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Edit to add steam stats 11/17/21
Still adored this book on my quick reread! It was a bit slow, but McCarty just really wraps my emotions up and has that amazing angst I love.
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes
Pg 126 – first kiss, brief breast play
Pg 218 – fingering orgasm for her followed by almost sex – but interrupted
Pg 299 – missionary sex (virginity loss for her)
Pg 334 – he kisses her, but she resists and he eventually stops
Pg 389 – fade to black, alluded to sex
Pg 391 – remembered scenes – nothing explicit – just that they’ve done it a number of times over the past 2 months
Pg 392 – remembered blow job that is a paragraph long (5 sentences)
Total pages - 398
Original review 6/14/2019:
Arthur’s been deep undercover for Robert the Bruce, pretending to side with the English. When Arthur senses something wrong with a mission, he ends up saving a woman’s life.
A year later they are thrown together again, as Arthur poses as a knight helping John MacDougall, Lord of Lorn. His mystery woman is Anna, Lorns Daughter.
The daughter of his enemy, he should have had no problem ignoring and avoiding her. But she is so happy and filled with pure enjoyment of life he can’t help but be drawn to her. Arthur has lived with the thought of revenge for his fathers death and it’s what has powered him through living a lie with no close friends, in the death and destruction of non stop battles, playing both sides. She is a salve to his dark soul.
Something I feel like Monica McCarty does well is character description. I love her paragraphs about how her heroes look. I feel like I can usually get a good vision of them and...mmmm. Do you ever read a book and get like halfway through and think that you don’t even know the color of the heroes eyes? I don’t ever feel like that with her.
Arthur tries to be downright cruel to Anna to keep her away from him. I don’t feel like he came across as a total jerk though. Probably because most of those interactions take place from his view and you see and feel how much he is struggling with it, and it tears at his heart as he tries to continue it.
You’ll wait over 120 pages for the first kiss, but it’s so good. May have been fanning myself after that one
Still adored this book on my quick reread! It was a bit slow, but McCarty just really wraps my emotions up and has that amazing angst I love.
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes
Spoiler
Pg 126 – first kiss, brief breast play
Pg 218 – fingering orgasm for her followed by almost sex – but interrupted
Pg 299 – missionary sex (virginity loss for her)
Pg 334 – he kisses her, but she resists and he eventually stops
Pg 389 – fade to black, alluded to sex
Pg 391 – remembered scenes – nothing explicit – just that they’ve done it a number of times over the past 2 months
Pg 392 – remembered blow job that is a paragraph long (5 sentences)
Total pages - 398
Original review 6/14/2019:
Arthur’s been deep undercover for Robert the Bruce, pretending to side with the English. When Arthur senses something wrong with a mission, he ends up saving a woman’s life.
A year later they are thrown together again, as Arthur poses as a knight helping John MacDougall, Lord of Lorn. His mystery woman is Anna, Lorns Daughter.
The daughter of his enemy, he should have had no problem ignoring and avoiding her. But she is so happy and filled with pure enjoyment of life he can’t help but be drawn to her. Arthur has lived with the thought of revenge for his fathers death and it’s what has powered him through living a lie with no close friends, in the death and destruction of non stop battles, playing both sides. She is a salve to his dark soul.
Something I feel like Monica McCarty does well is character description. I love her paragraphs about how her heroes look. I feel like I can usually get a good vision of them and...mmmm. Do you ever read a book and get like halfway through and think that you don’t even know the color of the heroes eyes? I don’t ever feel like that with her.
Arthur tries to be downright cruel to Anna to keep her away from him. I don’t feel like he came across as a total jerk though. Probably because most of those interactions take place from his view and you see and feel how much he is struggling with it, and it tears at his heart as he tries to continue it.
You’ll wait over 120 pages for the first kiss, but it’s so good. May have been fanning myself after that one
Edit to add steam stats 11/17/21:
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes
celibate – hasn’t been with a woman since his wife died ten years ago
Pg 132 – kiss
Pg 187 – lots of hot kisses and almost sex that’s interrupted by him discovering bruises on her body
Pg 247 – dry humping against a tree orgasm for her, followed by sex against a tree o for him
Pg 281 – her on top sex, followed by him behind her sex, both o
Pg 320 – blowjob
Pg 334 – missionary sex (a bit more flowery prose here)
Pg 374 – brief kiss
Total pages - 381
Initial review 2/23/20:
Safety warning:
This is book 4 in the highland guard. I think this book would be okay as a standalone, but I do recommend reading at least The Chief (book 1) because it sets up the whole highland guard, the members, and their purpose. Then I also recommend you read book 2, The Hawk, because it's still my favorite, it's soooooo good, and I believe the heroes are cousins from that book and this book. And then read book 3 because it's good too lol. Yeah just read in order.
