Sadly I did not find myself swept away by the plot and romance. Th heat and intensity I wanted to pulsate of the page did not manifest

This is book three in the "Clan Kendrick" series. Vanessa's Highlanders are right up there at the top of the Historical Fiction Genre when it comes to Scotland and handsome, stubborn, honorable, and witty Highland Heros. I absolutely adored the first two books in this series. If my review sounds familiar it's because I have run out of complimentary words to describe Vanessa's love stories. Vanessa has a talent for pairing stubborn Highlanders with stubborn ladies, be they Scottish or English.

Graeme Kendrick is in London trying to track down a den of thieves that are preying on society. So far the bloody Sassenachs have proved elusive. On this day in June 1822, he has tracked a flunky he followed to Hyde Park hoping that the thief will lead him to the ringleaders. His luck today is the same as last month, none! Not only does he lose the thief he has to rescue a young lady that the culprit pushed into the Serpentine to getaway. Of course, the young lady thinks Graeme is trying to drown not rescue her. Unfortunately for Graeme, this is just the beginning of months of pain and frustration involving this particular young lady.

Lady Sabrina Bell is wondering what the heck she was thinking about meeting a man in Hyde Park on a cold and rainy morning. She knows better! The gentleman never showed up and she is soaking wet from a dunk in the Serpentine! The only redeeming part of this miserable morning is her rescuer, the most stunning man she has ever seen and he's Scottish. He comes up with a plan to save her reputation which makes him her salvation. There would be hell to pay if her father finds out what happened. Sabrina has no idea that meeting Graeme is the defining moment in her life.

Sabrina and Graeme are so alike and different at the same time. Their interactions are both hysterical and romantic with a sizzling sensuality that practically singes the pages. All of Vanessa's stories have interacting characters from her other books, it's like catching up with old friends. There is always lots of action, mystery, and HAE's in her stories. All her books are stand-alone stories that any Historical Romance fan will love. I recommend reading all of her books. I am certain that you will love them as much as I do.

I honestly had a lot of hopes for this, and for the most part I enjoyed myself a lot. This book was a it’s not you it’s me thing. I can’t seem to deal greatly with rape in any way it’s very triggering for me. It usually just sours the book for me and I can’t seem to get passed that.

Thank you Netgalley & publishers.

The Highlander's English Bride by Vanessa Kelly is a fascinating historical romance. From sexy highlander warriors with their heavy brogue to their enemies on both the English and Scotland areas. One young English woman, runs her father's business for him successfully. He allows her complete control over it. Sabrina is just like her Highlander warrior, strong, brave, and a force to be reckon with...she listens to no one. Graeme has his hands full in protecting the beautiful English lady. Something about her stirs his heart which he has so carefully protected.

Inside this read, there was plenty of danger, risks, and suspense to keep me on the edge. I enjoyed following Lady Sabrina and Graeme as they risked their lives and fight their way through all the danger. The couple's banters were hilarious. I loved how Lady Sabrina ended beating Graeme to his own game. Overall. the plot and scenes were well-written. I cannot wait for the next grand adventure from Vanessa Kelly.

So far, I think this one is my favorite of this series! Both Graeme and Sabrina are balanced characters, in that they both have moments where they’re heroic and moments where they both make mistakes. At first they seem like there is no way they’d be compatible, but then it turns out that their strengths and flaws complement each other.

I especially loved Angus in this book. He’s always been a grouchy old bear, but here his grouchiness becomes even more endearing than it was before. The thought of him conversing with the king (who he’s spent most of the book hating) and also becoming friends with Sabrina’s worrywart of a father was so sweet and charming. I want Angus to be my granddad!

I loved this hook! Graham is yummy when I didn’t want to hit him in the back of the head and Sabrina is a strong woman who finally finds the one man she can love and is hell bent to have him. The dialogue and banter was great and I love the family interaction.
by Lori for BOC

2.5 stars?

