find the one person who...more Highland Scoundrel
(The Campbell Trilogy Book #3)
by Monica McCarty

Genre: Historical Romance

Duncan Campbell is a natural born leader, possessing all the attributes for a Highland chieftain except for one: legitimacy. Forced from the Highlands for a crime he didn’t commit, Duncan has earned a reputation as the fiercest, most skilled mercenary on the continent. Vowing to restore his name and clear the cloud of treason hanging over his head, Duncan returns to the Highlands to find the one person who might hold the key to his freedom: the woman he’d once loved who’d betrayed him. But when he surprises her swimming in a loch, he finds himself facing the bad end of a pistol. Told she was impulsive her whole life like her mother who’d destroyed their family when she’d run off with an Englishman over twenty years ago, Jeannie Grant had never believed it—until she met Duncan Campbell. The bastard born son of a chieftain was not a suitable husband for the daughter of a powerful Highland chief, but Duncan made Jeannie willing to risk everything. She gave him her innocence and he failed her, forcing Jeannie to learn the hard way what happens when you follow your heart. Now Jeannie is shocked to find that the brigand she’s shot is the same man who broke her heart all those years ago. But the hard, ruthless man is nothing like the charming young scoundrel she remembers. When their attempt to prove Duncan’s innocence uncovers a deadly secret, not only their lost love, but their lives hang in the balance.

No matter that a brutal war is brewing for Duncan's clan or that Jeannie is secretly being betrothed to another man by her father, they meet at Stirling Castle and within two weeks fall madly in love and hope to fight the odds to stay together. Unfortunately, their last rendezvous leads to a treacherous mistake that both regret for years to come. Since that fateful night, the two have been separated with no contact for ten years. Now, Duncan has returned with a new reputation of being the "Black Highlander" of Ireland and Jeannie is back on the marriage market with kept secrets of her own. Can they overcome their past mistakes and find the truth that both desperately seek?

Considering this is the first book I've read by McCarty, I was presently surprised with Highland Scoundrel and thoroughly enjoyed the story full of historical facts and fun romance. It has some nice plot twist that I wasn't expecting and as soon as I really got into the story . . . I couldn't put it down. Their innocent infatuation when they first meet was sweet, but their intense passion upon meeting up ten years years later was smoldering. I got so caught up in the emotions of it all, that before I knew it - it was 3 am and I was still reading. Signs of a great book!

I haven't read a nice highlander story in quite awhile and once I saw the blurb on the back of this one - "If your heart belongs to the Highlands, then don't miss these novels" - I got suckered right in. Silly, right? Yet, I'm glad I did! After finishing Highland Scoundrel, I found I read Book #3 in the trilogy first. Oops! So, I guess I'll be working my way backwards since in my TBR pile is book #2, Highland Outlaw.

Likes: How Duncan would stand up for Jeannie, no matter how horribly disgruntled they were with each other. Always a joy reading about a true gent, especially one that's a highlander . . . yum!

Dislikes: About the story - The blunt reminder that women held such little power over their lives in the early 1600s of Scotland. Poor Jeannie! About the book itself - I found some editing mistakes (duplicate words) within the first chapter of the book, catching misprints like that while reading really messes up my feeling of getting "lost" in a tale.

Words of Wisdom book quote: "...that we make our own destiny not by our birth, but by our actions." (pg. 331)(less)

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Mar 26, 2012 Lori McD rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 17th-century, 2012_read, adventure, chick-lit, easy-read, guilty-pleasure, highlander, historical-fiction, kindle-book, own, pseudo-mystery, romance, scottish-lit, series, some-steam, suspense, favorite-author

The 3rd book in the trilogy doesn't disappoint! In fact, it might be the best of the three. We finally find out what happened that caused Duncan Campbell to be branded an outlaw and banished from Scotland.

Duncan is the illegitimate son, brother to the legitimate children, Colin, Jamie, and Elizabeth - all of whom we've met in books 1 & 2. Duncan is the oldest, and their father claimed him and made sure that he was educated, had money, and had a position as his chief guardsman. For a time, Du...more

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Sep 15, 2012 Brittany B. rated it 4 of 5 stars

4 1/2 Stars!! Great ending to the series. For highland lovers, Duncan is delectable, and McCarty has written one of her most steamy, passionate stories.

