The Viper: A Highland Guard Novel (The Highland Guard Book 4)

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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. I have been waiting for Lachlan's story ever since that public sword fight with Tor in the Chief.

Even then, I was far more interested in the Viper than in any other Highland Guard. I loved Hawk, liked the Ranger a lot too, Chief was also more than ok, but Viper was the one I was waiting for. Alas, too many expectations! Lachlan doesn't disappoint; he is everything that was promised and more. His silent, merciless fighting style, his sarcasm, his crudeness, his single mindedness, his phobia n fetish, everything screams sexy! If Erik is the ultimate golden boy, Lachlan is the ultimate bad boy of your dreams.

What lets this book down is the heroine, Bella. In hindsight, I can understand her initial intense dislike of Lachlan, even her distrust, and her illogical and rash actions and decisions because of her daughter, but that still does not make her likable. She came across as an armchair patriot, who just didn't have what it takes to be a real one, and erred badly the one time she got up from that chair to do something. Yes, Lachlan should've been honest in that instant and should have let her decide if she wanted to leave her daughter behind.

It would've saved him a lot of pain and given him a heroine worthy of him. Because no matter how much you want to justify Bella's actions, the fact that she ended up jeopardizing the lives of Lachlan and the rest of the guard, and indeed Bruce's entire campaign, over and over again, and all because of her own one single desire, it just never makes you feel for her. She knew her daughter was safe and relatively happy, and yet she throws that rose!

She knew Lachlan was an ardently hunted man, and yet she manipulates him into going in the midst of enemy. She is so frustratingly selfish you want to slap some sanity into Lachlan! You can't even make the excuse that her cruel incarceration has unhinged her, because her every action is calculated and logical. Except she stops listening when it comes to her daughter.

I even hated the happy ending part, because it hurt to see Bella happy. Her initial rejection of Lachlan seemed more based on hearsay and prejudice than in his lying to her, because he proved his mettle in his actions from the moment he took her from her husband's house. And yet, with her, it all comes down to his being a runaway from his duty to his clan, murderer of his wife and hired sword. No matter how much she had suffered, it never warms you towards her, and at the end you are left with a feeling of not Lachlan's awesomeness, but with Bella not being worthy of him.

She justifies every selfish action of hers with the thought that Lachlan can take care of himself. All the three stars I gave are for Lachlan and his entire persona. Bella deserves negative five stars. One person found this helpful 2 people found this helpful. See all reviews. Most recent customer reviews. Published 1 month ago.

Published 3 months ago. Published 4 months ago. Published 5 months ago. Published 6 months ago. Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway. Set up a giveaway. Customers who viewed this item also viewed. Pages with related products. See and discover other items: Feb 17, Laura the Highland Hussy rated it it was amazing Shelves: This story begins with our heroine Lady Isabella MacDuff being led into a cage-a cage suspended above the courtyard at Berwick Castle.

We see her strength of body, mind and spirit tested, as Bella has finally realized what crowning the Bruce king has cost her. I feel that the hardest part about this book was the emotional torment of Bella. Not only did she leave her daughter behind, but Bella was captured, imprisoned, hung suspended from a cage for almost 2 years, she then was forced time and time again to make decisions no mother should have to make.

The welfare of her daughter over her own, of course, but the costs were high. He rescued her from her prison, but would she ever allow him close? It seemed that having been an object of lust her entire life, Bella wanted just one man to look at her without that gleam in his eye. I will definitely say that this is a very emotionally draining book. But Bella has become one of my favorite heroines of all time. She survived so much, she did so much, and she never came off as a perfect heroine, she was flawed, and she was so strong.

Not just due to Ms. My favorite thing about these books is the vast amount of truth and history woven into the story. Her characters have to work for their happy ending. The only thing I missed was seeing the Guard act together more. And dare I say it, he kind of likes them. There is a scene at the end where he realizes just how much the Guard means to him, and he to them. My favorite quote from this book was actually at the end.

