Lady Sarah Woodville is the niece of the man who has made the lives of the MacKinnon brothers hell for the past several years. Not only that, she is the great-granddaughter of the English King who exiled Connor Mackinnon’s family from their beloved Highlands, sending them abroad to the Colonies. But when Connor is charged by his despised commander, Lord William Wentworth, to rescue his niece, Sarah, from the Shawnee warriors who have taken her captive, Connor takes on the task, however reluctantly.

Katakwa, a Shawnee warrior, is determined to make Sarah his wife, but Connor has another idea. Leading a daring confrontation against the tribe, Connor puts his life at stake to save that of the woman he finds to be the antithesis of his expectations. Sarah is everything he expected her not to be, and the same can be said of Sarah’s first impressions of Connor. Nonetheless, the two recognize their shared attraction, an attraction that can only lead to heartache for them both.

When Sarah shares the shocking secret that sent her from her family estate in England, she and Connor move to an ever deeper level in their relationship. They both hold strong feelings for each other, but the obstacles before them seem insurmountable, even for a warrior such as Connor. He delivers Sarah safely to Fort Edward and Lord Wentworth, but Connor knows that he must let her go for her own good, as well as his own. Wentworth is Connor’s sworn enemy, and there is no way that man will let his beloved niece pursue a relationship with Connor. But as the war wages on around them, Sarah and Connor discover that they have an ally that they never expected to find, and the fate of their relationship takes a new, exceedingly dangerous course.

Defiant is an exceptionally well-researched and well-written historical romance, set in a time period mostly ignored thus far by period romance writers. Pamela Clare is to be commended for her taut story lines, evocative descriptions and perfect placement of historical details, all setting the stage for a sublimely sexy romance. The attraction between Connor and Sarah is nothing short of electric, and the dangers that they face create an undercurrent of action and suspense. Clare has taken a Highlander off the moorland, a Regency titled lady from the sitting room, and created one fantastic novel.

Note to readers – Defiant is the third in the MacKinnon’s Rangers series, and while it reads well as a stand-alone, be sure to read Surrender and Untamed as well.