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Murray Family #2
Highland Honor
In the second novel of her magnificent trilogy of medieval Scotland, bestselling author Hannah Howell returns to the 15th century and the embattled Highlands with this spellbinding saga of a Scottish mercenary fated to rescue a spirited young beauty accused of murder.
Nigel Murray saw through her masquerade from the first: a young woman trying to pass herself off as a page. It almost worked -- until she was unmasked in battle with the English, at the point of a sword. Recklessly, Nigel saved the raven-haired beauty whose secrets now endangered them both. He spirited her off to Scotland, determined to erase the terror he tasted in her kiss.
Gisele knew the dark side of men, having barely escaped the brutality of her highborn husband, Lord Deveau. Now, with Deveau murdered and a price on her head, she was every man's prey -- hunted for a crime she did not commit. Nigel is her only refuge, a handsome stranger who challenges her with a fiery sensuality. But to truly trust him, Gisele must put the past behind her, and let her heart accept the simple truth...of his undying love.
Nigel Murray saw through her masquerade from the first: a young woman trying to pass herself off as a page. It almost worked -- until she was unmasked in battle with the English, at the point of a sword. Recklessly, Nigel saved the raven-haired beauty whose secrets now endangered them both. He spirited her off to Scotland, determined to erase the terror he tasted in her kiss.
Gisele knew the dark side of men, having barely escaped the brutality of her highborn husband, Lord Deveau. Now, with Deveau murdered and a price on her head, she was every man's prey -- hunted for a crime she did not commit. Nigel is her only refuge, a handsome stranger who challenges her with a fiery sensuality. But to truly trust him, Gisele must put the past behind her, and let her heart accept the simple truth...of his undying love.
295 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
265 people are currently reading
1806 people want to read
About the author
Hannah Howell
117 books2,647 followersHannah Dustin Howell is a best-selling American author of over 40 historical romance novels. Many of her novels are set in medieval Scotland. She also writes under the names Sarah Dustin, Sandra Dustin, and Anna Jennet (see below).
She has also used the following pseudonyms:
Anna Jennet, Sarah Dustin and Sandra Dustin
She has also used the following pseudonyms:
Anna Jennet, Sarah Dustin and Sandra Dustin
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 174 reviews
November 1, 2018
I got almost all of this series in paperback. Ii think the next few I am going to read instead of listen to. I was going to listen to them all on audio but the narrator is ruining it for me. Truly I have heard other books done by Angela Dawe so it really confuses me that she is sucking so hard reading this series. Everyone woman, man and child sound the same like a 70 year old chain smoker. Her accent sounds more Russian than Scottish. It's just scary bad. I did like Highland Honor better than the first one. The heroine had 2 really big tstl moments but for the most part was very likable and relatable. Our hero was better than his brother from book 1 but I would have liked it more if he wasn't confused about his feelings for the heroine. He wasn't sure if he was still in love with his brother's wife or if he loved the heroine. Eww. Just sayin' plus the heroine looks so much like his brother's wife they could be twins.
dnf
February 12, 2022DNF 45% Just not feeling it........
July 21, 2022
Sharp and fun! 1437 late medieval historical romance romp!
Intrepid French woman posing as page flees across France from her husband’s kinsmen. They’re out for blood. Gisele has been accused of murdering her foul and depraved husband. She didn’t, but no one was believing her least of all the powerful DeVeaux’s who have placed a bounty on her head.
Just as she’s about to be captured by two of the DeVeaux men, a pesky Scotsman offers her assistance and sanctuary.
Sir Nigel Murray has been fighting in France for seven years, having fled his homeland clan because of his love for his brother’s wife. Nigel’s entranced by this elfin, feisty female (think the passion and cutting tongue of Leonore from These Old Shades) who also bears a startlingly likeness to the woman who’d had him leaving Scotland
Taking Gisele into his protection, their flight towards a port as they seek a ship bound for Scotland, is a series of triumphs and setbacks, with both learning to lover again.
Mind you Gisele is non too pleased when she finally discovers Nigel’s reason for leaving home and hearth. Fireworks are very much part of this woman’s arsenal.
I have read very little of The Murray’s series, but I do like Hannah Howell’s work, particularly her Wherlocke series. I found this title pleasantly engaging.
This book has apparently been around for at least a decade but is re-releasing in July 2022 as a mass market paperback.
A Kensington Books ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)
Intrepid French woman posing as page flees across France from her husband’s kinsmen. They’re out for blood. Gisele has been accused of murdering her foul and depraved husband. She didn’t, but no one was believing her least of all the powerful DeVeaux’s who have placed a bounty on her head.
Just as she’s about to be captured by two of the DeVeaux men, a pesky Scotsman offers her assistance and sanctuary.
Sir Nigel Murray has been fighting in France for seven years, having fled his homeland clan because of his love for his brother’s wife. Nigel’s entranced by this elfin, feisty female (think the passion and cutting tongue of Leonore from These Old Shades) who also bears a startlingly likeness to the woman who’d had him leaving Scotland
Taking Gisele into his protection, their flight towards a port as they seek a ship bound for Scotland, is a series of triumphs and setbacks, with both learning to lover again.
Mind you Gisele is non too pleased when she finally discovers Nigel’s reason for leaving home and hearth. Fireworks are very much part of this woman’s arsenal.
I have read very little of The Murray’s series, but I do like Hannah Howell’s work, particularly her Wherlocke series. I found this title pleasantly engaging.
This book has apparently been around for at least a decade but is re-releasing in July 2022 as a mass market paperback.
A Kensington Books ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)
July 20, 2022
This was a fun historical romance where the heroine tries to pose as a man to hide from her murdered husband's kin. She did not murder him but with no other suspects all think she is guilty. After quickly being discovered, she has no other choice but to trust a stranger and flee with him to Scotland.
This plot was very fun and different. I really enjoyed the characters and I love how Nigel worked on gaining her trust and was understanding of her. This is a reissue of the the book for the first time in over a decade and I am not sure if there was anything changed from the original. TW: Spousal abuse.
A huge thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this title in exchange for my honest thoughts.
