This is my first C.Z. Szarek book and it is an enjoyable introduction to the Highland Treasures series and its future characters. The first meeting between Angus and Lila is a memorable one as she has just traveled back in time to 1692 and does not have a stitch on since clothes do not make the time travel journey.

As a surgeon from the future, Lila has it a bit easier as a time traveler since she is not the only one to travel to this time period. There are at least two others both of whom are related to Angus.

Lila is immediately drawn into her role as a surgeon when she sees that his father has broken a bone that has pierced the skin. She continues to state she will return to her own time period as has been offered her, but will do so when her patient is better. And, Alex’s father is not the best of patients since he does not want to stay in bed to help with healing.

The connection between Lila and Angus is quick, but they are slow to act on it. Lila was determined to go back to her former life and does not want to get involved with Angus for the short time period. Once they do get together, their relationship is hot and sensual.

I like to research authors new to me and found that our hero, Angus, is the son of a couple from a previous book. This is a stand alone, but it might have been good to read following the previous series of the ‘elder’ generation including his parents, aunts and uncles. Don’t let that hold you back, because this is a great book even without the prior reading. If anything it will do as it has me and encourage you to read more Szarek books. There are some items that did not seem to be covered, but with this being more of a novella/short book, you cannot cover everything.

I love time travel romance, so I jumped at the chance to read this book when it showed up on netgalley. I've never ready anything by the author and am heading towards being burnt out on Scottish romances, but I decided to request it and was thrilled to be approved.

That being said, I liked this book, but I wasn't in love with it. Lila and Angus are fun, but rather two dimensional. Angus seems to be into Lila from the beginning, but she's focused on her career and almost afraid of love. Which, is less charming than you'd think it was. Especially when she's supposed to be such a professional, but is perfectly fine leaving all her patients in the present day because she's the only person that could possibly care for Alex in the past. Even though there is a perfectly good doctor in the castle that she herself learns a lot from. See? It doesn't make sense.

Overall, I wish the story had focused more on the Fae Magic elements. Mostly, that seemed tacked on as a way to get her to time travel and a way to keep people asleep during surgery. Otherwise, it was no big deal. And, while the story works as a standalone, and is the first in a series, it feels like you're jumping into a series already in progress since there are two other people that have already time traveled to the castle.

In general, I recommend this for someone looking for an easy read, a time travel, a Scottish romance, or a melding of those elements with a medical drama. Go for it!

Highland Oath by C.A. Szarek is the first book in the "Highland Treasures" series. This is the story of Angus MacLeod and Lila Salinas. This was a really good time travel romance! I enjoyed Angus and Lila interaction and with each other. There had been previous women that had time traveled to Angus family so there was no shock in learning she was from the future. Looking forward to more book in this series!

Highland Oath a pretty interesting concept of time travel.
Fates take a hand and land Lila in the 17th century right when Angus MacLeod’s father needed a surgeon. Soon after Angus become intrigued by the young surgeon and finds that Lila was his destiny. However, Lila is anxious to get back to modern times, but she took an oath and even though she was yanked back in time, she still taken an oath to heal and can’t leave a sick patient. Though she finds the longer she stays in the past she flirts with her not wanting to go back at all.
This book was pretty good with a well laid out plot and characters that you will come to enjoy. Even though I didn’t feel the attraction between Angus and Lila I did enjoy the story.
I will recommend this story to anyone reader he loves to leave reality at the door and like to explore the concept of destiny can exist in another time or space.

Posted on Les Romantiques - Le forum du site
Reviewed by Rinou
Review Copy from the Publisher

Highland Oath is presented as the first volume in the Highland Treasures series but in fact it’s derived from the Highlad Secrets series that was about the previous generation. So even if Highland Oath can be read directly, there are some allusions to the adventures of the parents/uncles/aunts that can be frustrating when just like me you didn’t read the other books.

In the universe imagined by the author, there is a kind of magical portal able to take people in one period to send them in another. That’s what happens to the heroine, Lila, resident surgeon, who suddenly finds herself more than three hundred years in the past. She’s recovered by Angus and taken back to the familial castle just in time to operate on the laird (and Angus’ father) for a nasty broken leg.

Lila doesn’t understand what’s happening, how she can be in the past, and even if she’s resolute to stay as long as her patient needs her she’s also determined to go back to her period as soon as possible. I liked that she’s open to the more basic treatments of the period she’s in, in part because of her late grandmother who raised her and used plants to treat herself.

Angus is a very cute hero, kind and understanding. He’s easily convinced by his mother that Lila is meant for him and he seeks her company even when she avoids him. He’s surrounded by a lot of characters, uncles, aunts, cousins, who are too numerous in some scenes for someone who didn’t read the first series to know who’s who easily.

Between them the attraction is immediate and very strong, and so it doesn’t always feel realistic (which surgeon would fantasize about the hero minutes before a surgery?). What’s more, even if the story takes place on several weeks, we don’t see their feelings evolve. Lila spends a big first part avoiding Angus because of her attraction, and when they yield to it they spend their night together having sex and she goes on avoiding him during the days, so nothing can show how they end up in love.

What’s more the book suffers from a lack of editing, there are spelling mistakes, missing words or one word for another, which are obvious even for someone like me for whom English is not the native language.

And in spite of all this I found this story cute and I had a good reading time. However I don’t think I’ll be reading the next one.