This war had taken so much from her. But Bella refused to let it cost her her daughter. View all 10 comments. Oct 29, Kathleen rated it it was amazing Recommended to Kathleen by: I just finished this book and I have chill's all over. This story was a very emotional one that had me shedding tears often through out the story. What amazed me most is that Monica wove this story around actual people and actual history.

Oh I'm sure this book is not for everyone but it was just right for me. View all 7 comments. Jun 06, Aoi rated it it was amazing Shelves: The book that I've been anticipating for the entire series! Both Lachlan and Bella are such larger-than-life characters, Bella's fierce courage and Lachlan's bad boy and IDGAF persona; now that their story comes to fruition, it makes quite the tale. The Viper opens with Bella McDuff heroically walking to her imprisonment, to be hung in an iron cage from the highest tower of Berwick Castle. She dared to defy her husband and King Edward by crowning Robert Bruce, a historic privilege granted only to The book that I've been anticipating for the entire series!

She dared to defy her husband and King Edward by crowning Robert Bruce, a historic privilege granted only to her family,and one of the ways to legitimize Scotland's kings.

The price of this act has been her being branded as a rebel, separation from her daughter and a harsh imprisonment. With everything taken away from her she soldiers on, hoping to be reunited with her daughter once again. Bella was imprisoned for four years before being rescued by the same man who put her there- Lachlan MacRuari. Lachlan, nicknamed Viper for his talents of evading capture and striking swiftly and lethal, has always been the outsider in the close knit group of the Highland Guard.

Unlike the fierce loyalty towards their cause of his comrades, Lachlan's sword arm is loyal to his purse. As much as they wish to avoid each other, Lachlan and Isabella's fates keep getting entangled- and with each encounter, their attraction intensifies. In the turbulent times leading to Bruce cementing his kingship, both must face their own demons. Being betrayed by the one he trusted, Lachlan has vowed never to form ties again. Bella, knowing only harshness and brutality by the hands of her husband, must risk putting her life in the hands of a man with no loyalties.

Books similar to The Viper (Highland Guard, #4)

The series keeps getting better and better as it progresses. It was a heart-stopping ride- a truly courageous heroine, an enigmatic hero, the beautiful and harsh setting of medieval Scotland; I literally lived their story through this book. I very much enjoyed this and I think I may well have read it perhaps devoured is a better word much too fast.

I'd been looking forward to the story since the little teasers in The Ranger about Lachlan's feelings about Bella's fate. We start the story with Bella facing her punishment - incarceration in a very exposed cage atop a turret in a Scottish castle. I actually felt physically appalled by this because it is based in truth. This actually happened and I have lived in Scotland and it is cold I very much enjoyed this and I think I may well have read it perhaps devoured is a better word much too fast.

This actually happened and I have lived in Scotland and it is cold and it rains a lot - it must have been an intolerable ordeal. Enter stage right - Lachlan - a dour and humourless Highland Warrior. He's not big into trust having been betrayed by his first wife and, both he and Bella, spend a great deal of the novel denying their feelings toward each other to themselves due to their previous experiences.

The story revolves around Bella's attempts to evade her captors and to reunite with her daughter after several years helped all the way by Lachlan who tells himself he is doing this to ease his conscience as he feels responsible for her fate. The story gallops along with several twists until we reach our ultimate HEA.

Thoroughly enjoyable and engrossing. I have to say I have a hard time remembering who each of the Highland Guard is - I can remember the ones who have already had a book but I forget who the rest are and confuse them all the time. I guess this will become clearer as the books are released. Oct 08, Sha Mslvoe rated it it was amazing Shelves: Monica McCarty is one of my favorite romance writers and I always know when I pick up one of her books that I'll feel better when I'm finished.

I love this scene. I laughed hysterically as I read Viper hit Chief: D "Damn it, Viper," a familiar voice said from above. From the dent on the nasal guard and the blood running down his nose, it looked like the small piece of metal between his eyes had saved him from much worse injury. This is the best Highland Guards epilogue I've ever read.

