The Highlander's Reward

The Stolen Bride Series, Book 1

By: Eliza Knight

Narrated by: Corrie James

Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's Summary

Lady Arbella de Mowbray abhors the idea of marrying an English noble occupying Scotland. When she arrives in Stirling, she is thrown into the midst of a full battle between the Scots and the English. Besieged by rebels, she is whisked from her horse by a Highland warrior who promises her safety. But when he kisses her she fears she's more in danger of losing herself.

The last thing Magnus Sutherland wants is to marry the beautiful English lass he saved. As the laird of his clan, he has a responsibility to his clan and allies. But when Arbella is attacked by one of his own men, he determines the only way to keep her safe is to make her his. A decision that promises to be extremely satisfying. Magnus brings Arbella to his home of Dunrobin Castle in the Highlands. And that's where the trouble begins… Their countries are at war and they should be each other's enemy. Neither one considered their mock marriage would grow into a deeply passionate love. What's more, they were both unhappily betrothed and those who've been scorned are out for revenge. Can their new-found love keep them together or will their enemies tear them apart?

©2012 Eliza Knight (P)2013 Tantor

I love Highlanders too

I read the other reviews and it looks like I may be in the minority when I say I enjoyed this book. I love Highlandner books and this one was 8 hours that filled the need on a rainy day. I thought it was actually refreshing to listen to a highlander book that didnt have a lot of fighting. Magnus is a lover not a fighter. My kind of guy.

Maybe its just me but I don't always have the time or patience to listen to a 32 hour book like Outlander. Dont get me wrong, Outlander is a great book, its just most of the time I want a simple escape - not one that is filled with so much detail.

I also thought the narrator did a good job. She did remind me of Davina Porter a lot so that might be why. I will definately listen to the next book in the series.

A Davina Porter in the makings?!

At the risk of inciting an audible riot, dare I say that Corrie James narration was reminiscent of, perhaps, one of the all time, best narrators, Davina Porter? So there! I said it! The audible sky did not fall! It's just my humble opinion, but I believe that James has the makings of a narrator similar to that of the great, Davina Porter. Davina Porter is one of my all time favorite narrators. Especially in the Outlander series! I'm sure I'm not alone, expressing how difficult the task of finding my next book was, once my amazing adventure with Gabaldon's Outlander series was over. So, you can imaging how thrilled I was once I started to listen to the Highlander's Reward. I sincerely hope that James is given the opportunity to develop her talent. Unless she has an alias, Corrie James is not listed as narrator on any other books on Audible. I am eagerly awaiting the next installment of Eliza Knight's Highlander series. Note to the powers that be..... Don't forget that there's something to be said about sticking with what works!

Sweet sexy Highlander series

I really enjoyed this book. It's pretty fast paced and short. The story is more centered in the developing romance more than historical facts or accuracy. I felt like I was listening to a Harlequin story with a Highlander twist (very sweet and sexy but a bit unrealistic). I also liked the narrator because male and female characters were easily distinguishable.

Good plot

I really enjoyed the plot. The issue I have is with the amount of time spent on sex scenes that the story could have done without. I do understand that is how some writers write, but I enjoy a good story that focuses more on the plot.

A good story...

But also a little long. The narrator did a good job for the most part. Her attempt at male voices was just okay.
I think it would have been better to have 2 voice actors, one male and one female to act out the parts.

It was fine

There was nothing really wrong with the book, but there was nothing really great about it. The characters were fine, the plot was fine, there was sufficient action, and it wasn't boring. However, there was nothing exceptional about it. I didn't love it and I probably won't remember it past today. It seems like something was missing. Maybe tension and drama, as well as some character development.

The narrator did a great job and probably helped the book by really bringing the characters to life.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE A HIGHLANDER

I am a HUGE devotee of the Medieval Highlander romance genre so, although I hadn't heard of this author before, I took a chance - which thankfully paid off.

