The Highlander’s Choice by Callie Hutton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Why I have not heard of Callie Hutton’s work is beyond me! This author needs more exposure to all historical romance reader fanatics. ‘The Highlander’s Choice’ is the fifth book in Hutton’s ‘Marriage Mart Mayhem’ series, and the story revolves around Lady Sybil Lacey, an Englishwoman, and Laird Liam MacBride, a full-bred Scotsman.
Both have their own reservations and opinion about the English and the Scots. Who could forget the historic battle of Culloden where many Scotsman lost their lives armed only with their swords against the cannons of the English. It was a blood bath! And that wasn’t the end of it. After Culloden, Scots had to flee their lands, lose their livelihood, and even to the extent of almost eradicating their rich history!
Lady Sybil and Laird Liam’s relationship did not start on good terms. Both despised each other because of their heritage. Both of them are determined to dislike each other by bickering and testing each other’s tolerance despite of the growing attraction with each other. But when they start to set aside their differences and embrace the beauty of Scotland together, they started to see the other person in a different light.
It’s a pretty exciting and thrilling story for me! Prejudice and stereotype attitude still exists in our society whether we like it or not, but it also teaches us that we can look past those attitude by knowing that person for who he/she is. You’ll never know that in those few minutes of conversation, that person you once judged before knowing may turn out to be one of your greatest friend and ally. Just like how Liam thought Sybil to be a pampered Princess, and how Sybil thought Liam a barbarian, who only likes to drown himself in whiskey, brawl, and bed women leaving illegitimate children all over the Highlands. Both were absolutely wrong! And they saw that once they got to know each other.
What entertains me though is how the attraction between the two builds up. From enemies to ‘frenemies’ to lovers. It was amazing! It was written with finesse. Not too dull, not too rushed. Just perfect! I don’t get to read a lot of stories like that nowadays.
Although, this is targeted more for avid readers of romance, I think people should give this book a chance and learn from the two characters in the novel on how to deal with differences (such as race, heritage, culture, religious belief, etc.). Maybe at the end of the story, we’ll realize what we’ve been doing wrong all these years and start to live a more peaceful and harmonious life.
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