Seducing the Highlander

McTiernay Brothers #5

by Michele Sinclair

Of the seven McTiernay brothers sworn to protect their Scottish Highlands, Craig is most willing to place duty before love—until he's enchanted by the last woman he expects...

Bound By Honor

Meriel Schellden knows that marrying Craig McTiernay will strengthen the ties between their clans. She insists she is motivated by duty and responsibility, nothing more. But when a mere formality becomes a kiss far from platonic, Meriel must question where her true intentions lie.

Tempted By Desire

Though Meriel entices him far more than she realizes, Craig's commitments have always kept his passions restrained. But no sense of duty to his clan can make Craig forget the way Meriel's touch left him teased, tantalized, and desperate for more. Now as a surprising rival contends for Meriel's affections, there has never been a better time to listen to what his heart has desired all along.

Genres: Historical Romance, Historical, Romance, Scotland, Historical Fiction, Medieval, Fiction

373 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

In need of a creative outlet, I began writing novels after my second child was born. A voracious reader of romance books and a constant dreamer of romantic plots, I was encouraged to put my ideas to paper. I soon found out I loved it...all of it!

I am a member of the Romance Writers of America and of the Georgia Romance Writers.

In addition to writing historical romance novels, I also build large HO model trains, love to do huge cross-stitching pieces, relax by boating, and decorate everything I can during the Christmas season.

Besides romance I am a heavy science fiction reader and try to read at least two books a month—one science fiction and the other romance even when I am writing. I guess I just secretly desire to live in another place in time!

Reviews

[Henrietta Higginbottom · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have loved the McTiernay family series from the very first book, so it pains me to say that this book just. . . fell flat. The two main characters were so shallow and the first 2/3 of the book was the insipid tale of the heroine's efforts to make the hero jealous so he'd realize he loved her. I felt so bad for the hero's friend Hamish, who acted as a willing pawn in the heroine's game and then actually lost his heart to her (and didn't get the girl or even a conclusion to his story).

When they finally admit their love and decide to marry, the story jumps a few weeks into the future (without letting the reader know until several paragraphs into the chapter, which is a pet peeve of mine), skipping the wedding and landing right into their marital mistake. They did a lot of shouting without either hearing (understanding) the other, so they're both unhappy. Shallow characters, shallow marriage, shallow story. The drama that then comes about (no spoilers here!) felt odd and out of place, like it had been thought up for another book and slapped on to the end of this book to give it something meaty.

This author can do so much better! Still holding out hope that the next entry in this series will be better!

[Edwina " I LoveBooks" "Deb" · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another hilarious, funny and highly erotic romance about the twin McTiernany brothers and the twin Schellden sisters. Seducing the Highlander is Craig McTiernany and Meriel Schellden story. These two have been denying there love for each other for a whole year now. The reason is they want to stay best friends. But after one very intimate kiss all beats are off. Meriel is determined to make Craig admit there is more to there relationship then best friends and brotherly and sisterly affections. The story is slow at time but It really is worth the read. This is a lighthearted but well written funny romance. I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

I know this author has read the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon because she barrows from some of the passages in that series. I Highly Recommend the McTiernany Brothers series.

[lauren⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅ · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was hard for me to read.

Craig and Meriel have been best friends for years. That bond has continued to grow stronger even after their twin siblings married each other. Meriel freely admitted to it when she fell in love with Craig. Craig fought his love for awhile, well until he thought someone else might get her. Watching these two dance around each other was fun. The love scenes were hot but I had to wait two years for this book. With the way I read that is almost a sure way to ruin a series and lose me. I read too many books to be able to remember the characters from book to book. Waiting two years for a book is a little ridiculous to me. I haven't decided if I will continue the series because of this.

[Blender · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the McTierney's! I thought I knew how Craig's love story with Meriel would go at the end of the last book but wow, was I wrong. This story keep me reading well into the night, the plot kept changing adding depth and real life into such a powerful love story. Friends became lovers and had to find out how to survive real world marriage, I related so easily to this happy ever after because love and marriage is wonderful but also requires hard work and devotion. I am so looking forward the the rest of this series.

[Pam · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really didn't like this book. While I loved the series, I found this book to be annoying and kind of stupid. I really didn't find it realistic in the least and felt that the characters were abusive and childish.
I stuck it through to the end and liked the book a little more at the end, which earned it a one star. Sorry.

[Macaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is not that bad, there are really funny moments. But I truly dislike the "hero", a man you could not dream of. He is odiously chauvinistic and so selfish he can't see the others' feelings. In Meriel'stead, I would have chosen Hamish.

[Esther · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the friendship to lovers romance. Enjoyed the development of Craig and Meriels romance and how everyone could see they had a thing for each other and cheered on their romance. Well written points of view from the H and h. Highly recommend reading this sweet and steamy romance!