Okay, this book had way too much going on IMO. There was murder, kidnapping, rape, and thieves just to name a few. So unfortunately the main characters/romance got lost in all of that. Also, Graeme and Sabrina fought way too much for my liking. At one point I got bored and started skimming a bit to get to the end. I don’t know if I want to read from this author again 🤷🏻‍♀️

**Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!**

This is my first adventure with the Kendrick Clan, I adored it. Reading about these good-looking roguish, yet honourable highlanders rescue women and make them honest is fun. Wild and rebellious Graeme Kendrick is working as a government agent trying to stop a thieving gang. He is tracking thief in Hyde Park when he sees an attractive, young woman being accosted by the thief. He jumps into actions causing her to be pushed into the river. Jumping in to rescue her, he finds out that the water is only hip-deep and she was okay. Accompanying her to the home of his brother and sister-in-law so she is not scandalized, they begin a relationship that Graeme refuses to recognize for what it is. They end up being thrust together on several occasions, with Sabrina having to rescue Graeme a couple of times. Of course, this is a romance, so we know there will be a Happily Ever After, but getting there is quite a story. It’s full of Mystery, kidnapping, hostages & intrigue

I enjoyed Lady Sabrina. She is a feisty, independent, smart, stubborn young woman. When she gets something in her head, she will do it, whether it is safe or not. Graeme is amazing. He is handsome, honourable, witty, loyal and trying to find his place in the world. He tries to hold out against Sabrina, but love wins out. I loved this story. There was fun, adventure, witty dialogue, strong female characters and swoon-worthy male characters. I recommend this one to anyone who enjoys a good Scottish Highlander romp.

4.5 Stars

** I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by Netgalley and Kensington Books**

I love this story by Vanessa with making me laugh smile and scream at the stubbornness of the hero Graeme. Along with Sabrina who is the heroine that truly saved the hero more than he ever thought he would need. Reading characters who fought good but with love at the base was so fun. I highly recommend this story and need to find the other books in this series with Graeme’s family.

A lovely romance and one that kept me turning pages. Romance, with a bit of an intrigue. Also Clan Kendrick proves to be a wonderful series to read.

4.5 Stars: I have been enjoying the Clan Kendrick series, it is my guilty pleasure. Reading about these handsome roguish, yet honorable highlanders rescue women and make them honest is fun. Wild and unruly Graeme Kendrick is working as a government agent trying to stop a thieving gang. He is hanging out in Hyde Park waiting, when he observes an attractive, young woman being accosted by a thief. He jumps into actions causing her to be pushed into the river. Jumping in to rescue her, he finds out that the water is only hip deep and she was okay. Accompanying her to the home of his brother and sister-in-law so she is not scandalized, they begin a relationship that Graeme refuses to recognize as what it is. They end up being thrust together on several occasions, with Sabrina having to rescue Graeme a couple of times. Of course this is a romance, so we know there will be a Happily Ever After, but getting there is quite a story.

I enjoyed Lady Sabrina. She is a feisty, independent, smart, stubborn and strong young woman. When she gets something in her head, she will do it, whether it is safe or not. Graeme is amazing. He is handsome, honorable, witty, loyal and trying to find his place in the world. He tries to hold out against Sabrina, but love wins out. I really enjoyed this story. There was fun, adventure, witty dialogue, strong female characters and swoon worthy male characters. I recommend this one to those who enjoy a good Scottish Highlander romp.

So, this is the story of Sabrina Bell and Graeme Kendrick. Graeme is one of those heroes who are filled with self loathing because of the actions of his past. Graeme deals with this by aiding with investigations. He is in the middle of one of those investigations, and chasing a suspect through the park when the suspect runs past Sabrina, and pushes her into the Serpentine.
Sabrina, has decided for some inexplicable reason to meet a potential suitor in the park with only a ditzy maid as a chaperone. This is the first of several things Sabrina does throughout the book which i assume are meant to show that she is so "fiercely independent", but really show that she is reckless and completely lacking in forethought. Sabrina later learns that Graeme was assigned to the detail protecting the king on a visit to Scotland and decides to get herself on this trip as well. This is despite the fact that Sabrina's father is a hypochondriac, and due to personal reasons, very against the idea of visiting Scotland.
What follows is a series of events where Sabrina makes reckless decisions, and Graeme becomes a complete tyrant. He supposedly "cares" for her, he can't bear for her to be in danger and keeps forbidding her to do things. So, now they are both irritating for their own reasons, I guess. It all just seemed really contrived to get the chemistry going, but I think it fell flat. Graeme always wanting Sabrina to run rather than help her face her problems, really negatively affected his likability.

I've fallen hard for Vanessa Kelly's rambunctious, loving, and loyal Kendrick clan. Would they drive me bonkers in real life? Probably. But, on the page, I can't get enough of these strong, sexy, overly-protective Highlanders and the women who throw their lives into a tailspin...and win their hearts in the process.

