***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***

Highland Hellion by Mary Wine
Book Three of the Highland Weddings series
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication Date: June 6, 2017
Rating: 4 stars
Source: ARC sent by the publisher

Summary (from Goodreads):

KATHERINE CAREW
Illegitimate daughter of an English earl... Abducted to Scotland at age 14... No family, no reputation... No rules

ROLFE MCTAVISH
Heir to an honorable Highland laird... Can't believe how well tomboy Kate can fight... About to learn how much of a woman she really is

Scotland is seething with plots, the vengeful Gordons are spoiling for a fight, and the neighboring clans are at each other's throats. All it takes is a passionate hellion with a penchant for reckless adventure to ignite the Highlands once more.

What I Liked:

I really enjoyed Highland Spitfire and Highland Vixen, the first two books in this series and the first two Mary Wine books that I've read. So far this series has yet to disappoint me! While I freely admit that I liked but didn't not enjoy Highland Vixen as much as I'd liked Highland Spitfire, I can safely say that I liked Highland Hellion a great deal, possibly as much as I'd liked Highland Spitfire.

In Highland Vixen, we met fourteen-year-old Katherine Carew, bastard daughter of an English earl, who Marcus MacPherson saved from arranged marriage. Six years later, Katherine is a woman now - but she is a woman who knows how to wield a weapon and handle herself against a man. Unfortunately this leads her to a bit of trouble, but it also leads her to Rolfe McTavish. Rolfe saves Katherine but he isn't going to let her go - not when he wants to protect her, teach her a little lesson in Highlander etiquette, and, well, he wants her in general. A stubborn, reckless English girl and an honorable, protective Highlander will take the Highlands - and England - by storm.

At first I wasn't sure if I would Katherine, because she seemed almost too headstrong. She has had too many freedoms granted, in which she knows nothing about running a home or raising children, but she knows more than enough about standing someone with a dagger or fighting them off. In the beginning, Katherine is excessively reckless, almost stupid, and very selfish. But she begins to see the error in her ways, and how set in her ways she has become. She sees how selfish she has been, and how easy she had it. I love that the author made her headstrong, fierce, and stubborn, but eventually, smart enough to recognize when she was wrong. 

Rolfe! Rolfe is a sweetheart, and a little different compared to the other heroes of this story. You can see how similar the ladies are - they are all stubborn and tough. But Rolfe is a little different from the other men. Yes, he is an alpha and he is protective, big, muscular, handsome, attractive, and commanding. But Rolfe is also very honorable, and follows a strict code of honor. He refuses to do anything that would dishonor his father, his clan, and his reputation. Rolfe is a good, good man, and he does right by Katherine every single time. He is all kinds of swoony, and not just physically!

I like this unlikely pair! The stubborn, tomboy-ish girl, and the honorable, duty-bound warrior. One is reckless and impulsive, the other is more stoic and occasionally wicked. It's almost an opposites attract romance (pretty much, it is)! From the start, Rolfe and Katherine have a great connection.

The romance is very sexy and swoony and delightful! Like the previous two books, the chemistry hits hard from the start, but unlike the previous two books, the sexy times erupt a little earlier (though not super early - just earlier than in the first two books). I liked this change in pace! Sometimes the romance in books one and two were frustrating, because you kept waiting for the characters to get it on. Rolfe and Katherine fall in lust very quickly, but falling in love takes a little more time. One thing that surprised me was Katherine's nature in the bedroom - I liked that both characters preferred things a little rough. You don't always see that type of chemistry in historical romance. 

The story was very engaging and sometimes a little tense. Katherine is captured by the Gordons, then rescued by the McTavishes, but Rolfe has plans that don't involve depositing her to the MacPhersons. But then Rolfe's father decides that he also has plans for Katherine, and so Katherine and Rolfe are back on the road, to England. It's a busy, busy story! An entertaining one, at that. I love how the author has so many Scottish clans interacting (either fighting, or calling temporary truces but still stealing each other's cattle). Part of the story is about bringing peace to Scotland and having the clans cease their warring, and so far, the author is moving that plot along really nicely.

