I thought the first half of The Irresistible MacRae was very good, but the second half dragged for me. I was hoping for a quicker resolution to their problem, or at least something a bit more creative or exciting. But at least the hero (finally) thought of a good way to marry the heroine. 3/5 stars ( )

I really should not take such a long break from series, it took a while for me to remember who the hell all the characters were...Anyway, right away I like how it takes Riona sometime to agree to marry Harold and only for her sisters sake. Her mom tells her "sometimes we have to do things we don't like to insure other peoples happiness", geez thanks mom!
When Riona and James meet for the first time I got tingles up my spine. Nothing really happens between them, but for some reason the author writes the scene so I feel powerful undercurrents between Riona and James. And when James looked back, I couldn't help thinking, "Oh boy, here we go!"
Well Riona's mom redeems herself in my eyes when she comes up with a plan to get James and Riona together!
For some reason as I read this story the song "Collide" by Howie Day keeps coming into my head, the song could be playing in the background for many of Riona and Jame scenes.
I loved the character of "Old Ned" and how he tells James "Herself(Riona's mom) told me to help you, but she didn’t tell me to solve the riddle for you. I’m thinking you’re smart enough to do that on your own."
I thought it was a beautiful piece of writing when Ranney has Maureen (Riona's sister) describe how she sees Riona. Maureen sees Riona for who she truly is. It seems to be very rare to read a romance book where the two lead characters come from loving homes. The family dynamics between Riona, Maureen, and their mother are written so the reader can clearly see and feel the love, humor, connectedness, and disconnectedness between them.
Ranney does a wonderful job of showing how much can be felt with just a little said or not said and gives the characters little nuances that give away their feelings without once again coming right out and saying it.
This book is probably not for everyone. Some might describe it as boring, the story is not told in actions but in thoughts that Riona and James wish they could put into action. I will however, argue with anyone who says this book lacks passion. Like I said before, the undercurrents between Riona and James are powerful and sizzle with sexual tension.
The wealth of emotion between Riona and James is so fierce I simply ached for these two to get together.
The library scene where Riona and James simply touch fingertips has more passion in it than full blown sex scenes I have read.
I do have a complaint about how Rionas mom sets up Riona and James then towards the end tells Riona there is no hope for them, wtf? Make-up your mind mama!
This was a great book and addition to the "Highland Lords" series, but something held me back from quite making it a keeper. (I seem to remember thinking the same thing about the second book in this series "When the Laird Returns" another one close to being a keeper)

B- ( )

Decent romance. A little slow towards the end. Pretty formulaic but ok ( )