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The Viper A Highland Guard Novel Monica McCarty 9780345528391 Books

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The Viper A Highland Guard Novel Monica McCarty 9780345528391 Books

I must say that I have absolutely LOVED Monica McCarty's writing and her use of real historical events in her series. It gives her books authenticity and makes me feel as if I have traveled back into the Highlands. She is incredibly talented and I have looked forward to this book since I finished the last one in this series. However, I felt a little let down by this book.

First, the hero was great. I felt his character was believable and consistent and stayed true to himself throughout the story. Strong and silent, dependable and loyal. Who doesn't like a strong, silent bad boy? Although he was, at times, cruel and uncaring in his words, his story and his history gave the reader the ability to identify with him and understand that his lashing out was used to keep people out emotionally and could feel empathy for him. I felt he was the best part of the book. I loved him. The emotional strain between Lachlan and Bella when they at last reach the King, and Lachlan's return for his reward, felt real and pulled at my heart. You could feel the torture of the characters as if it were real. That section of the book made me want to keep reading.

Unfortunately, the heroine at turns made me want to leave her to the enemy, pitch her off her horse or throw her from the wall of the castle myself. Her complete lack of concern for others, including the man she claimed to care for and respect, made me unable to like or feel empathy for her no matter how she was treated. I felt she got only a fraction of what she deserved from the English for her horrible treatment of everyone in her life. Bella judges the hero by rumors before she ever even speaks with him; treats him as if he is dirt under her boot, then cries about his poor treatment of her. She wants him to continually risk his life, and that of all of his men, in impossible missions so she can have five minutes with her daughter. He agrees to go against the King to get a message to her daughter in the village after her cousins wedding because she swears that is all she needs to be happy. Then she risks everyone's safety because that isn't, after all, what she wants. Now that she is that close, she must SEE her daughter. Oh, then she must LET HER DAUGHTER KNOW SHE IS THERE and risks the life of all the men involved in helping her escape. She cares nothing for anyone around her and what they risk simply trying to help her. She comes across as stupid, selfish and shallow. Stupid, by allowing her jailers to use her daughter as a reward she never receives, while still falling for it time and again. Selfish by constantly asking Lachlan to risk his own life to help her and not being able to keep her word even one time when he risks everything for her. Shallow by judging him for what she sees as his faults without knowing anything about his story. In her mind, the fact that he will not do what she wants every minute shows that he has no feelings or loyalty to anyone. I seriously hated her. I failed to see why any man would want to spend the rest of his life with someone like her.

The story was a good one. The heroine could have made this story one of the best I have ever read, but I just could not stand the constant whining and blame and selfishness she spewed. For someone who did something so brave for her country, she should have been strong and smart and savvy. She was anything but. The emotional intensity between the hero and heroine were well written and charged with emotions. I am sad that I just could not stand the heroine. McCarty is so talented, but I have disliked several of the heroines in this series and I wish she would make one strong and smart instead of stubborn and immature.


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The Viper A Highland Guard Novel Monica McCarty 9780345528391 Books Reviews

Let me begin by saying that overall, I really enjoy the Highland Guard Series. I have read them all (in order) and I've pre-ordered the next book, The Saint A Highland Guard Novel. The series concept is very refreshing.

I just finished reading The Viper, about 20 minutes ago and I have never been so glad to be finished with a book! Don't get me wrong. It's not that I didn't like the book. The problem was that it went on about 100 pages too long - see more about that at the end of my review. I agree with both of the reviews by C. Dingus and Suzette De Armas.

From the first book in the series,The Chief A Highland Guard Novel (Highland Guard Novels), I was intrigued by the character of Viper (Lachlan) - tall, dark, brooding, and dangerous! In fact, the characters of all the heroes have been "fleshed out" well. ;) I've even found something about all of the heroines that I could relate to...until Bella. At first, I admired Bella for her loyalty to Robert the Bruce but as the story wore (and I do mean wore!), I was ready to lock Bella in a cage and wall it up!

