Title: The Scandalous Secret of Abigail MacGregor
Author: Paula Quinn
Series: Highland Heirs #3
The sweet love story of two endearing characters
I wanted to read this book because—well, because it’s Paula Quinn; but I also wanted to familiarize myself with Abby and Daniel, as I suspect they’ll be involved with the next—and last, unfortunately—Highland Heirs novel, out this December.
I enjoyed Abby and Daniel’s story very much. They had great chemistry and got along like friends, being pleasant to one another (after they calmly set their prejudices aside) instead of snapping and snarling at each other like many other romance couples do. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some witty banter, but sometimes it’s nice to see two people with similar values and interests just click and slide smoothly into love.
Abigail was a pretty strong heroine; I admired her ambition to be clan chieftain even though it was her brother’s role by right. I thoroughly expect Adam will give it over to her in the next book. She was never ashamed of her beliefs or opinions or conduct; she knew her mind and her heart and was faithful to them. She exhibited some misplaced jealousy once or twice, but it was fleeting and nondramatic, so it merely made her relatable.
I have a small crush on Daniel, not gonna lie. He was a decent, capable, level-headed guy who knew his heart and mind as well as Abby knew hers. I don’t remember him denying his feelings for Abby at any point—despaired over them, yes, because of their impossible circumstances, but he knew love when he felt it and wasn’t afraid of it. He just needed time to absorb how loving her would impact his life.
They kept secrets from one another and were hurt when they found out, but they weren’t petty about it and didn’t hold grudges; each had faith in the other’s apology/explanation and forgave the transgression, which was refreshingly mature.
So I loved the characters—gotta love those MacGregors—but I had a few issues with the plot.
In the passage where everyone meets up at the MacPherson keep, I was surprised the dogs didn’t react to Abby. I kept waiting for them to recognize her and run over to smother her with affection, but they didn’t react at all. I was disappointed because I was curious to see how they’d explain the MacGregors’ dogs recognizing a supposed Campbell.
I feel that Quinn should have kept her subplots more relative to the Jacobites vs. England thread. The whole thing with Daniel being a prince of Denmark and Charlotte coveting his royal babies was completely irrelevant and inconsequential. It was also kind of ridiculous, because Charlotte was over the top, a bit cliche and definitely one-dimensional. And if Daniel wanted proof of Charlotte’s crimes, why didn’t he have someone following her, watching her, and reporting back to him? I’m not sure how strong one soldier’s testimony would be against a Duchess’s, but if someone was keeping track of her, perhaps some of her crimes could have been prevented, at least. The Jacobites vs. England thread was so ripe with drama and intrigue and complexity, I think more could have been done with that.
Another subplot—though I’m not really sure one could call it that—was one in which bad men kept trying to make off with Abby and have their way with her. I wasn’t sure what the point was; I think it was just supposed to somehow demonstrate how desirable Abby was? I’m not sure, it didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. Maybe I missed a passage that explained how those scenes were relevant, but as far as I can tell they were random occurrences meant to heighten drama and tension and give Daniel a chance to play the hero.
I was particularly bemused by the scene in which Daniel gets stabbed at the inn. If the perpetrator wanted Abby to himself, why didn’t he stab Daniel where it would be fatal, or at least incapacitating, so he could get away with her? He barely phased Daniel; did the man not expect retaliation? Sure, Daniel wasn’t in uniform, but he probably still had a don’t-cross-me air to him. I suppose the perp could have been drunk, except it was early morning, breakfast time, and he wasn’t described as seeming drunk. The size of the dagger wasn’t mentioned, either, though Daniel was said to have a “gaping wound.” I just wonder at the dagger’s size because he was only sore for like, a day—that same night he danced for hours and made sweet love to Abby. So how hurt could he have been? The drama was that of a fatal wound, but it was treated like a paper cut, if that makes sense. I don’t think the perp, incident, or wound was mentioned again after that night. So what was the point?
I think that covers it. Overall I had a good time reading Abby and Daniel’s story, and I look forward to seeing them in Adam’s book.