Graeme and Sabrina are so much fun. Talk about opposites attracting. Sparks fly from their first meeting and I had no doubt they were going to keep me well entertained. Graeme is all business, stubborn as a mule, and also thinks he's unworthy of her but upbeat, goodhearted, and very determined Lady Sabrina has her own thoughts on the topic and, well, we all know how that's going to end. It's a rollicking good ride filled with laughter, danger, witty banter, sizzling chemistry, a bit of a mystery, vanquishing enemies, plenty of rescuing - on both sides - and, of course, a heartwarming, sigh-worthy, happily ever after.

Add in the meddling Kendricks (Most of them have a hand in the outcome of Graeme and Sabrina's relationship and Royal and Ainsley have a large role), a potential threat against the visiting king, smugglers, Sabrina's penchant for charging into the fray, and Graeme frequently landing in trouble while trying to keep her out of trouble, and it's a wild ride that checked all my happy reader boxes and left me eagerly anticipating my next visit to Scotland for more of Vanessa Kelly's Clan Kendrick stories.

*ARC received for honest, unbiased review

Another Kendrick meets his match. Graeme, one of the always in trouble Kendrick has been doing some growing up. Working for Captain Aden St. George as a spy, Greene's current job involves finding the thieves that have been stealing precious objects from members of the ton. Lady Sabrina Bell accidentally takes a dunking in the Serpentine during a pursuit of one of our the thieves. The thief got away, but Lady Sabrina did not. And so starts the pursuit of Graeme Kendrick. Once Sabrina decides Graeme is the man for her, she chases him until he catches her. What comes in between is a series of adventures, danger, kidnappings with ransom demands, travel to and in Scotland, and time spend with old friends. Royal is still my favorite Kendrick, but Graeme runs a close second. Since there are three more Kendrick men who I hope will have their own stories, I will reserve my judgement on favorites until I meet the rest of the brood.

Graeme is a man who works and lives in the shadows and Lady Sabrina is sunshine and positivity. When Lady Sabrina ends up embroiled in the darkness Graeme must protect her but learns he might want to come into the light. Intrigue, passion, a wild and outrageous family creates a heartwarming and bingeable (word?) read.

The Highlander’s English Bride (Clan Kendrick #3). By Vanessa Kelly. 2020. Zebra (ARC eBook).

On the trail of jewelry thieves that are getting bolder by the day, government agent Graeme Kendrick finds himself waylaid from the chase by a lady in the Serpentine. After fishing her out of the water Graeme expects to send Lady Sabrina Bell on her merry way, but it seems trouble has a knack for finding her and Graeme would never stand for her getting hurt. Sabrina is equally golden in looks and heart, and Graeme finds himself thoroughly enchanted by the vexxing Sassenach. But she is too good for the likes of him.

Meeting Graeme has brought excitement to Sabrina’s life, but more than that, she is drawn to his strength, honor and bravery. So much so that she can overlook his penchant for accidentally wrecking furniture and his exasperating mother hen routine. Who knew a brawny highlander would prove to be such skittish prey?

Heat, humor, a bit of spy work and plenty of ornery Kendrick family shenanigans, The Highlander’s English Bride is catnip for any historical romance fan.

Former wild child and rake, Graeme Kendrick has changed and is currently working a case for Aden St. George. He is tailing the suspected theif when a young woman gets in the way of his suspect and is pushed into the Serpentine – he has a choice: continue after the thief or save the girl – he chooses the girl and his life will never be the same!

Lady Sabrina is unlike any woman Graeme has ever met – she is beautiful, smart and managing – but she is also kind, funny and brave. He should get he home and forget they ever met, but then he learns that she was meeting Lord Cringlewood and he just can’t let her be hurt by him like his sister in law was. So new plan – warn her off Cringlewood and then carry on with his life. What do they say about the best laid plans?

Lady Sabrina Bell is the only child of Lord Musgrave, and after several seasons. she has decided that she will never find true love and plans for spinsterhood. But then she meets Graeme and knows that he his her perfect match – too bad he thinks he isn’t good enough for her and tries his best to keep her at arm’s length – but fortunately for Sabrina, his family also thinks he and Sabrina are meant to be and will be equally (if not more) ruthless about throwing them together!

