Despair, guilt, loss of self, is what Bane Morgan is dealing with. Running away from the shame of disobeying his father and to fight the English on Highlander’s soil. He is hiding out in the seedy side of Edinburgh. Hearing screams, something tells him to investigate what is happening. He sees a young Lady, who doesn’t belong in this part of town fighting off 3 men. He jumps in to defend her, after all his was known as the Highlander Defender! Unknown to Lucia that the scruffy man was trying to help her, she grabs a pot and smacks his in the head.
Lucia is basically a slave in Lord Clegg household for his Lady wife. She is working there to pay off her father’s debt, but the wife has a jealous overbearing nurse. She is abusive to all the workers, but especially Lucia.
The characters are wonderful! The story line great! A book I couldn’t put down!

A perfectly pleasant medieval historical romance. Babe and Lucia were both very wholesome characters, and they were likeable. There were quite a lot of “evil” characters that got involved along the way. It started to drag for me a bit at the halfway mark, but I still wanted to see how it all ended up in the end.

Bane Morgan lives is in a deep depression. Guilt for the responsibility of the deaths of his clansmen. Living in the gutter in the alleys of Edinburgh, he's given hope by a young lass he saves from robbers. Lucia lives as a servant in the house of Laird Currie waiting on his selfish and vain wife. Bane wants to marry Lucia, but he has no means of support to pay off the remaining debt she owes. Debt for the money Laird Currie paid to help during her father's illness. A fighting warrior is all he knows. Once known as the Highland Defender he lost his cause, but the Lucus Caledonia maybe his salvation. For Lucia and Bane, Kathryn LeVeque comes up with the perfect solution for an HEA. Always give yourself uninterrupted time to read a LeVeque book. You will not want to walk away until you finish. 5+ STARS.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

This was an interesting Historical for me. It is book 2 in this series, but can easily be read on its own.

We have Bane and Lucia, who are two very broken people at the beginning of this story. They both feel unloveable, and that they aren't worthy of someone's affections. Bane is depressed, and most likely having some PTSD and survivors guilt after a battle gone wrong. Lucia has been beaten down for a long time while she worked off her father's debt to a wealthy family after his untimely death.

This story definitely has an instalove quality to it in the beginning. Despite that, their romance actually does move slowly, as they try to work together to create a world where they can live together.

The journeys they go on are separate, but connected, like a true partner would be. I really enjoyed this second installment in the series, and am looking forward to the next one!

Thanks go to the publisher and Net-Galley for the complimentary copy of Highland Defender by Kathryn Le Veque. I voluntarily agreed to read and review this book prior to publication. My opinions are my own, and no one has influenced them.

Highland Defender is a well-written novel, and Ms. Le Veque’s descriptions gave me enough information without keeping me from using my imagination. I could actually see in my mind’s eye the arena, and the crowds of cheering people. I could hear the clashing swords. She is also a master of the dialogue that is unique to the highlands of Scotland.

Lucia Symington is the heroine, and she has a true nurturing nature, which she shows toward the young boy in the tale. She’s loyal to her friends and watches out for them. Even though she serves a self-centered lady, she doesn’t bemoan or complain. She’s the true lady. I love this arche type, so Lucia greatly appealed to me, but let me say, in no way is she weak. She’s a determined, strong woman, a protector.

Bane Morgan is the hero, and he is a true warrior. He also has a wounded soul. For me that is always a winning combination! Although he’s at an extremely low place when he meets Lucia, he quickly realizes her worth, and that helps him return to life, making him willing to do whatever he needs to win her heart.

I loved the chemistry between Lucia and Bane. It’s so much more than the physical attraction. There is a truly strong emotional connection between them. The love scenes are beautifully written, focusing more on their emotions than the physical, and I enjoyed them a great deal.

If you enjoy historical romance set in the medieval period with compelling characters and an emotionally charged plot, then you will love Highland Defender as much as I did. For the last year, I’ve been reading less historical romance novels, and this book has me questioning why. I look forward to reading more novel by Ms. Le Veque. Happy reading!

Since a grave error in judgment led to the deaths of many of his men in battle, Bane Morgan has run from his old life. Hiding in Edinburgh, Bane grows more and more depressed and despondent, longing for his home in the Highlands but afraid and ashamed to return.

Lucia Symington lives a life of drudgery working off her father’s debt to a mistress with no morals. It is a hostile environment fueled by jealousy and where another servant nurses a special hatred for her, leaving Lucia’s outlook bleaker by the day. When Lucia runs into Bane on a grimy Edinburgh street, they both begin to entertain dreams of a brighter future together. Needing money to pay off Lucia’s debt and longing to rediscover the warrior he once was, Bane seeks out the Ludus Caledonia. Bane begins to return to who he was before, but with so many obstacles to overcome, his quest to free Lucia may cost him even more than he already lost.

