Highland Vixen

Wine’s well-researched second Highland Wedding historical (after Highland Spitfire) sizzles with passion and romance in 16th-century Scotland. Helen Grant runs away from MacPherson Castle and marriage with Marcus MacPherson, war chief of the MacPhersons, so that she and her friend Brenda can travel to court. Brenda believes she can seek shelter from her relatives there but doesn’t expect to fall under the iron rule of the Earl of Morton. When Marcus follows them, hoping to bring Helen back to MacPherson Castle, he is imprisoned after refusing to marry Katherine, a young girl of Morton’s choosing. Helen decides to save Marcus, and she can think of only one way to prevent his marriage to the frightened girl: marrying him herself. But Helen’s hasty decision is not without its own emotional and physical dangers as the newlyweds make their way back to MacPherson Castle, and Helen must decide whether she wants a real marriage to Marcus after all. The constant simmering romantic tension propels the story swiftly forward, and the historical accuracy and expert character development set this novel a notch above other Highlands historicals. (Feb.)