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Looking forward to read The Saint. Oct 29, Yolanda rated it really liked it. De nuevo Monica McCarty me sorprende con lo buena escritora e investigadora que es me leo siempre y sin falta sus notas de autora, me chiflan. Ambos personajes me han gustado, sobre todo Lachlan. En resumen, me ha gustado mucho, y estoy deseando el libro de Santo, que es el siguiente.

Jun 18, Duchess Nicole rated it it was amazing Shelves: I love the way that Monica McCarty uses real people and events and then creates a new world to throw them into. This entire Highland Guard series has been amazing. It reminds me a bit of Virginia Henley, in the fact that the author stays as true to history as she can while writing fictional historical romance. Lachlan is the bad boy of the Highland Guard, the one who just doesn't seem to give a damn about anyone but himself.

We've met him in previous books, namely The Chief, as he and Tor seem to I love the way that Monica McCarty uses real people and events and then creates a new world to throw them into. We've met him in previous books, namely The Chief, as he and Tor seem to butt heads continually. What people don't know is that his true goal in joining the elite group is to pay back the families that lost loved ones during his clan's darker days. He was betrayed by his wife and mistrusted by his family. In order to move on from his past, he signs for three years with Bruce and the guard.

The MacDuffs have crowned centuries of Scottish kings, and this particular coronation falls to Bella. Despite her husband's loyalties and the separation from her daughter, Bella feels bound to do her duty and take her place in history. Naturally, England's King Edward is incensed. This one act sets off a chain of horrific events, one that leads to Bella's imprisonment in a hanging cage as punishment for her treason against England, a country not even her own.

This story is intense. Neither Bella nor Viper want to want the other. But Viper can't leave Bella to the fate that she chose. He is chivalrous in the extreme, and surprised not only himself and Bella, but the other guard members whom we see lots of, yay! While the romance is, of course, one of the main aspects of the storyline, there is so much more to this book, and all of MM's books.

It is rich in Scottish history, primarily in the time of Robert Bruce. Because come on, that is such a romantic time period! This was a fabulous Highlander romance. I'll continue to snatch up everything by this author and encourage anyone who reads historical romance to read this author. She is absolutely a go-to author for a guaranteed good read. View all 5 comments. However, they highly respect his warrior skills, his snakelike stealth and ability to get in and out of situations.

He's extremely handsome but his sneer, surly personality and reputation keep most at a distance. When he's assigned to get Bella MacDuff to Robert Bruce's coronation, it ends up being a life changing event for both of them. I knew Lachlan's backstory would provide more context for this complex character and knew the rumors about him were probably distorted.

Though not as earth shattering as I would have expected, his story did explain him well enough and I loved his relationship with Bella. She, by the way, was a perfect match for the difficult Lachlan, even though she had a few questionable moments in the story. Her sacrifice, both for Robert Bruce and her daughter, was heroic but painful and her ultimate punishment was heartbreaking. This was an exciting, gritty and complicated story. Lachlan's not easy with anyone and his relationship with Bella was well played.

The scene in the cottage was gut wrenching, so well written I experienced the emotions of both of them vicariously and it was a pivotal moment for them. The historical context continues to set this series apart from other highlander historical romances and my hope is we get at least a story for each member of the Highland Guard.

This one is special. Apr 30, Kari rated it it was amazing Shelves: My favorite in the series so far. I was so looking forward to reading Lachlan's story and was not disappointed. We have a gorgeous warrior rebel, the bad-boy of the Highland Guard, falling in love with a wonderfully strong heroine. I loved Bella, how she goes to hell and back and comes out stronger and a better person at the end. Lachlan is amazing throughout the book, even when he's trying to convince her and himself that he's a Viper. I was very anxious to see these two together and get their HEA after everything they go through, and the author did not disappoint.

Cidden heba olan bir seri oldu bence. Mar 22, Ing rated it it was amazing. Bella and the family and friends of Robert the Bruce were captured during a mission that Lachlan was in charge of. He was assigned to guide them to safety by Robert the Bruce.