This was such a unique premise and a very different romance. It was definitely instalove for Bane and Lucia but given how much they both needed positive human contact and affection, it made sense for their story. I loved Bane as a hero and his battle with depression, his entire background and storyline in fact, was heart-wrenching. I adored Bane’s unwavering loyalty to Lucia as well. The most frustrating aspect of this book for me was the tight situation in which Bane and Lucia found themselves and my annoyance with Lucia for putting honor above her own safety. Nonetheless, these trials made their relationship stronger and had me cheering for Bane and Lucia. I was satisfied by the ending overall and loved getting to see Lor and Isabail again. I’m now looking forward to Magnus’ book.

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

Ashamed of a choice that cost good men their lives during battle, Bane Morgan escapes to Edinburgh to forget his past. But the more time he spends away from his Highland home, the more he's filled with regret and despair. Lucia Symington knows something about despair. Forced to work off a family debt for a clan with little moral compass and a particular hatred for her, Lucia loses herself a little more each day. When a chance meeting with Bane gives them both a glimpse of what their future together could be, Bane turns to the Ludus Caledonia to find the warrior still within him.
This is the second book in the series & whilst it could be read on its own, I’d recommend reading the series from the beginning as once again the author writes an engrossing, enthralling read. We met Bane in the first book & some characters from that book also make appearances. The pace is very good & the characters have wonderful depth. I’ve learnt to clear the decks before starting any of the author’s books as once I start I can’t put it down & this was no exception – I loved it & eagerly await the next in the series
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

3 out of 5 stars

Highland Defender is marketed as "Gladiator meets Fight Club" and there really isn't a better description for it. Sadly, the romance in this historical romance novel felt lacking. I enjoyed the scenes that took place in the fight club style environment and I wish we got more from that, I haven't read book one in this series but maybe that was explored more in that. This romance was the fastest insta-love I've read in a long time. I believe Bane and Lucia had three conversations before deciding that they should get married. The plot revolves around Bane joining the fight club in order to win money to pay off Lucia's father's debt to the man she now works for. This arc and all of the drama that follows would've been a lot more exciting if we had gotten more out of this couple at the beginning, instead of having most of their scenes post their love declarations. I did enjoy the writing style itself an it was very easy to read and fly through in one sitting.

I love how immersive the world building is here. The setting and characters feel like they are from medieval era.
I enjoyed this book more than the first one. I think the characters and plot were much improved and more interesting.
There are some slow points but overall I enjoyed it.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Highland Defender is another solid installment in Kathryn Le Veque’s Scots and Swords series. While it is the second in a series, it works as a stand-alone.

I really liked both of the main characters, Bane and Lucia. Bane has been through a lot in his life, being plagued with regret for his past mistakes. Meanwhile, Lucia is a maid working for a domineering, cruel mistress, yet she hasn’t not fully lost her spirit.

With the story surrounding a journey to prove himself, Bane joins the Ludus Caledonia as a fighter, with this being a wonderful twist on the trope of “hero-saves-damsel.”

With rich historical detail embedded into the narrative, Le Veque proves her status as a proficient author of medieval Highlander romance. Whether you’re a longtime fan of Le Veque or a relative newbie to her work as I am, I think you’ll enjoy this book.

Highland Defender

Scots and Swords, Book 2
by Kathryn Le Veque

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5

The Highland Defender, Bane Morgan, has been living in disgrace on the streets of Edinburgh since he led his ’s en into a slaughter in battle. He hasn’t lost his heroic instinct when he hears the call for help from a young lady.

After rescuing her from thieves, Lucia Symington takes pity on her bedraggled hero and brings him back to her Lady’s house where she proceeded to provide a bath and clean clothes.

Bane and Lucia feel an immediate spark between them, but Lucia’s Lady is a jealous one and she must not let her know that she has found favour in a hansom man. Bane tries to talk Lucia into leaving her post, only to find out that she is honour bound to stay until her father’s debt is paid.

Bane leaves and goes to the one place he knows he can earn the money to buy Lucia’s freedom, the Ludus Caledonia, a fight gild. Here he hones his already impressive skills and soon finds that he has made the attention of Lucia’s Lady whom intends to buy Ban for his survives at any cost.

Can Bane thwart the wealthy woman when he is honour bound to save her? Can he rescue Lucia before she finds out about their relationship?

