Review: Never Love a Highlander by Maya Banks

Never Love a Highlander 
(McCabe Trilogy #3)
by Maya Banks
Mass Market Paperback, 305 pages
Published October 25th 2011 by Ballantine Books
ISBN 0345519515

In a tale of strong ties and true love, Maya Banks’s trilogy comes to its stunning conclusion, as the youngest McCabe brother uses sword and seduction to save his clan—and seal his heart. Caelen McCabe’s young, reckless heart nearly destroyed his clan. Now, putting family loyalty above all else, he steps up to marry his older brother’s jilted bride and salvage the uneasy alliance between two clans. While beautiful Rionna McDonald is a fit wife for any man, Caelen trusts no woman, especially not this sweet temptress who torments him with white-hot longing.
As the sacrificial lamb in her father’s power game, Rionna will do her duty but vows to protect her heart and her pride from humiliation. Despite everything, though, the heat in Caelen’s touch melts her defenses, and she craves the sensual delights of a husband who guards his emotions as fiercely as his clan. But when the ultimate battle for the McCabe legacy is upon them, Rionna’s true warrior spirit emerges. She will risk the wrath of her father, the fury of her enemies, and her life to prove to Caelen that his wife’s love is too precious to lose.

GoodReads
Purchase Today!

My Thoughts:
Maya Banks wraps up the McCabe Trilogy with Never Love a Highlander and I couldn’t have asked for a better ending. 

Caelen McCabe is the youngest of the McCabe brothers and in his youth cost his clan everything by trusting the wrong woman. He has vowed never to love again but when their clan’s safety hinges on a marriage alliance Caelen steps up and agrees to wed Rionna McDonald.  Now Caelen must take command of the ill-prepared McDonald clan and ready them for the coming war, but when he tries to push his new wife from the battlefields and into the kitchen Caelen finds the McDonalds on the verge of mutiny. Can Caelen learn that the best weapon is the love of a strong woman beside him, or will it be too late?
Rionna McDonald has sought to hide her feminine side for fear of her lecherous father, but has learned that she can wield a sword as good as any man. Fiercely independent, Rionna does not want or need a husband but for the betterment of her clan will wed a McCabe. Having been humiliatingly spurned by the eldest two brothers she is finally wed to Caelen who immediately frightens her with his coldness. Underneath that frosty exterior though, Rionna finds a ferocious warrior with a wounded heart that only she can mend. But will Caelen see the woman she truly is inside and accept her as such or will he only pine for the woman he wishes her to be?


Maya Bank’s McCabe Trilogy is a riveting and emotional series that you won’t be able to help falling in love with.  Superbly written and oh-so-sweet, Never Love a Highlander, wraps up the trilogy in the best of ways and will have you swooning by the end. 


Sometimes opposites attract but other times finding your other half is just that. Caelen and Rionna’s sizzling chemistry had sparks flying from the beginning, but when they get to the bedroom those spark turn into a full on inferno. They are very much alike which causes a lot of consternation in their relationship, mainly because Caelen tries to push on Rionna how he thinks a proper woman should behave, but each are extremely protective of the ones they love and will fight to the end for them. As their relationship grows they learn compromise and acceptance. I enjoyed their development and back-and-forth banter throughout the novel. 
I liked how Rionna was feisty and head strong while still being feminine where it counted, she was an interesting character to read about and from seeing her in the first novel and into the second I was very happy to finally get a HEA for her. Caelen was dark and moody, very stand-offish at first and sometimes you wanted to shout at him for his hardheadedness but he’s the ultimate sexy, brooding hero that you die to get to the heart of so you can teach him how to trust again. Him and Rionna fit perfectly together. 


The series arc continues with the nasty villain of the story though the outcome was somewhat anticlimactic. However, the world-building expands from the McCabe clan and into the McDonald, which gives readers diversity and a fresh new view on the clans. Descriptive and well-detailed it’s easy to fall into the wilds of the Scottish Highlands and not realize the time passing as you turn the pages. I recommend reading this trilogy in order. 
A fantastically satisfying ending to another amazing series from author Maya Banks, a must read for any historical romance fan! 

Rating: 4 Wine Glasses - Loved It!

Sexual Content: Recommended for adult readers. Maya Banks knows how to turn up the heat and this book is no exception! A sensual and fiery romance with plenty of sweetness to keep you coming back for more!