BLARGH. Heroine was too wishy washy and instead of coming across as fighting for what she wanted she came across as TSTL. ( )

Kenneth Sutherland can do no wrong in the eyes of all the lasses who gather around him as he wins game after game at the Highland Games. He can have his pick of any of them and loves it. He would never let something like marriage get in the way of having his way with the lasses so when King Robert Bruce asks him to marry his former sister-in-law, he agrees right away. To Kenneth, marriage is for having an heir and making alliances. It was an acceptable practice back then to have women outside the marriage. He never dreams that she would refuse the betrothal.

He wants to get into the Highland Guard more than anything. The Highland Guard is an elite secret group of warriors who are the best of the best. His only obstacle is his hot temper and his soon to be brother-in-law who has agreed to step out of the way if he wins all of the competitions at the Highland Games and so far he has won them all with just one more event to go.

I was dying laughing at the interchange between Mary and Kenneth…how Kenneth was trying to embarrass her by his play on words in front of her friend, Margery after the event in stables where she watched as he had sex with a lass. Instead of turning away, Mary watched, fascinated by how he made the girl respond. He caught her watching but she didn’t see him looking at her, at first, because she was too busy watching his body and what he was doing. But what made me laugh was the way he was when he sees her a few days later, he was blatantly being suggestive to her, thinking she was an attendant to Lady Margery instead of a countess and the woman who Robert wants to betroth him to. Mary lets him believe it, then uses him like a stud for one reckless night of wanton pleasure and then leaves him while he is asleep. It’s nothing he hasn’t done a hundred times before to the lasses but the roles were reversed. I couldn’t wait for him to find out who she really was especially after his response to her when she told him, “I’ve heard you are to be betrothed.” And he asked, “What does that have to do with us?”

Mary of Mar is the widow of Earl of Atholl who was hung for treason by the English king for fighting for Scotland under Robert Bruce against him. She was married to him at the young age of 14 and got pregnant right away. Her husband was a revered warrior and a playboy. She gave him her heart but he couldn’t have cared less. He was always away and they lived apart. She barely knew him. She has had her son taking away from her before he was six months old and raised at the English court. She has been trying to keep anyone like the king from noticing her by wearing shapeless, colorless clothing and covering her head with ugly veils so she isn’t forced into a political marriage. She likes her freedom albeit the little she is allowed living in England but the king hasn’t forgot about her. He sends her to Scotland to try to negotiate with Robert Bruce during the Highland Games. The King knows she’ll come back since her son is with him in England.
When Robert Bruce suggests a betrothal to Kenneth Sutherland, she knows she will refuse but agrees to meet him anyway. She goes out for air and she stumbles upon a beautiful god-like man having sex with a woman. He was taking his time and taking care to give the woman pleasure. Her husband never did that. It oddly turns her on. She is embarrassed afterwards and hopes to avoid him while she is at the games…whoever he is. _____ I laughed at how she didn’t realize she still had on the spectacles that she had tied around her head while she was sewing before she went out for fresh air until she got back to her room.

She figures out who he is when she sees him on the field at the games. She hopes he doesn’t recognize her but she is out of luck. She tries to duck behind someone in the crowd but he nods directly to her and then catches up to her and propositions her.

Kenneth is infatuated with the skinny little nun-like creature who is not falling at his feet in adoration like all the other lasses. He likes lasses who don’t challenge him and only want to please….doesn’t he? He is outraged once he finds out who she is and how she didn’t tell him the truth. Then she dares to refuse the betrothal and she leaves to go back to England before the games are over. He is so angry that he loses a competition which costs him his place in the competition.
He gets another chance to be in the Guard but he has to compete and go through grueling training to get there. Now, as a test, Robert Bruce is sending him to England to spy. It’s a dangerous operation and guess who he runs into….the woman who has been on his mind for months but she is all filled out with curves, not skinny anymore and not hiding under ugly clothing. He is going to make her pay for what she cost him by making her want him more than anything.