[❆ Crystal ❆ · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 star. I didn't like it. A complete waste of time. Thank goodness it was a loan from the library and not a purchase. Absolutely nothing happened in this book other than "How do I make Craig like me." So boring! I would like at least something to happen.... anything at all!

[KitKat821 · Rating 1 out of 5]

UGH. I hated Craig and Meriel was almost equally as idiotic. I will read the next one because I like Hamish but if he becomes as unlikable as Craig I'm done.

[Kaleolani · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was so completely bored and irritated with this book. There was nothing. No redeeming quality. I read medieval Highland books for a certain reason. There's fighting, intrigue, kidnappings, death, sneaking around, etc. This was just so bad. Nothing but them trying to figure out if they loved each other for the whole book and the last two chapters were the worst. I was so upset by it. Nope. This one was bad and boring.

[Amy Vargas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Takes place in the early 1300s. IMO, a book should not claim to be "scottish" just because it's in Scotland with scottish name people. Yes, the author uses a few lines in gaelic, but the way the characters speak is modern english. When I read, I use the accent that should be used. It was impossible. Words like ken, fer, ya, lass, no', aye, etc... should've been throughout the dialog. The story was aggravating. Meriel should have left Craig's dumbass out in the cold.

[Mindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I So Loved Loved Loved This Story!

Good thing the tears came at the end. So happy they both had sons. This was such a wonderful story and I loved the characters and storyline. I am so excited to start my next 2 books and then back to the excitement of the McTiernay Brothers!! Then on to book 6. 😊😊😊😊😊🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

[Heartfulart · Rating 1 out of 5]

Long drawn out plot that could have been included in 2 chapters added to the previous book in the series. Boring, boring. Also loose ends. And a wrap-up lead in to the next book which I hate. The narrator was good, as usual, but this story was not worth 12 hours of listening. Too bad, because I enjoyed the previous books by this author.

[Lee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not her best work

Characters built from previous books. Interesting at first and then lacks direction. Some characters left with no resolution. I suppose she's going to pick them up at another time. More of a soap opera and a good read.

[LINDA · Rating 1 out of 5]

The childish games played by Meriel are so off-putting that it's now a question of whether I will finish this book or not. She'll use anyone to achieve her goals. It's not funny...nor cute...it's cruel. I'll try to finish the series, but I doubt if I get anything else written by Ms. Sinclair.

[londa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a feeling this was not going to be good after i finished Crevan and the sister. this just dragged at times. the only thing i like was getting to know Hamish since his book is next.

[Louise E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story.

[Brenda Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love how authors can make men back in the 1300's look like block heads.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this twins story so much more than the other one. Way more character development and loved Hamish’s involvement. Even though I was almost wishing Hamish and her got together.

[Oksana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am team Heimish, since I've known some Craigs and it is never a good idea to go after a guy who didnt bother to resipricate your feelings in more than a year.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Least cohesive so far. Kind tedious story arc.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, despite that fact I would rate it 3 1/2-4stars. Main two reasons one being the price, $7.59 retail and $5.99 on Kindle. My other main reason is editing. For a book that price...pretty much same price as it is for a paperback...and also from a major publisher such as Zebra, I would hope that in the 7yrs since it has been released that there wouldn’t be any obvious editing errors. But sure enough, there were. Noticeable ones too that interrupt your flow in reading. Mainly by having extra words added in that shouldn’t be there and no matter how many times you read and reread the paragraph that the sentence is in, it doesn’t make sense, you didn’t read it wrong, there really was an extra word in there. We were introduced to the H&H in the previous book, so it was nice to see that expanded on. The book was also a nice introduction to Hamish and his book which is the next. From 66% on, the book kind of slowed down, at times to a boring point of speed. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed the book...but with the issues, I didn’t think the price for the book, really reflected the quality of the work. And I would hope by buying a book in which it’s published under a major publisher such as Zebra, that there wouldn’t be the errors there was. I would also hope an editor would help liven up the last part of the book more. All that being said, I still would recommend the book if you can overlook the issues I mentioned. I also recommend that the series be read in order to get the most out of the series. I started out with Conan’s book as I had gotten a paperback copy of it new for $3 and enjoyed what I read. Then found out I had bout the first 3 books in series years before, right after they came out. So I started over after I finished Conan’s book. I do feel that when I reread Conan’s book I will enjoy it much more, knowing the characters from the previous books that spring up time and time again. I highly recommend this series. Definitely watch for the books to go on sale also. I picked up Conan’s book for $1.99 in the kindle store, same with Hamish’s book. You just have to watch. A good series in which you enjoy escaping and living vicariously as a voyeur in the McTierney’s Highland World. I just hope some of the books get updated and editing errors remove. As I had seen some similar editing errors in other books in the series. Is this book the best in the series? While I loved the character of Craig quite a bit...he is a scrumptious highland alpha male, what’s not to love? Meriel was better in this book than in that last...but still I found her a bit of a tease to other males, selfish, pampered, and not real skilled at much of anything besides looking pretty, being a “good just friends” to men of that era, and very skilled at weaving and embroidery. I’m sorry, even in this day and age, I find a woman like her not very likable...but maybe that’s me. Scorching hot sex scenes with good descriptions, have you tingling and drooling. Ms Sinclair also throws in words of Gaelic which is quite interesting. Will definitely continue reading this series, and most likely rereading it.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've really enjoyed all of the books in the McTiernays series. Michele Sinclair does an excellent job painting the picture of life for this highlander clan and I can't get enough. For fans of Outlander, you must read this series. These brothers and the feisty women they fall in love with are a fun read on Saturday afternoon.
Happy Reading... enjoy!