I really enjoyed this third book in the series, despite being slightly wary of Katherine (from the beginning of this book - but that changed)! From book two, I expected her to be paired with a different love interest (her best friend, but he is not interested in her at all), but he isn't even in this book. I must say, Rolfe redeemed himself wonderfully, and I adored him. This book was great!

What I Did Not Like:

I can't think of anything specific that I didn't like. Maybe one small detail - calling those in the Lowlands "barbarians"? I always hate when the term is "barbarians", in any context.

Would I Recommend It:

If you historical romance, especially Scottish/Highlander romance, you should give this book a chance! The series in general (though maybe Highland Spitfire and/or Highland Hellion - you can probably skip Highland Vixen, though it definitely is good too). This is a really fun and sexy Highlander romance series that I've enjoyed so far!

Rating:

4 stars. I can't wait to read Highland Flame! We meet the hero of that book in this one - Diocail Gordon - and he is PERFECT. So swoony! I am so excited. Will I like him more than I liked Bhaic? Rolfe? We'll see!

Have my requirements for romance novels changed... or has Mary Wine? 

Disclaimer: I received this ARC from NetGalley. Also, this review will contain spoilers. 

We were first introduced to Katherine Carew (Kate) in the previous book of this series, "Highland Vixen," which focus on Helen and Marcus McPherson. You'll be surprised (just kidding) to learn that this book is basically that same story, but slightly different. 

I guess that's what I'm finding exhausting. All these characters are, basically, the same cut outs of each other. The heroine is "headstrong" (mmm, we'll get to that), a "hellion," but also super hot. The hero is hella cut, super tall, honorable, follows all the rules, but also breaks all the rules when he feels like it, and says things like, "You're mine." If you replaced the names "Rolfe" and "Kate" with "Marcus" and "Helen" or, like, "Ichabod" and "Tracy," it could be either the novel I read a month ago OR an entirely new novel! I see what you're doing, Mary! 

Both "Highland Hellion" and "Highland Vixen" focus on, literally, one character trait the heroine has. Kate is a "hellion" (which, honestly, let's stop with that, it's so dorky) and Helen was a "vixen" (which still confuses me). And that's it. That's the only real aspect of their personality. They are words that don't mean anything, but they repeat them and repeat them until you're like, "Fine! I guess! I'll forgive how stupid this character is acting because I guess they're a hellion even though that's never demonstrated." 

And again, my patience is worn with Mary Wine's characters because they act SO ILLOGICALLY. Kate thinks it's a good idea to "save Rolfe" after their first meeting by baiting another group of raiders? Ok, girl, everyone in your life has TOLD YOU that's a bad idea. She's dressed like a dude, out at night, with a horse. What does she THINK is going to happen? Obviously, the bad guys are gonna chase her. KATE, USE THAT BIG BEAUTIFUL BRAIN. But all Kate uses that big beautiful brain for is 1) lusting over Rolfe, 2) making poor decisions, and 3) giving us long, long, L O N G monologues about how she's a hellion. 

Here's another issue I had. I don't know if Mary Wine is becoming a sloppier writer or I'm just losing the capacity to follow banal romance novels, but I had a really hard time with the beginning of the novel. Kate has been... pretending to be a boy... and being trained by Marcus? But Marcus knew she was... herself? But Kate thought maybe he'd just kinda like forgotten? But none of the other men knew even though they KNEW she showed up at the same time as the English girl? WTF? And her friend Robert, who I was SURE from "Highland Vixen" would be her hero/love match, DISAPPEARS after the first scene. Her best friend for 6 years, only friend, and she never thinks of him again after the first scene. Kate sure ain't using that big beautiful brain, y'all. 

Ok, here's the thing though: even with all that.... I hate it, but I still enjoy reading it. Blast my stupid brain! I love it! I love these highland dumb-dumbs! Kate keeps doing dumb thing after dumb thing and I keep reading. Rolfe says terrible shit. There's latent homophobia in the form of Kate threatening to spread rumors about Adwin! It's so bad! The love scenes are cut and pastes from the love scenes of other Mary Wine novels! But gosh dang it, I read the whole thing and at the end, I was like, "Well, I'm glad Kate ended up happy." 

Mary Wine will probably never read this and she also probably doesn't give a crap what I think, but here's my advice, girl to girl: write a heroine who is smart. Who isn't just brazen and disrespectful. Have her make smart, logical decisions even if that means you have to work harder on the plot. Stop it with the huge, muscled highlanders. Let's get some body diversity here. Let's get some hero diversity. Not some stranger she just met for a LAFS story. An old friend. Her best friend. Stop spoon feeding us the emotions of the story through long, stupid monologues; we're smart, we can put it together. We'll use our big beautiful brains, unlike Kate. Smart, intelligent, sensitive romance. That's what I want. Help me, Mary. I want these highland books so bad, but gosh dang, they are getting bad.

I loved this latest wonderful Highland romance from Mary Wine. 

This story had my attention from page one. I loved Elizabeth and Rolfe. Elizabeth was a spitfire even though she felt so uncertain about her place. Her strenth and vulnerability endeared her character to me. Rolfe was a wonderful hero. I loved how protective he was of Elizabeth. He had to save her more than once and refused to let anyone get between them. I loved that about his character. 

This story was very adventurous and passionate. It easily held my interest all the way until the end. I am hoping that the author will give some of the secondary characters their own books. I would love to find out more about Rolfe's friend Duncan, but really, I look forward to anything by this amazing author.

Cross dressing heroines. Chicks in pants. Whatever you want to call it,  it’s an old familiar plot trope but one that I love because it makes for such an adventurous story. And what an adventure it is in Mary Wine’s Highland Hellion. There’s just something about a strong highland man with the right woman. Together, they’re unstoppable. 

