The most sought-after bachelor in Scotland, the seventh McTiernay brother cannot be caught, by seduction or love—unless a roving Highland beauty lays siege to his heart . . . AN UNEXPECTED DESIRE Conan McTiernay will leave the joys of wedlock to his happily married brothers. He’s too busy mapping out Scotland to protect her borders from English invasion. . . . Until he’s dispatched to escort a … he’s dispatched to escort a cloistered Highland lass safely back to his family’s castle.
A FOREVER LOVE
Mhàiri Mayboill has embarked on her journey facing an impossible choice: Marry or take the vows of a nun. But she cherishes her freedom too much to be tied to any man. Yet this arrogant Highlander with his spirited ways and piercing eyes awakens more than desire. For two people who want nothing of love but have everything in common, emotions soon forge an unforeseen bond. But happiness is never simple for a McTiernay, and more surprises lie ahead . . .
Praise for The McTiernays!
“Sinclair entertains with noble self-sacrifice, double deceptions, sizzling attraction, and affectionate meddling.”
—Publishers Weekly on Tempting the Highlander
“Once again Sinclair demonstrates her ability to touch readers’ minds and hearts, keeping them enthralled.”
—RT Book Reviews on Desiring the Highlander
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This was not a bad book, but personally, I found it a little boring.
The book opens with Conan McTiernay, the second to youngest McTiernay son and indisputably the most brilliant and the rudest of the bunch, being held at sword point while bathing in a loch near his brother Cole’s castle. He is on his way to Cole’s at Laurel’s bidding to help Father Laneghly and assist in moving items from the burned out priory to the McTiernay holding, when two men accost him and seek to take him captive. Conan has no time for this, even naked and wet, he knows these two men are no match for him. He quickly dispatches the first man and the other man runs off.
Mhairi Mayboill is the younger daughter of a traveling merchant, she has been residing with her sister (who is a nun) for the last several years, but since the priory burned and the church has moved them, Mhairi is no longer welcome with them unless she is willing to take vows. Mhairi has no desire to commit to the church or to marry – she wants her freedom and will not be tied down.
When she and Conan meet, sparks fly, I think they both realize that they have met their match – but neither wants marriage or commitment of any kind.
After this start, I expected this book to be action packed and filled with intrigue and adventure. But, nope – it is two incredibly stubborn people falling in love but refusing to change their plans to accommodate that love.
The story would have been a total bust for me if not for the secondary romance of Seamus and Maegen and the antics of Conor and Laurel’s daughters Brenna and Bonny.
The story ends with a HEA, but it is a long and torturous road (for the reader), there are some steamy love scenes, some laugh out loud moments (thanks to Brenna & Bonny), cameos from ALL the McTiernays, a little heartbreak and I am sorry to say a lot of modern verbiage and cliffhanger epilogue.
*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher*
Made my heart stop at the end, have already preordered the next book in the series. I love all of her books just wish there was more.
Loved the book. Ending left me hanging. Hope we don’t have to wait long for the next book.
I enjoyed the book, but it left the ending with another mystery ,of someone stabbed.
Can two people who want only freedom, find themselves thrown together? Conan McTiernay, the only McTiernay brother left unwed, is happy. More of a scholar with his love mapping the countryside, he is in no hurry to be tied down. He is asked to retrieve a Mhairi Mayboill to his family’s castle for safety. Mhairi on the other hand really only wants her freedom but she is being forced to make a choice. She must marry or become a nun and with her spirit it would be worse than death to be locked up away from life itself. As Conan retrieves her and they begin their journey, he is very surprised to find her so intelligent and that they have a lot in common. The author pulls you in with her descriptions of the times and the characters. What the two find is that not matter how hard you resist, fate has a different idea! Loved these this couple and you will also!!
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
This was my first book by Michele Sinclair and I have to say I have mixed feelings about it. I actually enjoyed the story, but it felt like it might just be a ‘bridge’ book. Something to do with the ‘unlikable’ brother while the author sets the stage for the next, probably more exciting book. There wasn’t any excitement or danger, nobody hunting the heroine or trying to kill the hero and/or his family. A bit of intrigue was written into the very beginning of the story – and then at the end, but none in between. I have given the author the benefit of the doubt in giving the book the rating I did. I am going to assume that the character who is lying lifeless in a pool of his own blood in the epilogue actually survives. If they don’t – I’ll revisit this review and downgrade the rating considerably. Then again, this is an ARC, so maybe the published version won’t have that wording in it. One can only hope.
To me, the stars of the whole book were Bonny and Brenna. Bonny is six and Brenna is ten and they are the daughters of Conan’s brother Conor. They are so smart and funny – and they are born matchmakers. Once they decide that Conan and Mhairi should be together, there is no stopping their matchmaking schemes. You’ll love them. You’ll also love Conor, the girl’s father, who was the hero in the first book of the series.
There are seven McTiernay brothers. Five of them are married and are lairds in different clans. They were all featured in the first books of the series. From what I can tell – their names all begin with the letter ‘C’. Since I hadn’t read the first books, I found myself getting them mixed up as I read this book. I hate it when authors do that – in this book all of Conor’s children’s names begin with a ‘B’.
Conan McTiernay is a scholar. He’s huge and muscular and trains with the soldiers in his brother Conor’s guard, but his real interest is making maps. Since there are no real maps, he sees the value of having good accurate ones of his homeland in order to guide their king in stopping English invasions and also to guide travelers from place to place. Conan has little patience or liking for most people – he lives in his own head most of the time. He’s brutally honest, to the point of rudeness. He is solely focused on getting his vellum ready for his mapping trip that begins in the spring and resents anything or anyone who gets in the way of it.
Mhairi Mayboill is the exquisitely beautiful daughter of a traveling merchant. She loves traveling from place to place, seeing new things and meeting new people. For the last several years she has been living in a cottage near an abbey. Her father had sent her and her sister there to keep them safe because as they grew up and became more beautiful he didn’t feel it was safe for them to travel with him. He had taught them both how to take care of themselves – they could fight, use a dirk, hunt, fish, etc. – but he didn’t want their skills to be tested by traveling with him. Mhairi is as smart as (or maybe smarter than) Conan. She loves books and has a huge collection of them. She’s also a gifted artist.
Conan meets Mhairi when his sister-in-law sends him to his brother Cole’s keep to pick up a person and bring them back to Conor’s. That person is Mhairi and she’s in need of a place to stay because the abbey had burned and the church had taken all of the nuns away, but Mhairi wasn’t a nun and didn’t want to go. Sparks fly between Conan and Mhairi as soon as they meet – they are nose-to-nose and toe-to-toe arguing before they’ve even been introduced.
Neither Conan nor Mhairi have room in their plans for a spouse. Yet, everyone around them can see how perfect they are for each other. Mhairi isn’t intimidated by Conan and can stand her own with him – intellectually and physically.
I hated the epilogue, not because it wasn’t well written but because of what happens. The set-up for it was also just not believable. Supposedly the laird is sleeping in a tent outside his own castle because they had given their bedroom to Conan and Mhairi for the night. That just didn’t make sense. Mhairi had given up her room in the castle to make room for the wedding guests, but Conan still had his own room – so there was no need or reason for either of them to be sleeping in a tent outside the gates.
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