Highland Groom

The Highland, Book 8

By: Hannah Howell

Narrated by: Angela Dawe

Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

Sir Diarmot MacEnroy, deciding his illegitimate children need a mother and his keep needs a proper lady, now stands before the altar with a gentle bride he hopes is too shy to disrupt his life or break his heart. The nuptials, however, are interrupted by the appearance of a flame-haired beauty carrying two babies, boldly claiming that she is his wife and mother of his twin infant sons. Armed with her seven very large brothers, she has come to demand her due.

Having waited one year for the return of the handsome laird who wed her, bedded her, then disappeared, Ilsa Campbell MacEnroy takes matters into her own hands and sets out to reclaim the man she briefly and passionately loved. Stunned by his denial, her heart softens when she learns of the injury that has ravaged his memory. Now, she faces the nearly impossible task of conquering his past-and his fierce reluctance to share his heart…

©2003 Hannah Howell (P)2013 Tantor

Critic reviews

"With wit and a powerful sense of what goes into a relationship, Howell breathes life into a delightful duo." ( RT Book Reviews)

Narration

If you could sum up Highland Groom in three words, what would they be?

Story is fun.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Angela Dawes is a poor narrator. There is absolutely very little inflection or feeling in her reading. Also, she actually mispronounces words and skips over some of the too.
She makes the story boring to listen to. I turned the narration off and read the book myself.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Reading the Kindle book myself there were a several places where I laughed and cried. It was a well written story.

Any additional comments?

I notice that this narrator is reading in several other of the Highlander books. I don't think I will buy the narration anymore if she is reading.

Next Saga begins here,

If you love Scottish warriors, strong but wee Lasses, good humor and a mystery to bind, then this author is for you.
I use 1.25x speed to match author intent. I love Ms Dawe’s reading voice for males and children and buy all that I can find when she reads a Scottish tale or Scottish male. Yup, I’m a dedicated fan.
In this tale, author cleverly uses memory loss to tell this adventure. Our heroine, talks out loud and YOU laugh. (Note, if you are not in the mood for subtle humor, then you will miss the author’s intent to entertain.) This is not as fast a pace as some of the author’s other stories, but I will re listen to it again for the humor I missed.
I don’t listen to this series in order, but by the male descriptions and when the heroine is strong, clever or bold.
Author uses the large families to extend the saga. I love books #5, #6, #10, #9 as these stories have clever and bold.
Sigimor, in Highland Conqueror, steals this story when the 6 kids hang on him to play and with his humor and sarcasm, “Murdered by Precious Love on crypt stone!”.
In this story, the families really intertwine and you can see the fodder for a 20 book series.
Were my comments helpful?

It helps with knowing how to pronounce the words!

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

I purchased the book some time ago and there were some words that Hannah Howell used that I just couldn't pronounce. I figured out what they were due to the context of the story. I especially didn't know how to pronounce Ilsa's brother Sigimor's name. What a surprise! I had to stop and get the book and verify what I heard! It made the story just that much more enjoyable to know how to pronounce the words.

What about Angela Dawe’s performance did you like?

Angela's performance was spot on. Loved it.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I listened to the whole book through the day and then started the series all over again.

this is my favourite book in the series.

Ilsa & Dirmod ( spelling?) Were hand fasted, then Dirmod disappears for almost a year. Ilsa discovers him at his keep about to marry another woman! She discovers that Dirmod was attacked and lost his memory of Ilsa and their marriage. Finding there way back to each other is full of anger, hurt, passion and Lots of humour. I LOVED the childrens characters . Ilsa and her brothers were so fun. A+

HIGHLAND MYSTERY & INTRIGUE IN MEDIEVAL TIMES

These books are always a sure thing for me as I love rugged Highlanders but I find that I can't just listen to them one after another because then they become a bit repetitive so instead I visit the Clans off an on so the format never becomes stale.

I really enjoyed this one which was funny, frustrating, heartbreaking and had a good plot of a jilted lover, memory loss, an evil dead wife who left a terrible legacy, traitors, revenge, loveable children, good secondary characters and a strong Heroine who's hell bent on keeping her man no matter what sh&t the Hero throws her way. There wasn't a great deal of romance and the sex was tame but the feelings they once had for each other were always there somewhere and thankfully surfaced at the end.

Worth a credit? If you're in the mood for a fairly lighthearted Highland tale with an ending that'll leave you with a smile on your face then look no further and these books could each be stand alone listens. I'm slowly working my way through all of Hannah Howell's impressive collection of Clan based Warriors and don't regret any of the credits so YES IMHO worth a credit.

Strong woman

I like the memory loss angle. I also like a lass that can take care of herself. The (turn about is fair play) ending was a nice twist. Dermet deserved to have to chase Ilsa down.

If you like Scotsmen ...l

Setting: Scotland, 1471
Genre: Romance
I don't, as a rule, listen to anything set in the era in which this one was. Most books set in the 14-1500s seem to involve Court intrigue, especially those set in Scotland. I prefer my politics current and non-fiction, thank you. However, this was very low cost when purchased with the Kindle version, and the plot was apolitical. I'm actually glad I had the Kindle as it allowed me to keep the many characters straight and I'm glad I had Audible or I would have been mispronouncing place and character names.
Narration was good, though Angela Dawe is somewhat laconic in her English accent, which is what she used for the non-dialog. I found that listening to it at 1.25 speed took care of that, and the solution did not subtract from the Scottish accent, which she does very well.
This was #8 in a series, but it worked well as a stand-alone. The plot was interesting, as it was filled with "accidents", and more evident attempts on the lives of both of the main characters. There's passion between Ilsa and Diarmot in the bedroom, but otherwise, he treats her with suspicion. The solution to those issues wrap up in the end. It takes a while to figure out the villains, but you likely will, so it won't be an earth shattering revelation at the end. I found the conclusion satisfying, with no loose ends left.
Overall a good use of your time and credit.

It wasn't quiet the same...

Would you listen to Highland Groom again? Why?

Yes, only if I was re-listening to the entire series. It was an ok story but nothing spectacular.

What other book might you compare Highland Groom to and why?

It follows a similar format of all of the Murray series books. I absolutely loved the Cameron's!!! They reminded me a lot like the Murray's. The h/h didn't have much chemistry IMO. I found Diarmot to be very stubborn. I wanted to hit him upside the head a few times. IIsa was great but had some annoying moments.

Have you listened to any of Angela Dawe’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes and she's about the same in all of them. She has a nice voice.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I did not. Although I saw who the culprits were early on in the book. It was predictable but like-able.

Any additional comments?

If you're a fan of the Murray series then this book is for you. It was more like 3.5 for me.

Worst book of the series

This one was intensely frustrating. It made no sense. The husband was an unnecessary jerk and then when he was nice, the wife was an unnecessary jerk. She finally got what she wanted. No sense. Then…it was pretty obvious Jordy was the traitor. Finally, when she was in danger, he sat around dragging on conversations. Just so many hair pulling moments, I had to fast forward 1/4 of the book.

Another Winner

No spoilers this time. Again, another wonderful story by Hannah Howell. Great characterization, recurring characters, unique plot, surprising outcome with a great narrator.