This book was hard to put down. I love how Kathryn Le Veque creates characters that have you rooting for their success and HEA from the beginning. This series based on characters finding their way in life from their time in the fight did is highly addictive! I can’t wait for the next warrior to find what he is looking for!

Highland Defender by Kathryn Le Veque is scheduled to release January 26th, 2021.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for my review copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#HighlandDefender #KathrynLeVeque #NetGalley #pinkcowlandreads

This is my fair and honest review, voluntarily given and in my own words, for this ARC. Kathryn LeVeque, braw Scots, highlands.....what else is there? As always, EXCELLENT read. Put it on your list

Bane Morgan hears a fight and a woman screaming, he is compelled to help despite wanting to be left alone. Bane sees Lucia Symington, a servant girl, attempting to beat three men for taking her sausages. Lucia tries to save any of the sausages and is not willing to give up even when Bane goes to assist her. Lucia is not having it and hits Bane in the head. Bane tries to leave but Lucia feels responsible for Bane and is grateful, so takes Bane back to her home. Bane decides that he will find a way to pay Lucia back eventually working in the stables. As Bane gets to know Lucia he can’t help but slowly fall for her. Lucia also likes Bane but knows if she tells Bane how she feels that it will cause trouble. When Bane gets banished in assisting Lucia, he hears of the Ludus Caledonia. Bane decides to go to buy Lucia’s freedom from her employee who mistreats her and rediscover the warrior that he once was, but things aren’t all that easy especially when Lucia’s boss also wants Bane for herself.
What a fantastic romantic fast paced adventure! This might be the second book in the Scots and Swords series the story can stand alone with no problem. Ms. Le Veque just knows how to not only enthrall her audience but tell an equally captivating tale as well! The novel just moves quickly never getting bogged down with numerous plot twists that stay on task, wonderful major/minor characters and is really quite a page turner. Even with all the descriptions the scenery is easily imagined; Bane is also easy to visualize but Lucia isn’t described physically until later so is a little hard to envision in the beginning. Bane the closed off stoic hero is at first not very friendly and is hard to get to know. He does eventually warm up after you discover why he is so upset and becomes a good guy. Lucia the feisty strong-willed heroine is just lovely from beginning to end. She’s not scared to stand up to anyone despite the consequences but just is so charming and likable. This is definitely a story well worth the read and one that is just a marvelous story all on its own!

Lucia Symington has decided to work off a family debt left by her father. She’s become a servant to lady of the estate who demands anything and everything from her, a lady with no moral characteristic. Lucia is forced to attend the lady when she goes to the fight club Ludus Caledonia and pay for lovers. Lucia has a chance meeting with Bane Morgan when he rescues her from would be thieves one day when she’s on an errand for her lady. Bane is a warrior down on his luck, he’s convinced he’s not worthy of the name warrior when he disobeyed an order and some of his clan were killed. With Lucia’s help Bane is given hope for a much different future, but first he must find the true warrior within and goes to the fight club to start a new life and secure his and Lucia’s future. A captivating story of a hardened warrior down on his luck with low self-esteem, who has lost his direction until the love of a good woman convinces him life and love are worth fighting for. I have voluntarily read and reviewed this wonderful story.

Disclaimer: I read a lot of historical romances but not a lot set in the medieval period, so my lack of familiarity with this sub genre may have impacted my review.


Bane is a defeated warrior who is depressed and living on the streets of Edinburgh. Lucia is an indentured servant working off her father’s debt. Bane falls quickly for Lucia and decides to join a gladiator-style fighting group in order to buy her freedom and marry her.


This is an insta-love story (something I often like) featuring a couple from lower classes as opposed to the usual upper class stories, which was refreshing.

I was underwhelmed and unable to get in to this story at first—there was a lack of character development or rationale behavior. It feels like we jump right in to the middle of a story, without any background information given, but like the reader SHOULD know what is going on. There’s also some confusing/unnatural diction choices and seemingly misapplied metaphors—this is where it’s important to note my disclaimer above. I don’t have familiarity with many medieval novels so the stilted/unnatural conversations could be because I’m not used to these kinds of novels, but as a newer reader to this sub genre it is difficult to become invested in their interactions.

