Two twin sisters, Edana and Aileena, were seperated as infants and have grown into adults never knowing the other. Highland Fire is Edana's story. Edana falls in love with a misterious man called the pheonix without ever seeing his face. She is then betrothed to Bram Chisholm, knowing she will never love another. But Bram has his secrets and they just might be linked to the misterious outlaw. This story was confusing to me and I had trouble keeping track of the various point of views. Plus I did not quite understand the political strife tearing the country apart nor Phoenix's personal reasons for getting involved. There was enough interesting parts to keep me from setting the book aside to search for another. Kathryn is probably one of the most evil women around and she was deffinetly made interesting because of that. The conflict between Edana's brothers and herself kept the story going. But Aileena, the sister Edana does not even know of only appears in the last chapter and then, only briefly. They will meet in the sequel Highland Flame, but still I would have liked to know Aileena better. The book was interesting enough but not quite my cup of tea.

I really found it difficult to lose myself in "A Highland Folly." And that is because I personally did not take to the hero of the piece, Lucais MacFarlane, and not because this novel is badly written or conceived. It's just a private bias of mine to dislike manipulative men, and I found Lucais's behaviour to be just too machinating to take.

After having spent nearly her entire life traveling around the world with her mother and various stepfathers, Lady Anice Kinloch is happy to have a place to call home, for she has inherited the leadership of the clan Kinloch, and the family castle, Ardkinloch. So what if her new found family is driving her nuts with their never ending demands for attention? Trouble however comes in the shape of Lucais MacFarlane, an engineer who has been commissioned to build a bridge across the river Abhainn an Urusig, much to the anger of the people of Kinloch, who believe that such a project would destroy the beauty of the countryside. Lady Anice would like to be able to hear from everyone before she decides whether or not to support the building of the bridge, but her attraction to Lucais is only too evident to everyone in the valley. And soon even her own family does not trust her to be impartial in the matter.

Lucais MacFarlane is determined to be build the bridge no matter the cost. Because he grew up in the region -- he is the second son of Lord Chesterton, but he is keeping that bit of information under wraps -- and because the Kinlochs and the Chestertons have been feuding since the English Civil War, he was prepared for all kinds of crazed opposition from the Kinlochs. What he did not expect was to feel so strongly drawn to Lady Anice. She is unlike any woman he has ever met, but bitter experience has made Lucais wary of trusting any woman completely; and Anice's need to put her family obligations before all else grates on his nerves, esp as he has turned his back on his own family obligations. And then someone starts sabotaging the project. Lucais suspects Anice's family, but Anice demands more tangible proof before she will act. Their relationship seems doomed unless Anice and Lucais can find a way to trust each other. But will they?

Part of the problem with this novel was in how it unfolded. The reader is able to glean from the bits of information strewn all over the book why Lucais feels so bitterly towards women who are after a titled husband, and why he has decided to keep his real identity secret. But the entire picture only comes to light halfway through the book, and by that time, I for one had lost interest, for Lucais MacFarlane had already crystallized as a rather mercurial and manipulative individual. He frequently blows hot and cold towards Anice because of all his hangups (distrust of women, anger at her need to put her family first, etc) and yet he keeps putting off being honest with her about his own past and secrets! And then there is the manner in which he keeps compromising Anice, thus causing her to loose the confidence of her family and the people of the valley. This seemed to me to be a rather foolish thing for Lucais to do esp since Anice was his best hope for getting the people of the valley to accept his bridge. It seemed as if what he really wanted was for Anice to choose him over her family, rather than for Anice to help him garner support for his project. And then there was the whole feud between the Chestertons and the Kinlochs. This is referred to again and again but is only resolved as an afterthought in the epilogue. Which of course brings us to the falling out between Lucais and his father, and the rather haphazard resolution of that subplot. Does Lucais finally accept his family obligations or not?

The characters in this novel are all very well portrayed, from the rather ruthless Lucais to Anice's Kinloch kin. And the story itself is promising; I just found myself resenting Lucais MacFarlane for the manner in which he used Anice -- just because he was not mature enough to handle his heritage and responsibilities was no reason for him to keep compromising Anice's position with her own kin. No doubt Lucais's kin were probably every bit as trying as Anice's, but she found a way to deal with her family and accept her familial responsibilities. Lucais MacFarlane desperately needed to grow up, in my view; and Jo Ann Ferguson tries to add some maturity to her hero in the epilogue, but it was a little too late for me by then.

