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The Scottish Thistle by Cindy Vallar

© Shelley DeWayne

The Scottish Thistle by Cindy Vallar Pulsar Books ISBN 1-58697-312-6 Historical romance ebook Reviewed by Marnie Holmes

Rating: 5 stars

A rich historical romance to really read and savor the details of a memorable relationship in the wilds of the Scottish Highlands.

The masked outlaw Thistle, smuggler and champion of the poor and needy, witnesses an attack by caterans on a traveler while sheltering one stormy night. Thistle saves the injured man and sees a vision of the future indicating an ongoing relationship with him.

Thistle is none other than the youthful and extraordinary Rory Macgregor who is chief of her ostracized Highland clan despite that role rarely being held by a woman.

Unbeknownst to her, Rory was promised by her late father to marry a man chosen by Sir Donald of the Cameron clan. The injured man, Duncan Cameron, is that man.

Rory resents her life being directed by others but accedes to the old agreement for the sake of honor and duty and the benefit of her clan to enable them to live again in peace.

However she insists that they pledge their troth in a handfasting and Rory puts several conditions on their liaison including that Duncan will not consummate their marriage. For her the liaison is politically motivated because Duncan had betrayed her trust -first by concealing his original purpose for coming to the clachan and secondly by not revealing earlier that his mother was of the Campbell clan.

The Macgregors, and particularly Rory, nursed a bitter hatred of the Campbells for their attack and murder of many of the clan, including her mother.

Rory is accepted into the Cameron household but she finds it difficult to reconcile herself to a life of idleness and often sneaks off to hunt with her husband or to walk in the hills. Sir Donald recognizes her discomfort and sends Duncan and Rory off to check on the conditions across the length and breadth of the area of his command.

When the call up comes for the Camerons to keep their pledge to assist in the uprising of 1745 Rory is given unusual responsibilities to perform for the clan. She gradually realizes how much Duncan really means to her through the trials of war. Their romance develops despite the hardships and deprivations that they have to bear during a very difficult period. The Scottish Thistle is very rich in historical and geographical detail and sets a fine blend between history and fiction. For those readers like myself who are not so familiar with the period, there is a historical postscript at the end of the book, which further describes the events that form the background of the novel. Furthermore, on the author's website there is a fascinating page http://members.tripod.com/cindyvallar/sc... which contains photographs of places mentioned in the novel.