The Stolen Mackenzie Bride by Jennifer Ashley

The Stolen Mackenzie Bride Series: The Mackenzies Series Book #8
on September 29, 2015
Pages: 359
Goodreads

The New York Times bestselling author of Rules for a Proper Governess returns with an engrossing tale that promises to delight lovers of Outlander.

1745, Scotland: The youngest son of the scandalous Mackenzie family, Malcolm is considered too wild to tame…until he meets a woman who is too unattainable to resist.

Lady Mary Lennox is English, her father highly loyal to the king, and promised to another Englishman. But despite it being forbidden to speak to Malcolm, Lady Mary is fascinated by the Scotsman, and stolen moments together lead to a passion greater than she’d ever dreamed of finding.

When fighting breaks out between the Highlanders and the King's army, their plans to elope are thwarted, and it will take all of Malcolm’s daring as a Scottish warrior to survive the battle and steal a wife out from under the noses of the English.

The Stolen Mackenzie Bride is book eight in the Mackenzies Series by Jennifer Ashley. This is my first time to read Ms. Ashley’s work and I probably should have started with the first book in the series. Overall the story was alright. It started off strong and intriguing. Malcolm Mackenzie is the youngest son of the Duke of Kilmorgan. He is a dashing Highlander who only has loyalties to his clan. When he sees Lady Mary Lennox at a gathering in Edinburgh, he is instantly smitten. Mary is betrothed to Lord Halsey but it is only a political and business arrangement. When Mary meets Malcolm her world is turned upside down.  “A tall man stepped out of the shadows and into her path. Moonlight fell on a light-colored frock coat that topped a kilt of blue plaid. He was one of the Highlanders from below, the younger one, who’d caught and held her with the heat in his eyes.” 

When war comes to Edinburgh and the Jacobite rebellion explodes into their lives, Malcolm and Mary are forever changed. Mary’s loyalty is challenged. Which side will she choose?

Somewhere in the middle, it felt like the author was just narrating events. Battle after battle was mentioned, I thought unnecessarily.  Then towards the end, the characters came back to life and it became a story again. “In spite of their bluster, the ear-splitting loudness of their voices, they were vulnerable. Broken if struck the wrong way. They needed someone to love them, to care for them, to keep them whole”. The addition of Mary into the Mackenzie clan changes even their family dynamics.

Overall, I liked the book but the fact that the pace slowed in the middle I can only give this a 3 flower rating. There are a number of sex scenes in the story. If that bothers you, either don’t read it or I recommend just reading the dialogue at those parts.