The Highlander’s Angel: (Book 1) by Caroline Lee
Three beautiful agents for the crown, three prime suspects, and one sinister plot to destroy a fledgling kingdom… Meet the Queen’s Angels!
When Robert the Bruce’s queen formed the Angels, an elite group of spies masquerading as her ladies-in-waiting, she probably didn’t imagine they’d be called on to save her life. But that’s what happens when Queen Elizabeth is entertaining the Fraser delegation.
Luckily, her lady Courtney is deadly with a bow, and recognizes the assassin. Court’s history with the band of thieves and murderers who raised her means she has a very different skill set than most women in the queen’s retinue, and she’s not afraid to employ it. But she is used to working alone, and the idea of being saddled with an unwanted partner–particularly when that man is gorgeous, dangerous, and a prime suspect–is galling.
Ross Fraser, the queen’s longtime bodyguard, can’t believe one of his kinsmen could be involved in this treacherous plot. He’ll do everything in his power to prove his clan is innocent of treason, even if it means partnering with a testy and deadly thief-turned-spy… One who holds his heart after that single night they spent together years ago.
Ross must choose between his loyalty to his laird and his loyalty to his heart, as Court’s reuniting with her “family” makes her question everything she thought she understood. When metal hits meat, can this unlikely duo learn to trust each other, or will the plot to bring down the Scottish monarchy succeed?
Warning: Contains a bad@ss heroine, an adorable sheepdog with more hair than sense, and some super-steamy scenes.
RA Winter’s Review: 4.8-Stars
The Highlander’s Angel by Caroline Lee adds another great book to Caroline Lee’s repertoire. I was surprised at the vast amount of books Caroline Lee has written and I plan to add more to my library. I listened to this on my voice app, and I have to say that it was one of the easiest books to listen to and keep track of the plot.
The writing is crisp and clear and not cluttered. The plot is spot on. Characters pop with personality.
This is a historical novel set during the time of Robert the Bruce and Queen Elizabeth. Court is a ‘lady in waiting’ who doubles as an agent for the queen. With her trusty bow always at the ready, she’s deadly.
Ross Fraisier has been away from the queen’s residence for some time, helping the transition of his own lord. Now, his laird is in trouble.
Now, both fight for the truth and must unravel the mystery behind the queen’s assassination attempt before it happens again.
I really enjoyed this. Very well written.
Diane Andersen’s Review: 5-Stars
This romance novel may look like another steamy cover with a hot plaid covered Scotsman, but it is certainly more than meets the eye. Lee packs her tale with all the intrigue, high action, history and Scottish lore to keep a reader like me turning pages breathlessly till the end. It’s like the Three Musketeers (Charlie’s Angel feminist style) meets Braveheart.
Courtney, our heroine, and her two intrepid friends, Melisandre and Rosalind, serve as guardians in a female league of “angels” appointed by Robert the Bruce to guard his wife, Queen Elizabeth. As the royals strive to maintain a tenuous hold on an independent Scottish throne after the famous Battle of Bannockburn, the angels serve undercover as ladies in waiting yet with the cunning skill of master archers and a mind for sensing treasonous subjects at every turn.
As the story opens, they are about to uncover a plot to assassinate the queen when Court stumbles across an old cohort from her past, and of course, sparks begin to fly in more ways than one. Together Court, a former pick pocket and felon, and Malcolm Ross, a member of a suspected traitorous clan, must learn to trust each other and work together to keep the newly established Crown safe from those who would see its destruction.
Filled with a cast of vibrant, lovable and intriguing characters, including an oversized dog that appears to be some sort of early incarnation of a Newfoundland or Great Dane, this story shows the author to be both meticulously in attention to detail while still moving the plot along. I was particularly impressed to see the animal characters get their due attention and be represented as animals were in this day.
The dog, Honor, is a faithful companion but also can be troublesome, shaggy and slobbery, as these larger breeds generally are. The horses are well tended rather than just props ridden to extreme and ignored as if no more than a car parked in a garage.
This shows an author who is possibly as interested in animals as I am or at the very least, cognizant of the times and history even within a steamy romance. And there is definitely some of that to keep avid readers engaged, to be sure.
Given my lifelong interest in Scottish history and a genetic descendancy from Robert the Bruce, himself, this story hits all the right buttons for me. I will definitely be looking for more books by this author to add to my reading list.
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