I really enjoyed this book. I think it's my second favorite of the series so far. I still think the Hawk beats it out but just by a tad. I love McCarty. I love her mix of action, history, tension, and melting kiss and sex scenes. This story spans 3 years or so, but doesn't feel like it has a long division of the characters.
I think you would like this story if you like
big, lethal, green eyed highlanders
second chance romance (both hero and heroine have bad marriages in their past)
lots of action and sexual tension
aren't opposed to reading about torture and death. It's here, and makes the story feel so real
'older' characters – Bella is around 30 and Lachlan is mid 30's
Basically if you've read McCarty, you kind of know what you are going to get. I love her as an author.
Lachlan is a bad boy mercenary. He has a reputation that he would sell his mother if he could make coin and happily turn his back on her suffering. It's all a mirage people, and I just adored Lachlan and felt his pain and reasoning for the life he has chosen.
Bella has been suffering in a horrible marriage with her daughter Joan being her only bright spot. She knows where she stands in this war between England and Scotland and does what she feels is right, crowning Robert the Bruce, thus making herself a traitor to the crown. I also recommend you read up the real history on Isabella MacDuff. It's just fascinating.
I don't usually love characters that have a past marriage, but I really enjoyed this story. I remember reading The Chief and loving it so much and I heard it was the best in the series. Then I read The Hawk and I loved it even more. They are all so good. I have been spacing them out and I think I'm going to keep doing that. Because I'm picky. And I go through streaks where I don't like anything. But I know I can come back to McCarty. And I'm going to be so sad when I get through all her books haha.
I give 5 stars
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes
Spoiler
celibate – hasn’t been with a woman since his wife died ten years ago
Pg 132 – kiss
Pg 187 – lots of hot kisses and almost sex that’s interrupted by him discovering bruises on her body
Pg 247 – dry humping against a tree orgasm for her, followed by sex against a tree o for him
Pg 281 – her on top sex, followed by him behind her sex, both o
Pg 320 – blowjob
Pg 334 – missionary sex (a bit more flowery prose here)
Pg 374 – brief kiss
Total pages - 381
Initial review 2/23/20:
Safety warning:
Spoiler
death, murder, torture, verbal/mental abuse (implied)This is book 4 in the highland guard. I think this book would be okay as a standalone, but I do recommend reading at least The Chief (book 1) because it sets up the whole highland guard, the members, and their purpose. Then I also recommend you read book 2, The Hawk, because it's still my favorite, it's soooooo good, and I believe the heroes are cousins from that book and this book. And then read book 3 because it's good too lol. Yeah just read in order.
I really enjoyed this book. I think it's my second favorite of the series so far. I still think the Hawk beats it out but just by a tad. I love McCarty. I love her mix of action, history, tension, and melting kiss and sex scenes. This story spans 3 years or so, but doesn't feel like it has a long division of the characters.
I think you would like this story if you like
big, lethal, green eyed highlanders
second chance romance (both hero and heroine have bad marriages in their past)
lots of action and sexual tension
aren't opposed to reading about torture and death. It's here, and makes the story feel so real
'older' characters – Bella is around 30 and Lachlan is mid 30's
Basically if you've read McCarty, you kind of know what you are going to get. I love her as an author.
Lachlan is a bad boy mercenary. He has a reputation that he would sell his mother if he could make coin and happily turn his back on her suffering. It's all a mirage people, and I just adored Lachlan and felt his pain and reasoning for the life he has chosen.
Bella has been suffering in a horrible marriage with her daughter Joan being her only bright spot. She knows where she stands in this war between England and Scotland and does what she feels is right, crowning Robert the Bruce, thus making herself a traitor to the crown. I also recommend you read up the real history on Isabella MacDuff. It's just fascinating.
I don't usually love characters that have a past marriage, but I really enjoyed this story. I remember reading The Chief and loving it so much and I heard it was the best in the series. Then I read The Hawk and I loved it even more. They are all so good. I have been spacing them out and I think I'm going to keep doing that. Because I'm picky. And I go through streaks where I don't like anything. But I know I can come back to McCarty. And I'm going to be so sad when I get through all her books haha.