This plot was very fun and different. I really enjoyed the characters and I love how Nigel worked on gaining her trust and was understanding of her. This is a reissue of the the book for the first time in over a decade and I am not sure if there was anything changed from the original. TW: Spousal abuse.
A huge thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this title in exchange for my honest thoughts.
November 9, 2017
I liked it much better than the first book. In the first book the hero's brother falls madly in love with the heroine (who didn't?). He leaves at the end of the book so he doesn't dishonor the family name with his lustful thoughts. He hires himself out as a mercenary for the French in their war with England.
The heroine is dressed as a boy (poorly) and on the run from her murdered husband's kin. She didn't murder him, but seemed like the most likely suspect. He was a sadistic bastard who needed murdering.
The one icky plot element was that the heroine looked a lot like the heroine from the first book. So much so that the hero was unsure if he loved her or if he was projecting. However, there wasn't a lot of comparing going on, which made it better. This heroine was different enough personality-wise though. I actually liked her. She did some stupid things, but was not a Mary Sue with an endless stream of wise thoughts.
Again, I found the casualness of sex without worry of pregnancy odd given the context. Definitely not for the historical purists.
The heroine is dressed as a boy (poorly) and on the run from her murdered husband's kin. She didn't murder him, but seemed like the most likely suspect. He was a sadistic bastard who needed murdering.
The one icky plot element was that the heroine looked a lot like the heroine from the first book. So much so that the hero was unsure if he loved her or if he was projecting. However, there wasn't a lot of comparing going on, which made it better. This heroine was different enough personality-wise though. I actually liked her. She did some stupid things, but was not a Mary Sue with an endless stream of wise thoughts.
Again, I found the casualness of sex without worry of pregnancy odd given the context. Definitely not for the historical purists.
July 29, 2022
I received an advance ebook copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for review.
Highland Honor by Hannah Howell is the second book of the Murray Family. Nigel Murray saw through Gisele’s disguise as a page right away. Despite that, her disguise was working—until it wasn’t. Gisele was in grave danger. Nigel takes her away to Scotland. Gisele is hesitant to trust Nigel, as she has a dark history with her late husband Lord DeVeau. DeVeau has been murdered and a price has been put on Gisele’s head for a crime she didn’t commit. The longer Nigel and Gisele are together, the stronger the pull between them becomes.
I think it’s really cool how Zebra is reissuing this older series with fresh, modern covers. I found the pacing of this book a bit different than I’d normally like. I did like Nigel and Gisele, though. I will definitely try out more books in this series!
Highland Honor by Hannah Howell is the second book of the Murray Family. Nigel Murray saw through Gisele’s disguise as a page right away. Despite that, her disguise was working—until it wasn’t. Gisele was in grave danger. Nigel takes her away to Scotland. Gisele is hesitant to trust Nigel, as she has a dark history with her late husband Lord DeVeau. DeVeau has been murdered and a price has been put on Gisele’s head for a crime she didn’t commit. The longer Nigel and Gisele are together, the stronger the pull between them becomes.
I think it’s really cool how Zebra is reissuing this older series with fresh, modern covers. I found the pacing of this book a bit different than I’d normally like. I did like Nigel and Gisele, though. I will definitely try out more books in this series!
January 1, 2014
I love Hannah Howell's writing and I loved the story. However, the heroine, Gisele, has a couple TSTL moments that nearly ruined the book for me. It sounded so out of character. She's supposed to be smart so it was unexpected that she'd do the dumbest thing possible. I liked Nigel more in the first book, Highland Honor. I'll continue the series but this one is not my favorite so far.
October 27, 2018
3 stars.
The second Murray brother Nigel left Scotland after thinking he was in love with his brother's new bride, and ended up fighting as a mercenary in France for 7 long years. It was only after waking up from a drunken stupor that he believed his luck might be running out and decided to go home. On the way, he managed to rescue our heroine Gisele, who was trying to elude her dead husband's family. So began their perilous journey to escape France and back to Scotland.
There were quite a few escapades that the H/h had to go through during that journey, but what frustrated was that a number of those were as a result of Gisele's actions. And each time, she's rescued just in time by Nigel with somewhat convenient assistance from helpful strangers.
Then when they got home, Gisele's uncanny resemblance to Nigel's sister-in-law destroyed their relationship and again, Gisele did something silly and had to be rescued by Nigel again. Even with all this, I did enjoy the book.
The second Murray brother Nigel left Scotland after thinking he was in love with his brother's new bride, and ended up fighting as a mercenary in France for 7 long years. It was only after waking up from a drunken stupor that he believed his luck might be running out and decided to go home. On the way, he managed to rescue our heroine Gisele, who was trying to elude her dead husband's family. So began their perilous journey to escape France and back to Scotland.
There were quite a few escapades that the H/h had to go through during that journey, but what frustrated was that a number of those were as a result of Gisele's actions. And each time, she's rescued just in time by Nigel with somewhat convenient assistance from helpful strangers.
Then when they got home, Gisele's uncanny resemblance to Nigel's sister-in-law destroyed their relationship and again, Gisele did something silly and had to be rescued by Nigel again. Even with all this, I did enjoy the book.
August 7, 2017
So far I am not impressed with this series..
July 24, 2022
Sir Nigel Murray has been fighting in France for seven years when he discovers a young woman trying to pass herself off as a page, he sees through her masquerade from the first:. It almost worked--until she was unmasked in battle with the English, at the point of a sword. Nigel saved the raven-haired beauty whose secrets now endangered them both. He spirits her off to Scotland. Gisele knew the dark side of men, having barely escaped the brutality of her highborn husband, Lord Deveau. Now, with Deveau murdered and a price on her head, she was every man's prey--hunted for a crime she did not commit. Nigel is her only refuge but to truly trust him, Gisele must put the past behind her, and let her heart accept the simple truth of his undying love.
