Although it’s a later number in the Mackenzie series, chronologically The Stolen Mackenzie Bride is the first book, taking place more than a century before the Mackenzie fellows we all know and love found their Happy Ever Afters in the late 19th century. Ashley based the book on the ancestor they called “Old Malcolm”, the Duke of Kilmorgan who rebuilt the castle they grew up in after the original one was burned to the ground during the uprising of ’45. 1745 that is – and if you know your British history, and/or you’re an Outlander fan, you – like Claire – know what is going to happen.
“Old” Malcolm is the youngest of 5 Mackenzie brothers – the eldest, Duncan, is a sworn Jacobite in rebellion more against his father than his actual devotion to Prince Charlie. William and the twins Angus and Alex are like Mal – they don’t really support Charles in his bid for the throne, finding life in the Highlands pretty cushy for their clan. Mal has built a nice whiskey business for himself, so he wants for nothing but a good woman. When he spies Lady Mary Lennox at a soiree in Edinburgh, he knows (it’s almost vampirish) right away she is The One.
Lady Mary is the older of 2 sisters, and she is betrothed in a loveless-but-business-like arrangement with a suitor approved by her father, the Earl of Wilcort. Her younger sister Audrey, however, has eyes only for Jeremy Drake, and Mary is helping the 2 sweethearts by passing love letters between them. This is how Mal catches Mary on the sly and hatches a plan to woo Mary by helping Audrey and Jeremy elope.
Like you do.
The story goes pretty much as you might expect – youngest son of a Scottish duke trying to steal a British earl’s daughter right before the Culloden massacre. The point seems to be to underscore the stories of “Old Malcolm” as a fierce Highland warrior who gets what he wants. He has to fight everyone, it seems, including his own family who continues to call him “Runt” since he’s the youngest. There are some fierce fighting scenes and a couple of moving and poignant scenes – but not really between the two almost-star-crossed lovers. Once the march to Culloden starts, the story becomes more about the Mackenzie men and their fierce loyalty to each other than about the romance and Happy Ever After.
Angela Dawe has narrated the entire series, and I’ve enjoyed her storytelling every time. She is a true voice actor pro, with easy-to-listen-to pacing and cadence, very natural, no disturbing pauses or audible gasping breaths. I know not everyone appreciates her Scottish accent, which seems much thicker in this story; it was ok by me, and manages to get the characterizations across. She also had some other regional accents to deliver, specifically noted in the text, and I’m not 100% sure if she got them right. She does differentiate well between genders, and she gave Mary’s father and fiancé good snooty-sounding tones, with delivery that emphasized their disdain of the Highlanders.
All in all, I was a teeny bit disappointed that the love story wasn’t as compelling – Mal was a little more caveman-like in his approach (Must Have Woman), and I didn’t feel the love relationship grow the way I have with other books in the series. The Author’s Note at the end of the book – but not in the audio version – helps place Mal and Mary in the Mackenzie ancestry lineup, which I would like to have heard. Luckily, an Amazon reviewer mentioned the Note so I downloaded the Kindle version so I could read it and also look up things, like spellings and relationships that are difficult to research in audio after you are done!
Melinda
Narration: B
Book Content: B-
Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in
Violence Rating: Fighting
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: Tantor Audio
The Stolen Mackenzie Bride was provided to AudioGals by Tantor Audio for a review.
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