Review: Defiant

Defiant
Pamela Clare
Historical Romance
American Colonies/1760
MacKinnon Rangers/Book 3
Berkley/July 3, 2012

Major Connor MacKinnon despises his commander, Lord William Wentworth, beyond all other men. Ordered to rescue Wentworth's niece after the Shawnee take her captive, he expects Lady Sarah Woodville to be every bit as arrogant and contemptible as her uncle. Instead, he finds a brave and beautiful lass in desperate peril. But the only way to free Sarah is for Connor to defeat the Shawnee warrior who kidnapped her—and claim her himself.

Torn by tragedy from her sheltered life in London, Lady Sarah is unprepared for the harshness of the frontier—or for the attraction she feels toward Connor as he guides her first through the consummation of their forced union and then through the dangers of the wilderness. When they reach civilization, however, it is she who must protect him. For if her uncle knew all that Connor had done to save her, he would surely kill him.

But the flames of passion, once kindled, are difficult to deny. As desire transforms into love, Connor will have to defy an empire to keep Sarah at his side.

It's been nearly four years since the second book in the series, Untamed (November 2008) was released.  Since then many fans have wondered what would happened to Connor and when would he get his Happy Ever After?  Well, Connor has his HEA and I couldn't be more thrilled with how it turned out!  

Connor MacKinnon has spent the last five years fighting a war he wants no part of.  He and his two brothers were blackmailed into creating a superior fighting force that has become known as MacKinnon's Rangers.  Connor is now the last of the MacKinnon brothers still fighting and he longs for the days when the war will end.  I simply adored Connor!  His loyalty to his brothers and the men he fights with makes it hard to resist this hero.  We also see what he considers his weaknesses which only work to epitomize the depth of his character.  Family is everything to Connor and when he must rescue a family member of a man he has sworn to kill, it makes it hard to look past to the woman beyond the name.

Lady Sarah Wentworth left London in disgrace and in her attempt to reach her beloved uncle, is taken captive.  Sarah is resourceful, courageous and stubborn.  Which all come in handy when she gets a crash course in survival.  She learns how dangerous the colonies can be as well as how beautiful they are.  Sarah doesn't know about the bad blood between Connor and her uncle, Lord William Wentworth.  Instead, Sarah has heard only of the bravery of MacKinnon's Rangers.  This makes for much conflict between Sarah and Connor as they fall in love.  I really liked how Sarah was torn between her belief in the goodness of her uncle as she comes to realize what he has done to Connor and his brothers.  She's very conflicted over the two men she loves.  Even when she sees her uncle's deviousness, she doesn't stop loving him but aches over the loss of  his greatness in her eyes.  

Connor and Sarah have such a beautiful and at times tragic romance.  They must overcome so much which is consistent with everything going on around them.  The war ugliness of war isn't glossed over and set aside to make room for the romance.  Instead, Connor and Sarah must make the best of the situation they find themselves in, which only makes their love that much stronger.  Pamela Clare has a way of getting to the heart of her characters by showing their courage in the face of adversity.  

This wouldn't have been such a wonderful story without the secondary characters of the MacKinnon brothers, Ian and Morgan and their families.  There is also Captain Joseph, blood brother to the MacKinnons and the Rangers themselves who add to the camaraderie and historical feel of the story.  

Pamela Clare has again giving readers a great romance bound within a fascinating setting that only makes me want more.  Perhaps Joseph will get his own book?  We can only hope!

Rating:  A

MacKinnon Rangers Series ~

Surrender 
Untamed
Defiant