This is the second book in the series & is released after first seeing the light of day over twenty years ago. A well written book with strong characters. I really liked both Nigel & Giselle & loved their verbal bantering but I wanted to shake Giselle a couple of times when she acted out of character. An easy to read entertaining book, which I read in a coule of sittings
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read
This is the second book in the series & is released after first seeing the light of day over twenty years ago. A well written book with strong characters. I really liked both Nigel & Giselle & loved their verbal bantering but I wanted to shake Giselle a couple of times when she acted out of character. An easy to read entertaining book, which I read in a coule of sittings
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read
July 16, 2018
This book had a little bit of everything I hate in a romance. It had the typical female lead who thinks she can go it alone against powerful men who are out to kill her. She proved over and over again how stupid she was. It annoys the heck out of me when a woman flees from the good guy when she knows the bad guys are bound to get her.
Anyone who has ever read one of my reviews knows my biggest gripe about a book is when there is too much introspection, especially in the middle of a kiss or sex scene. It ruins it. All books need the characters to self-reflect and have inner thoughts of their fears but this book dwelled on it. The characters had the same thoughts over and over again until it was drilled into the readers head.
The trip was way too long and drawn out.
I'm so done with this series!
Anyone who has ever read one of my reviews knows my biggest gripe about a book is when there is too much introspection, especially in the middle of a kiss or sex scene. It ruins it. All books need the characters to self-reflect and have inner thoughts of their fears but this book dwelled on it. The characters had the same thoughts over and over again until it was drilled into the readers head.
The trip was way too long and drawn out.
I'm so done with this series!
July 27, 2022
3.5 Stars! I loved the first half of this book. After that, eh. This is the 2nd book in the ‘Murray Family’ series and can be read as a standalone. The book got me so invested in the heroic male main character, Nigel, & the spitfire, brave female main character, Giselle. She did things that made me want to roll my eyes and yell at her. He did, and didn’t do, things that made me want to yell at him and slap him around a bit. For such a brave and heroic couple, they were also wienies in other ways. Still a really good book. I didn’t care for the ending - Too abrupt. It was a long, drawn out book and then it was all wrapped up in a heartbeat!
Also- Giselle’s dead husband - got what he deserved!
*I received this at no charge & I voluntarily left this review.*
Also- Giselle’s dead husband - got what he deserved!
*I received this at no charge & I voluntarily left this review.*
July 26, 2010
I don't believe I will be reading anymore of Howell's Highland books just because they are rather difficult to read. I have no problem with using words to give a hint of Scottish accent but I really have no desire to have to reread sentences to try and understand what is being said.
July 7, 2022
I enjoyed the story but it could have had less chapters since so many just repeated the storyline and it makes it hard to keep the interest. It's like you read 3 chapters and then the next 3 chapters just say the same thing but with a few different words. The main characters were not my favourite either, a few times I wanted to smack them upside the head! lol For two smart people they sure made a lot of ill gotten decisions.
Gisele has been on the run for a year, blamed for her abusive husband's death and when Nigel overhears her plans to pass as a boy, even cutting her hair short, he decides to help her and bring her to his clan in the Highlands. On the run, there is much danger they encounter but it also gives them a chance to get to know each other better and of course, passions soon follow.
I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley and I am voluntarily writing an honest review.
Gisele has been on the run for a year, blamed for her abusive husband's death and when Nigel overhears her plans to pass as a boy, even cutting her hair short, he decides to help her and bring her to his clan in the Highlands. On the run, there is much danger they encounter but it also gives them a chance to get to know each other better and of course, passions soon follow.
I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley and I am voluntarily writing an honest review.
August 20, 2013
"Her husband had used his manhood like a weapon, hurting her and debasing her." loc.660
Author: Hannah Howell
First published: 1999
Length: 4597 locations
Setting: France and Scotland, Spring 1437.
Sex: frequent but not always explicit. Sex with no intention of marriage - it's to "heal" her after the rapes of her husband. And he's not sure he even wants her.
Hero: Nigel spends the book wondering if he still loves Maldie (book 1). It's almost cheating.
Heroine: Gisele was severely abused and constantly raped by her (now dead) husband. She has spent a year running from people out to kill her, viciously. She dresses as a boy and learns to fight with a sword. Her honour has been much abused.
Series: Book 2 of the Howell's Highland series. Picks up 7 years after Book 1.
An interesting read playing on the inability of women to control their destiny with a man trying to find ways for her to at least direct it. By placing our MCs in an unusual location (rural France) we have a Medieval Road Trip as we journey to HEA.
It's good. Solid. Easy to Read. Well placed in history. With a damaged woman finding strength and love in his arms.
My only real problem was the .
A solid addition to the Murray series.
Murray Family:
Three brothers – the patriarchs of the Murray Family
Book 1 Highland Promise - Lord Balfour Murray, laird of Donncoill and Maldie Kirkcaldy
Book 2 Highland Honor - Nigel Murray and Gisele Deveau
Book 3 Highland Destiny - Eric Murray and Bethia Drummond
References:
Author's website: http://hannahhowell.com/
(ISBN 9780759287723)
-CR-
Author: Hannah Howell
First published: 1999
Length: 4597 locations
Setting: France and Scotland, Spring 1437.
Sex: frequent but not always explicit. Sex with no intention of marriage - it's to "heal" her after the rapes of her husband. And he's not sure he even wants her.
Hero: Nigel spends the book wondering if he still loves Maldie (book 1). It's almost cheating.
Heroine: Gisele was severely abused and constantly raped by her (now dead) husband. She has spent a year running from people out to kill her, viciously. She dresses as a boy and learns to fight with a sword. Her honour has been much abused.
Series: Book 2 of the Howell's Highland series. Picks up 7 years after Book 1.
An interesting read playing on the inability of women to control their destiny with a man trying to find ways for her to at least direct it. By placing our MCs in an unusual location (rural France) we have a Medieval Road Trip as we journey to HEA.
It's good. Solid. Easy to Read. Well placed in history. With a damaged woman finding strength and love in his arms.
My only real problem was the .
A solid addition to the Murray series.
Murray Family:
Three brothers – the patriarchs of the Murray Family
Book 1 Highland Promise - Lord Balfour Murray, laird of Donncoill and Maldie Kirkcaldy
Book 2 Highland Honor - Nigel Murray and Gisele Deveau
Book 3 Highland Destiny - Eric Murray and Bethia Drummond
References:
Author's website: http://hannahhowell.com/
(ISBN 9780759287723)
-CR-
August 1, 2022
Nigel Murray immediately realized the young woman trying to disguise herself as a page was not a boy. He would’ve still said nothing until a battle with the English forced the truth out and Nigel couldn’t stop himself from stepping in to save the woman. Now they’re both in danger because of her past and he’s determined to get her safely to his home in Scotland and seduce away the fear he sees in her.
Gisele Deveau knows the darker side of men having narrowly survived her husband’s abuses. Now with that man dead and her suspected of his murder, Gisele has a bounty on her head and many of her husband’s kinsmen hunt her though she is innocent. Even her own family refuses to believe in her innocence, forcing her to a desperation that causes her to agree to Nigel’s escort despite that he is a stranger to her. His sensuality challenges her but trusting in his true feelings for her may be more than Gisele can manage.
I previously read this book several years ago, but I had only the vaguest recollection of it and decided to do a reread. I think some aspects of this held up better on the reread, while others stuck out to me in ways they didn’t before. Mostly, I was frustrated with both Gisele and Nigel for making poor decisions repetitively. Poor decisions are wholly relatable and humanizing, but it is frustrating to see the same ones repeated in a book and begins to make the plot feel repetitive. I did love that this felt like a traditional Highlander romance, even though it’s mostly set in France, because of the protective hero, forced proximity and road trip aspects. I still think the ending was a bit anticlimactic with the villains just disappearing off page, though I did appreciate that lack of angst. I’m still annoyed at Nigel for not confiding in Gisele his true reasons for leaving Scotland and I think that hurt the depth of emotion in this story a bit for me, leaving many of their intimate scenes together feeling more driven by lust than anything else, though I think they were meant to show a healing for Gisele after the abuses she suffered from her husband. Overall, this was a fun Highlander romance and not a bad world to spend some time in. I still enjoy the Murray family and I’m glad to see them getting re-releases with snazzy new covers.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Blog link: https://mustreadalltheromance.blogspo...
Gisele Deveau knows the darker side of men having narrowly survived her husband’s abuses. Now with that man dead and her suspected of his murder, Gisele has a bounty on her head and many of her husband’s kinsmen hunt her though she is innocent. Even her own family refuses to believe in her innocence, forcing her to a desperation that causes her to agree to Nigel’s escort despite that he is a stranger to her. His sensuality challenges her but trusting in his true feelings for her may be more than Gisele can manage.
I previously read this book several years ago, but I had only the vaguest recollection of it and decided to do a reread. I think some aspects of this held up better on the reread, while others stuck out to me in ways they didn’t before. Mostly, I was frustrated with both Gisele and Nigel for making poor decisions repetitively. Poor decisions are wholly relatable and humanizing, but it is frustrating to see the same ones repeated in a book and begins to make the plot feel repetitive. I did love that this felt like a traditional Highlander romance, even though it’s mostly set in France, because of the protective hero, forced proximity and road trip aspects. I still think the ending was a bit anticlimactic with the villains just disappearing off page, though I did appreciate that lack of angst. I’m still annoyed at Nigel for not confiding in Gisele his true reasons for leaving Scotland and I think that hurt the depth of emotion in this story a bit for me, leaving many of their intimate scenes together feeling more driven by lust than anything else, though I think they were meant to show a healing for Gisele after the abuses she suffered from her husband. Overall, this was a fun Highlander romance and not a bad world to spend some time in. I still enjoy the Murray family and I’m glad to see them getting re-releases with snazzy new covers.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Blog link: https://mustreadalltheromance.blogspo...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 10, 2024
Gisele is on the run in France for the murder and mutilation of her husband. Abusive, she had reasons for his murder, but she's innocent. Her husband's family has a bounty on her head. Sir Nigel Murray is a Scotsman fighting in France. Rescuing Gisele, he promises his protection and safety at his home in Scotland. The problem is getting there. Trust is an issue on both sides. Not what I call fast paced. A lot of descriptive sex and violence.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book from NetGalley
I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book from NetGalley
did-not-finish
April 5, 2024DNF pg 154 (48%) started Feb 25 2024 and gave up Apr 5 2024
I have too many historical fiction mass markets to keep trying to get through one for weeks on end. I put this one down for at least three weeks before only reading about 20 more pages and giving up. It might be something I return to in the future but I felt like there just wasn’t a lot going on for pages and pages. I don’t know if it was the writing or the actual plot.
I have too many historical fiction mass markets to keep trying to get through one for weeks on end. I put this one down for at least three weeks before only reading about 20 more pages and giving up. It might be something I return to in the future but I felt like there just wasn’t a lot going on for pages and pages. I don’t know if it was the writing or the actual plot.
September 18, 2019
Nigel carried this book for me. I liked him so much. I am not a huge road trip book person but I really liked this one. I liked Gisele but her going off on her own annoyed me. If she had gotten farther away and into more trouble at the end I would have been annoyed, that would have knocked it down to 3 stars for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
dnf
July 15, 2025DNF page 20. The writing sucks. Weird sentence structures. Constant viewpoint changes in third person. Sometimes within the same page with barely a paragraph break.
It's painful.
It's painful.
June 4, 2024
OKAY, Highland Honor, book 2, we're following Nigel, Balfour's brother. This storyline seems to have been partly inspired by Mulan, which could actually be true considering Mulan came out in 1998 a year before this book. Just a note, if you don't like reading about rape or any references to rape, this is not the book for you. Nothing graphic is depicted, but it's referenced extensively because it's a big part of the heroine's past, just know that going into it.
