This is the lovestory of warrior Tormund and MacLeod and Brighde MacDonald, the sister of his enemy. There is a feud between the MacLeods and the MacDonalds but the reason behind it is heartbreaking. Tormund’s brother was married to Brighde’s sister and both have died, each clan chief blaming the other one for the death of their sibling, both lairds overcome with grief and anger towards the other. Tormund wants vengeance, he wants to kill James MacDonald, Brighde’s brother.
So you might expect this story to be straight forward regarding the storyline and although you might guess the plot highlights, so much effort is put in the character development that this book keeps you hooked from the beginning to the end. The blossoming love between Tormund and Brighde is so beautifully written and so realistic, you cannot help love them both. Tormund is fierce, a bold and strong warrior but deep down a good man, an intellectual and not somebody who wants to wield his sword. Brighde sees through his touch demeanor and has no fear of calling his bluff.

<i>In hindsight, he hadn’t really hidden behind his mask. He’d worn who he was on his face, and it was everyone around him who hadn’t looked deeply enough to see the clue he’d given away for free.</i>

She is also fierce and not afraid to take action. I liked that they gave true chemistry and that their lovestory developed gradually. And I liked all the little details that weave a beautiful story. For example, Tormund and James are on opposite sides but they are actually quite alike:

<i>James MacDonald had been reared on injustices, beaten and marginalized by a spiteful stepmother, and had turned into an unyielding man, not so different from himself. Their hardships weren’t the same, but they’d still been hard. James had always had something to prove while Tormund’d always had something to hide, but they’d both learned how to protect their reasons ruthlessly. </i>

When two clans are feuding and both have good men as leaders, you know that a third party must behind the nefarious wrongdoings, no surprise there. But I liked that it was a bit of a struggle to get both the MacLeods and the MacDonald clans on the same side. It wasn’t rushed, nor dragged on endlessly. You understand the doubt and the mistrust but I liked how both lairds tried to see reason (with the help of Brighde) and made an effort to overcome the serious issues they had.
Overall a very good read with well developed characters and storyline. There is bloodshed which I don’t like, but there were no graphic violent scenes that you might read in similar books. So I’m happy those were left out.
This book kept me hooked until the very end.
I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a well written story which is action packed, emotionally charged, and with trust, humor, witty banter and love, which leads to an entertaining, unpredictable, and steamy addictive page turner.