	Katherine Carew was the illegitimate daughter of an English earl. Abducted to Scotland at age 14 by the Earl of Morton, regent to the Scottish King,  the earl had plans to marry her off. Marcus MacPherson, a war chief, rescued her. She’d been disguised and trained as a boy under Marcus to protect her from her English heritage being discovered. Marcus had been more of a brother to her than anyone she’d ever known. He’d made certain she grew strong and skilled in fighting. Katherine had gladly discarded the often tedious ceremonies of England as she’d settled into the highlands. Now that she was 20, life in England was just a memory. She was free and, as a boy, allowed to run wild. To enjoy the freedoms that women weren’t allowed to enjoy. She took pride in her riding, fighting and archery skills. 
	When her true gender was discovered, Katherine’s whole world changed. Now she felt like a stranger in her own clan. The men she’d thought of as her friends, now turned traitor, calling her English. She didn’t know the women. She lacked the skills of other women her age. Where she’d been able to hold her own with the men, she knew little about being a woman. She longed for the times when she could escape the drudgery of woman’s work and ride her horse through the countryside. Those moments were her only time to restore her spirit. 
	On one such escape, she ran into Rolfe McTavish and his men who were on MacPherson land to do some innocent cattle stealing. They were surprised when the woman they captured took a flying leap onto her horse and rode off like a man. Rolfe was intrigued by this unique woman and knew he had to have her. Later, on another escape from woman’s work, Katherine came across another clan on her land. The violent, vengeful clan of the Gordons. Realizing that the men were about to attack Rolfe and his men, Katherine made herself a target to distract them. Unfortunately, this time her escape attempt failed and though she fought bravely, she was captured and taken to Gordon Castle. When it was discovered that the captive boy was a woman, the laird declared her a witch and ordered that she be burned at the stake. When Rolfe discovered that Katherine had been captured, he had no choice but to save her. He owed her. She had protected him and his men from attack by the Gordons. So Rolfe and his men entered the castle grounds and managed to rescue Katherine in the nick of time. But rather than return Katherine to her clan, Rolfe decided to take her home and ransom her to the MacPhersons. She needed to be taught a lesson about running wild through the countryside with no thought for the consequences. Unfortunately, Rolfe’s father, Laird McTavish had other plans. He intended to give her back to the king’s regent in exchange for the regent ennobling his line. 
	As Katherine traveled to court with Rolfe and his men,  she learned much about him. Not only was he very attractive, he had honor. She knew he didn’t want to follow his father’s orders but he would obey the laird. Rolfe, though aggravated with Katherine, was mesmerized too. They couldn’t fight the attraction, and once they kissed, they didn’t want to fight it. Katherine had never realized her body could feel so much delight. She enjoyed Rolfe’s kisses, craved his touch, and wanted more. She felt practically wanton with him. Rolfe tried to hold back but the more he was near Katherine, the harder that became. Their feelings for each other strengthened with every moment they were together. Could Rolfe give Katherine up and deliver her to an uncertain future?
	What a fabulous story by new-to-me-author Mary Wine. I was captivated from the start by Ms. Wine’s writing style. With just the stroke of her pen, she manages to masterfully portray both the beauty and the ugliness of the time period. Her multi- faceted characters are hard, tough, proud, fearless, and loyal. I loved Katherine. Living in a world where her blood was hated, her courage was her soul possession. Her evolution from boy to woman was a delight to read, and I loved that the outcome was the best of both genders. She could be a woman but still embrace those “manly”  things that made her unique. I also loved that Rolfe realized her hellion ways were what he loved most about her. The secondary characters of neighboring clans were every bit as captivating as the main characters. I enjoyed seeing the opposing clans working together for a common goal. I’m anxious to see what’s in store for them as well.  Though #3 in her Highland Weddings series, I had no trouble reading this story as a stand- alone. It won’t be a stand-alone for long though as I intend to read the others in the series as soon as possible.  Let’s face it, who can resist the adventure and romance of these Highland hunks?  A Book Obsessed Chicks Review Team Selection.

I wanted to enjoy this book but it wasn't for me. Thanks to the Publisher for the review copy!

What a romp through history. Mystery, mayhem, madness, and marriage. Particularly loved the idea of how a tomboy survived in the Scottish Highlands.

'Highland Hellion' by Mary Wine is book Three in the "Highland Weddings" series.  This is the story of Katherine and Rolfe.  I have read the other book in this series and I do feel this can be a standalone book.  Katherine did appear in the book Two "Highland Vixen" where Marcus and Helen had taken her in after Katherine was being offered to Marcus as a child-wife. 
Katherine is English and was kidnapped around 13 years of age to be married off but after getting out of that predicament she was taken in by a Highland Family.  Marcus who was the Lair allowed her to learn to fight just like a Highland Warrior so she didn't know much of being a Highlands Women. 
When Katherine goes off to feel 'free' one night she meets Rolfe.  Katherine gets away from Rolfe on that first meeting but on their second meeting she helps him and a friend get away before they can be killed.  But she is taken instead and then Rolfe goes to save her.  Once Rolfe gets Katherine back he takes her to his home but his father isn't happy that a English women/Katherine is there. 
Of course this was another great story by Ms. Wine.  Ms. Wine is one of my favorite authors and when I got this book I had to read it at once! I didn't stop until I had finished their story. 
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Rolfe sure is ssweet on his woman, “it’s an answer, sure enough,” he offered in a soft tone edged with promise. “I want to take ye to bed, and by Christ, I will wed ye first. For I will no’act like a brute who sees ye as a prize." Kat may be great at fighting but the girl could use some help with running a household amd cooking:
                Rolfe snorted against her ear. “Aye. Do I want to know why his hounds are vomiting in front of the hearth?”
              “I am improving,” she offered. “Last month they wouldn’t eat it at all. The maid had to scoop it up.”
              “I see.” Her husband was choking on his amusement.
I really liked this book, Rolfe and Kat mad a good couple.