Her Highland Protector - Ann Lethbridge (HH #1144 - July 2013)

Series: Gilvrys of Scotland (Book 2)

Lady Jenna Aleyne must marry well if she is to claim her lands…

Only, there is a complete lack of eligible suitors in the Highlands! But then Niall Gilvry is assigned to watch over Jenna, and there's no denying she finds this handsome Scot most distracting!

Niall knows Jenna is too fine a lady for the likes of him -- after all, high society has little time for a lowly third son -- but he takes his duty seriously. With danger lurking in the shadows, Niall stays close. It would be just oh, so easy to pull her into his arms.…

Duty versus honor.  Jenna must marry well if she is to keep her promise to her father and claim her lands.  She can't allow herself to be distracted.  Niall is a third son and doesn't have what is needed to claim her.  Working for her guardian he is assigned to watch over her.  There have been attempts to kidnap her and when one succeeds it is up to him to rescue her.

There were parts of Jenna that I really liked.  She is very loyal to her people and is willing to do whatever it takes to return home and take care of them.  She can be a bit headstrong, which gets her into trouble when she tries to avoid Niall's protection.  Her developing attraction to him interferes with her need to pick a husband.  When they are kidnapped she has to depend on him to help her escape.  I liked the way that she remained calm throughout the entire time.  When their Gypsy rescuer takes them to her home instead of back to her guardian she is thrilled.  That happiness turns to dismay when she discovers just how bad things are.  I got very frustrated with her obsession with the house and doing anything to save it.  She couldn't see that the house wasn't as important as spending the rest of her life with a man she could love.

Niall is an honorable man who wants to do well in his new job.  He isn't very happy when he is stuck with trying to keep Jenna out of trouble.  He is very attracted to her but knows that she is far out of his reach. He really hates seeing her so intent on marrying for money that she can't see how unhappy she'd be with the wrong man.  He doesn't have a very high opinion of himself because of his secret fear, and then holds himself responsible when they get kidnapped. He knew that he was falling for her and I ached for his unhappiness as he had to watch her pick another man.  I really liked the way that he worked through his fears several times during the book in order to save other people.  I loved his protectiveness toward Jenna and the way he came through for her at the end.

There were several plot twists and turns during the book.  The gypsy seems to show up at crucial moments but it's hard to tell if he's a good guy or a bad guy.  I still have no idea what was going on with the guardian.  There is some question as to his honesty but it's not followed up on.  I didn't see anything about what happens to the bad guy after the final confrontation.