Reviewed for queuemyreview.com; book release Jan09

Do you dream of braw Highlanders, time travel, and a hint of witchcraft? If so, then you should enjoy Veronica Wolff’s “Warrior of the Highlands” which nicely combines all three in a tale of family, sacrifice, and love.

Haley is a woman who has faced her fear and turned it into bravery. After surviving an attack by two men, she used her fear and her family’s knowledge to learn to fight. When researching for her thesis she comes upon an old weapon that suggests an error in historical accounts of Scotland and transports her back in time. Suddenly she’s facing one of the greatest warriors of Scottish history, Alasdair MacColla. Soon her disbelief turns to love and fear…fear because she knows her history…and MacColla will die soon. But Haley refuses to give up, and she’ll even turn to a dark witch if it will give her another chance to save him.

MacColla knows naught beyond the desire to fight Campbell and regain his clan lands. He freed his father and brother from Campbell’s dungeons, but now his sister languishes there. While on a daring raid to free her, he runs into a strange woman. Thinking she must be a Campbell, he brings her along as insurance. But when pursuing Campbell’s attack, she saves his life and he hers realizing she must be an enemy of Campbell and therefore his ally. She’s so different from any woman he’s known and it doesn’t take long for him to fall under her spell. Yet she predicts his death and wants to keep him from fighting, and that’s something he just can’t do.

At times very heart-wrenching, this is one hot love story. Both have to learn to lean a little and trust the other. Towards the end, their unwavering belief in each other, the choices they make, and their love are what ensures their happy ending—witchcraft aside. Wolff’s research into her subjects is evident in the skillful way she combines fact and fantasy to bring love and humanity to a figure history recalls as a savage fighter.

The story is riveting, the plot imaginative, and the pacing is fast enough to keep the action rolling throughout. Veronica Wolff managed to bring a piece of the Highlands, and history, to my reading room. I was a bit sad to see the story of these two strong characters come to an end. “Warrior of the Highlands” is a pleasant afternoon read and will make you wish for a Highlander of your own. ( )