A cautionary note: don't buy this book expecting it to help you do a day hike of Mt. Whitney on the main trail. This is not that type of book and doesn't contain much information about this. This guide mainly focuses on other peaks in the Eastern Sierra Nevada range and concentrates on alternate routes to the Whitney peak, such as Cottonwood lakes and the routes via the John Muir trail. There's also some interesting information on the Meysan Lakes trailhead and instructions on how to summit Whitney via this diffuclt and little-used trail (as least all the way to the summit).

If you like many maps and topographical information, this guide is great. They also have small elevation maps which detail the route and how many feet you have to ascend on any given trail. There is a long history of Mt. Whitney, from the first time it was climbed in the 1860's until now. Sometimes this history gets a little wordy, I felt, but if you want to know personal details of the hiker killed by lightning in 1904, then you will emjoy the extra verbiage.

So, if you're planning a day hike of Whitney, this book is not for you, but if you're a multi-day backpacker with a thirst for maps and the history of the region, then you'd enjoy this guide.

Stuart Reid clearly has an Anglophile agenda when it comes to this subject. It appears the sole purpose to Reid's never-ending industrial assembly of these anti-Highland (as the other reviewer stated) publications is to advance the English viewpoint. If I had read Reid only, I would be under the impression that the Highland clans appeared out of nowhere in the 17th century purely to peck at Reid's worldview 300 years later. While the prejudiced and wooden writing of Reid sinks this book, it does have the genuine talent of Angus McBride at work. If only the illustrations could be purchased separately from the text!

Clouded with errors and thoroughly biased. For the clearly anti-Highland Stuart Reid to write on the Highlander (again) is like an Iraqi government official discussing the Kurds. Despite the text the illustrations by Angus McBride are excellent and almost make this book worth the money.

For nearly 60 years the clans of Highland Scotland proved to be an almost constant thorn in the side of a series of British monarchs. Fiercely independent, the clans comprised an agricultural peasantry dominated by a warrior aristocracy.

They held most forms of authority outside of the clan in contempt and did not submit to London meekly. Their first loyalty was to the exiled house of Stuart and in a series of rebellions in 1689, 1715 and finally in 1745 the Highland clans rose against the ruling monarch. The author examines in detail the society that produced these fierce fighters and the tactics they used in battle including the feared 'Highland Charge'. The social structure of the clans, their organisation, equipment and clothing are closely examined, including an interesting section on the development of the Scottish plaid that culminated in the famous Highland kilt. Weapons and tactics are all studied at length, and a final evaluation of the Highland clansman's effectiveness is achieved by an in-depth analysis of their performance in the three major battles of Killiecrankie, Prestonpans and Culloden.

As the Scottish clan system developed, their interaction with one another often led to conflict. Special attention in this book is given to the rise and fall of the Jacobite cause under 'Bonny Prince Charlie' in the 1745 rebellion,great illustration by Angus McBride which gives the reader a unique insight into the life of the Highlander's.

The author is clearly honest and well-intentioned, but he has not consulted the necesarry sources for this subject, and as a result his work is badly flawed. The Penicuik Sketches, drawn by an eyewitness to the '45 Rising, clearly show that the targe-foot is invariably held forward, not the sword-foot as Mr. Andrews believes. This does not present any danger of blinding, because the targe is held primarily edge-on (except when engaging a bayonet). When the targe is held edge-on (as reccomended by master swordsman Donald McBane in 1728), it can easily defend any part of the body on either side, leaving the sword free to counterattack simultaneously. Also, the targe is usually held high and beside the head, not in front of the body. The two major guards are High (with the sword-point vertical) and Hanging, and the Low, Medium and Tail guards appear to have been used less frequently based on the Penicuik sketches and other period illustrations of Highland swordsmen. Most of the Guards shown by Mr. Andrews do not exist at all in these historical sources, because they properly belong to other styles of swordsmanship entirely. Furthermore, Mr. Andrews advocates the flat parry, which is directly contradicted by one of his primary sources, Mathewson's "Fencing Familiarized" of 1805. Unfortunately, there is very much that is misleading in this book, and very little useful information. Mr. Andrews' style does approximate the Lowland sword-and-targe method of McBane (with certain errors) but bears no relation to Highland swordsmanship as far as I can tell.

After having worked with the author I realize that this man has done extensive research on the subject of weaponry. For the beginner it is a must have manual. For the seasoned warrior it is an excellent source for refreshing the memory. The illustrations are also done by Mr. Andrews and they are extremely helpful in determining just how to stand and to move. I certainly hope that the rest of this series meets with the same exacting standards that Mr. Andrews has created for himself.

