Smitten by Books

King of the Isles
Author: Debbie Mazzuca
Publisher: Kensington
Pub. Date: January 3, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-1420110074
Pages: 352
Digital Price: $4.79
Print Retail Price: $6.99
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She’ll find him a bride if it’s the last thing she does.

And it very well might be. Evangeline may be powerfully persuasive in her way, but convincing the notoriously wild Highland king Lachlan MacLeod to strengthen his alliances with a strategic marriage seems to be asking the impossible. Stubborn and proud, Lachlan seems determined to go against her will, even if it means endangering the people he’s sworn to protect and the enchanted isle that has already seen so much discord.

Yet the battle-scarred Highlander cannot ignore his sultry advisor for long. When his mentor is kidnapped, forcing him to ride into combat alongside the beautiful Evangeline, he must choose between her safety and his own independence. It’s a choice he makes in an instant…but once wed to the woman he could not resist, he’ll soon find that his heart is in even greater danger than his kingdom…

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REVIEW

A tale of a highlander king and a fiery Fae witch interests, but fails to enthrall.

The third novel in Mazzuca’s historical romance series tells the story of Fae witch, Evangeline, and the King of the Enchanted Isles Lachlan. Evangeline is considered an evil Fae due to her mother’s past transgressions, and seeks continuously to win the approval and support of her kin.  At the same time she views the Fae half-blood Lachlan to be a poor king, and is assigned the task of finding him a suitable Fae wife. In the midst of her search for a suitable bride, Evangeline must abandon the efforts to help Lachlan retrieve his wizard from the Fae of the North.  The cost of the battle is dear, and Evangeline soon discovers that her attraction to Lachlan is just as powerful as her magic.

Lachlan doesn’t want a wife, but the close proximity of Evangeline quickly erodes his disdain. When forced by the Fae King Magnus to choose a bride, Lachlan surprises everyone by naming Evangeline as his choice. What he doesn’t know is that his new bride has numerous secrets, some that could break the delicate weave of trust and respect Lachlan holds for her. As their enemies converge, and the secrets come spilling out the question is whether their bond of magic and attraction can survive.

Characters and action are Mazzuca’s strong point in this novel. There was never a dull a moment, and action ran rampant. Conflict and character friction were constant, but I enjoyed Mazzuca’s novel way of balancing male pride and anger with logic and rational reasoning.  Evangeline is the epitome of arrogance and male loathing. At first I didn’t really care for this heroine. As the story evolved I found her actions and manner more appealing. She’s rough around the edges, but the way she’s been treated by the Fae and her father lends credibility to her attitude.

Lachlan is all alpha male, with a presence that commands attention. Like Evangeline, at first glance I viewed Lachlan as the playboy king without a care or desire to rule competently. Once you’re inside his head that view is abruptly halted, and I came to love the highland king’s direct nature and protective nature. My biggest turn off in this book is the Highlander language. I had a difficult time reading through all the ‘ken’, ‘doona’, and ‘yer’. Let’s just say I don’t have the patience for it in the written form, verbally I probably would experience no difficulty.

The second thing that hurt this book for me is there is no resolution to some of the events that happen early in the story. I wonder if these may play a role in future books, but I can’t be a hundred percent sure.  There are plenty of other plot points left unresolved and pave the way for a fourth book. Readers will be happy to know multiple characters from the previous books are present.

Overall, the plot gives the desire to read the entire book, but curves onto so many paths that I couldn’t say I was thoroughly enthralled. I enjoyed the characters, action sequences, and the resolutions to the conflicts that Lachlan and Evangeline faced. If you’re a fan of Mazzuca’s previous books in this series or a huge fan of highlanders in kilts then I doubt you’ll be disappointed.

Rating: 3.5 (Good)

Heat-Level: 3 (Sensual)

Reviewed by Landra