Beauty and the Highland Beast by Canadian author Lecia Cornwall (
Fantastic Fiction) is the 1st novel in her A Highland Fairy Tale series of f/m historical romance with mild paranormal elements very loosely based on a mashup of fairy tales (this one seems to be the only one based on a specific story, and the others appear to have more generic plots) and Ye Auld Scotland, this one centred around a dangerously damaged clansman and the special bride whom a pagan healer predicted was the only one who can save his body and mind, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Macmillan's Swerve imprint.
This is Macmillan's Heroes and Heartbreakers community's featured eBook Club of the Month selection for May (which they are generously offering for a longer-term period that the Tor.com club does, but then romance readers probably outnumber sfnal by 10 to 1 at the very least when there's no group overlap going on). ETA: and they already have better discussion linkage, with a spoiler discussion post and a Q&A with the author already set up when you go to download. I hope these are niceties which Tor.com decides to adopt.
Currently free through 11:59 PM Eastern Time May 29th @
the community's promo page (DRM-free ePub & Mobi officially available to Canada & US only, due to publisher geo-restrictions; requires newsletter signup with valid email address) and you can follow along with the book club discussion via their
dedicated blog tag here.
Description
Powerful and dangerous highlander Dair Sinclair was once the favored son of his clan, The Sinclairs of Carraig Brigh. With Dair at the helm, Sinclair ships circled the globe bringing home incredible fortune. Until one deadly mission when Dair is captured, tortured and is unable to save his young cousin. He returns home breaking under the weight of his guilt and becomes known as the Madman of Carraig Brigh.
When a pagan healer predicts that only a virgin bride can heal his son’s body and mind, Dair’s father sets off to find the perfect wife for his son. At the castle of the fearsome McLeods, he meets lovely and kind Fia MacLeod.
Although Dair does his best to frighten Fia, she sees the man underneath the damage and uses her charm and special gifts to heal his mind and heart. Will Dair let Fia love him or is he cursed with madness forever?