Beauty and the Barbarian by Amy Jarecki

Beauty and the Barbarian by Amy Jarecki.
This is book 3 in the Highland Force series.
Ian MacLeod is on the run from his uncle's henchman. He has taken his uncle's wife to the safety of her clan to save her from the brutal hand of his uncle and needless to say he was not happy about it.  Unfortunately the henchman caught up with Ian and after shooting him, left him for dead.
Luckily for Ian, Merrin found his washed up body. After determining that he wasn't dead, Merrin and her father took Ian back to their cottage to nurse him back to health. 
Merrin is mesmerized from her first sight of Ian. Having been secluded on an island with only her father her whole life because of her "mark of the devil, Merrin has never encountered anyone like Ian. Afraid of what he will think of her, Merrin tries to keep are mark hidden from Ian. 
Eventually he discovers her mark and Merrin is surprised that Ian doesn't think much about it. Ian got to know her as a person before seeing the mark and knows that it can't mean she is an evil person.
Soon they have to go on the run as the henchman has learned that Ian is alive.  Can Ian keep himself, Merrin and her father alive? If he succeeds, what will happen to their growing attraction to each other? Ian is a laird's son and Merrin is considered a witch by the rest of the clan, could it ever work for them?
I absolutely loved the first two books in this series, but I didn't think this one was as good as the others. The writing seemed a bit weaker than the others, but it could have been a feeling that Jarecki was trying to convey in regard to the heroine. Something just seemed to be off. 
I also didn't like that Calum from the first book in the series was dead (he and Anne were suppose to grow old together!!)  :(     But the story couldn't have progressed the way that it did if Ian hadn't been shipped off to be fostered by his uncle.
But having said that, I did enjoy the story and it was nice to see Anne, Enya and Bran again.

You can get the book at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Thanks go to Rapture Books via NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange of an honest review.