Review: Seduction of a Highland Lass by Maya Banks

Book: Seduction of a Highland Lass by Maya Banks
Published: September 27, 2011 (Ballantine Books)
Format: Physical copy from library
Summary: Fiercely loyal to his elder brother, Alaric McCabe leads his clan in the fight for their birthright and must wed for duty. But on his way to claim the hand of Rionna McDonald, he is ambushed and left for dead. Miraculously, his life is saved by the soft touch of a Highland angel. An outcast from her own clan, Keeley McDonald was betrayed by those she loved and trusted. When the wounded warrior falls from his horse, she is drawn to his strong, lean body. The wicked glint in his green eyes ignites a passion that will follow them back to Alaric's keep, where their forbidden love draws them deeper into the pleasures of the flesh. But as conspiracy and danger circle closer, Alaric must make an impossible choice: Will he betray his blood ties for the woman he loves?

My Review: Thanks to Outlander, I found myself craving another romance set in Scotland. I had seen a lot of Maya Banks but had never read anything by her. I stumbled across this one at the library and decided to give it a try. I had mixed feelings about Seduction of a Highland Lass: there were things I really enjoyed, as well as things I didn't. Overall, it was a good, but not great book.

I would normally wax eloquent here about the hero of the novel, but not this time. The hero was definitely the element that weakened Highland Lass the most, for me. While he had his moments, Alaric was a one-dimensional, cookie-cutter super Alpha who was really quite boring. At no point did I feel especially attached to him, or the idea of him and Keeley. In fact, a (disconcertingly large) portion of me almost wanted Keeley to end up with his brother. Yes, his BROTHER. As opposed to Alaric, Caelen was a multi-faceted, extremely intriguing, and thoroughly swoon-worthy figure. While I didn't really want Keeley to wind up with Caelen (because I liked her, and she loved Alaric, although who knows why), I still found myself jumping to attention any time his name was mentioned or he appeared on the scene. Caelen was what made this book not only worth finishing, but made reading until the end a mandatory thing.

One more negative: If I saw the phrase "'tis the truth" or "'twas the truth" one more time, I was going to RIP OUT MY OWN HAIR. Seriously. At one point, it occurred three times in half a page. I don't read a lot of Scottish romances, and if the dialogue is typically that repetitive, there's no way I could bring myself to read very many of them, no matter how much I enjoy the setting. Which I really, really do. In fact, that was one of the things I did like about this book. The clans, the loyalty, the land. I have discovered that I really enjoy reading books set against a historical Scotland background. I find it fascinating.

Another potential draw of this book would be the steam factor. If you're looking for a book with some scenes to make you blush, this would be a great choice for you. 'Tis the truth (HA). But really, the memory of one particular scene is still enough to make me fan myself. And I'm sitting outside in the breeze. And I read this book over two months ago.

I would recommend reading In Bed with a Highlander, the first in the series, first, because books number 2 and 3 refer a lot to events that happened in it. All in all, Seduction of a Highland Lass had its ups as well as downs. The romance was fairly mediocre, but I really liked Keeley. Honestly, it would be worth reading for Caelen alone.