If you are a fan of Old School Historical Romances, as well as Highlander Romances along the lines of Julia Garwood, this book is going to blow your kilt up. I was absolutely charmed for this entire story. I feel that the author tapped into the instinctual and visceral feeling I used to get when reading those types of stories and brought her own take to it. I was immediately sucked in and I couldn't put it down.

Una, a gifted healer, is just escaping after a horrible year hand-fasted to a monster. Her year and a day with the Malcolm Cameron was a nightmare and she wants nothing more than to make her own safe place and practice her healing trade. She has sworn off any romantic notions she may have had and is determined to stay far away from any further relationships.

Laird Ewan MacDonald doesn't want to be married either but he is in desperate need of a healer and he will promise anything to get Una to help him. When she agrees to help him, it's only supposed to be temporary. Neither of them is expecting anymore but fate has other plans.

To both Una and Ewan's surprise, he offers her a new hand fast arrangement. Between them they have a lot of baggage and it seems impossible that they can make a go of things. There is still danger all around and enemies hiding all around, including the possessive Laird Malcolm who has no intention of letting her go.

As I said, this book was so addictive. I was sucked into Una and Ewan's connection and I felt for them both so much. I wanted them to find peace and trust within each other. There was so much working against them but it was so beautiful to watch their trust begin to build. The chemistry may be there right from the start but trauma is hard to overcome that easily.

I was so impressed with this romance. It had the longing, angst, drama, and thrill of my favorite highland stories. Ewan was SO swoony and even though he never planned to take a wife, he finds Una fascinating, brave, and determined. He wants her for himself. Una is drawn to Ewan too, but she is hesitant to trust a man again. The author didn't rush the romance and the heat builds so beautifully. I was aching for them both in the best way.

There were also some great side characters. Ewan's family was a hoot and there was some great dynamics within his keep. The set up for the next book was interesting as well.

I look forward to more books in this series and many more works from this author.


5 stars
2.5 on the spice scale

CW: SA, abuse, Death in childbirth (past), murder, anxiety, kidnapping, wound stitchingarcs-2023 historical-romance read-202316 s1 comment Lover of Romance3,214 989

I wanted to really love this one here, in fact I had such high hopes that this would be an authentic historical but alas it was not. This had way too modern language and actions for the time frame. *sigh* now getting authors into the medieval era's writing modernist historicals. My main issue with this one was the characters, they just didn't act authentic to the time that they lived in. The setting was very well done and the writing is very easy to get into so there is that going for this author. But I was not a fan with how "tame" the hero was in this one. The heroine treated the hero so unfairly. Now I get her history and that she has recently gone some trauma being abused for a year and she didn't exactly have a loving home life. However, how she treats the hero was nowhere near justified. And I was patient with her, I understood she was coming from a dark place, but she never really resolves her issues and she is constantly berating the hero to the point where he was practically weak and begging and that is NOT attractive to me at all. A woman who would do that to a man should be no heroine in a romance. She was emotionally abusive towards him and manipulated his emotions and took advantage. It's almost she was blaming him for the abuse she suffered when he was kind and generous and patient with her. This has turned me off completely from ever wanting to read this author ever again. character-highland-lairds character-prickly-heroine covers-so-pretty ...more6 s2 comments abi ??904 73 Want to read

UHH HELLO???? This cover is STUNNING!! I love how we’re bringing back the old Harlequin/clinch cover vibes. 4 s Marianne | Petite.BumbleBeeBooks 402 40

Review ????? Hold Fast by Eliza MacArthur

Finally free of her one-year forced hand fasting to the cruel Laird Cameron, Una makes her way through the highlands to fin where she belongs. When she encounters a stranger in the woods begging for help, her skills as a healer helps her bargain for a new life, but what if her past came knocking back?

Oh my Laird this book was romantic, it even made me wonder if I should try gallivanting in the woods to threaten shooting potential partners with arrows. These scots definitely stole my heart, from how their pets trusted the other quicker than they did or how Ewan showed Una how to pet his *cough* *cough* horse. He actually did, and it was so freaking intimate and beautiful. This book felt such a labour of love; the characters had incredible dept and the main couple felt true soul mates. I also loved how detailed the secondary characters were, it was the perfect first book to a series; it included small hints for what's next without stealing the spotlight. I also loved how Ewan ran to a friend (Man) for advice when he needed, we often see in romance, women being the emotional support of other women or men, but I was really glad to see healthy man-friendship. One of my favourite type of sexy teasing in books is dry humping, it has a very desperate and innocent quality to it that is catnip to me, and oh lairdy was it hot. The plot was rich without feeling crowded or messy. I love how this stories tied up at the end: the perfect amount of bloodshed. In some ways you can see it coming, but in some other aspects I was happily surprised and intrigued for what's next.
I can't leave this review without a word about this cover: ICONIC.3 s ChristinaReadsOnTheRoad257 9

so good!!

This was my first Scottish historical romance and WOW! Loved everything about it.
Thank you to the author for an advanced review copy. 3 s Brandy621 30

Characters: Una and Laird Ewan MacDonald

Una is a healer and she leaves the Cameron lands after a year of being Hand Fasted to the horrible Laird Malcolm there (she was repeatedly sexually assaulted and abused). She decides to head to the Stewart’s (it was a family she helped), because she figured she can stay there instead of with her father (her father had hand fasted her to the Laird Cameron). Also she wanted to help out Blair who taught her how to use a bow and arrow, and he also was a friend to her during her horrible time there, and he is the horrible Lairds brother.
While she is traveling she happens upon Ewan, and he asks her to come with him to his lands, because his youngest brother Colin got gored by a pig and he will probably die if he doesn’t have a healer to clean his wound.
While Una is treating Colin, she gets to know Ewan and they fall for each other.

Things I wasn’t a fan of with this book:

1. Too many time jumps

2. The characters kept being up and down with each other, there were times I felt that Una was being too unreasonable with Ewan (especially because this is supposed to take place in the 1400s I believe?) and she felt a little too modern for that time period. Also there were times that Ewan wasn’t properly communicating with Una to explain what his concerns and issues were.

3. Una used a type of birth control with her last hand fasting, so I didn’t understand why she didn’t do it with the current hand fasting, especially because she wasn’t sure she wanted to stay with him after the year was over with (so it made Una seem irresponsible). So within four months of her current hand fasting to Ewan and them fucking rabbits, she got pregnant.

4. I also felt the year long sexual assault and abuse she endured with her former hand fasting was glossed over and quickly forgotten. I just don’t see her getting over that quickly, I could see some women not wanting another man to touch them again after all of that abuse.

5. This book was a slog to get through, I don’t know what it was with this book, but it felt so long to me, when I got to the 75% point of the book, I couldn’t wait for the book to be overThis entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full review2 s Jess (JustMaybePerfect)111 2

A moving story about a woman who CW: survives a year of brutal physical and sexual assault, protects herself as best she can by preventing pregnancy (the pro choice vibes of this story are glorious), heals hundreds while finding a safe place to explore her emotional wounds, and falls in love with a giant man who isn’t afraid to cry and does make some overprotective mistakes but ultimately loves her for her independence, skills, daring, smiles, and honesty and becomes her biggest supporter. Can’t wait to read what MacArthur gives us next. 2 s Tyger288 1 followerRead

DNF- (at about page 200+) I am not rating this one, but I DNF’d because the FMC was driving me nuts- she sent mixed signals and was so confusing-
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