Highland Conquest by Heather McCullom
Sons of Sinclair series #1. Scottish highland historical romance.
Cain has a plan to bring peace to his clan by marrying the young female chief of their greatest enemy. But Ella doesn’t go along with his plan quite so easily. He tries gifts, and games but passion seems to be the only thing they agree on. Ella wants freedom more than anything else.

I’m not a fan of warring highlanders and the prearranged marriages or using women as bait or for conquest. Saying that, I did like Ella’s strength, determination and fortitude. I’m very glad I’m in the present and while there is still war and strife sadly, there are laws that will protect women and property rights.

Cain and Ella together were romantic, especially after he learned a few things along the way. The inadequacies of offerings by Cain to Ella are a bit humorous.Bottom line is a romance and a love match. ( )

Awesome read. Will keep readers on the edge of their seats, as Cain and Ella come to find true love amidst turmoil and chaos. Filled with chaos, danger, love, turmoil with a HEA. Highly recommend for Medieval Historical Romance. Well written with impressive characters and details. Great beginning to a new series.

Rating: 4.5
Heat rating: Mild
Reviewer: AprilR ( )

Full review appeared at Reader's Edyn on 05/06/20

Arabella, Chief of the Sutherlands, is now a prisoner of her enemy, the Sinclairs. She prefers death but instead finds herself forced to marry the new Chief, Cain Sinclair, to form an alliance. Cain intends on taking over the Sutherlands and creating a stronger army and so a stronger Scotland. But Ella has secrets she must protect and she cannot allow Cain to take over her clan. Since he is the enemy, he cannot be trusted. But the more time she spends with Cain, the more her mind wars internally. The brute displays a façade of a battle-hardened destroyer to the outside, but inside she finds comfort and tenderness for her alone. Her heart longs for the glimpses of the true man that she is slowly coming to understand. Her body, a trembling mass of desire when he is near. For all their differences, there is even more that seems to be the same. She has been raised to believe one way and crushing through that belief when it has been ingrained for so long is nigh impossible to do. Before too long she and Cain are working together to find solutions to issues as they arise. And when Ella is suddenly handed back her power to make a choice, will her time with Cain have been enough to persuade her to choose love?

Cain Sinclair has just taken over as Chief of his clan; a role he has been groomed for since birth. When the clever, tempting, intriguing Chief of the Sutherlands succeeds in killing his father, he really has no choice but to retaliate. Wars are won and lost, but Cain has yet to lose. And suddenly he refuses to lose Ella, taking her hostage and forcing her into marriage with him. The plan makes sense, but Cain also longs for Ella to come to him of her own volition and sets out to woo the woman who has captured his heart. Much has occurred since their first meeting so many years ago, but he never forgot her. Now that his father’s brutal reign has come to an end, Cain is free to rule as he desires. Firm, yet fair. He only hopes he can convince Ella to rule at his side. The beauty has survived a horrific childhood at the hands of her father and now having attained her own level of freedom, capitulating in deference to Cain will be a hard-fought battle. But just as Ella has to make her own mind up and rectify what she has been brought up to believe versus what she has discovered to be the truth while inside the inner sanctum of the Sinclairs, so does Cain have much to learn and implement if he is to ever have the slightest chance of possessing Ella’s heart. Her love, freely given, is his greatest desire.

Am I ever a sucker for Scottish HR! Not to say that I am guaranteed to love every one I come across, but what a beautifully told story of two fierce hearts in their journey to realizing that their strength is in one another; survivors who refuse to fail for fear of losing everything they hold dear. Both of them almost too intelligent for their own good, shrouded in secrecy and legend, neither understanding that at checkmate their end games are one and the same. Cain is a planner, never making a move in any aspect of life without carefully considering each move. He is also crazy insightful and picks up on the smallest of details to easily deduce the truth of what others might attempt to keep hidden. Ella may have not been born a male heir and incurred the wrath of her father on many occasions, but she also learned to survive. Taught and trained by her mother and trusted friend, when it came time for her to prove her worth and ability in leading her people, she flourished further into the strong, capable, confident woman that she is. As you can imagine, for a leader giving orders to protect his people, especially those he cared for, his dictates to Ella continually went unheeded. A Chief herself, taking orders wasn’t exactly a strength. There was a whole lot of push and pull with Cain ultimately allowing a lot more lead when dealing with Ella while she continued to balk at every turn. Fervently wishing for Cain to seek her counsel and simply listen to her ideas, she also has an extremely difficult time reconciling Cain the horseman with Cain the man. Given their harsh upbringings, it isn’t difficult to understand the internal struggle that almost immediately ensues. But Ella and Cain have a shared love for animals and ultimately it is that shared passion that initially begins to chink away at the armor of protection.