For me, the problem is with the Bella character. I found her to be very inconsistent, as opposed to the characters of the heroes. Despite having no "inside" info of her own, she always thought she knew better than everyone else, meaning the intelligence the Guard was receiving. No matter what plan they came up with, it seemed that she just couldn't do it that way. Can we say, "immediate gratification" and selfish? For someone who professed to care, Bella didn't mind how many times her stupid decisions and actions brought the members of the Guard within a hair's breadth of being drawn and quartered, but only after being tortured.

As someone else said, it sort of seems that Monica McCarty was rushed to finish the book or came up short on the number of pages that were required to be written. Either way, in my opinion, The Viper should have been one of the most sizzling, interesting books out of the bunch but unfortunately because of Bella, the story just fizzled.

Now, having said all of that, would I buy it again or recommend it? The answer is YES but simply because you learn a lot more about Lachlan (Viper). It becomes crystal clear why Lachlan behaves and reacts as he does in the other books. You also get a reminder that outward appearances aren't always a true reflection of a character's (or person's) true self. Besides that, if you're planning to get the whole series, your collection just wouldn't be complete without The Viper. ;)
I must say that I have absolutely LOVED Monica McCarty's writing and her use of real historical events in her series. It gives her books authenticity and makes me feel as if I have traveled back into the Highlands. She is incredibly talented and I have looked forward to this book since I finished the last one in this series. However, I felt a little let down by this book.

First, the hero was great. I felt his character was believable and consistent and stayed true to himself throughout the story. Strong and silent, dependable and loyal. Who doesn't like a strong, silent bad boy? Although he was, at times, cruel and uncaring in his words, his story and his history gave the reader the ability to identify with him and understand that his lashing out was used to keep people out emotionally and could feel empathy for him. I felt he was the best part of the book. I loved him. The emotional strain between Lachlan and Bella when they at last reach the King, and Lachlan's return for his reward, felt real and pulled at my heart. You could feel the torture of the characters as if it were real. That section of the book made me want to keep reading.

Unfortunately, the heroine at turns made me want to leave her to the enemy, pitch her off her horse or throw her from the wall of the castle myself. Her complete lack of concern for others, including the man she claimed to care for and respect, made me unable to like or feel empathy for her no matter how she was treated. I felt she got only a fraction of what she deserved from the English for her horrible treatment of everyone in her life. Bella judges the hero by rumors before she ever even speaks with him; treats him as if he is dirt under her boot, then cries about his poor treatment of her. She wants him to continually risk his life, and that of all of his men, in impossible missions so she can have five minutes with her daughter. He agrees to go against the King to get a message to her daughter in the village after her cousins wedding because she swears that is all she needs to be happy. Then she risks everyone's safety because that isn't, after all, what she wants. Now that she is that close, she must SEE her daughter. Oh, then she must LET HER DAUGHTER KNOW SHE IS THERE and risks the life of all the men involved in helping her escape. She cares nothing for anyone around her and what they risk simply trying to help her. She comes across as stupid, selfish and shallow. Stupid, by allowing her jailers to use her daughter as a reward she never receives, while still falling for it time and again. Selfish by constantly asking Lachlan to risk his own life to help her and not being able to keep her word even one time when he risks everything for her. Shallow by judging him for what she sees as his faults without knowing anything about his story. In her mind, the fact that he will not do what she wants every minute shows that he has no feelings or loyalty to anyone. I seriously hated her. I failed to see why any man would want to spend the rest of his life with someone like her.

The story was a good one. The heroine could have made this story one of the best I have ever read, but I just could not stand the constant whining and blame and selfishness she spewed. For someone who did something so brave for her country, she should have been strong and smart and savvy. She was anything but. The emotional intensity between the hero and heroine were well written and charged with emotions. I am sad that I just could not stand the heroine. McCarty is so talented, but I have disliked several of the heroines in this series and I wish she would make one strong and smart instead of stubborn and immature.