My favorite romance novels take place in England and/or the highlands of Scotland. This was one of Lindsey's earlier books and it shows. (Although "Captive Bride" is an older one, it is much better.) It is usually pretty easy for me to get caught up in a book and not want to put it down. That didn't happen with this one. Even at the end, I still wasn't all that interested; I read it out of boredom and slight curiosity, hoping it would get better.
I found the plot highly improbable. I'm used to characters bickering but this was ridiculous! Especially, at the end when Jamie banishes Sheena from his castle but refuses to let her leave his land. I could see this happening after months or maybe even weeks of fighting, but they'd only been married a day or two! For another thing, if Sheena was soooo afraid of Jamie because of who he was, how could she possibly relax enough around him for a near seduction to take place?
Lastly, some of the scottish vocabulary was a bit difficult to sort through: handfast, croft and crofter, burn (not having anything to do with fire or something hot). I'm all for historical accuracy, but I really had to guess on some of this stuff. I guess "handfast" is a practice marriage with all the entailed rights of marriage but with a set time on the commitment. A "croft" is a farmer's cottage (I think) and a "crofter" being a farmer. My best guess for a "burn" would be a mountainside or hill.

It was a nice book. I love Lindsey's writing style. The story was a bit slow to begin, though. They didn't even meet or talk to each for very long. And I didn't like it that Jamie's brother found her and brought her home. And then all the fear and the fighting... A typical Lindsey love-hate relationship.

I liked Lindey's Captive of Desires very much but I had the same issues as some of the other reviewers wrote: 1)preference for a virgin bride yet very promiscuous himself 2) very much alpha males throughout (angry & wanted to hit all the time) - perhaps that is just supposed to be a Highlander trait. I skipped the last 50 pages or so went to the end to learn the outcome.

Great points of the story:

A hero that is strong and powerful, but still vulnerable to being captured and to falling in love.

We often read about the invincible hero character who can never be bested. In "A Gentle Feuding," Jamie MacKinnion is the powerful laird of his clan. He is feared by many. Yet, when he sees a beautiful woman bathing in a stream, he is mesmerized. He manages to pull himself away, because he is in enemy territory. Yet, he can't stop himself from returning to the spot several times over the following weeks. He is hoping to catch one more glimpse of her. The last time he goes, he sees her. He is so captured by her beauty, he doesn't realize that his enemy is approaching. He is seized and taken to his enemy's castle, where he is thrown in the dungeon. He doesn't know that the beauty from the stream is the daughter of his enemy, The Laird Fergusson. Nor does Fergusson realize that he has captured "The MacKinnion," a man who could easily have the Fergusson clan demolished. When Fergusson realizes who is in his dungeon, he plans to force MacKinnion to marry one of his three daughters to insure a treaty, before he will set MacKinnion free.

A heroin who is strong willed, without being a total witch.

We also often read about heroines who are so "stubborn" that they become unbearable. Sheena Fergusson likes her freedom, but she does not make it a point to destroy the people around her. She is the oldest and favorite daughter of The Laird Fergusson. She has two younger sisters who resent her, because they cannot marry until after she has. Her father will not force her, so she takes her time. She is waiting to find love. The one sibling that she shares great loyalty with is her little brother, Niall. They both work to protect one another from harm. When Niall thinks that their father may force Sheena to marry Jamie Fergusson, he helps Jamie escape the dungeon. He would rather face his father's wrath than see Sheena forced to wed their enemy. Sheena realizes it was Niall who set Jamie free. She takes the blame herself in hopes of protecting Niall. Her father has no choice now but to banish her. He sends her to live with her aunt. While there, she is at a river doing laundry. Young Colin MacKinnion, Jamie's brother, finds her and is enamored with her. He kidnaps her and takes her to Castle Kinnion. He hopes to convince her to be his wife. Little does he know, this is a woman his brother has been wanting for himself. The brothers have a good- natured battle for Sheena. Sheena is terrified that they will discover her identity: That of the favorite daughter of their enemy, The Fergusson.

A mystery that begins and ends the story, as well as keeping the action alive throughout.

The story begins with a party of men who dress themselves in the Fergusson colors and raid MacKinnion lands. They shout the Fergusson war cry as they slaughter people and live stock. They leave a piece of Fergussion plaid behind, to make sure that the MacKinnions believe it was the Fergusson clan whom attacked them. From there, a clan war begins. Jamie MacKinnion is hesitant to strike back, feeling that the Fergusson's would be unlikely to have attacked his land. However, with several of his people dead and the piece of Fergusson plaid discovered, he has no choice but to retaliate. The mystery: Who would want to begin a war between the Fergussons and the MacKinnions? Why would they want the war? How many raids will they succeed in staging under the disguise of the Fergusson plaid? How many innocent people will die before the raids are stopped? Will Jamie have to finally totally demolish the Fergusson clan to save his people?

All in all, this story kept me wanting to read more. I've read a lot of novels, so I can get bored easily. This book never left me skimming through pages to get to an interesting part.

I think this is Johanna Lindsey's best book. I love Scottish novels and she wrote this so well. It reminds me a lot of a Julia Garwood book. You should definately read this book. I have read it atleast 4 times already.