The interactions also don’t flow believably. Like the old nurse demanding Lucia prove she was alone as a big “gotcha” moment—how does one prove they’re alone? Ridiculous behavior by laird and lady Currie—a laird would not be able to help his holdings if he acted the way this couple does. There were also historically inaccurate tidbits thrown in (like referring to a Roman vase as ‘2000 years old’ when it was probably closer to 1400 years—being off by 300-600 years on dating something is an easily avoidable error; Saying the laird had a leather couch in his study when upholstery on furniture, particularly a leather couch/sofa/settee didn’t begin really until the renaissance-18th century time frame). These aren’t story-ruining details but it’s distracting—if the stilted language is happening to make the story more historically accurate then don’t have such blatant context errors, and if the accuracy isn’t a goal then the dialogue needs some serious revamping.

I wanted to like the story, and I DID like the characters. I liked Lucia and Bane and I liked their relationship, and if you liked book 1 of this series and the author’s style then I do think you’ll like this boo, but I couldn’t get into the story enough to really enjoy it unfortunately.

I received a copy of this book for my honest review via NetGalley.

This is my second book that I have read by Kathryn La Veque, ands has an amazing talent for sucking you into the story along with the world building makes you feel like you are walking along side her characters. Bane and Lucia are amazing characters both strong in their own ways. The love that grows between them is wonderful, and the couple of love scenes are just the right amount of basically everything you want for these two.

I am definitely in love with this Highlander series, and will always have it on my must buy/ read list as the books come out.

Bane is a man who is down and depressed from things that happened before this story. Lucia is working as a servant to pay off debts her father had while he was sick. They meet when Bane hears Lucia being attacked for the fresh meat she is carrying for her Mistress. When Bane is injured Lucia brings him to her home so he can rest and get cleaned up. They do have a very insta love connection, after about a week Bane wants to take her away, but Lucia wants to pay off the debt. Lucia has given him something to live for and has pulled him out of his depression.
Her Mistress is a horrible woman who allows her Nurse to beat Lucia and other servants in the house. Lucia needs to leave but she wants to be honorable and make sure she pays back what was spent on her father. This gets her into trouble though and Colly (the nurse) takes a personal interest in making sure Lucia stays away from her Mistress.
When something happens and he has to flee the house he decides to make some money fighing in the Ludus Caledonia to pay off Lucias debts and they can get married. While this seems like an easy enough thing as he is a highland warrior they called the Highland Defender. Things get complicated fast, and he has to figure out a new plan to save Lucia and they can live happily ever after.
I did really enjoy this story, but I did feel like certain things wrapped up really quickly. The insta love was really insta, but their relationship did grow over time so that didn't bother me to much.
I did really enjoy the story over all especially the epilogue. I loved getting to see Bane and Lucia living their happily ever after.

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

“She has given me the will tae regain what I have lost…myself.”

After leading his men into a battle they could not win, Bane Morgan flees his home and clan in the Highlands. Feeling as if he no longer has the worth nor right to bear the name Highland Defender, Bane has all but given up on living. But when he sees a young lass in distress, he rises up out of his despair to come to her rescue…never dreaming that it is she that will once again give him purpose and hope for a new beginning.

Lucia Symington is living in servitude paying off her father’s debt. After being accosted by thieves for the food she was sent to purchase, Lucia is saved by an unlikely looking hero. Although covered in dirt and grime, Lucia sees the man beneath his slovenly clothing, and offers him shelter. During his stay, Lucia tells Bane of the Ludus Caledonia, and how men have been known to seek out this gladiator style warrior facility to pledge their allegiance in hopes of being trained to fight and to earn coin.

Bane and Lucia are instantly attracted to each other, and Bane seizes the opportunity to train at the Ludus Caledonia to buy his beloved’s freedom. But the warriors Bane fights in the arena are nothing compared to the battle he will have to wage against the mistress Lucia serves…and the lengths he’ll have to go to win their happily ever after…

Highland Defender is what I’d consider an insta-love historical, and if you enjoy LeVeque’s writing style, this will for sure be an enjoyable read! While the second installment to her Scots & Swords series, this may be read stand alone. Would recommend to fans of this genre!




**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **

Kathryn Le Veque is such a wonderful writer and her stories always makes me lose myself in the history and the romance that she writes about. I always say she's a natural born storyteller and we, the readers, are the very lucky ones who get to read those stories!!

They call him the Highland Defender but Bane is at an all time low in his life when he comes to the defense of Lucia as she is being attacked by 3 men. As they get to know each other, he realizes that she's given him hope for a better future and will do anything to take her away from her servitude in a horrible household. He ends up joining the Ludus Caledonia as a fighter to make some money to help Lucia escape with him. Of course, nothing comes easy!!

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

I have voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this title given to me through NetGalley. This book was just absolutely wonderful. It was just so easy to get lost in and I just couldn’t put it down. I just lost myself within this amazing story. I most definitely will read more by this author.