ARC Review: Kilts and Daggers

Kilts and Daggers (Highland Spies #2)

by Victoria Roberts

Blurb:

Ever since Lady Grace Walsingham discovered her uncle and sister are spies for the Crown, she has yearned for adventure. She's counting the days until she can leave barbaric Scotland behind, even if she must endure Highland captain Fagan Murray's company for weeks.

Fagan has a simple mission: escort the haughty Lady Grace back to England. But nothing is ever easy. The sharp-tongued woman needles him at every turn. But when a menacing threat follows them on their journey, Fagan's grudging tolerance for Grace turns to respect...and into a perilous attraction that could seal their fate.

Themes: Historical, Highlanders

Rating: 3.75 stars

Heat Rating: 

Review:

  Returning to the Scottish highlands during the times of brutal battles for political and military control, Kilts and Daggers touches on the lives of spies, lairds, and guardsmen.  This story was a very interesting one that revolves around the spoiled sister of the young spy that found love in the first story in this series. This is only the second book I’ve read by this author, and while I can say for sure that I enjoy her writing, even if at times it gets a bit slow and repetitive.  If you missed book one in the series you will be a bit lacking for details when reading Grace and Fagan's book, but you pick up enough that you won't be overly disappointed or lost. The story continues from book one almost immediacy, with Ravenna's wedding to her sexy Scottish Laird, while Grace is determined to get away from the "barbarian" highland men that surround her and just as determined to follow in her sister's footsteps as a spy for the Crown.  Fagan on the other hand is just determined to get the woman out of his hair and keep her from causing any more mischief or drama in his world. There was plenty of interesting moments, but it dragged a bit in the middle until Grace and Fagan finally end up with the chance for some privacy to really deal with the passion that flares between them.

Kilts and Daggers, was one of those stories that had the amazing potential to be an awesome story, but though it was enjoyable, I felt like a lot was missing from the middle.  Grace was one of those characters that I really really dislike, with no real understanding of the world around her and a naive determination to prove that she's a badass, even if it puts herself and others into danger.  And though some of that is explainable by her youthful age, there is no real excuse for her willful ignorance of her surroundings.  Fagan on the other hand was a pretty cool character, one that is sweet and the most unexpected times, but remains at his heart a warrior.  A warrior that will protect those around himself even at the expense of his own life, especially if it's his woman.  I wish Grace could have been a more mature and well developed character, but in the end I enjoyed the way she learned her lessons and was able to smarten up in the end.  I am wondering if the next books in the series will be about the girls' sisters, because we have gotten some interesting hints to that effect and I am looking forward to that possibility.  All in all a lovely read with some interesting moments, good and bad characters, and beautiful settings and for any true fans of historical fiction, rest assured you will thoroughly enjoy this story and its predecessor. 

*eARC provided by publisher (via netgalley) for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.