Enraptured by Candace Camp (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"When Coll Munro finds himself supervising an archaeological dig on the sprawling Highlands estate of Duncally, the handsome Scot’s only worry is his former crofter friends, who seem to delight in making his job as hard as possible. Little does he know his biggest problem comes in a much smaller package. Gorgeous Violet Thornhill is an exasperating, meddling bluestocking who came to the site to examine the ruins and instead finds herself studying Coll. The unyielding Highlander and the headstrong English beauty clash at every turn. But when a midnight intruder threatens Violet and the excavation itself, these polar opposites must work together to solve a decades-old mystery. As Coll and Violet race to decipher long-buried clues, will they discover riches hidden years ago...or an unbridled passion more precious than gold?"

My Thoughts:

Last year I didn't read hardly any historical romances which is a shame since there are so many great books out there in this genre.  This year I'm changing that statistic and books like this are exactly why.  I enjoyed this book so much and found it to be a pleasurable read from beginning to end.  One of the things that really made this book stand out for me were the two main characters.  Oh but how I loved the two main characters in this book!  Violet Thornhill is one of the most independent and unique female leads that I have come across in a book like this.  She is an archaeologist and committed to never being married as she doesn't want anyone to have control of her or anything she does.  Then you have Coll Munro who is much more conventional in that he plans on getting married and settling down one day.  The two of them clash from the very beginning and I just adored it.  I am all for romances where the happy ever after doesn't come too easily - sometimes the friction between the protagonists is the very best part!  I was completely content to read about these two butting heads while also trying to avoid the growing attraction between them.  Be still my heart!  If there is a romance "trope" that I love the most, this is probably it.  I found myself wrapped up in their relationship hoping that they would be able to work it all out.

One of the other things that I loved about this book was that the author didn't make it easy for these two.  They were so completely different in the way that they viewed marriage.  They were also so different when it came to worrying about what others would think and about how to handle the chemistry between them.  I fully admit that there were times where I just didn't see how this author was going to make it work.  I felt like they were too different and head strong on certain points that they were never going to be able to come together.  You'll have to read the book yourself to see how it all plays out but I can tell you that it is completely worth the ride.  I also really enjoyed the mystery of the missing treasure story line that came into play.  It added a layer of suspense to this book that I wasn't expecting but really liked.  I had a hard time setting this book down and managed to read it in a matter of days.  I didn't realize that this book was part of a trilogy at all and honestly don't feel like it took away from my enjoyment of this book at all.  Now I just need to go back and read the other two books since I liked this one so much.  

Overall, a really great read and a new author for me to follow.  I loved the chemistry between Coll and Violet so much which gives me very high hopes for the rest of the books in this trilogy.  This book was really entertaining and left me completely satisfied by the end.  What more could a girl ask for?  I also have to tell you that the chemistry between these two was hot, hot, hot!  Easily recommended for fans of historical romance- check this one out!

Bottom Line:  A book that reminded me exactly why I love this genre so much!  A great read!

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher.