The Highlander's Tactical Marriage

Highland Alliances #2

by Jenni Fletcher

A strategic marriage…

…with his runaway bride!

Coira Barron is the last woman Fergus MacMillan would choose to marry—he’s never forgiven her for running away with another man on the eve of their wedding six years ago. Now an alliance with widowed Coira is crucial, and Fergus is shocked to discover his new wife is nowhere near as disloyal as he believed. Protecting her and his clan are his priority, but can he protect his own heart?

Genres: Historical Romance, Second Chance Romance, Romance

272 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 22, 2022

About the author

Jenni Fletcher writes heartwarming Historical Romance and fun Formula 1 romances. She has won 2 Romantic Novelists' Association Awards and teaches creative writing at Bishop Grosseteste University. Originally from Scotland, she now lives in the north of England with her family and one extremely hairy dog.

Reviews

[Barbara Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Series: Highland Alliances #2 (Author Collaboration Series)
Publication Date: 2/22/22
Period: Medieval (1360) Argyll, Scotland
Number of Pages: 288

Fergus MacMillan is absolutely furious with his brother Ross (The Highlander's Substitute Wife). So furious that they almost come to blows. How could Ross ask this of him after what happened six years ago? He will capitulate and marry the woman who wounded his heart so deeply, but he absolutely will not stick around after he secures the castle for her and her son.

Coira Barron cannot believe what her uncle-in-law is demanding of her. She’s been a widow for six months and he’s demanding she marry again. Worse yet, he’s demanding she marry Fergus MacMillan, the man she left – almost at the altar – six years ago. Fergus must detest her for the embarrassment and insult that caused. Why on earth would Fergus agree to the marriage? Is he marrying her to exact his revenge on her? It really doesn’t matter because she has no other choice. She’ll do whatever she has to if it keeps her son’s inheritance protected and Fergus is one of the most fearsome warriors in all of Scotland.

When Fergus first sets eyes on Barron castle, he is astounded – and not in a good way. The castle walls are practically crumbling and the castle itself is in need of repairs. How could Nevin Barron, Coira’s husband, allow things to get into this state of disrepair. Fergus has days – weeks at most – to get things repaired enough to defend them all from an imminent attack by the Campbell clan.

Over time, Fergus and Coira come to a truce and each starts to see the value of the other. They also each learn that things weren’t exactly as they had assumed six years ago. Coming to care for each other doesn’t mean the threat from Alexander Campbell and his son Calum have gone away. As Fergus gets the warriors trained and the walls shored up, the Campbell’s arrive – with an unexpected ally and a clan traitor. Oh! Goodness! Can they defend Barron castle against the Campbell warriors and his ally?

I can definitely recommend this fast-paced, excellently delivered book. The characters are delightful, relatable, and fully likable. The more I got to know them, the more I kept wanting to see more of them. There are hints for the next book, The Highlander’s Stolen Bride, and I cannot wait for that one.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Tracy Emro · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars, rounded up.

Six years ago Coira Roy and Fergus MacMillan were supposed to marry to forge a clan alliance, but Coira ran away the night before their wedding and married Nevin Barron, nephew to the MacWhinnie laird. Now six years later, Nevin is dead and the banished Campbell clan is attacking, so once again, Fergus and Coira are ordered to marry for an alliance and for Fergus to be guardian to Coira’s young son, the new laird of Castle Barron.

Coira is terrified to marry Fergus, but with no options, she agrees. Her marriage to Nevin was not the love match people believe, she married him on orders from her brother and soon came to regret the decision, she hated breaking her word to Fergus, but since he didn’t seem happy to marry her, she figured at least she wasn’t hurting him. But little did she know that beneath his stern looks and taciturn demeanor, Fergus was smitten by Coira and heartbroken when she fled. He swears he will do his duty and then be done with her. But there are things that neither of them knows and betrayals that run deeper than either could imagine. Will they figure out the truth and rekindle what could have been the love of a lifetime, or will old hurts and bitterness make them unwitting pawns for their enemies?