I absolutely could not stop reading this book! The build up to Duncan's story was very well-done. After reading the first two books of the trilogy, Duncan was as infamous to me as to the characters in the story.
I loved the way McCarty wrote this book; it begins with Duncan's return, then goes back ten years to tell the story of his exile. The...more

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Jul 18, 2010 Nadine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance

I enjoyed this book more than most McCarty novels. Not sure why. Maybe it was because it's been a while since I read a book by her, or maybe it's because the character's motivations made some sense in this one. In every McCarty romance, the hero and heroine have a misunderstanding caused by lack of communication that leads to a separation. In most of them, the reasons for their lack of communication are ridiculous, but in this one it made sense. Shortly after Duncan & Jeannie meet and fall i...more

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Aug 31, 2012 Elis Madison rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: era-jacobean, good-historical-detail, he-loves-me-she-loves-me-not, hero-needs-colonoscopy-2-find-head, love-the-writing, love-to-hate-the-hero, love-to-hate-the-heroine, marriage-of-convenience, part-of-series, use-your-words

We learned in Highland Warrior and Highland Outlaw that Jamie and Lizzie (and their rapey, evil-assed brother Colin)

…had an older, illegitimate brother Duncan

…who was accused of treason. Duncan fled Scotland to avoid being hanged, and he was making his name as a mercenary in Ireland and elsewhere.

Widowed Jeannie Gordon nee Grant is trying her best to raise her son Dougall, the heir to the Marquisate of Huntly, and her young daughter Ella under the watchful and critical eyes of her mother-in-law...more

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Dec 08, 2012 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Troisième volet de la série du Clan Campbell, Trahi nous présente enfin l'histoire mystérieuse de la fuite de Duncan, demi-frère de Jamie (la loi du highlander Tome 1), de Lizzie (le secret du Highlander Tome 2) et de ce fourbe de Colin (Tome 1 et 2)!

Accusé de haute trahison Duncan a du quitter l'Écosse pour échapper à la potence, alors qu'il est innocent. Il se sent lui même trahi par ses proches, son père notamment, son clan, son cousin le comte d'Argyll contre lequel il est accusé d'avoir com...more

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Aug 09, 2011 Jessica `~Blahyze~` rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own, monica-mccarty

I surprisingly really enjoyed reading this book, I couldn’t put it down. It was an emotional story, filled with betrayal, heartbreak and love. Jeannie was a great female lead, she fell for Duncan right from the moment she laid eyes on him, she didn’t care about his standings or what he was, she fell for the man he was inside and I was shattered when Duncan left her, damning her without hearing her out. Jeannie started off a little wimpy but as the book progressed she became strong and wilful. Th...more

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Aug 31, 2012 Taria Reed rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: highlanders, historical, romance

I loved finally listening to Duncan's story. They hinted at his guilt for two books. Duncan was another sexy addition to the Cambell clan. I get very frustrated with a story when...(DEEP BREATH)....there is something that needs to be told to another character and the character who's doing the telling does the whole dance around the mullberry bush and never says what the hell they need to say and then they end up with this huge missunderstanding that could have been avoided if the person would ha...more

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Oct 10, 2009 (Kelly)~DemonLover~ Oakes rated it 4 of 5 stars

Okay, I started this book yesterday at 5PM and finished it at 12AM.
Somewhere in there I even went out got dinner and came back. So I'm guessing the 400+ pages took about 5 1/2 hours to read.

The story of this book was heart wrenching, the struggle of desire, honor and raw passion between Duncan Campbell and Jeannie Grant. A pure case of love at first sight. The air is thick with energy and vibrates with all the tellings that Duncan has just encountered his "one" fated love in this tiny stammerin...more

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Jan 03, 2012 Ashley Cha rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: alpha-males, great-historical-romance, great-tension, hot-highlanders-scottish-men, hot-men, man-candy-bookcover, stubborn-strong-willfull-lasses

I regret terribly for setting this book aside for many other books. I can't believe I did such thing!

Great story! Monica McCarty is amazing, and I've never doubted her.

Duncan Campbell is a beautiful man in and out. He's so unselfish, gorgeous, protective, loving, and caring. And yes, he is destined for something great. I'm not so sure if I like the heroine or not. I understand why she did what she did. I understand she did it for her loved ones. But, in a way, I still feel that she is quite se...more

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Apr 25, 2012 Patricia rated it 4 of 5 stars

4.5 stars. It's best to read the Campbell series in order written for fluency. I read this book first which took away from understanding the entire cast of characters and storyline plots which altered my opinion of this book. Having gone back to reread this after reading them in order, the story took on an entirely different outlook. Highland Soundrel is Duncan's and Jeannie's story and what a story it was. It's about love, pain, betrayal and forgiveness everything required in a really great sto...more

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Jan 27, 2012 Jilly rated it 5 of 5 stars

Okay here is my *sigh* moment. I'm not even sure what to say but it was better than I expected. McCarty has become a favorite historical romance writer for me. Sure she takes a few liberties with the times and names but in general she takes you back into history and weaves a great story for you. Not only is she telling a love story but an intriguing story of betrayal and Highland custom. So if you are a fan of Scottish History and you like romance, you've hit the jackpot.

