Daring the Highlander

The Legacy of MacLeod, Book 2

By: Laurin Wittig

Narrated by: Ralph Lister

After his brother is executed for treason, Ailig MacLeod returns to Castle Assynt bearing a heavy heart and a grim message: the Scottish king has ordered Ailig’s father to forfeit the clan chiefdom - or face deadly consequences. But before he can reach home, Ailig encounters Morainn MacRailt, a beautiful young widow living a solitary life in the glen. He is taken by her quiet confidence and the powerful connection that sparks between them, but his duty lies at Castle Assynt, where his clan is in turmoil.

Determined to bring the MacLeods to order, yet wary of whom to trust, Ailig makes a fateful decision: he offers Morainn the protection of the castle in return for becoming its chatelaine. Clever Morainn quickly becomes a valued advisor, and as the trust between them grows, so does an undeniable passion. Together they endeavor to restore the MacLeod legacy - and discover a once-in-a-lifetime love.

©2012 Laurin Wittig (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Wittig truly captures the essence of the Scots - their deep passion for freedom and justice, love of their homeland and fierce pride - in her remarkable characters and their colorful, historically accurate, highly romantic love story.” ( Romantic Times)

"Laurin Wittig has proven with Daring the Highlander that she is a force to be reckoned with. This is a fantastic book.” ( Romance Reviews Today)

“With factual historic details, compelling characters, and the combined stories to betrayal and new love, Daring the Highlander is another winner.” ( Romance Junkies)

Daring the Highlander

I love highlander stories this was a good one enjoyed it from the start to the finish

I liked this book much better!

Maybe I just got used to the narrator, but I found his voices were much better than the 1st book. I liked the story line better too. Lots of intrigue, fighting and romance. I kept thinking about the story during the day. I'm going to go back and listen to the 1st book again, maybe I missed something..

Love it!

The author does a great job Keeping the story strong! Love the balance between romance, story and action! The performance is great and does a good job with the different voices!

Ailig and Morainn

*****SPOILER ALERT*****

Daring the Highlander by Laurin Wittig. The Legacy of MacLeod series, book 2. Dual POV. Solo style narration. Slow burn, historical Highland romance. It's listed as 8 hours 40 minutes; I listened at speed 2.25 for 3 hours 51 minutes. Unnecessary intro and finalé music. Although his voice is clearly older than the characters' voices, narrator Ralph Lister's Scottish accent and pace were perfect for the story and easy to understand. Content warnings: H found out the man who raised him isn't his father; Duff broke out of jail and returned to H's clan to take a woman; and arsonist burned h's home.

Scotland, Mid-January 1309

Ailig MacLeod is the youngest of his brothers and an unlikely clan chief. In book one, his sister encouraged the king to choose Ailig as the future chief of their clan. The king agreed with her and told Ailig to return home and tell his father that if his clan doesn't want to be turned out, they will be loyal to Ailig and the king. Ailig returns home to tell his father that his oldest brother is dead, that his three directly older brothers are now serving in the kings guard, that his sister is married, and that he is now the chief of the clan. His father refuses to "give" him the clan. After several days, his father announces what has happened and that while the king wants Ailig to be the new chief, that is not their tradition. Morainn MacRailt (aka Mora) is a childless widow who has no intention of ever marrying again, but she is quite skilled so Ailig chooses her to run the house, spy for him, and advise him. They struggle to keep their attraction under control. In the end, Duff is dead, Ailig is the clan chief, and Ailig and Morainn are engaged. JP

1.5 out of 5 on my spice scale.

1st listen 10-21-24 (KU Read & Listen program)

a good listen.

enjoyed this book. the audience book, I could imagine Hugh Jackman reading to me. a very good narrator.

narrator

the narrator made everyone sound angry and loud. I have never heard a Scottish accent so pronounced. it should be more musical and less grating.

great story

I like it and it kept me interested the whole time. I would listen again

This is book 2, and it was good

This isn't really a stand alone read....from the first book "Charming the Shrew", we had a plot to kill the king. There was a lot of fallout from that plot which means Ailig now has to go home tell his dad that 1 brother is dead, 2 are in the service of the king for being idiots and oh yeah...Ailig has been ordered by the King to assume control of the Clan from his father IMMEDIATELY, or the Clan will have to face the consequences....lol..no big deal right?

All in all it was a good book, nice characters that we really got to know and overall I have to say I was very pleased even though there wasn't a lot of steam to go with my brooding highlander thoughts, but still good!

Better than expected

I really enjoyed this story and was much better than I anticipated. My only grief was with the narration. The narrator wasn't altogether bad, he just seemed to stop and start a lot throughout the dialogue. And the dialogue was always as though they were shouting or speaking forcefully.

The Amazing Macleods

I loved that this story picks up right at the end of Charming the Shrew..The story continues with suspense, action, humor and of course plenty of love. The narration was wonderful, giving life to the story. I highly recommend this book.