Title: Kilts and Daggers
Ever since Lady Grace Walsingham discovered her uncle and sister are spies for the Crown, she has yearned for adventure. She’s counting the days until she can leave barbaric Scotland behind, even if she must endure Highland captain Fagan Murray’s company for weeks.
Fagan has a simple mission: escort the haughty Lady Grace back to England. But nothing is ever easy. The sharp-tongued woman needles him at every turn. But when a menacing threat follows them on their journey, Fagan’s grudging tolerance for Grace turns to respect…and into a perilous attraction that could seal their fate.
I received an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review, thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca. This does NOT alter my view on the title.
Summary
Grace Walsingham, despises Scotland, she hates everything about it. She can’t stand it, the brogue that she can barely understand, the gaelic language that is difficult to learn, to the horrid tapestries and the warrior like culture. She misses England, and reluctantly agreed to stay for a month, to help her sisters. She is still shocked that her sister and her uncle are spies, and now wants to discover if she could be one too. But there is one Scot who drives her more crazy than the rest, Captain of the guard…Fagan Murray. Fagan would do anything for his Liard and close friend, but having to escort Grace around is up to the top of his tolerance level, she may be beautiful and graceful….but she is conceited and selfish to his mind, and will be relieved when he can take her back to England…back to her fiancée and out of his hair…..only there is one problem, they desire each other, and when they kiss…fireworks explode, now a hate has turned into a fierce desire, but there is an enemy out to destroy them, and only with Fagan and Grace working in unity will they be able to defeat the traitors who wish to destroy them.
The Hero
Fagan is Captain of Laird Ruairi Sutherland’s Guard. Also one of his closest friend, and they are evenly matched in stamina and ability (despite the fact neither would care to admit it). What we see from Fagan is a Scottish warrior who is brave and honorable and patient. Whew he is like a saint when it comes to Grace especially. He also is great with the other sisters who despite their english roots are quite a handful more than most Scottish lasses. Fagan is what drew me into the story, I love how enduring he is with Grace, and sexy enough to melt the room. His character is quite different from other heroes by this author, what I enjoyed most was how he is portrayed as the “steady rock” of the story, always sure and sound, and reliable and right there when you need him the most.
The Heroine
Grace Walsingham was a heroine that had to grow on me. She eventually did….at the end. But it took 300 pages to do it. It’s a slow transformation that we see in Grace though. Unlike other Highlander romances I have read, where you join an English and a Scot together, Grace is quite a snob quite a bit actually. But from the beginning, you sense something more from her, that if she is put in the right circumstance, she can become something more than what she is portrayed and what she seems to be. You have to allow a wide learning curve with this character, but what I did enjoy was seeing her change slowly…and its bit by bit, it doesn’t happen overnight, but we see how its the small things that make the difference. So even though she wasn’t my favorite, I have to say that I was impressed with how Roberts made a heroine that you just don’t like in the beginning to one that you love by the end. That is pure talent in my opinion.
Plot and Story Line
Kilts and Daggers is the second book in Robert’s most recent series. Now I haven’t read the first, and I probably should have especially since I have it on my nook, but just haven’t gotten around to reading it yet. However I do feel like it can still be read as a stand alone. I just love Victoria Roberts….I read one of her other books last year and just couldn’t enough of it. I was pretty excited for this one though, and I did have quite an enjoyable time of it. Not quite what I was hoping for, but I did find many aspects quite worth the read, and the bantering in this story was superb. Oh I just loved everything about…and now I just have to read Ruairi and Ravenna’s story. What I also liked quite a bit was the side characters, because we see quite a bit of Ruairi and Ravenna and Ruairi son and the other younger sisters as well. And already some seeds of another sister and her story. Oh that should be a good one. From the beginning of this story I loved the hero and hated the heroine. Oh did I not like her!! She tends to be quite judgemental and a bit self-righteous of everything Scotland…no matter what it is. However our hero….is a angel…literally…oh how patient he is with her. I love how he handles her in such fun ways too! There is a danger and mystery aspect to the plot, and it slowly filters in from the beginning, so you have that added aspect. We also see a connection form between Grace and Fagan…and it starts out pretty small but then it builds into something stronger and solid. It’s not until they are really tested that I began to enjoy Grace. I wasn’t sure if I would end up liking her…but I did miraculously. I loved the dynamics of the plot and the way it weaved about it certain ways you didn’t exactly see at first. It sneaks up behind up in some portions and I enjoyed seeing it unravel and come together.
The Cover
What a lovely cover…I love the nightly theme…the blues and purples. And can you say HOT Highlander? I mean really I see this cover and he is all I see LOL I could tape him on my wall and just look at him all day.
Overall View
Kilts and Daggers is a tale of how opposites attract, two people who are as different as fire and ice….but a fierce passion erupts and a deep love builds between them. A story of personal growth, fighting for those you love, and sacrifice. THRILLING!
“Truth be told, I’ve seen ye watching me, staring. Your eyes tell me what ye are thinking.” When she stiffened, he leaned in closer. “I think ye wonder what lies beneath my kilt. If ye ask me nicely, mayhap I’ll show ye. But ye’ll have to say please.”
——————–
“Understand this… Elizabeth is a Walsingham, and we Walsinghams chase no man.”
“Aye, well, I’ll be sure to tell that to Torquil the next time I see him.”
—————–
“I’ve learned that the heart does not lie. The thought of never being with him or having him in my life again shattered me. Not a day went by that I didn’t think of his smile or remember his laugh, his touch, and how that alluring Scottish accent always made my knees tremble.”
Addicted To Romance 
I just finished my review on this one and enjoyed it too 🙂 I loved Grace though from the start. I thought they were both pretty equal in their disdain for the other’s countries so it worked for me 😉
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