Blurb:
The
first time he caught sight of Elizabeth Douglas, Thomas MacGowan thought she
was a princess. To the son of the castle blacksmith, the daughter of the
powerful Lord of Douglas might as well be. When it becomes clear that his
childhood companion will never see him as a man she could love, Thom joins Edward
Bruce’s army as a man-at-arms to try to change his lot. If he’s harbored a
secret hope that he could close the gap between them, he faces the cold, hard
truth when Elizabeth comes to him for help. She might need the boy who used to
climb cliffs to rescue her brother from the hands of the English, but she would
never see the son of a smith as a man worthy of her hand.
Themes: Historical, Scottish
Rating: 4 stars
Heat Rating: 
Review:
The amazing story of the highland warriors
that helped shape a nation continues with the somewhat out of the box story of
a young man trying to find his true place in the world and someday earn the
love of the girl that once captured his heart, the woman that scorned him and
turned him away. For long time fans of
this series, Thommy’s story is one that at first doesn’t really seem to fit,
mainly because he is a new introduction to the group, but once you really get into
the meat of the story you can see how important he is to the team and
the overall story ARC. Unfortunately
that lack of overt connection makes it difficult for some readers to immediately
get into the story, but once I really got to know the characters I learned to
like them a lot. McCarty has a way of
sucking her readers into the lives of her characters and making you root
for them to find everything they desire, whether it is fame, stability, or the
love of a true partner. In the end you
don’t realize just how attached you have become to these characters, but there
is no denying that they stay in your heart and mind long after you turn that
last page.
This
story revolves around the life of Thomas “Thommy” MacGowan, son of the local
blacksmith, who once fell in love with a woman that turned out not to be
interested in loving him. He has struck
out on his own, determined to succeed as a warrior, even as the odds are
stacked against him. When Elizabeth,
the girl that broke his heart, shows up in his life again there is no denying
that he still lusts for her and a small piece of his heart still belongs to
her, but he refuses to let her break him again.
Lizzie never imagined that she would have feelings for the hero of her
youth, her best friend, but when she sees Thommy again after so long she is
instantly attracted, but she is already promised to another. Life has thrown them together again and
again, but when the world around them becomes too complicated there is no way
that they can resist the emotions they bring out in each other. Will Liz come to her senses in time, or will
she give up the love of her life for the security and safety that her promised
marriage offers? And if she does give
her heart free reign will it be in time to earn the love of the best man she’s
ever known?
So,
how to describe Thom?... well the first word would have to be sweet. He has been a little bit in love with
Elizabeth since he saw her when he was 9 years old and for many years after he fell more in love with her as they became friends. He always knew she would be his someday, but
when she shatters her heart—quite carelessly in my opinion—he was determined to
leave her behind and make his way to a truly great warrior. Seeing her again only drives the nail deeper
into his heart, but when she comes to him in need, he second guesses his
determination to keep her at arm’s length.
I liked Thom for the most part, though he certainly had his moments of
boneheadedness, much like all the previous warriors in this series, but men
will be men in that way I suppose. He was strong in both character and heart,
even when he was fighting his true nature.
It’s obvious that his love for Elizabeth makes him a better man, even
when he is pushing her away and acting like an ass. That being said I was thrilled to see him
find his place in the guard and save the day more than once and so sad for him
when his heart is broken again and again.
Honestly Monica, how much pain can you inflict on one man? Anyway, overall Thomas is the kind of man
that makes the Highland Guard series so great and shows us the level of honor,
greatness and sweetness that was once found in all our warriors but is now
sadly lacking in most men.
Elizabeth,
however, is another story entirely.
Honestly I’ve never wanted to slap a heroine in this series more than I
did Lizzie. She was so callous, shallow,
and whiny. Even though she had a man
willing to give his EVERYTHING for her, she was unwilling to see that the love
of a man like Thomas is more than enough to keep her happy all her life. Instead she is determined to have riches,
security, and the implied power than comes with the marriage arranged by her
oldest brother. She seemed just to be a
weak character, certainly too weak to deserve a man like Thomas, no matter how
much he loved her, and it took almost the entire story for her to grow up and
change enough for me to like her. I can
understand her issues, really I can, but so many women during this time were
dealing with the same thing and still finding a way to be strong. Elizabeth was certainly my least favorite
heroine in this series, or anything written by Monica really, and I can
honestly say I wouldn’t have been surprised if she didn’t earn back Thomas’s
love in the end. Luckily for her, Thomas
is a good man and once he gives his heart, there’s no getting it back, and when
she did finally grew up she was able to prove to him that she was changed
enough to have earned his love and devotion.
All
that being said, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story and would recommend it
to readers in a heartbeat. While some of
the characters weren’t that great, there were even more characters that were
awesome, including some we have already met and others new to the scene. It was great getting to see previous couples
interacting and sharing their love with their friends and family. Thomas was a true warrior at the heart of
him, even if he hadn’t been trained as one all his life, and his courage,
honor, and willingness to do whatever it takes to serve his liege makes him the
best kind of hero. Elizabeth was a
mostly weak woman that didn’t have a lot of character, though of course that
was her role in the story and she was well written for all the flaws in her
character. I will say though that when
these two come together in the later portions of the story, the love and
passion between them is more than obvious, even as they resist it. When they both finally come to understand
that prestige and security is so much less important that sharing a true and
lasting love, Thomas and Elizabeth join the ranks of truly great McCarty
characters in my book and I look forward to seeing them in future stories. The series overall is coming to a close
rapidly and I find myself sad to see these amazing men go, but the great thing
about any good series like this is that you can always go back to the beginning
and read it again and again, reliving the stories and loves of the Highland
Guard. I cannot wait for the next stories,
even as they bring the series to a close, because one of them is one we fans
have been waiting for a long time, as the true identity of the famous Ghost will
finally be revealed. Time to start
teasing us with what new fabulous series you will be bringing us Monica!
*ebook provided by publisher (via
netgalley) for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review. No compensation was provided.
TEMPTING
FATE