After their capture the English kept them prisoner for the last two years. Lachlan has blamed himself for failing to protect Bella and the rest of the group. Bella and Bruce's younger sister have been punished th My Synopsis: Bella and Bruce's younger sister have been punished the most severely by the English. Both have been imprisoned in a cage above two separate English strongholds. For the last two years, Bella has cursed the sword for hire and scourge of the sea pirate, Lachlan.

She trusted Lachlan and thought that he might have come to care for her. Bella has believed for the last two years that Lachlan betrayed them leading to their capture. She has kept her sanity and composure these last years with the thought that one day she and her daughter Joan will reunite. Bella has been fighting her way back to her daughter ever since she made the decision to help Robert the Bruce in his campaign to be the King of Scotland. The MacDuff family holds the hereditary right to enthrone Scotland's kings.

When Bella made the decision to crown Bruce as King in the years before her capture, she knew that she was risking everything to do what she felt was right. She believes that Bruce was Scotland's best chance to help gain freedom from English rule. From the moment Lachlan first laid eyes on Bella he experiences emotions that he tries to explain away as lust. Bella was married so neither acted on the undeniable pull between them.

He and his fellow Highland Guards attempted a rescue mission previously without success but now he knows this time he'll do whatever to set her free. Second time is the charm and Lachlan successfully rescues Bella. The pull between them is still strong and this time there is no husband to come between them. However, Bella has reservations and doesn't trust Lachlan, but she knows he is her best hope in helping her reunite with her daughter. Still, Lachlan is fighting the attraction and trying to maintain distance between them.

But neither can fight what has been simmering for years. Will the bad boy of the Highland Guard and the heroine of Scotland risk it all for love? He was a mystery, and I for one wanted to find out what the heck makes this man tick. I was nervous about reading this book since I had built it up so much in my head. Monica stepped right up and freaking knocked a home run for me. This book delivered and delivered and blew past my expectations. Lachlan is not liked much but is respected for his skills within the Highland Guard group.

Readers finally learn the secrets of this man and oh what a heartbreaking past he has. Monica stayed true to the character of Lachlan in this story. You can either take him or leave him. But, the man that readers have been lead to believe has no morals or worries for others is so much more of a kind hearted man than I ever expected.

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I loved watching Lachlan fight the connection between Bella and himself. And wow what an amazing heroine Bella is. Boy did Monica give us a heroine for the ages. Bella is based off of a true Scotland heroine. Her fate in real life is vague. The real Bella was captured and imprisoned but no other accounts in history were recorded for her after the English moved her from the cage. So this is a great retelling of history and a much more fitting ending for Bella that Monica created in The Viper. Bella is a fierce lady. She defies England and her marriage to do what she feels is right.

It takes some big balls to do that and survive all that she had to in this book. I related to her character very much when it came to the storyline surrounding her daughter. My heart broke for her and then it cheered for her. And OMG do these two sizzle either in verbal battle against one another or in the loving. There were many poignant and beautiful moments between them. I loved watching them slowly open their hearts to each other and fall in love. It was also wonderful to be back in Scotland in the thick of things with these Highland Guards. I enjoyed getting to know some of the Guards that do not have a book yet.

Gordon is one that I am definitely interested in. His character and interaction with Lachlan provided some of the lighter moments in this book. I love how the Guards like to needle and pick on each other. It was great seeing how far they have come and how effortlessly it has become for these men who are not clansman to work so wonderfully together. I read it in one night and the no sleep look the next day was well worth it. Monica continues to amaze me with her storytelling enriched with real life historical figures and events and blends them seamlessly with the fictional romance all in her head.

I highly recommend this book and this series for fans of highlander stories. The Wolf of Kisimul Castle. The Campbell Trilogy 3-Book Bundle. How to write a great review. The review must be at least 50 characters long. The title should be at least 4 characters long. Your display name should be at least 2 characters long.

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