Sunday, September 11, 2011

In Bed with a Highlander by Maya Banks
















Ewan and Mairin's Book 




In Bed with a Highlander


by Maya Banks


Book Blurb:

Ewan McCabe, the eldest, is a warrior determined to vanquish his enemy. Now, with the time ripe for battle, his men are ready and Ewan is poised to take back what is his—until a blue-eyed, raven-haired temptress is thrust upon him. Mairin may be the salvation of Ewan’s clan, but for a man who dreams only of revenge, matters of the heart are strange territory to conquer.

The illegitimate daughter of the king, Mairin possesses prized property that has made her a pawn—and wary of love. Her worst fears are realized when she is rescued from peril only to be forced into marriage by her charismatic and commanding savior, Ewan McCabe. But her attraction to her ruggedly powerful new husband makes her crave his surprisingly tender touch; her body comes alive under his sensual mastery. And as war draws near, Mairin’s strength, spirit, and passion challenge Ewan to conquer his demons—and embrace a love that means more than revenge and land.

Wow just wow. I absolutely loved Maya Banks' debut Scottish Highland romance In Bed with a Highlander

I read a lot of posts where people where comparing In Bed with a Highlander to Julie Garwood's writing style. I'll be honest and say I wasn't too sure what to make of that claim. Julie Garwood is one of my most favourite historical romance writers and I also adore Maya Banks.  Now that I've read In Bed with a Highlander, I understand what people were referring to. It isn't the writing style per-say but rather that the protagonists get married near the beginning of the book instead of drudging out a long drawn romance drama that ends with a happily ever after marriage. I am a complete fan of this get married at the beginning of the story plot line and one of the reasons I am such a fan huge of Julie Garwood

But this is a Maya Banks' story make no qualms about it. The fact that the protagonists get married at the beginning is a Garwood trademark but Maya Banks owns this story. It was her style 100% and I loved it. There is a heavy comparison with the female protagonist Mairin protecting a young boy and suffering a brutal beating that mirrors Julie Garwood's Ransom (one of my favourite books of all time) but I am sure that that plot bunny has been used in many other stories as well.

Mairin was lovely to read about. One of my favourite things in the book was that Mairin was constantly thinking private thoughts but had a embarrassing habit of blurting out those personal thoughts. I must have giggled at those moments over and over again. She seemed oblivious to those outbursts until the people around her would answer her or scowl.  
She endured a lot of hardship but never lost herself or back-downed. Mairin was strong willed and so full of life. A little hot tempered and a wee bit out of place for the time period. I adored her.

Ewan was an excellent male romance lead. As a Laird he was fair and as a warrior he was not to be trifled with.  He had a strong sense of duty to do the right thing and Mairin was a perfectly written match for him. They complimented each other and it was pure joy to read how they fell so in love with each other. 

There were plenty of angsty moments that had me flipping the pages and holding my breath. I loved it all and I will definitely re-read. 

Maya Banks did an absolutely awesome job setting up the next book. Luckily I only have to wait until the end of month to rush out to buy it. 




10 comments:

Grace Fonseca said...

Good review. New follower. Come visit me over at Livre De Amour-Books of Love Blog.

mamabunny13 said...

Thanks for the review. I love a good Highlander Romance!
~mamabunny13

books4me said...

I haven't read any of Maya's highlander books mainly because I'm not a fan of historical romance. I enjoy reading of strong male characters and their female counterparts who give them a run for their money! After reading your review, I am definitely going to look into Maya's highlander books!

books4me67 at ymail dot com

Liz said...

I have all 3 in this series, since Maya is an autobuy for me but I haven't read any of them yet. I was concerned since it was such a departure from her contemporary work, needless to see I'm moving them to my Kindle today

Megan@Riverina Romantics said...

I need to read this. It's in my pile.

Amber said...

Good Review. I loved this book!

Unknown said...

I am commenting as part of the Shameless Blog Giveaway! I have been wondering about the Highland series by Banks and have read one or two books by Garwood, so this review actually helped me make the decision to try out this series as well. I know I have read other books by Banks and enjoyed her style overall, so I was hoping this series would be good--since you ranked all the books 5s, I think I'll have a good shot at liking them too!

Ann
Kyreadinggirl@yahoo.com

Anna (herding cats-burning soup) said...

I love Maya Banks but just haven't been able to pick up this book even though it's sitting on my shelf right now. I'm adding it to my Feb reading. I like the idea of them getting married at the beginning. I haven't seen that too often.

Unknown said...

Great review! I'm going to have to read this book.

Unknown said...

I have read a couple of Maya Banks's books. This one looks good! Great Review!

Katie