About the Author
A retired librarian, Cindy Vallar is the Associate Editor of Industry for Solander, the magazine of the Historical Novel Society, and writes the “Red Pencil” column where she profiles authors and compares a selection from their published historical novels with an early draft of that work. She also reviews for their journal, Historical Novels Review. She is the Editor of Pirates and Privateers, a freelance editor, and a content editor for Pyrates Way magazine. She belongs to the Historical Novel Society, the Red River Branch of Clan Cameron, the Scottish Clans of North Texas, the Laffite Society, the Louisiana Historical Society, and the National Maritime Historical Society.
Cindy’s love of Scotland has taken her to that country several times to do research and attend an international gathering of Clan Cameron on the chief’s estate in 2001. She also covered that gathering for the Scottish journal, Dalriada. In 2005 the Commissioner of Clan Cameron in North America invited her to the clan’s North American Rally, where he presented Cindy with the first Friend of Clan Cameron Award. She’s also served as the Co-membership Director and Secretary of the Red River Branch of the Clan Cameron Association North America.
Her two passions, pirates and Scotland, have led Cindy to share her knowledge with others through the workshops she conducts online and in-person. She is an instructor for several Romance Writers of America’s chapters. She invites you to visit her award-winning web site, Thistles & Pirates (http://www.cindyvallar.com/), to learn more.
The Review
I have become a fan of historical fiction in the past few years and never pass up the chance to review one that may offer me a glimpse of a time that I am not familiar with. The Scottish Thistle is such a book. Rory is a young woman who has had more than her fair share of heartache and grief. At the age of 22 she is the chieftan of her clan, an honor that she certainly doesn’t take lightly. Having seen the horrors that she has in her young lifetime, instead of breaking her as they might have done to most people, they have hardened her and made her stronger. But, with this she has seemed to turn off her emotions to prevent from being hurt again, and after all that has happened she finds it impossible to trust anyone.
In walks Duncan Cameron. He has been treated as a son by a powerful chieftan, who, unlike Rory’s clan, is respected and revered. Duncan is so trusted that he acts as the chiefs own bodyguard. Rory and Duncan are to be married according to an arrangement that has been made years earlier by Rory’s father and Duncan’s foster father. She isn’t happy about the arrangement but agrees to the union for the sake of her clan, in hopes of gaining them some respect after all this time.
What she doesn’t count on happening is Duncan breaking down her hard shell and finding the woman that lies beneath it, a woman looking for love and protection after years without.
This book takes a different turn by putting a woman at the head of a Scottish clan, something I quite enjoyed. The author does a nice job of blending a romance amid a time where turmoil is abound. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good romance with some action thrown in, and history to back it up.
About The Scottish Thistle
Loyalty and honor. A Highland warrior prizes both more than life, and when he swears his oath on the dirk, he must obey or die. Duncan Cameron heeds his chief’s order without question, but discovers his wife-to-be is no fair maiden. Although women are no longer trained in the art of fighting, Rory MacGregor follows in the footsteps of her Celtic ancestors. Secrets from the past and superstitious folk endanger Rory and Duncan as much as Bonnie Prince Charlie and his uprising to win back the British throne for his father. Rory and Duncan must make difficult choices that pit honor and duty against trust and love.
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Thanks for the wonderful review. I'm so glad you enjoyed my novel. — Cindy Vallar
[...] of the historical romance novel, The Scottish Thistle, will be stopping off at Simply Stacie and Review From Here! Loyalty and honor. A Highland warrior prizes both more than life, and when he swears his oath on [...]