New Review: Laurin Wittig’s CHARMING THE SHREW – Unusual Highland Hero and Feisty Heroine Make for Endearing Tale

Wittig has crafted a charming, though somewhat fanciful, historical set in Scotland in the early 14th century. She has masterfully captured the voice of the Highland folks; her dialog is quite witty; and her storytelling clever.

The story tells of Catriona, the headstrong daughter of the MacLeod laird, who rebels at the betrothed her father and older brother have in mind for her—Duff (“dog faced”) MacDonnell—so she runs away. In a snowstorm, she encounters Tayg Munro, heir to the Munro clan, who has just come from the MacDonnell clan and is traveling disguised as a bard while on an errand for King Robert Bruce. Though Tayg knows who Catriona is, and that she is fleeing an unwanted betrothal, she doesn’t know who Tayg is, nor that he considers her his hostage for her brother’s plot against the king.

The hero is unusual for a future laird—more the charmer than an alpha male leader. He is only going to be laird because his older brother was killed in battle, so perhaps that explains it. In any event, we have a strong, feisty heroine and a beta male hero who’s a bit of an entertainer. Neither initially sees the other as a life’s mate though both are searching for just that. There are lots of twists and turns on the way to romance here. If you like the unusual and more lighthearted Scottish historicals, you’ll love this one!

The sequel is DARING THE HIGHLANDER, the story of Cat's brother, Ailig MacLeod.