So Nigel left Scotland at the end of the last book because he was in love with Maldie, who married Balfour, Nigel's brother, and Nigel can't stand himself anymore lusting after his brother's wife. He fucks off to France as a hired sword. This book timeskips seven years forward, and Nigel is still a sword-for-hire against the English, and an alcoholic who numbs the pain sleeping with prostitutes constantly. Great! When he meets Giselle, he's going to give her syphilis from fucking his way across the continent in brothels! I'm not a huge fan of the trope of men dealing with their depression and anger by drinking and sleeping around. And I really dislike the message that all a messed up man needs to stop being an alcoholic is the love of a good woman, but what can you expect from a book written in the 90s. Comparing Nigel's romantic style to Balfour, I vastly prefer Nigel if I had to choose, (which is funny because in the first book, a big part of Balfour's identity was being jealous that all the women prefer Nigel -- gee, I wonder why, Balfour). Nigel doesn't threaten violence, coerce sex, or kidnap Giselle in the way Balfour did to Maldie -- but that's not to say Nigel doesn't have his own problems.
Anyway, the reveal of our heroine, Giselle, had Mulan vibes. Giselle is a frenchwoman and a widow who is being pursued by her dead husband's family, accusing her of murdering him. She cuts her hair off and is trying to disguise herself as a boy within the army. I realize now, looking back on my notes, that there is a throwaway line at the start of the book that describes Nigel gathering up her hair cuttings and keeping them in his tent, like a weirdo -- but the hair clippings are never mentioned again. I totally forgot about that. No idea why we needed to know he was perving over her hair, it gave me a 'I took Becky's candy wrapper out of the garbage so that I could sniff it and feel close to her' vibe.
Anyway, Nigel happens to be eavesdropping when Giselle is narrating her plan of disguise to her cousin Guillermo. He then inserts himself into this problem and takes it upon himself to help Giselle escape her pursuers. We find out that Giselle's dead husband was routinely raping and beating her, and everyone knew about it, yet no one did anything to help because her husband was rich. Her family was glad she made an advantageous marriage and didn't want to do anything to cross him, so they just were letting her be openly abused and pretended they didn't know. When rapist-husband was found dead, he had his own penis stuffed into his mouth, so everyone thinks, well obviously Giselle did it, he was beating her ass and raping her! Maybe she didn't like it! How dare she kill her own attacker! You're supposed to accept it if your husband is abusing you, not retaliate against his violence with defensive violence of your own! Let's kill her! I'm assuming they need to execute her for 'killing her husband' and make and example of her because if they let it slide for a woman to murder her husband for raping her, there would be a lot of dead husbands popping up across medieval Europe. So she's on the run because of this double standard. Nigel offers her protection and they go on the run together, trying to get to a port so they can sail to Scotland and escape the frenchmen pursuing her.
So the set-up is this. Nigel the drunk, who is still in love with his brother's wife, all he really needs is the love of a good woman to cure him and turn him down the path of goodness, and Giselle.. well... The implication here is that all that an abused woman needs to heal after being raped is to have pleasurable sex, i.e., another horny man who can show her that sex is good! Isn't that what every rape victim needs? Another man who wants to use her body for his own purposes? Yeah. Not great.
Another twist is that Giselle looks a lot like Maldie. Both of them have black hair and are really tiny. So Nigel has it in his head that maybe he only likes Giselle because she reminds him of Maldie, and this means that he shouldn't profess his love to her -- but it sure doesn't stop him from sleeping with her 20 times. This resemblance that Giselle has to Maldie hangs over the reader's head until the very end of the story as a final romantic conflict after the action-drama-violence plotline was ended.
Let's look at Nigel in comparison to Balfour, the love interest in the first book. While Nigel is an improvement in some ways, and is a lot less forceful, coercive, and sexually violent, while he doesn't force himself onto Giselle the way Balfour did to Maldie, he does fondle her while she was asleep more than once to wake her up to sex, and this book repeatedly professed the attitude that 'not saying no is actually saying yes', which isn't true. I think we're supposed to see Nigel as something of a feminist compared to Balfour, he's more romantic, he's more patient and gentle, with a more open minded attitude about women who have sex outside of marriage (but only insofar as it benefits HIM for Giselle to feel okay having sex with him). But all that is ruined by this throw-away part where after they have sex for the first time, Nigel says, 'Don't worry, I know you did this willingly, I know you're not going to claim that I raped you, you're a sensible girl.' And Giselle replies, 'yeah, most women are." And Nigel is like, haha yeah, but in his head he doesn't agree with her. This is never expanded upon, which is strange, and leaves us thinking that Nigel sees women as duplicitous whores who lie about being raped or who sleep around, etc -- even though HE is the one whose main personality trait in both books was being a man-whore, Nigel who was sleeping his way across Europe's brothels and would put his dick in a hole in the ground if it looked a little curvy. But we get this bullshit throwaway line about women being illogical when it comes to sex, when he is ruled by lust to the point of being the most irrational man alive. Oh the irony. He reveals such little respect for the women he himself was sleeping with, thinking of them as dirty and low for having done so. The madonna-whore complex is strong in this book. He simultaneously hold the two conflicting beliefs that the women he slept with in brothels are dirty whores, but Giselle, who he is also having sex with, is pure. NO Giselle, don't have an attack of conscience! God will forgive you for having sex with me! It's okay to sin and fornicate, because it benefits ME! They have multiple convos about catholicism and that god will condemn them for their fornication, but Nigel insists that Giselle is pure, because she's not having sex with just any guy, she's having sex with HIM! Weird double-standard-ass outlook on life.
I liked Giselle, I liked her mini side-plot of learning to sword-fight, but she kept making up the stupidest dumb-fuck reasons to keep riding off on her own. The book clearly needed to contrive reasons for them to be separated so that Nigel could go rescue her, but Giselle's reasoning was always so dumb. She leaves the first time because she thinks Nigel is going to break her heart, so she decides to go back to being on the run on her own, because when she weighed the risk between getting captured and executed, and a heartbreak? She thought the heartbreak was worse. Girl then immediately gets captured and taken to the DeVeaux keep, where everyone wants to rape her.
Nigel rescues her literally the MOMENT before she's going to be raped, like they're literally on the bed and her boobs are out, and Nigel knocks the guy out. I enjoyed the capture, imprisonment, and rescue chapters, but what I found so fucking bonkers was that the book makes clear at least FIVE times that Nigel is rescuing her because he knows that if she gets raped again, 'the passion she's rediscovered will be snuffed out,' meaning, he's not rescuing her because being raped is an injust violation and no one deserves to go through that torture and pain, but because he is afraid that being raped again will make her stop wanting to have sex with him ever again! No, don't get raped! Then /I/ won't be able to have sex with you! What the fuck is this sociopathic attitude???
