The Highlander’s Bride, the first in Amanda Forester’s Highland Trouble series, has all the trappings of an old-fashioned romance with some delightfully feminist twists thrown in. The heroine is a sheltered noblewoman, and the hero is a Scots warrior who offends her tender sensibilities with his strong legs and his disregard for her possessions. However, the Lady is no delicate flower, and the Scotsman is no domineering alpha.
Highland warrior Gavin Patrick is given the job of escorting Lady Marie Colette from her home in France to the home of her husband-to-be in Scotland. Along the way, he must protect her from the English, bandits and a storm at sea. However, the greatest danger they face lies in their attraction to each other, since Collette has to marry the man of her father's choosing, as he has promised to send her father badly needed soldiers in exchange. If she fails to marry, it affects her people, not just her own social standing.
Forester has brought together an exciting setting and period in history, fabulous clothing and hairstyles, and an action-filled plot, but the greatest joy of The Highlander’s Bride lies in the relationship between the two lead characters. They are both honest and forthright, and they cut through potential misunderstandings like true adults. Colette is not an action heroine, but she's intelligent and resourceful, and Gavin never attempts to dominate her.
The addition of some orphaned children is perhaps a bit too adorable, but if you are willing to go along with it, you will be treated to some wildly entertaining scenes and happy endings all around. This is not a terribly serious book, but Forester is able to embrace sillier elements and ground them in a very realistic relationship between Colette and Gavin in a way that is sexy, funny and emotionally touching.