There is also another example of just how different two people can be raised and how it ultimately affects their ability to cope in life. Ella’s mother had ensured she would be prepared for success even though she was a female and never even considered to rule her people in her father’s eyes. He was cruel and abusive toward her. In glaring contrast was Hannah, Cain’s sister. Also born a female and labeled useless by their father, she was basically ignored as if she never existed. Never given a purpose or even a job to do, she was ill-prepared for life. So when she is faced with having to make some decisions for herself, she makes serious mistakes. With Cain’s sire obsessed with the legend he spewed, identifying his four sons as the Four Horsemen from Revelations, a female child held no place in his plans. But things are not always as they seem and while the myth of retribution suits this family well, each brother holds his own feelings regarding their roles within the lore. Additionally, each of the two families has their own closely guarded secrets. It isn’t until they begin to trust one another that they begin the path toward healing.

The final scene in this book is nothing short of spectacular. Although it was reminiscent of the Crocodile Dundee subway scene. LOL Regardless, the entire thing played out like a movie in my head. The entire book did, in fact. From the initial battle scene, all the way through until the end. I could easily see this book made into a movie. The best thing about this book is that it is far from over as the first in a series. Cain has three other brothers who are just as intriguing. They are very similar and yet couldn’t be more dissimilar from one another. I sincerely look forward to seeing how all of their stories play out. As for this book, it is a wonderful beginning to a promising new series. Enemies to lovers – extremely well written – action-packed – scorching passion – captivating from start to finish! This may have been merely my second foray into the work of Ms. McCollum, but I am determined to devour many more reads by this fabulous author! Any fan of Scottish HR is sure to be pleased by this enchanting tale!

Kindle version provided by NetGalley/St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Highland Conquest by Heather McCollum
Sons of Sinclair #1

The Sinclair brothers, four of them, have been raised to believe they are the four horsemen of the apocalypse found in Revelation. They appear at battle fields dressed as messengers from god and are dressed appropriately. Each has a job that allows them lethal abilities while instilling fear while fighting foes. These brothers are, n order of birth:
* Cain brings conquest on a white horse
* Joshua brings war on a bay horsemen
* Gideon brings justice on a black horse
* Bás brings death on a pale horse
Each brother will have a book of his own and perhaps their sister Hannah will, too. This, the first book in the series, is the story of Cain and how his plan to bring peace rather than war begins. It is also a story with a HEA...eventually.

Beginning on a battlefield we meet the brothers, they lose their father and Cain chases down Arabella “Ella” Sinclair, captures her and declares they will marry to cement an alliance through marriage. Needless to say, she is not thrilled with the idea. For three weeks they face off in his castle, get to know one another, play chess, escapes are attempted, kidnappings are dealt with, have a bonfire social event and eventually secrets are revealed. The two seem meant for one another but prickly Ella and hollow Cain have to realize some truths before they can see what their future together can be.

What I liked:
* Ella – strong, a survivor, puts family and clan first.
* Cain – raised to conquer, has a plan, has much to learn, falls for Ella.
* The other three brothers – eager to see how their books will unfold
* The concept for the series, the writing and pacing
* Merida – a strong woman who survived much
* Hannah – a young woman kept hidden who needs to find herself
* Ethan – a good man there for Ella and her family
* James – young but potentially a good leader – perhaps he will get a book of his own, too
* Being eager to find out what Joshua’s story will be in book two.

What I did not like:
* The fathers of both Ella and the brothers
* The baddies – there was more than one to hate in this book
* Not a dislike but a note that to read this book you have to leave reality behind and open your mind to a not so historically correct historical romance.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Do I want to read more in this series? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled-Amara for the ARC ~ This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars ( )

This story is an excellent start to Ms McCullums' newest series based on the 4 horseman.

Cain and Ella are strong, honorable characters that only want whats best for their clans even though they have their own agendas. Their chemistry is great and Ella fits right in.
The plot moves at a nice steady pace and kept me reading. I'm definitely looking forward to the brothers stories!

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ( )