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A review by bookishnerdyandcurious
Never Love a Highlander by Maya Banks
5.0
So. I went into this book not particularly liking either the H or h - Caelan, our H, has been pretty damn unlikable in the previous two books: a betrayal eight years before from the woman he loved caused the decimation of his clan, his father and sister-in-law killed. He took the blame on his shoulders and in doing that, closed off his heart to all becoming the grumpy, rude warrior we meet in book 1. He grows some in book 2, but I was not holding out much hope for him in this one. Rionna, our h, is the girl who was supposed to marry Ewan in book 1 and Alaric in book 2 - until they both found love and Caelan declares he will marry her to keep the proposed alliance between the clans. She has grown up learning to fight with the warriors and is most comfortable in men's dress than she is in women's. She is as unlike her feminine sisters-in-law as possible and that seems to drive Caelan insane. The kicker? Neither of them wants the marriage, but they both want her father, the former laird of her clan, gone.
You would think that would be the whole story. You would be wrong. Very wrong. There were so many instances where I wanted to smack the shit out of Caelan for being so rude to both Rionna and to his new clan - as the new laird, he swoops in making all sorts of pronouncements and doesn't seem to realize that might be a reason the warriors seem to have issues with him? Add to that the warriors don't think he treats Rionna well (since they don't see what goes on in the bedroom... and he's still kind of a shit to her in private) and he's just a step from mutiny. I mean, we're more than halfway through the book when everyone has it out and the warriors challenge Caelan and he takes on every single one of them and only almost gets bested at the end, earning their respect. Rionna basically defies everyone, wanting to go and fight all the time, getting upset with being told no, and acts like a petulant child when told that she needs to learn how to run the keep, like the lady of the keep should.
Now all of that would indicate that I might not have liked this book. That would be incorrect. I loved this book - I loved that it made me feel all the feelings, I love that it made me cry. This was a perfect ending to this series - and I understand why people are hella salty that Maya Banks never finished the Montgomery and Armstrong series (I have joined those ranks now).
You would think that would be the whole story. You would be wrong. Very wrong. There were so many instances where I wanted to smack the shit out of Caelan for being so rude to both Rionna and to his new clan - as the new laird, he swoops in making all sorts of pronouncements and doesn't seem to realize that might be a reason the warriors seem to have issues with him? Add to that the warriors don't think he treats Rionna well (since they don't see what goes on in the bedroom... and he's still kind of a shit to her in private) and he's just a step from mutiny. I mean, we're more than halfway through the book when everyone has it out and the warriors challenge Caelan and he takes on every single one of them and only almost gets bested at the end, earning their respect. Rionna basically defies everyone, wanting to go and fight all the time, getting upset with being told no, and acts like a petulant child when told that she needs to learn how to run the keep, like the lady of the keep should.
Now all of that would indicate that I might not have liked this book. That would be incorrect. I loved this book - I loved that it made me feel all the feelings, I love that it made me cry.