It has all the usual trappings giant kilt wearing Highland hunks, someone to save, battles to be won, some great characters and a few baddies thrown in too, lots of passion, mild sex, a damsel in distress and, of course, romance in the form of 2 broken engagements but only 1 wedding. All this and a bit of history too - the battle at Stirling and William Wallace makes a couple of guest appearances too.

Yes, the heroine was a wee bit stupid sometimes i.e. she escapes from his Highland Castle where she is being treated really well and intends to walk all the way back to England (but hey who knows maybe she was just playing hard to get). On the whole the book was an enjoyable easy going listen but I would have preferred a male narrator for all the beefy parts as I think the female narrator made this a lighter listen.

Worth a credit? Yes it was, but I can't say it was one of my favourite Highland Books but I am looking forward to the next in this new series.

Actions and situations not believable

Corrie James is a pretty good narrator. A few times she makes the male hero, Magnus, sound like a corny, sensitive, school boy. That may have just been the lines she had to read but her inflection was not right for the character. A lot of the dialogue was ridiculous.
Arabella (English) is saved by Magnus (Scotish) during a battle. He decides he has to marry her to keep her safe (makes no sense) instead of sending word to her father that she is well and protected and returning her. She refuses to consummate the marriage so it can be annulled. She holds out 2 days. The short period of time is unbelievable. She wanted to keep everyone safe. 48 hour later that no longer matters. No good explanation. His clan welcomes her english self with open arms. No hostility even though they are basically at war with England and hate each other.

If the situations happened for better reasons or were thought out by the characters instead of just happening this book would have had some depth to it. Example: Arabella runs away. She decides to go but takes no provisions, doesn't know how to get where she's going and travels alone in a country (Scotland) where she doesn't know anyone...while the English are known to be going around burning villages and the hostility towards her kind is high. She can't get the stable hand to let her ride without a guard so she walks. To England. No clothes, no food, no water, no money, no directions. It's ridiculous.
Sorry. I really wanted to like this book but it's just not gonna happen.

Excellent

Great story great narration! No unnecessary angst, narrator did a great job with the male parts,very enjoyable worth the credit.

Terrible Narration

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

This audiobook is for someone who enjoys and elderly sounding woman describing sensual scenes and attempting to portray a young lady. Her Scottish accent is terrible.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Different narrator!!!

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Corrie James?

Angela Dawe or Kristen Potter.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment. I almost fell asleep. Nothing like the voice of a grandma to sooth me to sleep.

Any additional comments?

The narration is awful and ruined the story for me. I could not get into the book because the narration is so boring.

good story good narrator

I really enjoyed thus book I'm going to get the next in line now

the highlanders reward by eliza knight

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

The book was boring and predictable I lost interest from chapter 8, this sroryline had a strange familiarity about it?.'

What could Eliza Knight have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Be bit more realistic get her historical facts correct, I knew she was from america after the first chapter.

How could the performance have been better?

If you are going to write about another countries history, get it right.' Check for grammatical errors as I found many, stop repeating the same sinario again and again. The reader put me off the characters by portraying the voices how she imagined them to be, it was distracting for me hearing a mature woman trying to speak with a mans voice with a scottish accent that was something between scottish welsh and asian. I could only visualise my former headmistress and not a virile scottsman. To her credit though she was extremely articulate and well spoken, she should have left the characters voices to the readers imagination. Perhaps it would have been a little more enjoyable. I am sorry that I cannot write a more favorable review but I had to speak honestly about how I felt reading this book.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Highlander's Reward?

Narrow it down as the story dragged out too much like a soap opera. Braveheart meets highlander, wearing nothing but tartan with fifty shades of grey, sprinkled with a touch of Monarch of The Glen. Written by Mills and Boone.

Any additional comments?

As an English woman with Scottish ancestory I found the book very bias towards the Scotts and she seemed to give the impression that she had a downer on the English. Some of the references to the English I felt were very cringeworthy. If you are going to merge history with fiction always check the facts. This was my introductory book so I have not wasted my money so I will purchse books that are written by well known Authors in future.