Unlaced by the Outlaw

Written by Michelle Willingham

A lady and an outlaw…

When straitlaced spinster Margaret Andrews tries to stop her headstrong younger sister Amelia from eloping with the wrong man, the last thing she expects is to be caught in a coach accident. Stranded in Scotland with a dangerously handsome Highlander, she must put aside her genteel sensibilities and learn to survive.

Cain Sinclair rescues the prim and proper Margaret, but he knows she’ll never want a man like him. As a self-proclaimed sinner, he lives his life from one day to the next. He unravels every thread of decorum she possesses, tempting her to throw away propriety.

Margaret sees a man worth saving, but Cain fights her efforts to reform him. When Cain risks everything to save his brother from the hangman's noose, Margaret must break all the rules to get him back…or lose him forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Dec 2, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491548844

Michelle Willingham

Michelle Willingham has published over forty-five romance novels, novellas, and short stories. Currently, she lives in Virginia with her children and is working on more historical romance books in a variety of settings such as: Viking-era Ireland, medieval Scotland, Victorian England, Regency England, and medieval Ireland. When she’s not writing, Michelle enjoys baking cookies, playing the piano, and chasing after her cats. Visit her website at: www.michellewillingham.com.

Reviews for Unlaced by the Outlaw

[sarinhamac48 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

To the narrator... if you ever read this... PLEASE, for the love of all that's merciful, please STOP giving the heroines childlike voices... know your audience, those kinds of voices are allegedly appealing to men, not women.

I can't think of anything less appealing than a heroine who sounds like she's five...

On to the book... Try as I might, I really did not like Margaret... at all!

Cain on the other hand, is sexy as hell!!!

She's irritating, selfish, self-centered, prudish & a snob & for the life of me, I can't figure out WHY Cain loves her or even cares for her... she's constantly alternating between snubbing him & teasing him... she's awful, for the vast part of the book, her only saving grace is that she did save him!

Having said that, I did like that she finally chose him when she'd had an alternative choice at the manor house... that was a nice touch!

That Cain wouldn't know whose Manor house it was was stretching it.

That she'd dismiss Cain's concerns at the Manor House when she's constantly thinking that Cain would move heaven & earth to keep her safe, was moronic...

That she'd constantly tell the man who HAD asked her to marry him that no man would ever want to marry her... was especially cruel!

I didn't like the first book, only read it as I was reading the 3rd book & realised it was part of a series, so wanted to get the full back story... so for me, this series started bad & ended even worse... I liked Juliette & Amelia's story & I do prefer Margaret to Victoria, who was just a useless character who had to constantly be rescued by everyone!

[addictofromance · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Unlaced By The Outlaw is the fourth book in her latest series "Secrets in Silk". Now I have read this author before, one of her viking romances, and loved it. So when I was asked to read and give a honest review for this one, I could barely contain my excitement, and I will be honest...the title really drew me. Many older romance novels that I fell in love with had similar play on words of this title, and so I was curious to see what it was like...and I found I just had so much fun with this story and really had a difficult time in putting it down.What we have in Outlaced By The Outlaw, is a story that is hard to win but so worth the fight in the end. Cain and Margaret have always felt a connection to each other, even though their love is forbidden by society. Margaret is a daughter with connections to society, but when she ends up being put in a situation by a lord, who made who shunned by the Ton, she has gone five years without finding a husband and knows it is highly unlikely. But that same lord has kidnapped her sister to try to force her to marry him, so she then goes to the only man she knows can help...Cain Sinclair. Cain is a man that lives as he pleases, he is considered not polite company with no manners to speak of, but Margaret knows that he would help her, and that if there is any man that can track her sister down, it is Cain Sinclair. Cain is from the highlands, but when his parents died, he was responsible for raising his younger brother, Jonas. When Margaret comes to him for help, he can't turn her down, because he still loves her after all this time. And thus the adventure begins...These two were quite the characters, and they won me over. Now Cain Sinclair, is one sexy kilted beast...He does know the art of lovemaking and seduction. But he also has quite the heart and substance, and you can't help but fall madly for him. Beneath his devil may care attitude, he cares, and is quite passionate when it comes to those he loves. Cain is honorable and loyal, who could say no to this sexy man with a sexy brogue. Margaret Andrews, was raised to marry a titled lord, not a man with no much to his name. But when Cain enters her life once more, she is given a second chance at love. Margaret is a bit self centered and selfish at times, especially with thinking that Cain isn't enough, but when you are raised a certain way, and only know what is expected of you, it isn't surprising, in fact, it seemed more realistic than you would think. But Margaret changes in this story, she starts from being selfish to a woman that reaches out for that what she wants...and that is Cain, no matter the consequences, even if it means never seeing her family ever again. I really enjoyed seeing Margaret and Cain really come together and fight for each other. This story had a very high tone of sensuality to it, that will keep you entranced by the story. This one was definitely full of a pack of adventures that leaves the reader breathless, and the way he story turns out, is what you least expect.There were many aspects of the story that I enjoyed, but if I had to pick one of my favorites, it would be the voice of the author and how smooth the story flowed together. It had a harmonious tune to it, and it was smooth sailing, reading this story. Definitely a story I won't easily forget, a tale of forgiveness, passion and most importantly learning to fight for love....BREATHTAKING!!

[whiskeyinthejar-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

2.5 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

Margaret and Cain have known each other for years, with Cain silently and at times not so silently loving Margaret from the sidelines. When Margaret's sister is taken by the Lord of Lisford, who just so happens to be Margaret's ex-fiancée and the man who left her at the altar, she immediately goes to the one man she trusts to help her. Cain knows it is not a good idea to travel alone with Margaret but finds it impossible to refuse her. The two set off on a journey that ends up testing their mental and emotional resolve while bringing to head the question of can or should they be more than friends.

I once again found myself wishing editing had played a bigger part in the finishing touches of a novel. The first seventy percent was a road romance with Margaret and Cain encountering various obstacles and Margaret rejecting any thought to marriage with Cain but by no means completely rebuffing his physical overtures. While it is completely understandable, due to the importance of the class hierarchy during this time for Margaret to have misgivings about marrying someone completely outside her class, the amount of time her reluctance lasts also makes her ultimately an unsympathetic character. Margaret became annoying and Cain lost my respect every time she leaned on him for support but bemoaned his low status and he kept pulling her in for kisses and touches which she accepted only to push him away again and again; it all became very numerous and repetitive.

The lather, rinse, and repeat I mentioned created a pace that was quite slow moving and tempered my motivation to keep going. The author's writing had structural quality though, and Cain was a hero that would cause many a heart to flutter, I just wish he hadn't taken so many metaphorical slaps to the face by the heroine. The last thirty percent or so moved along better as Cain's brother was involved in murder mystery but it also felt like it came out of nowhere. The whole story was about Margaret's fear of being controlled by a husband and marrying so below her station and then suddenly we're switching gears and trying to save Cain's brother from the gallows. It felt out of place and didn't mesh well with the previous feel of the story.

This was book four in the Secrets in Silk series and for the most part I believe it can be read as a standalone. You're thrust into the story a little bit in the beginning and its obvious secondary characters mentioned have had importance in Margaret and Cain's backstories but I never felt completely lost; the murder mystery with its victim is probably where not reading the previous books would hurt you the most. Margaret and Cain have some pleasing moments together but unfortunately, fell short of the mark.