After being rescued from a near-rape, Nigel's strategy to make her feel better is to initiate sex. Which is INSANE. But whew, she likes it! Hey, good thing she isn't traumatized from being almost raped again, now I can have sex with her some more!
The worst part of this book is how it keeps insisting that having good sex with a guy is the way to remind yourself that not all men are bad! Sex is the cure to being traumatized by rape according to this book. Which is mind-bogglingly ignorant. But--
So they finally get a ride on a boat back to Scotland and Nigel still hasn't told Giselle about Maldie. When Giselle finds out, she gets mad and goes to her room. Nigel then explains everything to Balfour, Maldie, and James and Eric, and then when we get Giselle's perspective again, the book skips over Nigel apologizing and telling her about his past with Maldie, which was ... really weird. Why didn't Hannah want to write that scene out, isn't that an important moment? Nigel promising to Giselle that he loves her for her, not because she looks like Maldie? Ugh. It was weird, because the book didn't do that weird kind of skipping at any other time.
Anyway, Giselle runs off again because she thinks she's going to bring danger to the Murray family, so she rides off with her horse and fucking immediately, two road thieves accost her and are going to steal her stuff and rape her. I would say its unrealistic for everyone man to be a psycho rapist, but??? Medieval Scotland/Europe? Yeah, I'd say that any time a woman was out alone, especially a poor or low-born one from an outside village, and men thought they had the opportunity to, rape probably was extremely common. There's a reason people call them sheep-fuckers, dudes would rape anything.
Anyway Nigel rescues her and is mad at her that every time Giselle runs away, she almost gets raped. Rather than wondering how strange it is that every man she comes across is so bloodthirsty, demonic, and eager to commit an opportunistic rape, he's angry at her for 'putting herself in that situation.' His attitude is, come back with me you little woman, you, you can't take care of yourself! If you go off on your own, you will be raped. So you have no choice but to stay with me. And Giselle is like, yeah you're right.
The book ends with a love confession from Nigel to Giselle that could've used some more rewrites, I just didn't /feel/ the catharsis I was hoping to feel with that ending. There were quite a few areas this story could have been improved, but I think it had a good foundation and a fun premise. This was some silly adventure-romance, and I enjoyed where the book took me. I think it overdid it using rape as a plot-point, there should've been only the one attempted rape by the cousin of the husband, but the highway thieves too? That was unnecessary and gratuitous.
Side note! -- remember how in book 1, Highland Destiny, it kept being hinted that Maldie has some kind of supernatural power of empathetic aura reading? Well, this book keeps hinting that Nigel has some sort of 'gift' that alerts him to danger, it keeps being dropped that it may be supernatural or magical, but like the last book, the plot drops it and never explains it, which makes me wonder why it was ever mentioned. Do all of these books hint at people having magical gifts? Is this plot thread what inspired Hannah Howell's later series with the Scottish vampires, the MacNachton Vampires? I wonder if there's a connection.
Alright, book 3, I think it's about Eric, the little adopted brother of Nigel and Balfour! Hopefully he's sweeter and less entitled than his older brothers are.
So Nigel left Scotland at the end of the last book because he was in love with Maldie, who married Balfour, Nigel's brother, and Nigel can't stand himself anymore lusting after his brother's wife. He fucks off to France as a hired sword. This book timeskips seven years forward, and Nigel is still a sword-for-hire against the English, and an alcoholic who numbs the pain sleeping with prostitutes constantly. Great! When he meets Giselle, he's going to give her syphilis from fucking his way across the continent in brothels! I'm not a huge fan of the trope of men dealing with their depression and anger by drinking and sleeping around. And I really dislike the message that all a messed up man needs to stop being an alcoholic is the love of a good woman, but what can you expect from a book written in the 90s. Comparing Nigel's romantic style to Balfour, I vastly prefer Nigel if I had to choose, (which is funny because in the first book, a big part of Balfour's identity was being jealous that all the women prefer Nigel -- gee, I wonder why, Balfour). Nigel doesn't threaten violence, coerce sex, or kidnap Giselle in the way Balfour did to Maldie -- but that's not to say Nigel doesn't have his own problems.
Anyway, the reveal of our heroine, Giselle, had Mulan vibes. Giselle is a frenchwoman and a widow who is being pursued by her dead husband's family, accusing her of murdering him. She cuts her hair off and is trying to disguise herself as a boy within the army. I realize now, looking back on my notes, that there is a throwaway line at the start of the book that describes Nigel gathering up her hair cuttings and keeping them in his tent, like a weirdo -- but the hair clippings are never mentioned again. I totally forgot about that. No idea why we needed to know he was perving over her hair, it gave me a 'I took Becky's candy wrapper out of the garbage so that I could sniff it and feel close to her' vibe.
Anyway, Nigel happens to be eavesdropping when Giselle is narrating her plan of disguise to her cousin Guillermo. He then inserts himself into this problem and takes it upon himself to help Giselle escape her pursuers. We find out that Giselle's dead husband was routinely raping and beating her, and everyone knew about it, yet no one did anything to help because her husband was rich. Her family was glad she made an advantageous marriage and didn't want to do anything to cross him, so they just were letting her be openly abused and pretended they didn't know. When rapist-husband was found dead, he had his own penis stuffed into his mouth, so everyone thinks, well obviously Giselle did it, he was beating her ass and raping her! Maybe she didn't like it! How dare she kill her own attacker! You're supposed to accept it if your husband is abusing you, not retaliate against his violence with defensive violence of your own! Let's kill her! I'm assuming they need to execute her for 'killing her husband' and make and example of her because if they let it slide for a woman to murder her husband for raping her, there would be a lot of dead husbands popping up across medieval Europe. So she's on the run because of this double standard. Nigel offers her protection and they go on the run together, trying to get to a port so they can sail to Scotland and escape the frenchmen pursuing her.
