Release Day Sept 2nd- Review- The Laird by Grace Burrowes

Title: The Laird (book #3, Captive Hearts)

Genre: Historical Romance

Author: Grace Burrowes

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca, Sept. 2, 2014

Source: Free for review from the publisher

Rating: 4

Sexy Rating: 5

Description from Amazon.com:

He left his bride to go to war… After years of soldiering, Michael Brodie returns to his Highland estate to find that the bride he left behind has become a stranger. Brenna is self-sufficient, competent, confident-and furious about Michael’s prolonged absence.

Now his most important battle will be for her heart Brenna is also hurt, bewildered, and tired of fighting for the respect of those around her. Michael left her when she needed him most, and then stayed away even after the war ended. Nonetheless, the young man who abandoned her has come home a wiser, more patient and honorable husband. But if she trusts Michael with the truths she’s been guarding, he’ll have to choose between his wife and everything else he holds dear.

**

In this the third and final book of the Captive Hearts Trilogy, Grace Burrowes has touched on yet  another difficult and disturbing subject, this time that of child molestation and abuse. She approaches the subject with delicacy and understanding as well as discretion. She brings tears to the reader’s eyes at her uncompromising yet sensitive view of the subject. It makes me wonder how she managed to bring so much romance also. But in the hands of this author superbly nuanced characters are developed through elegantly written dialog and deft plotting.

In each of the books in this series the author has introduced plots not often found in romance novels but which, with elegant writing have created a most original series dealing with torture. The torture occurring in war and the torture of abused children. She has helped us to understand the abuser and the abused, be it adult or child.

I highly recommend this book as well as this series for the provocative subject matter and the emotionally satisfying romance.

The Captive Hearts Series:

1. The Captive
2. The Traitor
3. The Laird