This is the second of McCarty's that I've read, and though I finished it (unlike the other one I tried) it didn't do much for me. ( )

Keeping aside the trashy covers, the entire Highland Guard series has been such a treat. Starting from this brilliant book - the Chief's training and how he brings together a team from some of the worst enemies, is such a treat to watch...and it only gets better along the series. From this one to The Ghost, I have been reading the 12 books back to back. ( )

I adored this book! It was full of adventure and angsty romance. There were several scenes that caused Tor and Christina to be separated for some length but the story still held my interest. It was like to stories woven together perfectly; the training Tor was doing and the relationship between Tor and Christina. They meshed perfectly and I felt like I had enough of both with each shift. I can not wait to read the next in the series!

The Heroine
Christina had a rough childhood with an abusive father and a sickly sister. She is forced to obey her father and trick Tor into marriage. Christina is a hopeless romantic and is convinced she can make the best of the marriage. She is the sweetest woman and does everything to help Tor and his clan, but Tor is reluctant to let her in his world.

The Hero
Tor is a hardened Scottish Warrior. He saw his mother and father brutally killed and has closed himself off from any emotion so he can be the best warrior for his clan that depends on him. Being forced into a marriage is not at all what he wanted, even if there was something felt between him and Christina, he didn't have time for the distraction. But when his hand is forced and he marries her and agrees to train a special elite group of warriors, he has a hard time keeping his hold on his suppressed emotions and his neutrality between England and Scotland.

The Steam
I could so feel the passion between Tor and Christina! They had such chemistry in the bedroom which made me feel even worse for her outside the marriage bed. But the steam was there and it was so very hot!

Tropes
Medieval Era, Scotland Romance, Highland Warriors, Alpha Hero, Tortured Hero, War Hero, Virgin Heroine, Married in Scandal, Marriage of Convenience, Suspense/Danger/Murder, Sunshine & Grump, Three Flame, Five Star ( )

This was a charming historical romance that tugged at my heartstrings and made me want to slug the male protagonist throughout most of the novel.

It’s loosely based on events surrounding Robert the Bruce and his rise to the throne of Scotland. The author obviously knew her history of Scotland because she did a great job of convincing me that the events of this book could have really happened. I liked that she included, at the end of the book, a little history of Robert the Bruce and how she entwined her story into it.

A secret plan is made and Bruce’s supporters want to get the best warriors of Scotland or at least of the Highlands and the islands of Scotland together to form and secret unbeatable team that will fight in more of the ways of guerilla warfare than traditional ways of meeting on the field to battle BUT…they have to convince the one they want to lead the team to do it first.
Tor MacLeod is the ultimate Scottish warrior. He is the chief of his clan on his own island. He has kept peace for his clan for the last twenty years and has no intention of taking sides in the war between Scotland and England. He was tricked into marrying Christina Frasier, daughter of a man who hates England’s King Edward and everyone knows it. Now, King Edward will be questioning his loyalties and both sides will try to force him to choose.

He agrees to secretly train the elite squad of warriors and hand them off to another once they are trained. He has always put the needs of his clan before anything else not even his wife. He keeps his own council and doesn’t tell his secrets to anyone. He thinks marriage should be a contract that benefits his clan and a wife is for bedding and having children although she should be treated with respect and never abused. He thinks love is impractical and could ruin a leader’s ability to make good choices.

Christina Frasier has been forced by her abusive father to trick Tor MacLeod into marrying her. Before the ceremony she gets her future husband to agree that if she wants to end the marriage contract that he will allow her to go live at a nunnery and take the veil. She always was a dreamer, reading romantic novels about Lancelot and Lady Guinevere. She dreams of a knight in shining armor for her very own but now she has been forced to marry a fierce warrior who is nothing like Lancelot. Her new husband barely notices her except when he visits her bedroom where they are both passionate for each other but then he leaves her soon afterwards to sleep in the great-room with his clansmen. She has fallen in love with Tor and she thinks she sees that he cares for her. She wants to get him to love her but it might be a lost cause and she doesn’t think she can stay with him if she has to live a life without love.

It was a good book although it is not my regular genre of paranormal romance. I did download the second book, The Hawk, and started reading it but it started out with the POV of Robert the Bruce and focused too much on politics and war maneuvering so I lost interest right away. A little too much history and not enough romance. I’m going to give it a little more time. I like to get to at least 15% of a book before I give up on it. We’ll see how it goes.

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Eesh. I had seen a couple reviews saying that the heroine drove them up a wall with her idiocy, but in the start she was just young, and sheltered, and had a romantic tendency, I was willing to overlook some poor choices. But good grief. She just kept getting worse! **She was like a modern 13 year old dropped back in history. No understanding for nearly any aspect of life at the time, over emotional, entitled, determined to squeeze a man into a pre-formed notion of her ideal. It was actually painful.** Every time the hero would give her an inch she would try to force a mile, inevitably make a giant mistake (often putting lives at risk), and then get indignant when things didn't work out just how she'd wanted. Seriously, just painful. I'm hesitant to read the next in the series, but surely McCarty wouldn't make all of her heroines such disasters! Besides the heroine, it wasn't a bad story. ( )