The Rock

“Do you remember when I asked you to jump to that tree?”
She nodded. How could she forget? It was one of the most terrifying things she’d ever done in her life.
“I’m asking you to do that again. I’m asking you to believe in me–to have a little faith. I’m asking you to jump.” ~~Thom MacGowan with Elizabeth Douglas

Oh, those words hit me right in the heart. Thom MacGowan is the son of a blacksmith. Elizabeth Douglas is noble and the sister of James Douglas (see The Knight, Book 7.5 of this series for his story). They’ve been friends since they were children Even while she lived in France for three years, he waited for her, dreaming that he could somehow be with her, despite his father’s warnings that it could never be. Society would never allow such a thing. He was in love with her and always had been. Thom was convinced all he had to do was make her see she was in love with him and spent the entire book trying to get her to admit it.

But it wasn’t easy at all. While he’s trying to get an admission from her, he’s also trying to become a knight to overcome his low birth and make a name for himself. He was an excellent climber, not much of a equestrian–his moments with horses made me laugh at times, poor guy–and was still a smithy. He was one busy man. I loved him. He was gutsy, courageous, hopeful, determined, smart (even if he couldn’t speak French), handsome, honorable, and loyal to a fault. And he detested James Douglas. I share his feelings on that, not that it matters.

Elizabeth was a polar opposite. She was high born, but lived in poverty long enough for her to never want to be poor again. She was intelligent enough, but somewhat naive. She was to be betrothed to James Randolph who was incredibly wealthy and would give her the security she craved (and also the King’s nephew). She was going to marry a man she didn’t love for what he had to offer. I can’t blame her, though. It was depicted as the times were then. People of nobility did not marry commoners and there wasn’t anything more common than Thommy MacGowan. She understood that her betrothal to Randolph would hurt Thom, but it was a matter of her doing the right thing for herself and for her family.

This is an angsty book. It had me rolling on the waves of Thom’s emotions, his passion, and his true love for Elizabeth while she was in denial of everything. His frustration and turmoil screamed off the pages. She wasn’t exactly a sea of tranquility herself. She was going through a lot, including facing off with her a-hole brother, James Douglas…the Black Douglas…ooo.

Okay, as you can see I really dislike James Douglas and with him being Elizabeth’s brother and her guardian, he played a major part in this book. I thought he would redeem himself from the way I loathed him in The Knight, but he didn’t. He’s just as pushy, arrogant, and egotistical in this book as he was in The Knight. And now he’s running a double-standard, too. But he did two things toward the end of the story that redeemed a wee bit.

There’s plenty of tension and steam as only Monica McCarty can do. It was off the charts and done so well. I’ve read a ton of romances in my life and I have yet to see anybody write first kiss and love scenes like she does. It isn’t overdone or grotesque and as these scenes unfold, it’s easy to feel the love radiating off the pages. She’s just a cut above the rest when it comes to that sort of thing.

One more thing. I accidentally read The Rogue, which is the next book in the series, before I read this one. Don’t do it. It took the mystery out of what was going to happen with Randolph. I wish I hadn’t done that. Regardless, it was still a solid five star read.