So the set-up is this. Nigel the drunk, who is still in love with his brother's wife, all he really needs is the love of a good woman to cure him and turn him down the path of goodness, and Giselle.. well... The implication here is that all that an abused woman needs to heal after being raped is to have pleasurable sex, i.e., another horny man who can show her that sex is good! Isn't that what every rape victim needs? Another man who wants to use her body for his own purposes? Yeah. Not great.
Another twist is that Giselle looks a lot like Maldie. Both of them have black hair and are really tiny. So Nigel has it in his head that maybe he only likes Giselle because she reminds him of Maldie, and this means that he shouldn't profess his love to her -- but it sure doesn't stop him from sleeping with her 20 times. This resemblance that Giselle has to Maldie hangs over the reader's head until the very end of the story as a final romantic conflict after the action-drama-violence plotline was ended.
Let's look at Nigel in comparison to Balfour, the love interest in the first book. While Nigel is an improvement in some ways, and is a lot less forceful, coercive, and sexually violent, while he doesn't force himself onto Giselle the way Balfour did to Maldie, he does fondle her while she was asleep more than once to wake her up to sex, and this book repeatedly professed the attitude that 'not saying no is actually saying yes', which isn't true. I think we're supposed to see Nigel as something of a feminist compared to Balfour, he's more romantic, he's more patient and gentle, with a more open minded attitude about women who have sex outside of marriage (but only insofar as it benefits HIM for Giselle to feel okay having sex with him). But all that is ruined by this throw-away part where after they have sex for the first time, Nigel says, 'Don't worry, I know you did this willingly, I know you're not going to claim that I raped you, you're a sensible girl.' And Giselle replies, 'yeah, most women are." And Nigel is like, haha yeah, but in his head he doesn't agree with her. This is never expanded upon, which is strange, and leaves us thinking that Nigel sees women as duplicitous whores who lie about being raped or who sleep around, etc -- even though HE is the one whose main personality trait in both books was being a man-whore, Nigel who was sleeping his way across Europe's brothels and would put his dick in a hole in the ground if it looked a little curvy. But we get this bullshit throwaway line about women being illogical when it comes to sex, when he is ruled by lust to the point of being the most irrational man alive. Oh the irony. He reveals such little respect for the women he himself was sleeping with, thinking of them as dirty and low for having done so. The madonna-whore complex is strong in this book. He simultaneously hold the two conflicting beliefs that the women he slept with in brothels are dirty whores, but Giselle, who he is also having sex with, is pure. NO Giselle, don't have an attack of conscience! God will forgive you for having sex with me! It's okay to sin and fornicate, because it benefits ME! They have multiple convos about catholicism and that god will condemn them for their fornication, but Nigel insists that Giselle is pure, because she's not having sex with just any guy, she's having sex with HIM! Weird double-standard-ass outlook on life.
I liked Giselle, I liked her mini side-plot of learning to sword-fight, but she kept making up the stupidest dumb-fuck reasons to keep riding off on her own. The book clearly needed to contrive reasons for them to be separated so that Nigel could go rescue her, but Giselle's reasoning was always so dumb. She leaves the first time because she thinks Nigel is going to break her heart, so she decides to go back to being on the run on her own, because when she weighed the risk between getting captured and executed, and a heartbreak? She thought the heartbreak was worse. Girl then immediately gets captured and taken to the DeVeaux keep, where everyone wants to rape her.
Nigel rescues her literally the MOMENT before she's going to be raped, like they're literally on the bed and her boobs are out, and Nigel knocks the guy out. I enjoyed the capture, imprisonment, and rescue chapters, but what I found so fucking bonkers was that the book makes clear at least FIVE times that Nigel is rescuing her because he knows that if she gets raped again, 'the passion she's rediscovered will be snuffed out,' meaning, he's not rescuing her because being raped is an injust violation and no one deserves to go through that torture and pain, but because he is afraid that being raped again will make her stop wanting to have sex with him ever again! No, don't get raped! Then /I/ won't be able to have sex with you! What the fuck is this sociopathic attitude???
After being rescued from a near-rape, Nigel's strategy to make her feel better is to initiate sex. Which is INSANE. But whew, she likes it! Hey, good thing she isn't traumatized from being almost raped again, now I can have sex with her some more!
The worst part of this book is how it keeps insisting that having good sex with a guy is the way to remind yourself that not all men are bad! Sex is the cure to being traumatized by rape according to this book. Which is mind-bogglingly ignorant. But--
So they finally get a ride on a boat back to Scotland and Nigel still hasn't told Giselle about Maldie. When Giselle finds out, she gets mad and goes to her room. Nigel then explains everything to Balfour, Maldie, and James and Eric, and then when we get Giselle's perspective again, the book skips over Nigel apologizing and telling her about his past with Maldie, which was ... really weird. Why didn't Hannah want to write that scene out, isn't that an important moment? Nigel promising to Giselle that he loves her for her, not because she looks like Maldie? Ugh. It was weird, because the book didn't do that weird kind of skipping at any other time.
Anyway, Giselle runs off again because she thinks she's going to bring danger to the Murray family, so she rides off with her horse and fucking immediately, two road thieves accost her and are going to steal her stuff and rape her. I would say its unrealistic for everyone man to be a psycho rapist, but??? Medieval Scotland/Europe? Yeah, I'd say that any time a woman was out alone, especially a poor or low-born one from an outside village, and men thought they had the opportunity to, rape probably was extremely common. There's a reason people call them sheep-fuckers, dudes would rape anything.
Anyway Nigel rescues her and is mad at her that every time Giselle runs away, she almost gets raped. Rather than wondering how strange it is that every man she comes across is so bloodthirsty, demonic, and eager to commit an opportunistic rape, he's angry at her for 'putting herself in that situation.' His attitude is, come back with me you little woman, you, you can't take care of yourself! If you go off on your own, you will be raped. So you have no choice but to stay with me. And Giselle is like, yeah you're right.