I honestly can't wait fo...more Okay here is my *sigh* moment. I'm not even sure what to say but it was better than I expected. McCarty has become a favorite historical romance writer for me. Sure she takes a few liberties with the times and names but in general she takes you back into history and weaves a great story for you. Not only is she telling a love story but an intriguing story of betrayal and Highland custom. So if you are a fan of Scottish History and you like romance, you've hit the jackpot.

I honestly can't wait for her next series to hit the stands.

Thoughts out the hero. Duncan Campbell, first born but a bastard. His father favored him and treated him like his heir. The sad thing was that Colin (who we've meet in the previous books) is the legitimate heir. You get the sense right off the bat that these Campbell siblings are close. In the previous books you started wondering how true that was with Colin. When did it change? This book is going to tell you but I am not.

Duncan Campbell was his father's chief guardsmen and went into many a battle at his father and the Earl of Argyll's side. Duncan falls for Jeannie Grant and wishes to marry her but his status as a bastard makes it unlikely. Duncan has to deal with political deals trying to keep him and the woman he loves apart and being framed for treason.

Duncan is an honorable man but there is no way to defend himself and when his father dies from injuries in the battle and he is tried and convicted without even being present he feels he has no choice to leave, believing Jeannie betrayed him.

Despite all that the Duncan that returns 10 years later isn't a hard cold, unforgiving man. He's refreshingly opened and surprisingly forgiving. It isn't long before the attraction Duncan tried to forget surges back to life. Every mention of his masculinity is worth reading... and the man is super tall and muscled. Yeah it is dumb but I loved it. He also isn't a stupid man and it is well worth reading about.

Jeannie is another cup of tea all together. She's not like Caitirina or Elizabeth at all. She's stronger, more resilient and not afraid to pull a gun on a six and a half foot tall highlander who out weighs her but a hundred pounds at the very least.

After Duncan left, Jeannie was left holding the bag. She felt she made the only decision she could by marrying her late husband. Problem is she could never love him the way he loved her. She always longed for Duncan while seething about his leaving. Both parties as mixed up as the other and old hurt feelings are soon discovered to be for nothing.

One of my favorite things about Jeannie is her single-mindedness. if Jeannie thinks something is a good idea then she is going to see it through. It can be a very bad habit but she tends to think about things and she's always mindful of her mother's mistakes in leaving her family.

Both characters are very well written along with the story. I would recommend this whole series and the author.(less)

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Oct 10, 2012 Lynsey (The Demon Librarian) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: audible-or-itunes-book, hot-smexy-times, lets-play-hide-the-plot, the-shelf-of-meh, unlikeable-character, whodunnit

Black Duncan's return.

Monica McCarty has to be one of the most inconsistent writers I've ever encountered. Out of the six or so of her Highlander books that I've read so far, I've rated them anywhere from 4.5 stars to 1.5 stars. Some books have seen me so invested in the romance, that happy tears were streaming down my face as I read the final pages. Others have been tedious and left me completely unaffected.

This one falls somewhere in the middle.

I was quite keen to read this instalment to fin...more Black Duncan's return.

Monica McCarty has to be one of the most inconsistent writers I've ever encountered. Out of the six or so of her Highlander books that I've read so far, I've rated them anywhere from 4.5 stars to 1.5 stars. Some books have seen me so invested in the romance, that happy tears were streaming down my face as I read the final pages. Others have been tedious and left me completely unaffected.

This one falls somewhere in the middle.

I was quite keen to read this instalment to find out the full story behind Duncan Dubh's treason at long last, since it's been mentioned in the other books of the trilogy several times. The story opens with quite a bang in the present—albeit still in the 17th century—day, then it takes us back the 10 years to when the hero and heroine, Duncan and Jeannie, met and fell in love originally, before the alleged betrayal/treason nastiness all happened, causing Duncan to flee to Ireland for a decade or else face the hangman's noose. So it started very well, and I rather liked the couple at the beginning; they were very sweet together and had some great sensual scenes and some nice angst and drama. It was once we returned to present day that I found myself falling out of love with the story.

