Among the Heather

The Highlands Series, Book 2

By: Samantha Young

Narrated by: Shane East, Stella Hunter

He’s a disgraced actor. She’s the daughter of Hollywood royalty. Both are hiding in the Scottish Highlands, but despite their antagonistic attraction, they can’t seem to hide from each other…

North Hunter has worked hard to step out of the shadows of his orphaned upbringing into the limelight of Hollywood. He never imagined a dark moment from his childhood returning to destroy everything he’d built. Devastated, he finds comfort in the isolation of an exclusive members-only club in the Scottish Highlands, even if the club comes with a prickly estate manager who sets his blood on fire.

As the eldest daughter of a Hollywood legend, Aria Howard has learned the hard way that people will use her to get to her father. When her last relationship ended badly, Aria fled to Scotland. Running Ardnoch Estate provides distance from a life that has never fit comfortably. But when defamed Scottish actor North Hunter disrupts her sanctuary, Aria is on the defense. The cocky actor is the last thing she needs, and despite their searing attraction, Aria is determined to dislike him.

But one night of drunken forced proximity with North leads Aria to share insecurities seeded by her horrible ex. When North offers to prove her ex wrong by taking Aria to his bed for a no-strings distraction, they begin an affair neither expected. However, their fiery liaison leads to a deep emotional connection that unsettles them both, and North will have to break down more than Aria’s trust issues if they’re ever to have a future together. He’ll need to protect her from a past that just doesn’t want to stay buried… or lose something far more essential to his existence than his career.

©2023 Samantha Young (P)2023 Samantha Young

Stella Hunter and Shane East Are Perfect!

Audiobook Read (Audible)
Narrators: Stella Hunter & Shane East
4.5🌟

Another excellent love story from Samantha Young. She has built such an amazing world at Ardnoch Estate and I love being immersed in it!
I loved the character of Aria. She was so put together in her professional life but so broken in her personal life. Sometimes you just need a character with some body insecurity, because for so many of us readers it is relatable!
But then here comes North Hunter (sexy Scottish actor) who falls so hard for Aria and helps her believe in herself and she helps him work through his past trauma.

This audiobook was so well done. Excellent production (no clicks, pop, or background noise) and beautiful human narration. I was SO impressed with Stella Hunters range of accents (sometimes within the SAME SCENE)! Shane East also brings the absolute HEAT in the spicy scenes!

All the feels!

I loved Ari and North’s story. I can so relate to how Ari felt about herself. I hope I find my North someday

Sweet love story

Love the male voice and spicy scenes. Can’t wait for the next story in this series. Makes me want to move to Scotland.

North Hunter is my true north

Samantha once again draws me in with her amazing stories and wonderful characters. Aria Howard manages the Ardnoch Estates of which North is a member. They don’t get off to the best start, and when he has to lay low at the estate while a recent scandal blows over, Aria is less than excited. Thanks to a meddling little sister, Aria is forced to spend some extra time with the loathsome man. But with each passing second, she realizes that maybe North isn’t who she thought he was.

I loved North and Aria’s chemistry together, but even moreso, I loved the moments of vulnerability between the two. North doesn’t have the best past, and Aria has her walls up for good reasons, but North was so patient and caring with her. Especially when Aria was fighting her own insecurities, he was so determined to show her just how amazing she was. Throw in a little suspense, and I just loved this story with my whole heart.

Shane and Stella do a wonderful job with the narration and made this story a truly wonderful listen.

Scottish Highlands, enemies to friends with benefits to lovers, romantic suspense!

3.5 stars! I loved the first book in this series so I was expecting a lot from this one. This one sadly kind of fell flat for me, or flat-ish. There were moments I liked, but I did have a hard time with the heroine and there were moments I didn’t connect with. That said, celeb characters aren’t really my fav so take that for what it is too.

Aria is the daughter of Hollywood royalty, her father is a massively popular director and her mother a model. She ended up leaving behind L.A. life and has been living in the Scottish Highlands, running the exclusive Ardnoch Estate. North is a Scottish actor whose reputation has recently been hit, when an incident from his past has come back to haunt him. So he’s taken to hiding out at Ardnoch Estate, which brings him around Aria more…and she hates him.

I liked North, but had a hard time with Aria. She has massive trust issues that come up over and over again in the story. Her and North do finally become friends with benefits after they get past the hate. But she pushes him away a lot, often. I love the setting, I liked seeing the characters from the first book in here, I liked Aria’s sister, I liked North, but I just had a hard time with Aria and North together. The suspense in this one didn’t work for me super well either. So I am still invested in this series, this one just didn’t totally captivate me.

wow!

Wow this book set so far is really good! I so enjoy the author. Thank you

Compelling & wholesome

This book was delightful! The story unfolded spectacularly. I could relate to the female lead & thoroughly enjoyed the retrospective ways of the male lead. North’s ability to approach situations with thought & passion was wholesome. The narrators were amazing in their delivery. I hope they are signed on for every book in this series going forward.

Adore

North and Aria are sizzling! Their chemistry is incredible, and seeing him turn fully head-over-heels for her was adorable. I love a good “we’ll just do this once to get it out of our systems” trope, and this delivered. The narration was strong, and I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of Ardnoch.

Enjoyable Story—WAY too much explicit sex

Remove half of the book that is dedicated to the explicit sex and the book would not be half bad.
I give it a four for performance as the narrators were very good

My Favorite Ardnoch Couple

Aria and North are is the sweetest and sexiest pair so far of the Ardnoch couples. I appreciate the inclusion of a woman with perceived body flaws ingrained inadvertently by a parent. She sounds like a Sophia Loren curvaceous type. Even still her struggle with body image is highly relatable to many women. As for North his playfulness and sweetness despite his rough beginnings gave him huge appeal beyond his physical appearance. Shane East and Stella Hunter are my favorite narration duo. Both are clearly in their element.