While this book is a well written and fun story, it is not quite as adventurous, steamy or exciting as the previous books – there is still a lot going on and Cringlewood briefly pops up to remind us that he still needs to be dealt with, we also get to catch up with Nick, Victoria, Aden, Vivien, Royal, Ainsley and Angus. Sabrina is a wonderful heroine and I loved her, she is perfect for Graeme and incredibly likeable. I would happily recommend this book and a can’t wait for the next installment in this great series!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher.*

Lady Sabrina Bell is having a rather embarrassing day. She finds herself stood up in the park by her potential beau, robbed, and pushed into the Serpentine by a thief, then rescued by a gruff Highlander. The giant of a man also just happens to be the most attractive man Sabrina has ever met. He also seems to be around every time she finds herself in trouble, when Sabrina visits Edinburgh as a member of King George's entourage, Graeme Kendrick is there too, keeping her safe but tempting her to misbehave as well.

Graeme Kendrick has come a long way from being the wildest of all the Kendrick brothers to competently running dangerous missions for the King's spymaster. Even so, he's wholly unprepared for his reaction to the King's spoiled, stubborn goddaughter, Lady Sabrina. He knows he's not good enough for her and he's determined to keep her safe and then send her back home to her hypochondriac father. Too bad Sabrina has plans of her own and she's determined to woo Graeme for herself.

First off, I liked this book much better than its predecessors and I loved that it was Sabrina pursuing Graeme. I enjoyed Graeme's growth and his learning to feel worthy. What annoyed me, however, was Sabrina. Like so many heroines these days she was fiercely independent, which is great when done well, but here it just felt like she continuously made naive, uninformed or completely reckless decisions without a care for the danger to herself or others. She was very spoiled and used to getting her way, mostly by throwing her money around, and that was annoying for me. Don't get me wrong, Sabrina did have her charming moments and she was miles better than the heroines of the previous two books, but much of this, especially conversations between Graeme and Sabrina, devolved into bickering and Sabrina insisting on her own correctness. That near constant arguing got rather repetitive for me. I did like the action of this one, I just wish Sabrina had shown more intelligence and forethought in her actions and that we had more scenes in which she and Graeme were truly communicating. We only really got one such good scene and I would've liked more for their relationship to really be believable. I did appreciate that Sabrina was more than willing to step outside her comfort zone, I just wish we could've had some more middle ground between her making stupid, reckless decisions and Graeme constantly freaking out about her safety. There was a lot going on here, but overall I did mostly enjoy it and will continue with the series.

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

The Highlander’s English Bride is the third book in author Vanessa Kelly’s “Clan Kendrick” series. Although third in the series, I do believe this book could easily stand alone. This is actually the first book I’ve had the pleasure of reading from Ms. Kelly. I was impressed with Ms. Kelly’s writing style and adored the characters so I will definitely be going back to read the entire series! So happy to have finally read Ms. Kelly’s work and can’t wait to catch up with her backlist!

Graeme Kendrick is on a mission to capture a gang of thieves. Just when he has one of the thieves in his reach, a young lady gets in the way and is thrown into the Serpentine. Lady Sabrina Bell is not your typical simpering miss.  She’s a wealthy heiress who is stubborn, strong-willed & impetuous. From the moment these two meet, you know there is going to be plenty of action and fireworks! I loved the interaction between Graeme and Sabrina and watching these two extremely stubborn people get to know each other and eventually start to care about each other. But the road to their happily ever after is not completely smooth. Graeme struggles with feelings that he’s not good enough for Sabrina and Sabrina is determined to convince him that he is. With villains, meddling family members, and a trip to Scotland, this was an action-packed and exciting story. Graeme’s family all played a role in this story and I must say I adored them all. I must go back and read the previous stories in this series to catch up and get to know the Kendrick family better. Overall a fantastic read from a new to me author and a book I would highly recommend!

I have always said that if I could move to Scotland right now, I would. I love the people, the landscapes, the history, and let us not ever forget the whisky. 😋

So it can be no surprise that I will read almost anything set in Scotland and Vanessa Kelly's Clan Kendrick series was an easy one for me. This is the third book in a series, but can be read as a standalone easily.

The Highlander's English Bride is 100% romance but with a feminist twist, especially given the time time period. This is one strong willed lassie who takes her life into her own hands at almost every point in this novel. No damsel in distress to be found, more of a mister in distress many times.

The only reason this book didn't get a full five stars was the obstacle for the couple. It felt slightly forced, and when the reason was finally explained, seemed a bit contrived.

Otherwise, The Highlander's English Bride is an extremely satisfying romance novel with great characters and wonderful highland fun. If you like romance novels, with a slow burn relationship, you will like The Highlander's English Bride, I can almost guarantee it.