The story line was good, and had great potential. However, I cannot believe the sex scenes were written by a woman. The heroine never had sex that was good for her. Every sex scene was an attempt to control and humiliate. No mutual pleasure here. I would like to see women's erotica mean women get to enjoy the sex too. Pain is not good.

I wish I had seen some reviews before I bought this book.
The characters are limpid and the sex scenes are uninspired. Its all whips and [fannies] so if you like that stuff - go for it.

Andrew Alexander, widowed, young, very wealthy recluse in a large manor house, on a remot island off the coast of Scotland, ownd a necklace, the Highland Ruby, that has not so secret powers of making the women that wear it helpless to resist the most lascivious advances of the man that puts it around her neck.

Our heroine, Charlotte, a young, and, of course, beutifull and sexually active writed for a magazine finally gets th OK from our reclusive Mr. Alexander to come and visit and do a photo shoot and an interview. The island is remote, has no cars very few phones and from the look of it no horses either meaning that the few townsfolk and the mansion of Alexanders is routinely cut off because of the mud, rain and fog.

Charlotte, although engaged to be married has no problems playing the voyeursneaking a peek at the goings on of Nancy and Kenneth, the inn keepers and young Justine after the bar finally closes. Must be the fresh ocean air that keeps the libidos of the townsfolk at a perfect pitch through most of the story. Our heronine has little problem in jumping in or on, or perhaps is it in and on, the only pastime on this remote island and finds that necklace or not she get up close and personal with Alexander on her first meeting.

Since our two protagonists only did what comes naturally to Bill and Monica I wnat to clarify that it wasn't sex that they had .... HMMMMMMM ... yeah right!

I enjoyed the book it was very very light reading ....

I expected this book to be an engaging first-person account of a very troubled period of Irish history, the years of the Potato Famine. The diary is seriously flawed by the shortcomings of the author. She is extremely bigoted toward the native Irish, their habits, character and especially their religion. She is a product of her class and time but even so she is difficult to excuse. She devotes a large part of her ramblings to very caustic comments about her friends and social acquaintances which she disects on a regular basis with the precision of a surgeon. Elizabeth Grant Smith was not an evil and unfeeling woman, she did work hard to keep the family lands solvent in difficult times and she does mention the misery of the people and her attempts to help them. But while the Irish starved she always had time and money for the finer things in life, travel and parties figure significantly in her diary even in the depths of the Famine. She seems to know everyone's business a little too well, every neighbor's debt down to the last detail. But most irritating is the Highland Lady's exaggerated sense of self-worth. She is so taken up with social rank, family history, and name dropping that it is difficult to be patient with her. She continually is bemoaning the fact that others are not as right thinking, high-bred, and as good as she. The book is 545 pages in length and the vast majority is filled with this self-indulgent nonsense. If you are extremely patient there are some interesting crumbs of history to glean. If you want the truth about this time in Irish history read "The Great Hunger" by Cecil Woodham-Smith and forget this book.

I live in the Highlands/Cashiers area. I also rent mountain bikes. Many people have become lost using theis book. It also misrepresents what it is about. A very small portion is actually about Highlands/Cashiers Because of this book and others that are also incorrect, I have written my own book called Roads to Trails with 29 rides in this are

Unbelieveably boring, I kept waiting for this book to pick-up but it did not, which left me very disappointed. I still don't believe Ms. Lindsey wrote this.

I normally enjoy any book written by Johanna Lindsey, but this one was extremely disappointing. Lousy plot and a very slow and boring read. If you are normally a Lindsey fan I think this book will disappoint you.

I am a huge Lindsey fan (own every book she has ever written), but what has happened with her most recent novels? From Captive Bride to All I Need is You, I have never been disappointed with a Lindsey novel, but only recently have her novels lacked the passion and excitement that the previous books held. The lack of tension and chemistry is missing. The Pursuit is no different. I enjoyed the prequels Love Me Forever and Man of My Dreams and was hoping for the same excitement and passion in this book. I liked the characters of Melissa and Lincoln and enjoyed learning what happened with Kimberly/Lachlan and Megan/Delvin, but the build up of tension and passion wasn't there. The sixteen brothers, Kimberly, and Lachlan appeared too much in the book to give the young characters time to develop.

Writing is extremely hard work and it takes considerable time and detail to make unforgettable characters that flow throughout the plot. Ms. Lindsey has done it before - the Mallory series, Angel, Once A Princess, etc. When will we be able to see (and read)that old Lindsey magic?