ARNETTE LAMB

True Heart || Highland Rogue || Beguiled ||

Last review(s) added 2/18/97

True Heart

Rated 4.5
ISBN: 0-671-88217-1
$5.99
Copyright 1997
Reviewed 2/18/97 by Anne-Marie

Of the Clan MacKenzie trilogy, I rate this the highest. I found more character interaction and the story line was very good.

The heroine in this story is the long lost daughter of Lauchlin and Juliet MacKenzie, Virginia. She is so named from the birthplace of her mother. Virginia was believed to be dead by all in the family except her oldest sister, Agnes.

Virginia was best of friends with Cameron Cunningham. At ten years old she was betrothed to Cameron who was 18. They were to marry when she turned 15. On the day of their betrothal, Virginia presents Cam, as she affectionately calls him, with a lacy handkerchief that has a special hallmark she has embroidered on it. It is made up of a ring which contains endless hearts and an arrow going through this. He takes this and thanks her but comments that it is quite feminine.

On this day, Cam tells Virginia that he is leaving for a long trip. Virginia begs him to take her but he cannot as it would not look right for him to travel alone with his young betrothed. Then Cam tells his first lie by saying he is traveling to France when in realty he is traveling to China.

Cameron leaves. Virginia concocts a plan to take another ship to France to meet him there. When she is out with her sister Agnes one day, Agnes gives her a coin to leave her alone so she can meet with a beau. This is when Virginia takes the opportunity to get on a ship to hitch a ride to France.

Unfortunately for Virginia, the captain was not an honorable man and he sells Virginia to an evil plantation owner in Virginia. There she spends ten years as an endentured servant.

She is desperate to find Cam so when she gets an opportunity, she carved her hallmark on casts of beer from Virginia. One day Cam sees it on a cast and runs to tell Agnes. The adventure begins with Cam and Agnes going to see if Virginia is the girl who carved this.
Indeed it is, but Virginia is so ashamed of what she has been that she lies and tells her family that she has no recollection of anything. Cam is told otherwise and he shares this news with her father Lachlan. They do not tell Virginia they know. They figure she has a valid reason for deceiving her family.

Their love story is a beautiful. This book brings in all of the family of Lachlin and Juliet MacKenzie and has a beautiful ending which ties in all of the family members.

Arnette Lamb writes with a wildly, sensual pen in "Highland Rogue." Her characters are outrageous, funny, loving, and definitely the all around best I've read in a while.

Juliet White is in search of her niece. The daughter of her sister Lillian. Not knowing the identity of her niece has made things difficult, but certainly hasn't slowed her down in her search. She believes she knows the sir name of the father, and with that she intends to find the child and take her home "where she belongs."

Lachlan MacKenzie, Duke of Ross, needs a governess for his four mischievous daughters, Sarah, Agnes, Lottie, and Mary, who all happen to be just about the same size. Twins, triplets, quad's or what? (Not telling!)

If you can add then you've probably figured out that Juliet becomes the governess for these four unruly young ladies. Besides finding the girls lovable, Juliet catches herself falling for their father as well. Deep in her heart she knows that she can not stay with him and the girls. She is bound to the Mabry family who she has been with for many years, caring for their children.

There are many secrets regarding the mother(s) to the young girls, Juliet's search for her sister, and Lachlan's need to keep the girls protected from the truth.

Lachlan and Juliet fall deeply in love and Lachlan claims her as his handfast (I'm not telling you'll have to read to find out.) This perturbs Juliet as there the bind holding her to Virginia is very strong. She can't become anyone's handfast. No matter how much in love she is.

This is a wonderful story that shouldn't be missed -- that is if you can find it. I had to borrow it from a friend since I was unable to find it at the bookstores. It is the beginning of a series and, if at all possible, should be read first. You'll get so much insight into the young girls and a deeper understanding of them will be possible when you read their stories "Beguiled," "Betrayed," and "True Heart," which are absolutely next on my list.

This is the second book in the trilogy series of the MacKenzie Clan. This is the love story of Lachlan MacKenzie's oldest daughter Agnes. (You first met Agnes as a 6 year old in the book Highland Rogue).

Agnes is not your typical 18th century woman. She has been to China were she has learned Martial arts. Agnes has always blamed herself for the loss of her sister Virginia ten years previous. In between checking docks for leads on her sister she acts as a bodyguard for various people. Her new assignment is the Duke of Cathcart, Edward Napier and his two small children.

The book opens where Betrayed left off and that is at her sister Sarah MacKenzie's wedding to viscount Michael Elliot. Just as she is carrying the large book that holds all the life stories on the clan MacKenzie she spots a man with a hooded robe pointing an arrow straight for the duke! She takes the book and tries to block the arrows path. She succeeds in saving the Dukes life but part of the arrow imbeds itself in Agnes's shoulder.

Edward, who is a physician and an inventor, rushes to her aide as does her father Lachlan. The arrow was poisonous but because it went through the book before it sliced into her shoulder, most of the poison did not get into Agnes.

This incident begins the journey of the love story of Agnes and Edward. The book is witty and extremely interesting trying to figure out who has it in for the duke and why.

Their first tender love making is extremely sensuous. I have not read a seduction quite like this one.