One of the main reasons I don't like romances featuring ex lovers, is the inherent bitterness they always bring with them. In this case, I never felt like Duncan and Jeannie truly got back that magic they'd had when they first met. There was just too much water under the bridge.

The next problem was that the plot just seemed to stop for about a hundred pages or so while they dithered about deciding whether or not to trust each other again. It was annoying to the nth degree to watch them get close and then retreat into distrust again, a cycle which was then repeated ad nauseam. I really think the book could have been a good hundred pages shorter and lost a lot of this padding and filler section. I realise it's the finale of the trilogy, and the one we've all been waiting for, but making it longer doesn't automatically make it more 'epic'.

It perhaps wouldn't have been quite as tiresome if we, as readers, didn't already know everything that was going on. We knew Jeannie's secret, we knew about Duncan's innocence, and we knew who the real villain was. It was just a matter of waiting for the characters to catch up.

All together, I'm glad I read it and that I've completed the trilogy, but it wasn't one of McCarty's best efforts.

3 Stars ★★★

(less)

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Jul 01, 2010 Kris (KindleRomance) rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this story much more than the first but not nearly as much as the 2nd. The whole story was based on instant love but no trust. Every time one of them almost died, they swore they would never lose faith in the other again – until the next issue comes up. I honestly don’t see how they can actually live HEA. If they could have at least stopped this game 75% of the way through the book, enjoyed being with each other, and solved the plot issue together, it would have been much more enjoyabl...more

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Apr 02, 2009 Stacie added it

This was good read. It was a story of a warrior who is a bastard and falls in love with the daughter of a rich cheiftain. Then he believes that she betrayed him and his clan and leaves her. After 10 years he returns to find that she is widowed with two children. He has returned to prove his innocence in a crime he did not commit. She can not help him without endangering her son. But it turns out that her son is also his son and they have to overcome all these issues and more.

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Apr 17, 2009 Teresa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-romance

I really, really liked this book. When the author describes the beginnings of the main characters first falling in love with each other it was like being swept back to when I fell in love for the very first time. Sigh!! I do highly recommend this book. My only problem with this book (and it is very nitpicky!) is there were some minor typos in the beginning of the book. Other than that it was a great read and I can't wait to read the rest of the series!

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Jan 08, 2013 Ptitepuce rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Excellent tome qui clotûre une belle trilogie.
J'ai du mal à choisir entre ces trois higlanders et enfin de compte, je les garde tous les trois au chaud !!! (Gourmande que je suis)
Crève de plaisanterie, cette trilogie nous ravit et les histoires sont plus que prenantes. Emotions au rendez-vous.

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Jan 15, 2013 Helene Stackhouse rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

3.5/5 C'était plaisant, mais j'ai dû trop en lire ces derniers temps car je me lasse un peu ! Peut être aussi un peu trop de textex lourds de détails qui tuent le rythme. L'histoire est cependant très bien, 2 jeunes amoureux qui brisent leur amour sur des mensonges et des trahisons ! A lire !

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Aug 29, 2011 S.J. Drum rated it 4 of 5 stars

I love this series because it begs the perfect amount of emotional involvement without being too heavy. These books are an easy read and great for those days when I don't want to think too hard or feel too much. I care about the characters enough to recommend the books and pick up the next in the series but not so much that they keep me up at night.

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Sep 13, 2012 Artemissia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance-historique

Encore meilleur que le second. J'aime beaucoup cette série de Monica McCarty. Les personnages sont bien travaillés on espère vraiment un dénouement heureux entre Duncan et Jeannie.Une intrigue menée tambour battant que je n'ai pu lâcher qu'à la dernière page !

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Oct 08, 2010 Nonieღserenity2bliss rated it 4 of 5 stars

A fantastic end to a fantastic trilogy!

I'm really glad that the Campbell trilogy is much more consistent than the MacLeods trilgoy. The latter is a bit of a hit-or-miss, while I genuinely love all three books of the former.

I think anyone who's a fan of sexy highland warrior will love this one!

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Jul 23, 2012 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: part-of-series, traded-sold

This was a great trilogy filled with adventure, history and terrifically strong, sexy, loyal heroes. Duncan was fabulous, and the mistrust and misunderstanding between him and Jeannie was believable. I didn't agree with her not telling him about his son as soon as he returned, but overall it was an excellent book. McCarty does Scottish Highlanders so well! This series would be a keeper for me if I had a tendency to reread books. I doubt I would read them again, although I loved them.

