Latest in a series about a Scots clan, this was my introduction to the popular historical series so for me it had to read well as a standalone. THE HIGHLANDER'S DANGEROUS TEMPTATION is set in Scotland in 1375, when Athdar MacCallum is visiting a wealthy family at their castle. As a boy he was the cause of a tragic accident, and this has never quite been forgotten. Young maidens Cora and Isobel admire the proud warrior, and that accident was before they were born anyway.

Athdar has been very unlucky in love and doubts he will ever be happily married. That doesn't stop him from appreciating Isobel, a stunning part-Norse beauty with an educated mind. Lady Jocelyn, his sister is a matchmaker but Athdar brushes off the suggestion that she find him a wife. As winter approaches, Athdar is busy on the lands over which he is laird, when his sister and her friend Magriet come for a visit. Isobel Ruriksdottir rides alongside them. Without a lady of the house, the tapestries and clothes are fraying and the herb garden needs replenishing. The ladies get to work at once. Isobel needs to learn such matters for when she is mistress of her own household. Before long she's also learning about the affairs of the heart... but someone is watching with malicious intent, someone determined that Athdar will never live happily.

The story is simply enough told that I got into it right away, despite the interlocking stories of the clan members from previous books. Details like putting a new millstone in place, setting up hand looms and preparing herb medicaments before winter all contribute to a sense of place. While Athdar finds easy company with a widow occasionally, the times demand that a well-connected maiden must marry properly and not sully her good name. Isobel plays chess well, a useful skill to while away the long evenings, especially when the snow comes along to cut the keep off from towns. I really felt that the characters were at home in their world and enjoyed exploring along with them.

Terri Brisbin lives in New Jersey and has fun writing time travel and historical romances, so there are plenty more of her books to pick up if this charming love story suits you. THE HIGHLANDER'S DANGEROUS TEMPTATION is a good introduction to her work.

Book Summary

SHE IS SIN PERSONIFIED…

Cursed by past tragedies, notorious Highlander Laird Athdar MacCallum has devoted himself to leading his people—and has vowed never to marry again. Until he is utterly disarmed by the innocent beauty in the eyes of Isobel Ruriksdottir…

Isobel is drawn to the vulnerability she senses behind the fearsome facade of the clan chief. But with his formidable reputation, he is strictly forbidden. Being together can only lead them into danger, yet the temptation to risk all for their perilous passion is impossible to ignore.