“Blood Feud” by Hannah Howell

Heming MacNachton and his cousin stop at an inn for something to drink.  Heming is uneasy with the way his instincts are screaming that something is not right.  It is too late, however, when he and his cousin realize that he should have listened to his gut.  It seems that the ale Heming and Tearlach ingested was tainted and Heming falls unconscious, only to wake up caged and cuffed like the animal his captors think him to be.

Brona Kerr is first cousin to the laird of Rosscurrach, the man that has imprisoned and tortured Heming.  Spying him in his cage, Brona experiences emotions she is not sure she is supposed to have.  Unsure of why Heming is being held captive, Brona vows to find out why—only to hear rumors of blood and animalistic behavior.  No matter, however, because once she finds out the reasons for Heming’s imprisonment, she makes the choice to free him.  And free him she does.

“The Capture” by Lynsay Sands

Tearlach MacAdie and his cousin, Heming MacNachton, are traveling the countryside looking for the hunters that prey upon their family. Stopping at an inn for something to drink, Tearlach and Heming realize too late that their draft of ale has been drugged.  Fighting unconsciousness to no avail, each cousin is then captured and they are separated.  Tearlach wakes up caged in a dungeon with a cellmate named Lucy Blytheswood.  A woman he finds intriguing and brave. 

Lucy Blytheswood and her brother met with Wymon Carbonnel at his home to talk about the possibility of his proposal to Lucy.  When Wymon finally proposed at the end of their visit, Lucy dreaded his reaction, but when he seemed to take her refusal with a grain of salt, Lucy is almost afraid to hope that his reaction means he isn’t angry. Urged by Wymon to stop for a meal, Lucy is more than ready to go home and is getting more uneasy by the minute.  Her instincts prove true when out of the blue her brother is murdered and she is dragged away, only to be placed in chains in the dungeon of Carbonnel Castle with the one man she is destined to be with for the rest of her life.

I found both cousins captivating and enigmatic.  While they were vampires, and had even killed before, neither were killers.  Their attention to their lady loves was beautiful to read.  Brona and Lucy were brave and their unconditional love for Heming and Tearlach was almost pure in that they cared for these men with every part of them and accepted them for who they were.  The love between the couples just made me shiver.

Hannah Howell and Lynsay Sands continue their tradition of finely written historical collaborations with Highland Thirst.  A must buy for me, the combination of historical and vampire is just right in my book and I couldn’t help but completely engulf Highland Thirst in one sitting. It should not be missed.