I received this book in a giveaway. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Captured on her way to her sister, Willow finds herself in a precarious situation. When her jailer decides to throw her in a hole with a naked man, things go from bad to worse. Slatter is currently on the losing end of his back and forth battle with a man named Beck. He's been planning to escape but when an innocent woman is thrown into his jail with him, he knows he must stay to protect her.

Willow thinks she knows Slatter but lies, revenge, and the truth are all about to be revealed.

“A woman only belongs to a man if she’s wed to him. So if you want to leave here with her, you’ll wed her,”

Second in the Macardle Sisters of Courage Trilogy, I would highly suggest reading the first. The story begins right away with the action, Willow being kidnapped, and I had no idea the who and whys of the situation. There was other background information that would have been helpful, character motivations and how they were all tied together, by family or enemies. There was also an overuse of the word “poke” (sex), it was used 22 times with the second and third chapter, that became extremely tiresome and redundant to read. I personally like to see emotional/mental growth in my leads romance before the sexual occurs and this had Slatter giving Willow an orgasm within the first three chapters. This put me in the mindset that the story was going to be steamier but the tone changes and the sexual aspect actually doesn't really appear until later in the story, this made the beginning feel even more separate from the rest.

The war between Slatter and Beck, was confusing for me and I didn't understand their connection and animosity (maybe something I missed from not reading the first) and when the story moves on to Willow and Slatter at her brother's, it is forgotten for while in favor of a different one, involving characters thinking Slatter is a lying, adulterous, killer. The author keeps Willow and Slatter together through a forced marriage and they move to caring for each other and suddenly not wanting to get divorced very quickly. Willow and Slatter try to convince everyone that someone who looks exactly like Slatter is impersonating him and that guy is the true villain. This story thread also left me confused and not feeling it was fully fleshed out, again, characters and reasons felt left out.

“A husband sees to his wife’s care. I am your husband and I will be your husband until I am no more.”

I really think if you read this series in order, you would get more out of it. You'd have the foundation for the three sisters each book centers, the hows, whys, and character relationships. The first sister isn't shown in this but the third and youngest sister, Snow, has a teased enemies-to-lovers romance with the Lord of Fire, someone wanting Slatter dead for supposedly killing one of his warriors.

As a new reader to the series I was lost on character relationships and didn't fully grasp storylines. There was an interesting revenge plot but with the other threads going on, especially the whole Slayer, a man who mysteriously appears when you ask for his help in killing the “unjust”, mystery that felt tagged on in the end and didn't land the shock or emotional impact it should have. I ended up feeling lost for most of the story and never really connected with Willow and Slatter's romance.

Happy Reading and eating Friday! 

Desired by a Highlander by Donna Fletcher purchase link

BBQ Ranch Turkey Veggie Skillet recipe

I doubled the bbq sauce and think it was a bit too much, would do at least a 1/3 more

Als Kind ist es recht still um Clara Waterfield. Sie wächst behütet, aber auch isoliert in London auf, denn aufgrund der Glasknochenkrankheit darf sie nicht nach draußen. Doch als ihre Mutter stirbt, öffnet sich für die junge Frau eine völlig neue Welt. Im Sommer 1914 wird sie als Botanikerin nach Gloucestershire gerufen: Sie soll auf einem Landsitz namens Shadowbrook den Aufbau eines Gewächshauses mit exotischen Pflanzen betreuen. Der dortige Garten ist üppig bewachsen und überwältigend. Doch das alte Wohnhaus wirkt seltsam abweisend, die meisten Räume stehen leer oder sind verschlossen. Mr. Fox, der Eigentümer, ist viel auf Reisen. Und nachts scheint es im Haus zu spuken. Doch Clara glaubt nicht an Geister und macht sich daran, die Geheimnisse zu ergründen. Dabei muss sie feststellen, dass dort nichts so ist, wie es scheint.

„Das Geheimnis von Shadowbrook“ ist ein Roman von Susan Fletcher.

Meine Meinung:
Der Roman besteht aus 17 jeweils recht langen Kapiteln. Erzählt wird aus der Ich-Perspektive aus der Sicht von Clara. Die Handlung umfasst einige Jahre und endet im Februar 1918. Der Aufbau funktioniert gut.

Der Schreibstil ist anschaulich, bildhaft und sehr atmosphärisch, aber zum Teil auch ausschweifend. Der Einstieg fiel mir nicht schwer. Die Geschichte nimmt jedoch nur sehr langsam Fahrt auf.

Mit Clara gibt es eine reizvolle Protagonistin, die durchaus authentisch dargestellt wird, aber mir nicht auf Anhieb sympathisch war. Auch die übrigen Charaktere sind größtenteils interessant gestaltet.

Thematisch hat der Roman einiges zu bieten: eine seltene Krankheit, die Botanik, mutmaßlicher Geisterspuk und andere rätselhafte Dinge, eingebettet in die Kulisse der Zeit vor dem Ersten Weltkrieg.

Alles in allem ist die Geschichte abwechslungsreich und unterhaltsam. An einigen Stellen ist der mehr als 400 Seiten umfassende Roman jedoch etwas langatmig, weil die Handlung zwischendurch an Tempo verliert. Auch die Auflösung der Geheimnisse konnte mich nicht ganz überzeugen.

Die optische Gestaltung der gebundenen Ausgaben wirkt hochwertig und spricht mich sehr an. Der deutsche Titel weicht zwar stark vom englischsprachigen Original ab („House of Glass"), gefällt mir aber sehr gut.

Mein Fazit:
„Das Geheimnis von Shadowbrook“ von Susan Fletcher ist ein Roman mit vielen Stärken, aber auch einigen Schwächen. Eine ungewöhnliche Lektüre, die meine Erwartungen nicht voll erfüllen konnte, aber mich trotzdem gut unterhalten hat.

Untamed Fire is a fantastic historical western romance by Donna Fletcher.  Ms. Fletcher has provided readers with a well-written book populated with an outstanding cast of characters.  Rafael lost his bride to be when she was just a baby, kidnapped and never found.  He later lost his wife and son to an attack.  When Gaby enters his life he's a powerful landowner and she is a lowly peon.  Rafael and Gaby's story is packed with drama, humor, smokin' hot sex, action and suspense.  I enjoyed this book from cover to cover and look forward to my next book by Donna Fletcher.  Untamed Fire is part of the Rancheros Trilogy but can be read as a standalone.  This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.

I voluntarily read a complimentary copy of this book that I received from Bookfunnel.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.