Heart in the Highlands

A prodigal husband returns to reclaim the wife he abandoned in this angsty, unsatisfying Regency romance from Kimball (When the Stars Meet the Sea). Callum Darrington, future Duke of Edinbane, is pressured into marriage by his domineering father. His wife, Lady Katherine, is just as wary of their arranged marriage, but to honor her grandfather’s dying wish that she find love, she’s going to give the handsome, easygoing Callum a chance—until he abandons her the day after their wedding in an effort to escape his father’s control. Four-and-a-half years later, Callum receives word that his father has been incapacitated by a stroke and he must return home to take over the dukedom and, hopefully, reclaim the wife he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about. Callum realizes the depth of his mistake when he learns he has a four-year-old daughter, Charlotte, whose vivacious personality steals many scenes. For Charlotte’s sake, Katherine agrees to spend time with Callum, but she finds it as hard to forgive him as Callum does his now remorseful father. Kimball spends more time building walls between the couple than she does tearing them down, making it difficult to root for their happy ending. This is one to skip.[em] (Aug.) [/em]