Early 14th century Scotland was a brutal place, with England constantly trying to gain a stronger hold over the smaller country by raising rival clans against each other. It was not a place one would think to be able to find any kindness or love.

One man did not want to find any sort of love for another; he would rather wallow in the guilt he felt for no longer being able to heal others. Richard had come to this part of Scotland to fight for Robert the Bruce. Those who met Richard call him the "Raven" because he killed so efficiently. Richard did not allow anyone to touch him. Other warriors honored this as they knew he could kill them with one blow. No one knew the real reason he would not touch anyone, and he had no intention of telling them. But there was one fiery red-headed Scottish lass who took on the challenge to find out.

Megan McKinney was the youngest daughter of the head of the McKinney clan. She had come with her family to the wedding festivities for the joining of a McKinney and a McGregor. The marriage had brought a truce between the two clans and ended the killing-for now. Megan had a gift of being able to befriend wild animals and heal them-much to the chagrin of her father. His household kept growing with every wayward forest animal Megan brought home. Once she saw him, Megan was instantly drawn to Richard, and she started questioning her father about him. She was warned to stay away from him as he was not friendly and did not allow any one to touch him. This was a challenge to Megan, and she set out to find why he did not want the touch of another.

With each passing day Megan broke down Richard's defenses. Neither knew why, but they were drawn to each other as if they were meant to be together.

One day Megan was kidnapped. It was a plot by an English collaborator to start the McKinney-McGregor war again. Megan was beaten and raped until her spirit was broken and she begged for the pain to stop. Richard found her and took her to his home in the realm of Solaria to heal her. The time in Solaria only brought the two closer. In the safety of Richard's homeland the two were able to express their true feelings of love for one another. When they finally returned to Megan's people to let them know she was alive and who had hurt her, Megan and Richard were confronted by her kidnapper who was hell-bent on killing them both.

This is a fascinating but also erotic story of two people who are meant for each other. Rae Monet has written a no-holds-barred novel of passion and physical ecstasy that had me having to take many breaks while reading this story to recoup from the very real love scenes between Megan and Richard. 14th century Scotland is the perfect backdrop for this story. People of that time were very earthy and bawdy-the right place to let all your inner passions go.

Reviewed By: Kathy Martin
(c) August 2004