This was a was well-written, nicely paced, great second chance love story. The book has wonderful characters, misunderstandings, secrets, betrayal, murder, great secondary characters, steamyish love scenes, villains getting their due, and a very lovely ending. There was one villain who seemed to slip through the cracks and I felt the storyline about her brother seemed a bit underdeveloped, but overall, this was a very enjoyable read, and I highly recommend it. It is the second book in a series, but it could easily be a standalone title with no problems at all.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*

[Barbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

⚔️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿⚔️Book📚Review⚔️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿⚔️
Book:The Highlander's Tactical Marriage
By Jenni Fetcher
Series:Highland Alliances, Book #2
Publisher : Harlequin
Number of pages: 272
Overall Rating: 5/5 Stars
Blog Rating: 5/5 Saltire Flags

Argyll, Scotland 1360

From book one ( The Highlander’s Substitute Bride by Terri Brisbin) The MacMillan Clan never expected after twenty years the exiled traitor, Alexander Campbell, to come back and try to take the land and Castle the King awarded to the loyal MacMillan Clan after his betrayal. After-all the MacMillan’s had not been guarding and protecting their Castle, borders and lands the way they should have been. They had been too over confident that no one would attack their castle and lands which was an enormous mistake! The final result ended with the Campbell’s slaughtering half the clan including their Laird, which now made Ross MacMillan the new chieftain. Ross knows they were now a weak, defenseless, clan, unless they got new alliances as the Campbell’s as well as other dishonest clans will come back to destroy them! They needed strong warriors to protect their lands and borders as well as financial support. The best way to get that is through marriage alliances and not only for Ross himself, but his two younger siblings Fergus and Elspeth too. Now Ross sent Fergus to the Barron Castle and Elspeth to wait for her betrothed Leith MacLachlan at the Abbey.

Fergus MacMillan is furious as Coira Barron is the last woman he ever wanted to see again and definitely not chose as a bride again! As she had broken his heart and betrayed him six years ago. On the evening of their nuptials she abandoned him, humiliated his family and married someone else! He had decided after that nightmare he would never marry again! He had never went after her or her clan for revenge or restitution. He wanted to pretend it never happened and never expected to see her beautiful face again. Now she is a widow and due to an alliance to save her castle, protect her lands and borders plus her young, five year old son, Gregor’s, title and inheritance. Fergus snd Coira are being forced to marry each other again and hopefully this time she won’t runaway! So Fergus definitely arrives with a chip on his shoulder and his bride-to-be is more than a little fearful and apprehensive. However, he soon learns maybe his new wife isn’t the cold, faithless, betrayer he thought her to be!

Coira who is now a widow with a five year old son and infant daughter begs her uncle uncle-in-law Brody MacWhinnie, not to force this alliance to a man she betrayed, but not in the way he thinks. She was forced to marry Nevin Barron, another man who she thought cared for her, but it was only for her rich dowry. They had a terrible marriage and despised each other for these past six years. Not only that but due to her first husband betraying his entire clan, to get their forgiveness he tell lies of how she seduced him for his title, which was the furthest from the truth. Most of his clan always treated Coira horribly due to Nevin’s lies, only his cousin Kendrick, her maid Grizel, and the elder warrior Malcolm were kind to her, as everyone else was cold and cruel. Of course her children were her world! Now she needs to protect her lands and castle for her son’s title as Laird as the Campbell’s are on their trail once again!

For Fergus this was his brother Ross MacMillan’s orders for this alliance with MacWhinnie who Ross doesn’t trust but is a wealthy and powerful clan. They both know Fergus is the best warrior to defend the castle. Fergus understands the Campbell threat who might attack at any moment and understands how this clan needs his protection to build a defense against their enemies. Fergus is furious he has to marry this woman and her motley crew of warriors that definitely need to be trained, to protect this castle and sharpen their warrior skills more seriously. His plan is to abandon this woman and her children once he has trained the warriors, repaired the castles weaknesses and the Campbell threat has passed. As he promises he will never open his heart again except both Coira and her children seem to be warming his cold heart more and more each day. As soon as unravels the past as he was a tongue tied young man six years ago and soon realizes some of the past mistakes were his own. Everyday his heart is opening a little bit more but worries she will leave him once again. Will Coira leave Fergus again? Will they be able to even survive a Campbell attack? Do Fergus and Coira have a chance to fix their past heartaches and mistakes to begin again? Read and find out?

Jenni Fletcher pens a beautiful, riveting, romantic story filled with all the inspiring elements that historical romance readers love! This is the second book in the Highland Alliances series which was beautifully written. It is filled with hatred, deception, betrayal, misunderstanding, forgiveness, loyalty, passion and love. I love that each book in this series are interconnected. Although you can read this book as a stand alone book, but I suggest you read all three books in this phenomenal series. I personally think readers will get more details reading each book in this series and the backstory for each MacMillan sibling. This spectacular story definitely was a heart melter and heart string puller. I think five year old Gregor and his puppy Duffy were definite scene stealers too. The dialogue and plotting was absolutely brilliant that I found myself holding my breath and gasping for air not knowing what would happen next! A captivating and and exhilarating story that was an absolute delight! Now I can’t wait to read the last book in this series “The Highlander’s Stolen Bride” by Madeline Martin.