What woman would turn away a chance to live with Scots, in a castle and listen to sexy men all day? Not me. Two kids messing with special stones opened a portal and Lila came through, to 1692. This isn't the first time for this clan to have women from the future. This story is a spin off from another series about Angus' parents, and extended family. It stands alone and I never felt confused by not reading the others. Szarek does a fantastic job of integrating a futuristic woman stuck in the past, her language and skills were adjusted to suit the time. A great read from a new-to-me author and I'm anxious to read more. My copy came through Netgalley and wrote my review voluntarily.

This book was a relatively quick read but also a very enjoyable one. I am a huge Outlander fan so anything combining historical and time travel is right up my alley!

This book was well written and the flow of the story kept you interested the whole way through. I’m excited to read more of this series in the future!

Time travel? Highlanders? Sign me up and let me read! This was an enjoyable read. Lila was a very strong heroine, but it was not a personality flaw for her. Angus, typical Scotsman, but is able to appreciate her strengths.

Together they made a great team and I loved the supporting characters. A fun story with a touch of paranormal.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I have never read anything from this author before and I loved this this book!

Lila is a young woman doing her Surgical Fellowship in Scotland. One day she goes sight seeing with 2 of her friends, a much needed respite after a particularly hard case for her. A wonderful day goes strange when she wakes up on the beach...naked except for the necklace she wears, a gift from her beloved grandmother.

Angus has just stopped his sister and nephew in their attempt to use "the stones". He may of stopped them from going anywhere but he couldn't stop Lila's arrival. Fate??

Disoriented and naked, he covers Lila with his plaid and brings her home. When Lila awakens he tries to explain to her what has happened, that she has traveled back in time via "the stones". She doesn't want to believe it but the sights before her attest to his words.

Angus' father Alex, in his haste to stop his daughter and grandson, was injured and broke his leg badly. The doctor in Lila comes forward and she saves him, sets the bone and corrects muscle tears. She has been assured she can be sent back so she plans on going back home once Alex has gotten through the worse of his ordeal and the risk of infection is over.

What does she do about the feelings she has for Angus? As soon as Angus picked her up on the beach he knew she would be different. They do begin a physical relationship and while Angus falls more for her everyday, she denies her feelings "because she must go back". Of course, their differences in handling their feelings promote anger and frustration.

What will it take for he to listen to her heart?

This book talks to your HEART, there are no wars or villians or spurned lovers and despite this, the story is so full of feeling! There is of course a little magic and a great cast of characters. I definitely want to read more about this family!

Note: I received and ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This review in not biased in any way because I have received a free copy. These are wholly my own opinions, and are only made to give an idea of what the book will be like, (not whether or not you should read it).

Please be warned: There may be spoilers...***

To begin, this book for me was also stepping out of my complete box and comfort zone of pure fantasy books. It still had some fantasy elements in it, like time travelling, and minor fae magic...

However, yet again, I was not disappointed.

Cons:
There are ONLY three cons to this book. Firstly, I wished it had been longer. I feel like there is so much more to their relationship that could have been built on...but I'm also a sucker for slow building romances. Their relationship was obviously super rocky (like they just met??) at first, and I wasn't entirely sure how the author was going to tie all the ends together... that being said. I still am unsure how it worked out in the "future." Did her friends go looking for her and just assume she had been kidnapped? What happened with the note she wrote them? Did they just eventually believe that was a farce? I think it would have been neat to learn more of what Angus's powers were all about as well..
I also would liked to have seen a little more detail about the future of their relationship. Do they get to have kids together? Will it always be a walk in the park? Etc... Hopefully the author will revisit them in the future. There was minor punctuation and grammar issues, but you get that with every ARC copy I think.

Pros:
Angus is absolutely one of the most lovable, sexy, and "strong yet sensitive" men that I have read about in a long time. Lila was at least semi-calm about the whole "appearing naked on a beach and some stranger saving her;" more so than I would have been. The relationship between the two of them did leave me wondering how it would end, so the story pulled me in very quickly. At one point, I was so sure she was going to go back to the future and then somehow find her way back, but that obviously didn't happen. The ending was short but sweet and I loved that the author threw in the surprise surgery to bring them closer. It ended well, with her little "office" of sorts and working with Malcom. She seemed to fit right in, although I'm positive if it were me I would have begged for modern plumbing...

Overall, great rainy day story, I give it 4.5 stars. I would love to read from this author again!

a truly good time travel romance. Interesting characters and good solid romance

I love reading time travel books but somehow this one was just a bit too slow for me.. I was expecting more action scenes considering it's all about highlanders right? All i got was just practising in the field and that was about it.. Although i love the " magical element" added to book.. That for me was the saving grace.. Angus and Lila were okay but i didn't get to feel that sizzle between them.. But i must admit, i love Angus' accent and that body? *sigh*
Overall, it's an entertaining book, perfect for that cold rainy/snowy evening when you just want to snuggle up in your chair in front of your fireplace...

ARC provided by Netgalley, Paper Dragon Publishing and Ms. C.A. Szarek

Angus says things he means them, “I tol’ ye, lass. Once I had ye, I dinna plan on lettin’ ye go. Nothin’s changed.” The reactions Lila gets out of Angus, “The you listening-to-me thing. I think it’s a first. Perhaps sexual favors were the solution after all? If you disobey, I’ll just make you suffer without—” Angus growled and shot forward..." I liked this book, Angus and Lila balanced each other out.