The book ends with a love confession from Nigel to Giselle that could've used some more rewrites, I just didn't /feel/ the catharsis I was hoping to feel with that ending. There were quite a few areas this story could have been improved, but I think it had a good foundation and a fun premise. This was some silly adventure-romance, and I enjoyed where the book took me. I think it overdid it using rape as a plot-point, there should've been only the one attempted rape by the cousin of the husband, but the highway thieves too? That was unnecessary and gratuitous.
Side note! -- remember how in book 1, Highland Destiny, it kept being hinted that Maldie has some kind of supernatural power of empathetic aura reading? Well, this book keeps hinting that Nigel has some sort of 'gift' that alerts him to danger, it keeps being dropped that it may be supernatural or magical, but like the last book, the plot drops it and never explains it, which makes me wonder why it was ever mentioned. Do all of these books hint at people having magical gifts? Is this plot thread what inspired Hannah Howell's later series with the Scottish vampires, the MacNachton Vampires? I wonder if there's a connection.
Alright, book 3, I think it's about Eric, the little adopted brother of Nigel and Balfour! Hopefully he's sweeter and less entitled than his older brothers are.
February 21, 2021
1.5 stars. A little better than the first book.
September 13, 2019
It was OK, I usually love this author but this was too wordy with pages of introspection multiple times. The h made a couple of really stupid decisions and could be a bit bratty.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 9, 2018
I have loved Hannah Howell's books for many many years, but apparently missed this one. Could the heroine act any more stupid? Started out smart mouth, ended up foolish. Safe in a nice castle with people who cared about her: what does she do? Rides her horse out trying to leave. Nigel had the patience of a saint. On the other hand, she DID try to learn to walk softly and use her sword more effectively. And she surely got over all the abuse from her husband rather quickly. Took to sex like a duck to water. Well, I just love these historical romances, and foolish heroine or not, this was OK.
August 26, 2013
I would give this Scottish romance novel two and a half stars if I could. The characters aren't terrible, though they're certainly not first-rate. The plot is fun in places though it seriously drags in others. Once again, Hannah Howell feels the need to bludgeon the reader with repeated descriptions and explanations of the same phenomena. If only the whole thing were a little tighter (that's what he said), we'd have a quality beach read on our hands. As is, I can't recommend it.
May 22, 2011
This book has one of my favorite themes- the heroine is an abuse survivor. The relationship between Nigel and Gisele is sweet and I enjoyed watching him help her deal with her traumatic past. I've added the rest of this series to my to-read shelf, it's shaping up to be a favorite, I think. (4 stars)
May 25, 2016
A few little things were pretty standard for romance novels but the overall story was interesting enough.
August 28, 2017
Will not continue this series. The writing is just not that great.
January 17, 2018
It was a little anticlimactic. All this running to have it resolved by a letter? Eh
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 19, 2024
Started off with a bang and continued the suspense and momentum of Gisele and Nigel on the run from hunters for weeks trying to get to Scotland.
Nigel has been fighting at a mercenary in France for seven years after being rejected in Highland Destiny. She married his brother, so as to not make things awkward he left. But after waking up from a drink and stupor in woods, he decides he has been wallowing in sorrow long enough and starts to head home. On the way he meets Gisele, a widow who has been falsely accused of killing and mutilating her husband. No one, not even her own family believes she is innocent, so she has been on the run for a year. She is pretending to be a page boy when Nigel discovers her secret and offers to take her Scotland with him. So off they go with her dressed as a boy through the wilds of France evading bounty hunters.
I loved how these two are really on the run and have multiple encounters with the bounty hunters after them. As the book progresses their encounters get more and more bloody and dangerous as the bounty changes from capture to kill.
The author continued the stupid secret keeping trope of the previous book, but thankfully this one makes sense and resolved quickly and realistically. Nigel is conflicted over his feelings for Gisele because she looks like the girl he was previously in love with/his brother's wife. So he is angsting if his feelings are real or not. And he has to tell her before they get to Scotland and she meets his brother's wife.
Nigel and Gisele were a great couple. Instant attraction, but because of Gisele's trauma this is a a slow burn as she heals from her previous sexual assault by her evil husband. I really liked Nigel in the previous book and was bummed he didn't get the girl. So seeing him get his much deserved HEA with a great girl was fantastic to read. Gisele was perfect for him. I loved their grumpy x sunshine dynamic. Gisele sometimes spirals into being overly negative and Nigel balances her out with his optimism.
If you are looking for medieval road trip romance I high recommend this. You also don't need to read Highland Destiny to enjoy this. It reads like a standalone.
Nigel has been fighting at a mercenary in France for seven years after being rejected in Highland Destiny. She married his brother, so as to not make things awkward he left. But after waking up from a drink and stupor in woods, he decides he has been wallowing in sorrow long enough and starts to head home. On the way he meets Gisele, a widow who has been falsely accused of killing and mutilating her husband. No one, not even her own family believes she is innocent, so she has been on the run for a year. She is pretending to be a page boy when Nigel discovers her secret and offers to take her Scotland with him. So off they go with her dressed as a boy through the wilds of France evading bounty hunters.
I loved how these two are really on the run and have multiple encounters with the bounty hunters after them. As the book progresses their encounters get more and more bloody and dangerous as the bounty changes from capture to kill.
The author continued the stupid secret keeping trope of the previous book, but thankfully this one makes sense and resolved quickly and realistically. Nigel is conflicted over his feelings for Gisele because she looks like the girl he was previously in love with/his brother's wife. So he is angsting if his feelings are real or not. And he has to tell her before they get to Scotland and she meets his brother's wife.
Nigel and Gisele were a great couple. Instant attraction, but because of Gisele's trauma this is a a slow burn as she heals from her previous sexual assault by her evil husband. I really liked Nigel in the previous book and was bummed he didn't get the girl. So seeing him get his much deserved HEA with a great girl was fantastic to read. Gisele was perfect for him. I loved their grumpy x sunshine dynamic. Gisele sometimes spirals into being overly negative and Nigel balances her out with his optimism.
If you are looking for medieval road trip romance I high recommend this. You also don't need to read Highland Destiny to enjoy this. It reads like a standalone.
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