The Honor of a Highlander

The year is 1297, and Rory MacKinnon is traveling to join William Wallace in the fight for Scotland’s freedom from the oppression of the English King Edward, aka Longshanks.  On the way, Rory and his men spend a couple of nights at Dunstan, and he meets the laird’s daughter, high-spirited Annella MacCallum.  Rory needs a wife and heirs, and Annella needs a husband (according to her father, anyway).  They are definitely attracted to one another, but before their engagement can be finalized, Dunstan is attacked, and Annella is taken by English sympathizers to be tried for treason!  Her only hope is that Rory will come to her rescue.

“The Honor of a Highlander” is a short novella (under 200 pages) with all the expected ingredients of a highland romance, which should be comforting and familiar to readers of the genre.  A lot of action happens in a very short time frame, and, sadly, much of the romance story is sacrificed in favor of the constant turmoil.  Additional proofreading is also needed to correct distracting grammar mistakes and word substitutions – “seized” was written when “ceased” was meant, “pierced” for “pursed”, etc.  Tales about Scottish highlanders remain ever popular, and with some extension to allow for more character development between the leads, this could be a wonderful morsel for a perpetually hungry audience.  

Leslie Stokes