Child of the Mist

Child of the Mist is the first book in the "These Highland Hills" series.  It is the story of Anne, a young woman with the gift of healing, and Niall, a strong warrior who is the leader of his clan.  The book takes place in Scotland, where the clans are constantly battling.  To make peace between the MacGregors and Campbells, Anne's father gives her to Niall to be his bride.

Anne and Niall share nothing but contempt for each other in the beginning, but like a typical romance novel, they fall passionately in love in the middle of the book.  While the story is mostly a romance, it is also about the growing dissension within Niall's clan and a plot to overthrow him as leader.

Anne is not accepted in Niall's clan, because they are a very superstitious people and believe that her gift for healing others is a form of witchcraft, not a gift from God.  If Anne and Niall want to stay together, they must discover who is planning to betray Niall and defend Anne's life against the charges of witchcraft.

I was a bit hesitant to read this book when I read from the description that it involved witchcraft, but the author very clearly described Anne's healing as a spiritual gift from God.  Her gift was mostly just a good knowledge of healing herbs, cleanliness, and a passion for helping others.

The book was OK.  Not horrible, but not great.  I had a few issues with it.  First, it is supposed to be Christian fiction, but there was almost no mention of God (except to say that Anne's healing was a gift from him) until the end of the story.  Anne claimed to be a Christian, but she had no trouble falling in love with Niall when he clearly was not one.

Second, it was a pretty sappy romance.  Anne and Niall seemed to be almost obsessed with one another, yet they could launch into a screaming match over a simple misunderstanding.  (This happened several times throughout the novel.)

Third, I thought the novel was a tad too racy for a Christian novel - more so than any I've ever read from that genre.  Anne and Niall did agree to wait until they were officially married (they were handfasted for their first year together) to consummate the marriage, but it was more steamy than I thought was appropriate.

Obviously, I had a lot to say about this book!  While not terrible, I was glad that it was bought for free on my Kindle.

Rating:  I would give this book a 2.5 out of 5.