Highland Destiny

Murray Family, Book 1

By: Hannah Howell

Narrated by: Angela Dawe

When destiny brought Sir Balfour Murray and his wounded brother down the same road as Maldie Kirkaldy, she offered her services as a nurse even as she tried to deny the desire this dark-eyed knight had ignited at first sight. Soon they discover that they both share a mission of vengeance, but Maldie cannot tell him her true identity - to do so would brand her a spy.

Sworn to avenge his family as chief of the Doncoill Clan, Balfour vows to destroy his greatest foe, with Maldie at his side. Yet Balfour knows that he can no more afford to trust her than he can ignore his lust for this sultry beauty. Now, he is not only determined to unearth her deepest secrets, but also to pursue his passion for her. And nothing will stand in his way.

©1998 Hannah Howell (P)2012 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A brightly colored plaid that is sure to capture [listeners'] hearts everywhere." ( Romantic Times)

a great start to the series

This was a very well written tale with a remarkable cast. I really appreciated seeing a Laird who wasn’t infallible. As a whole this is a novel that reminded me why I so love historical highland romances. I fully admit that I’ve read this series upside down and backwards but it was really neat to get back to the beginning and read the first instalment. I fell in love with Howell’s work all over again.

Bad narrator, but worth a listen

The narrator had a terrible Scottish accent. Unfortunately, everyone sounded like they were from Transylvania or somewhere in that vicinity. If you get past that, which I can confess can be hard to do, there is a great story waiting to be heard. The characters are all worth falling in love with, the story can be a bit slow, but there’s good detail to be heard. I look forward to the next books in the series.

wonderful series

I binge listened the entire series. Loved every book. While you don't have to listen to them in order (the author would explain who was who in each book) it did make it easier to follow the characters. Angela did an amazing job narrating.

Poor attempt at character accents, couldn’t finish listening

I will have to take the time and read the book because the talent reading didn’t enhance this story one bit.
It would have been acceptable had she just read the story instead of the poor attempts at a “Highlander” accent that comes out as a misplaced “Russian” or a sickened “Australian”.
Believe me, I tried changing the speed to see if that would help, sadly it didn’t. Too bad Audible doesn’t have the option to change the language accent, but it is what it is.
I hope others enjoy it but this one was not for me.

narrators can make or break an audiobook

What made the experience of listening to Highland Destiny the most enjoyable?

When will they realize that a woman just cannot do the voices of highland warriors...a man has a better chance at doing a woman's voice however. These brauny men should be read by MEN not women! It totally distracted from the experience. The male characters were made to sound like snivelling creeps. Sorry, just my opinion.

What three words best describe Angela Dawe’s performance?

Did not enjoy