[jewelee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should have known this was going to be bad, judging from the previous one with the other twin pair, but boi, this was incredibly bad.

[Tenshi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it. But it just felt so tiring. The whole book seems like a big roller coaster ride, and not in a very good way.

[Milica Djurovic · Rating 3 out of 5]

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[Romancing the Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Rachel
Book provided by the publisher
Originally posted at Romancing the Book

I absolutely adored this book…I think it’s because right from the get go as a reader you’re led to believe it’s almost a friends to lovers type story…Meriel and Craig have for YEARS denied that there was anything between them. They even set off to prove that very thing in front of their entire clan.

Only to get caught up in a kiss that shattered their control and resistance.

I liked Craig’s character but I did find him a bit frustrating at times. It seemed he was constantly denying himself what he truly wanted. I’m not a hug fan of that type of martyr personality in my male leads even when they have a good reason to feel that way. His treatment of Muriel, in my opinion, at times seemed almost self serving. He would do one thing saying it was for the best, when really it was doing nothing but hurting her and their relationship.

The banter back and forth between the main characters was seriously hilarious, I wasn’t expecting anything amazing because I hadn’t read any of the other books in this series, but this book made me want to.

Meriel’s character, AH! I felt for her, seriously, felt for the woman. My chest dang near exploded a few times while I read her POV. I hate unrequited love, and again it sucks that the male lead, Craig expected perfection from Muriel when she hadn’t ever lived outside of the castle or done anything on her own. I enjoyed how she tried so hard for him but at the same time was irritated that he couldn’t see or appreciate what she was doing.

The story shed a lot of light on the beginning stages of marriage and how everyone has unrealistic expectations because, let’s face it, before you are married to someone else you live selfishly– *cough* Craig *cough*

All in all it was a wonderful book, I would read it again and recommend it!

[Lauren - SERIESous Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

The McTiernay Brothers Series is probably in my Top 3 for my favourite highlander series. And I had been dying to get my hands on this book for a year after reading Tempting the Highlander, which I loved.

I always liked Craig and Meriel and I was excited to where their story would go. Unfortunately, I didn't like this book as much as I hoped. I would give it a 3.5 rating but I bumped it to a 4 because I did like some aspects of the book that I think some books in this genre don't touch upon.

I felt this book was really slow and predictable. The whole seduction thing took too long and wasn't as "passion-driven" as I thought it would be. It also introduced a love triangle of sorts (and I don't enjoy love triangles). However, despite the love triangle, I thought that the whole process of moving from friends to something more by Meriel and Craig was really realistic.

Overall, I thought the whole book was realistic in the topics it brought up, especially in the last 100 or so pages (on my ebook). While the subject of gender roles is mentioned in most highlander books, I really thought this book took it to a different level and showed the difficulty people had in accepting the evolving roles of the genders throughout time.

This book definitely wasn't my favorite of the series but I liked the progression/set-up the series has made and I am really excited to read the next one!

(For more book series reviews and recaps, check out my blog: http://seriesousbookreviews.wordpress...)

[Eryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back to double trouble the other half of the equation so to speak. First up was Raelynd and Craven now its Meriel and Craig's turn. To use to a term we're all Familiar with they just clicked from the begining. Before I get too far let me explain the four out of five stars rating. Speaking for myself ideas fiction primarily, I want to escape in to a fantasy, which in my opinion is another way to spell fiction. I don't want the "real" world encroaching on my favourite past time. But, the scenarios are real and give you pause to think how would you react? For Meriel and Craig their friendship evolved naturally, almost effortlessy, though you can see the trap being laid can't you? Those of us who have meddling but, well meaning family members certainly can. Both Craig and Meriel have started to lean on each other more since there siblings marriage. There first best friend the one they were born with doesn't need them as much. Naturally this causes some codependent traits in there friendship. Craig is afraid to take the next step with any women. But, when they try to put an end to the rumors that they are more than friends by kissing in front of most of the Schellden clan ignites passion neither had anticipated. Confused and having had her pride pricked Meriel goes to visit Mctiernay castle to figure out what she really wants. Craig wanting things to stay the way they have been doesn't expect another to seriously pursue her. Will Craig be able to admit to himself and Meriel what he feels? If not he could loose her forever.