I stayed up all night reading this book. I couldn’t put it down. That sounds cliché but it’s the truth. I’m sure my buns will be sore for sitting so long but it’s worth it.

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Poor Kenneth was already in my bad books before starting this novel because of how he acted in the previous book. While he redeemed himself, I still found both him and Mary to be infuriating at times. If they would have just communicated more, I would have liked them better. Towards the end, though, I found their scenes together very touching. Interestingly, this is the least Highland Guard-y the Highland Guard novels so far. The other guys hardly showed up, but when they did, I was very excited. I liked that I finally got a a better glimpse at Lamont and MacLean. ( )

I didn't think I would like this one. But I did. I was worried when I wasn't particularly fond of him in the previous Highland Guard novel.

It was a little hard to put yourself in the Heroines shoes. So to speak. Mary has been through a terrible ordeal. She was widow of a traitor. Prisoner in England. Her son taken at 6 months old. To be a ward of the court. She is the Ex sister in-law of Robert the Bruce.

The King of England orders her to return to Scotland. In order to Spy on Bruce. He knows as long as he holds her son she will do as she is told. While there she stumbles upon Kenneth Sutherland. He is on his own mission. Of a more personal nature.

As the fates decide these two happen to get put together. Kenneth has to win Mary over and help her heal. As well as follow his own pursuits. Duty rings heavy in this novel as well. It certainly follows up The Saint well.

I liked the easy banter between the H & H. The chemistry was well done. It also had some unexpected steamy scenes. I was pleasantly surprised by this book. ( )

Synopsis: Scotland’s King Robert the Bruce is retaking his kingdom from the invading English. To win, he’ll need all the grit and courage of his elite band of warriors, the Highland Guard, men who fight without fear and love without limits.

Fiery, aggressive, and bold, Kenneth Sutherland is a true champion—skilled with any weapon and driven to win. Now Kenneth is ready for his greatest challenge: joining Robert the Bruce’s secret army to fight among the elite. Kenneth’s best chance to attain that honor is by winning the Highland Games. Focused and prepared for victory, he is caught off guard by a lovely wisp of a woman—and a stolen moment of wicked seduction. Her innocent arousal and her shameless hunger fire his blood. He will win his place in the guard—and in Mary of Mar’s bed.

The ruggedly handsome hero-in-the-making stirs a heart that should know better. Mary vows that her surrender will be sport only—no promises, no heartbreak, just one night of incredible passion. Nothing, she swears, will persuade her to give up her hard-wrought independence and put her fate in the hands of another powerful man. But with every gentle touch and heart-pounding kiss, Kenneth makes her want more. Now Mary wants his heart. But is this determined champion willing to surrender everything for love?

My Thoughts: Earlier today I finished The Recruit by Monica McCarty and was wowed by it. This is the first book I've read by her and found it to be rich in history and rich in well fleshed out characters. There was a time I felt a bit overwhelmed by it's length (it's about 75 pages over an average historical romance which for some reason intimidates me LOL) but then I was totally swept away by the conflict of Scotland to England and the people who took sides (or was trapped between the two) and the sizzling passion between the two main characters. This is the 6th book in the series and I will go back and read the ones before (especially with the glowing reviews of the first one The Chief) but probably not right away. I want to savor this one a bit longer and don't want to gorge myself until I puke on the Highlander yumminess that are McCarty's Highland Guards. I might have given this book a full 5 stars but for the constant misunderstanding between the two main characters because they didn't communicate... although as a disclaimer I should mention there were very good reasons for Mary to mistrust her husband so the conflict was necessary and explainable. I just got a wee bit tired of it. Oh and Kenneth every now and again would think or say something so chauvinistic I wanted to thwack him with his own sword. Even his boorish attitudes on occasion was explainable as this was medieval times and in 1309 men could pretty much do as they pleased and women had no say (this is something I struggle with while reading romances from this time period.... my inner Gloria Steinem tends to be appalled for all the oppressed women every time.)

In a nutshell I would totally recommend this book to historical romance readers everywhere. ( )