Highland Alliances Convenient marriages to save their clan!

Highland Alliances Series

Book 1: The Highlander’s Substitute Wife
by Terri Brisbin
Book 2: The Highlander’s Tactical Marriage
by Jenni Fletcher-TBR 2/22/2022
Book 3: The Highlander's Stolen Bride
by Madeline Martin-TBR 3/29/2022

Disclaimer: I was gifted an advance reader’s copy from the author. I voluntarily agreed to do an honest, fair review and blog. All thoughts, ideas and words are my own.

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[Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why was this so good actually

Fergus is implied to have dyslexia, which I thought was neat !

Tw: abusive relationships (romantic), sexism

[ouijacine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay don’t even start I had to read this for my degree and it ended up being amazing and I couldn’t put it down okay whatever.

[Romanticamente Fantasy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dany -per RFS
.

Care Fenici, sapevo che questo secondo volume sarebbe stato quello giusto per la sottoscritta; ha tutto quello che mi piace del genere: lande scozzesi, un triangolo d’amore, figli e una donna con le ovaie d’acciaio.

Siamo nel 1360 quando la vedova Coira MacWhinnie viene obbligata a risposarsi con niente di meno che il fidanzato che aveva mollato all’altare anni prima: Fergus MacMillan. Lo zio acquisito non vede l’ora di fare un torto alla nipote – scoprirete il perché più avanti – ma allo stesso tempo deve trovare un tutore per il futuro laird che ha cinque anni: Gregor. La scelta cade su Fergus poiché è un abile guerriero in grado di proteggerli contro i Campbell e quindi per Coira non c’è altra scelta che arrendersi al patriarca del Clan.

Qui la situazione non è facile, Coira era una donna bellissima che fu illusa dal primo marito e trattata alla stregua di una meretrice da questo e la sua famiglia nonché dai soldati. La sua unica colpa è stata quella di avere una ricca dote e un’estrazione sociale più bassa. Sposarsi dopo sei mesi di lutto è inconcepibile per lei, ma sposare Fergus è un vero attacco. Il pensiero di avere un altro matrimonio simile al primo la riempie di paura, scappare, però, non è contemplato e poi ha due bambini piccoli.

Fergus, di cui abbiamo conosciuto il fratello nel precedente romanzo, non è affatto contento ma non avendo molta scelta in merito deve far buon viso a cattivo gioco. La cosa che quasi nessuno sa è che lui era veramente innamorato di Coira a suo tempo, quindi decide di imbrigliare il proprio cuore e sottostare a un matrimonio di facciata.

Nel giro di poco tempo i due neo sposi passano dall’odio all’amicizia fino a che un tenero sentimento non sboccia all’improvviso. Quando tutto sembra essersi assestato ecco che arrivano due nuovi personaggi molto scomodi che rischieranno di buttare al vento tutti gli sforzi fatti.

Bello, bello e ancora bello, dolce al punto giusto e con un ottimo miscuglio di personaggi molto intriganti come Grizel, la domestica e amica di Coira, ed Elspeth. Ora ditemi tutto quello che volete ma spero che il terzo volume riguardi quest’ultima e il nemico dei MacMillian, ci metterei la mano sul fuoco.

Ho amato Fergus, che tutti considerano più forte che intelligente, mentre non solo non è così ma sa anche essere dolce con entrambi i figli di Coira ed è un abile stratega con fiuto per gli inganni. Coira apparentemente è più mansueta ma in realtà è una vera tigre, soprattutto nel difendere se stessa e i suoi cuccioli. Ne leggerete delle belle e spero che come me vi innamoriate di Fergus. Alla perfezione si aggiunge un ottimo stile narrativo e un epilogo di tutto rispetto. Ebbene, che aspettate a leggerlo?

[Rosemarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it. The characters were both likable, and I always like historical stories about widow women with children finding love. I will say given the premise I was glad to see that the hero, Fergus, was not a jerk about how he treated the heroine, yes he was cool and distant with her in the beginning, but I could have seen it done similarly where the hero acted awfully because of his hurt feelings. I also liked that Fergus started to doubt his own assumptions pretty early on and sought more information. I also like that once they had discussed things fully they decided to try to have a real marriage. I think my one criticism of this story is that they jump from a new developing relationship to "I love yous" very fast, like I think not even a couple of weeks had passed. I wish a little more time had been spent showing the couple getting to know each other and coming to terms with their feelings. Near the end of the novel both the heroine. Coria, and Fergus are doing these big self-sacrificial things with each other and it just felt like weren't there yet in the relationship, it felt a little rushed. Also, the heroine does something really stupid near the end of the novel, her desperation and her decision making didn't seem to make a lot of sense to me, but it all works out thankfully.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a well-written story with an endearing romance. It included allies and enemies as the story went along. I found Fergus's willingness to try again with Coira, despite her seeming betrayal of him six years before, refreshing. He was a man willing to risk a love match, despite all of that. Coira is a woman who is looking out for her two young children and trying to overcome a bad marriage. She is afraid to trust that Fergus is any different than her first husband, until he shows her that he is. With Fergus's help, Castle Barron is repaired and is prepared for future battles. However, the enemy approaches their door all too soon and has Coira making a difficult decision in order to protect her new husband and her children from the Campbell's wrath.

[Andrea (Hammock and Read) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coira Barron ran away on the eve of her marriage to Fergus MacMillan but with the war coming these two get matched as Coira lost her first husband 6 months ago. The Alliance is need and so it happens but these two work though (great communication) their past, new issues, coming war and well I just enjoy this story so much! Strong leading lady and nice - protector with the leading man!

I really like this series and so far have enjoyed the different authors for each sibling.

5 stars
3 steam

[Patrizia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Non leggo mai romanzi 'storici' ambientati in Scozia, perché le autrici non resistono al fascino del tartan, invogliando le lettrici a seguirle su questa strada: il risultato è un succedersi di petti scolpiti e villosi, appartenenti a eroi più o meno bulli e di poche, pochissime parole.
Jenni Fletcher ha scritto qualche romanzo vittoriano che – se pure con qualche svenevolezza di troppo – ho apprezzato per la trama ben architettata, e per una ricostruzione storica sufficientemente accurata.
Ma, ahimè, quando sia tratta degli Highlanders, anche lei non fa eccezione alla regola.

[Reen Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who can resist a historical novel complete with castles, damsels in distress, and knights in shining armor? I’ll be all in if the authoress could have included more, “ye”, and, “dinnae”, and all other manner of Scottish speaking. This story had an interesting story line and a good cast of Lords and Ladies. It didn’t keep me captivated, but I did stay with it to the end. It has a satisfying ending to tie it all up with a shiny bow.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked a lot about this except the dumb move the heroine made at the end. She was missing information but took such a big dumb risk without talking to the hero. Typical big finale for a romance novel, and in the end it was satisfying, I liked the journey the characters went on and the bigger arc between the 3 books.

[Louise Broadfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

i really enjoyed this book. maybe not as much as the last but still really good.
i loved the little boy in it. the hero and heroine get on really well.
i cannot wait until the next and last book in the series.
the little sister tale.

[Bea Tea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yeah was pretty good - typical 'they live in a castle, clan troubles abound, some conflict' type plot that is pretty much common fayre for this sub-genre. You know what your gonna get, you get it, job done.

[Harlequin Books]

Categories
Scottish Historical Fiction, Sagas, Medieval Romance
Miniseries
Highland Alliances (Book #2)

[Bks43v3r · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 Stars

This was okay. However, I did not love it. It mostly held my interest. There wasn't any really objectionable.

More review to follow.

[Luz T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story of second chance at romance but I liked the first one more.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detailed review to come...

[Laqueta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book from start to finish, each chapter's ending kept me wanting to read what else was coming.

[AprilGirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel, it continues well on from book one and matches book one’s author’s writing style.
An exciting action rich romantic read.

[Carol McBride · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scottish wars and forced marriage

This book began well with a lot of good historical details from the14th century. More than half way through the book, though, it turned into a romance novel that almost seemed modern. The taciturn warrior suddenly became romantically verbal. It was a good story, especially in the first half, and worth the reading.

[Norma Escobedo · Rating 5 out of 5]

great read

Sometimes assumptions lead you to the wrong conclusions. Being engaged and then running away based on a lie makes you waste 6 long years. B4 fate brings you full circle where you find happiness

[Debra Loewen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Oh, this is a must read series. It's full of intrigue and brides running away and found again love. Read

[Elaine Heiler · Rating 5 out of 5]

exceptional storytelling

Interesting storytelling. Not the usual stuff that you can tell the the ending before it starts. Makes me want to read more from this author.

[Robin L · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF 60%