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Apr 22, 2010 Cynthia (aka Artemis) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: highlander, historical-romance, campbell-trilogy, monica-mccarty, favorites

A stunning novel of passion, betrayal and revelations. Monica McCarty immerses her readers in the harsh life of the Scottish Highlands, and the demands it places on its inhabitants.

The sacrifices and choices her heroine, Jeannie Grant, and hero, Duncan Campbell, make have far reaching consequences that neither of them could ever imagine.

The Author's Note was an added delight! Her magical way with words will be an automatic read from now on. I was mesmerized.

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Nov 18, 2009 J. Ostrowski rated it 4 of 5 stars

Surprisingly detailed and captivating plot. Skippable sex scenes didn't detract from the story. Great use of factual events as a springboard for creating a fascinating work of fiction. Thumbs up!

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May 28, 2009 Mia rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, romance

Reading the trilogy out of order but this was the first one I found in the series. Maybe it is just me, but I am not getting into this book. I have decided to not finish this book after getting stuck on chapter 2.

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About Monica McCarty

What do you get when you mix a legal career, a baseball career, motherhood, and a love of history with a voracious reader? In my case, a Historical Romance Author.

Like most writers, I’ve always loved to read. Growing up in California there was always plenty to do outside, but all too often I could be found inside curled up with a book (or two or three). I started with the usual fare: The Little Ho...more What do you get when you mix a legal career, a baseball career, motherhood, and a love of history with a voracious reader? In my case, a Historical Romance Author.

Like most writers, I’ve always loved to read. Growing up in California there was always plenty to do outside, but all too often I could be found inside curled up with a book (or two or three). I started with the usual fare: The Little House on the Prairie series, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, Watership Down, Nancy Drew, and everything by Judy Blume. Once I cleared off my bookshelf, I started swiping books from my mom. Some, like Sidney Sheldon’s The Other Side of Midnight, probably weren’t the most appropriate choice for a pre-adolescent—although they were definitely illuminating. I can still remember the look of abject horror on my mom’s Catholic-girl-face when I asked her what a virgin was. After that rather brief conversation, she paid a little closer attention to what had disappeared off her book shelf, and steered me in the direction of Harlequin and Barbara Cartland romances. I was hooked. I quickly read through the inventory of the local library and was soon buying bags of romances at garage sales.

In high school, with the encouragement of my father (who I think was a little concerned about the steady diet of romances), I read over eighty of the Franklin Library’s One Hundred Greatest Books ever written—including Tolstoy, Confucius, Plato, and the entire works of Shakespeare. Some of them were tough going for a teenager, but the experience would prove an invaluable foundation for college. After reading War and Peace, I wasn’t easily intimidated.

For some reason Monica decided to go into writing and not fashion.

After graduation, I loaded up the VW (Jetta not Bus) and trekked down I-5 to attend the University of Southern California, majoring in Political Science and minoring in English (see why all that reading helped!). I joined the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, and when I wasn’t studying or at football games, did my best to support the local bartending industry. Ah, the good old days.

With that kind of fun, four years of college wasn’t quite enough. So leaving Tommy Trojan behind, I traveled back up north to Palo Alto for three more years of study at Stanford Law School. Once I survived the stress of the first semester, law school proved to be one of the best times of my life—garnering me a JD, life-long friends, a husband, and an unexpectedly intimate knowledge of baseball. (See “The Baseball Odyssey” below).

Law School was also where I fell in love with Scotland. In my third year, I took a Comparative Legal History class, and wrote a paper on the Scottish Clan System and Feudalism. So I immediately dropped out of law school and went on to write Scottish Historical Romances…well no, not quite. You see, I always knew I wanted to be a lawyer. My father was a lawyer, I was a “poet” (i.e., not into math), and I love to argue. It seemed natural.

So I finished law school, got married, passed the CA bar, moved to Minnesota (with a few stops along the way), waived into the MN bar, worked as a litigator for a few satisfying years, moved back to CA, had a couple of kids, realized that a legal career and being a single parent for most of the year (due to husband's career) would be extremely difficult, and THEN decided to sit down and write.

And how did I end up writing romance? It’s not as divergent as it seems. What I loved about being a lawyer are the same things I love about being a writer—research and writing. The only thing missing is the arguing, but that’s what a husband and kids are for, right?(less)

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Highland Scoundrel (Campbell Trilogy #3)

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