Review: Highland Arms by Cathie Dunn

Blurb

A Highlander with a dangerous cause. A Lowland Lady in disgrace. Sizzling romance in the Highlands.

Betrayed by her brother’s lies, Catriona MacKenzie is banished from her home to her godmother’s manor in the remote Scottish Highlands. While her father ponders her fate, Catriona’s insatiable curiosity leads her into trouble – and straight into the arms of a notorious Highland rogue.

Five years after an ill-fated Jacobite rebellion, Rory Cameron smuggles cattle and weapons to raise money for another uprising – until Catriona uncovers a deadly plot against him. When she inadvertently exposes his activities, Rory is faced with a decision that could save their lives, or destroy them both.

But is he running out of time?

Follow me to the beautiful Scottish Highlands in this fast-paced, gripping adventure full of intrigues, murder plots, and romance!

My Review

Our protagonist Catronia is cursed with the nastiest of brothers, who delights in making her life miserable. We’re introduced to the story as she is sent off in disgrace to live with her godmother, Auntie Meg. Her brother Angus has accused her of an offense she didn’t commit, but no one believes her. And this offense? She’s accused of being a trollop, allegedly caught in the act with her betrothed. But all is not as it seems, as the wise Auntie Meg concludes. Unfortunately, the other member of this household, the difficult but beguiling Rory, is more willing to think the worst of her, and the obvious attraction between them just makes matters more difficult:

Angus stared at Rory Cameron. “You haven’t answered my question. What are you doing here?” To Auntie Meg’s affronted stance, he replied, his voice defensive, “We were assured this house was a safe haven for my sister. The presence of a strange man is quite unacceptable.”

Meg Cameron Macdonald sat upright, eyes blazing. “Listen to me, laddie. I’m delighted to offer Catriona a home—something your father refuses to do. You didn’t even help her when she needed a brother, yet you dare make assumptions on the virtue of my house?” She tapped her fingers on the mahogany arm of the chair. “Let me tell you one thing, Angus MacKenzie, I can assure you by the end of her stay, that is whenever your dear papa decides to have her back, Catriona will feel more at home here at Taigh na Rhon than she ever did in Edinburgh.”

Prophetic, indeed. She is intrigued by the elusive Rory, who is involved in some sort of secret activity that could be illegal. Indulging in her natural curiosity, Catronia can’t keep her nose out of Rory’s business, which gives her much more than she bargained for. Ultimately, both of them are in deep trouble, and their growing romance certainly takes Rory by surprise—and threatens to interfere in his work. At the same time, Angus is back with a vengeance, and once again Catronia has no control over her own destiny. What a mess! Fast-paced book keeps the pages turning.