I give 5 stars
Edit to add steam stats (11/20/21)
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes
Pg 11 kiss
Pg 152 kiss
Pg 195 kisses, humping against a wall, fingering, almost sex but interrupted
Pg 226 – kiss between secondary romance
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes
Spoiler
Pg 11 kiss
Pg 152 kiss
Pg 195 kisses, humping against a wall, fingering, almost sex but interrupted
Pg 226 – kiss between secondary romance
Brief reread for steam stats 11/20/21:
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes
Pg 70 - kiss
Pg 242 - kisses and light touches
Pg 278 - kisses and touches
Pg 354 - full sex scene (missionary)
Total pages 377
Book takes place in 1822
Original Review (1/16/2019):
This book was overall mildly enjoyable
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes
Spoiler
Pg 70 - kiss
Pg 242 - kisses and light touches
Pg 278 - kisses and touches
Pg 354 - full sex scene (missionary)
Total pages 377
Book takes place in 1822
Original Review (1/16/2019):
This book was overall mildly enjoyable
Edit to update steam stats (11/20/21):
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes
Pg 244 - kiss (its quite wonderful and passionate for a first kiss)
Pg 254 - more kisses
Pg 350 - kiss
Total pages 373
Book takes place in 1824
Original review 12/18/2018 (Sorry everyone, I was a mean reviewer back then :P ):
This book was so utterly boring and unlikeable to me. Possibly it would have had a better chance if I had read all the books relating to this. Maybe.
What actually happened:
I gave up and set the book nicely down on the table after 180 long pages of basically...nothing. No tension, no sparks, no kisses. High and Sarah hate enough other and have nasty interactions. Then miraculously they just fall for each other. Why? Who knows. I don’t. If I was being nagged to death by a harpy I wouldn’t find her lips enticing. If I was yelled at and insulted by a limping math genius I wouldn’t be awaiting his smile. I love the enemies to lovers trope, but it has to be done right. I need to see, feel and understand the shift in feelings. And there better be sparks! I was done.
But, but I hadn’t even read a kiss yet! What if it changes everything??? I pick the book back up and skimfor something interesting like first kiss. Not finding anything and set it back down. Pick up again determined to find it. Read first kiss, which is decent, then read heroine loves hero.
Heroine LOVES the hero? After one kiss and barely any interaction that wasn’t mean? I felt like it was pity love. Or guilt love. She started to see Hugh as a person and realized that he suffered too and maybe her being extremely annoying her entire life wasn’t fun for him.
Husband, watching me, says, “So are you actually reading that book or just flipping the pa-“ chucks book across living room. *Calmly drinks wine*. “-err okay I see that one is not a winner...”
The end.
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes
Spoiler
Pg 244 - kiss (its quite wonderful and passionate for a first kiss)
Pg 254 - more kisses
Pg 350 - kiss
Total pages 373
Book takes place in 1824
Original review 12/18/2018 (Sorry everyone, I was a mean reviewer back then :P ):
This book was so utterly boring and unlikeable to me. Possibly it would have had a better chance if I had read all the books relating to this. Maybe.
What actually happened:
I gave up and set the book nicely down on the table after 180 long pages of basically...nothing. No tension, no sparks, no kisses. High and Sarah hate enough other and have nasty interactions. Then miraculously they just fall for each other. Why? Who knows. I don’t. If I was being nagged to death by a harpy I wouldn’t find her lips enticing. If I was yelled at and insulted by a limping math genius I wouldn’t be awaiting his smile. I love the enemies to lovers trope, but it has to be done right. I need to see, feel and understand the shift in feelings. And there better be sparks! I was done.
But, but I hadn’t even read a kiss yet! What if it changes everything??? I pick the book back up and skimfor something interesting like first kiss. Not finding anything and set it back down. Pick up again determined to find it. Read first kiss, which is decent, then read heroine loves hero.
Heroine LOVES the hero? After one kiss and barely any interaction that wasn’t mean? I felt like it was pity love. Or guilt love. She started to see Hugh as a person and realized that he suffered too and maybe her being extremely annoying her entire life wasn’t fun for him.
Husband, watching me, says, “So are you actually reading that book or just flipping the pa-“ chucks book across living room. *Calmly drinks wine*. “-err okay I see that one is not a winner...”
The end.