I didn’t like how innocent and naive she was for her age. I did not like Elizabeth for most of the book. Everything was going great until Elizabeth came crashing back into his life. He even had a wealthy widow with lands and titles interested in marriage. He joined Bruce’s army and aspired for a knighthood. She was too aware that the differences in their social status would never allow anything else.īut nothing could keep Thom down.

He waited three long years for her to come back from France to find out she just wanted to be friends. Thom had always been in love with Elizabeth and he thought she felt the same. Elizabeth and Jamie were the laird’s children and Thom was the son of the village blacksmith but that didn’t seem to matter while they were young. Thom met Elizabeth and Jamie Douglas when they were children and, along with his friend Joanna, they became best friends. I love how Monica McCarty knows so much about the Scottish history surrounding Robert the Bruce that she can effortlessly combine real characters and real events with a few invented characters to make an exciting and heart clenching story. This captivating blend of medieval fact and romantic fiction has plenty of twists and turns, and is a highly satisfying conclusion to a well-crafted series.This is a perfect blend of romance and history.

Joan may not be able to give Alex honesty, but she gives him passion and love, even though the political game pits them against each other. She knows she should spy on Alex, but her own code of ethics makes her reluctant. Joan, the loyal and resourceful daughter of Isabella MacDuff (familiar to readers of The Viper), is actually the infamous Scottish spy Ghost and has been feeding the Scots information about English plans over the years. Alex, a complex man driven by the knightly code of honor, was once part of the Bruce's vaunted Highland Guard, but he betrayed his country by switching allegiance to King Edward. McCarty weaves a compelling love story between Joan Comyn and Sir Alex Seton against the violent backdrop of a seemingly endless war between Scotland and England. McCarty brings the saga of Robert the Bruce and the war of Scottish independence to a nail-biting conclusion in her latest Highland Guard romance (after The Rock).

The Rock by Monica McCarty