HIGHLAND CAPTIVE—First Review!!!

The first review is in for HIGHLAND CAPTIVE (out Jul 30th) and I'm Happy Dancing!

"Sizzling love scenes and a captivating, intelligent heroine make this unusual story sizzle. McLayne’s novel will appeal to those who enjoy expertly paced Highland historicals with well-developed characters."
                                                                                                 —Publishers Weekly

I love that the reviewer started and ended the first sentence with Sizzle!! Thank you Publishers Weekly!

For the full review click here: https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-4926-5459-9

The blurb:

She'd saved his son.
Could she save him as well?

Laird Gavin MacKinnon is a changed man―and not for the better. Ever since his young son, Ewan, disappeared two years ago, Gavin has grown callous and bitter. Scouring the countryside, his search leads him to a mysterious woman who maintains the boy is hers. He decides to take them both and ask questions later.

Deirdre MacIntyre will go with the brooding laird if it will keep her son safe. Gavin has to admit that the beautiful lass has a bond with Ewan, and things aren't adding up. When Deirdre's clan comes to claim her under threat of war, Gavin has a choice to make: fight for her or let her go.

An excerpt:

He stopped in front of her, eyes intent on her face. Then he held his hand out, palm up. She looked at it like he held a swarming wasp nest and shook her head emphatically. No.

He didn’t step back, he didn’t put his hand down; he just continued to stare at her and wait.

“I canna dance,” she blurted out. “I willna dance, and you canna make me.” When he didn’t move, she said, “Oh, Gavin, please. Just go away.”

“I’ll help you,” he said. “You can lean against me like you did on Thor, and I’ll lead you through the dance.”

“I’ll step on you, or I’ll fall down.”

“Your feet are tiny, and I’ll catch you. Trust me, Deirdre.”

“Nay,” she wailed, but she put her fingers in his grasp anyway and allowed him to pull her up into his arms. She rested there for a moment, her body pressed to his, trying to absorb some of his strength.

“What are you afraid of, love?” he asked.

She stared at the hollow in his throat, her thoughts chaotic, her emotions running wild—like they’d been doing every day since he’d captured her. It was overwhelming. She didn’t want to have to face down one more thing.

“Am I your captive?” she asked.

“Nay, of course not.” He tilted her chin up, his brow furrowed with concern. “What made you ask that?”

“Sometimes I think it would be easier if I were. Then I wouldnae have to think about all the things I could or couldnae do, all the choices. I’d just do as you wanted. It was easy with Ewan, locked away in my own little castle.” Her arms slipped around his waist. “This is hard,” she whispered.

He raised his hand, brushed his fingers down the side of her face. “Dance with me, Deirdre. I willna let you fall. Ever.”

“I’m scared.”

“Aye, love. So am I.”

They weren’t talking about a Highland reel anymore. “I doona want to dance down here. I doona want people to see me.” She leaned the side of her face into his palm and closed her eyes. “Come upstairs with me?”

He stilled, like a great hunting cat. Several moments passed, and he pressed her cheek to his chest. She could hear his heart pounding, feel the quick rise and fall of his lungs. She turned her head and kissed him through his linen léine.

“Ewan…” he said, his breath gusting past his lips.

“Has Annag to take care of him.” She kissed him again. “Capture me, Gavin.”

She knew the moment he decided. His arm tightened around her, his hand pressed more firmly against the side of her head. Not hurting her, just…making a decision for the both of them.

She sighed, became softer, more malleable. And everything about him hardened even further, which didn’t seem possible. She knew he would take her tonight. Because she was his.

Gavin MacKinnon had captured her.

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Alyson McLayne is a mom of twins and an award-winning writer of contemporary, historical, and paranormal romance. She’s also a dog lover and cat servant with a serious stash of dark chocolate. After getting her degree in theater at the University of Alberta, she promptly moved to the West Coast of Canada where she worked in film for several years and met her Prop Master husband.

She and her family reside in Vancouver with their sweet but troublesome chocolate lab named Jasper.

Please catch up with Alyson on social media. She loves chatting with her readers!