Scan barcode
milkybew's review
5.0
Well Deserved Finales
Very well deserved ending, no loose end. The final journey of Highland guard. Alex and Joan story are captivating, heartbreaking and thrilling. Love every minute.
*warning: heroine have trauma of being rape and actual scene which almost succeeds.
Very well deserved ending, no loose end. The final journey of Highland guard. Alex and Joan story are captivating, heartbreaking and thrilling. Love every minute.
*warning: heroine have trauma of being rape and actual scene which almost succeeds.
zaza_bdp's review against another edition
4.0
Après avoir été déçue par l'avant-dernier tome, j'avais un peu peur de lire celui-là, d'autant plus qu'il s'agit du dernier de la série, une série parfois un peu inégale mais qui a su me tenir en haleine et fait vibrer la petite flamme historico-romanesque qui brûle en moi.
Nous voici donc enfin au terme de cette épique fresque retraçant un pan important de l'histoire de l’Écosse, une Histoire sanglante mais tellement passionnante !
Ce tome est un très beau condensé de tous ceux qui l'ont précédé, et j'ai particulièrement été sensible aux tiraillements de conscience du héros, preux chevalier dans toute sa splendeur, un homme qui finira par réaliser qu'il a beau avoir des idéaux, au final, dans une telle situation, rien n'est tout blanc ni tout noir. J'ai vraiment aimé cet aspect de sa psychologie et, après sa désertion, je brûlais d'envie de le retrouver. Les passages où sa détermination et sa certitude d'avoir fait le bon choix deux ans auparavant commencent à s'effriter sont particulièrement intéressants à lire car on voit là toute l'épaisseur du personnage. Alex est un homme loyal, droit dans ses bottes, mais il va devoir mettre de côtés certaines illusions pour pouvoir avancer.
Joan est une femme fougueuse, courageuse, elle mérite amplement sa place au sein de la garde, et j'ai aimé la voir s'adoucir au contact d'Alex. Tous deux se complètent à merveille et forment un très beau couple.
Les dernières scènes m'ont remplie d'émotions, j'ai senti vibrer en moi l'histoire, la fierté et la cause de tout un pays, une histoire qui résonne encore aujourd'hui, d'ailleurs. Je quitte cette série avec une pointe de nostalgie, mais je n'oublierai pas de sitôt ce souffle épique que Monica McCarthy a fait souffler tout au long de ces 12 tomes (sans compter les nouvelles à ce jour inédites en VF). Histoire avec un grand H, passion amoureuse, valeurs d'amitié, de loyauté, de fidélité ... Bref, c'est tout simplement pour moi LA meilleure série de romance histo en kilt !
Nous voici donc enfin au terme de cette épique fresque retraçant un pan important de l'histoire de l’Écosse, une Histoire sanglante mais tellement passionnante !
Ce tome est un très beau condensé de tous ceux qui l'ont précédé, et j'ai particulièrement été sensible aux tiraillements de conscience du héros, preux chevalier dans toute sa splendeur, un homme qui finira par réaliser qu'il a beau avoir des idéaux, au final, dans une telle situation, rien n'est tout blanc ni tout noir. J'ai vraiment aimé cet aspect de sa psychologie et, après sa désertion, je brûlais d'envie de le retrouver. Les passages où sa détermination et sa certitude d'avoir fait le bon choix deux ans auparavant commencent à s'effriter sont particulièrement intéressants à lire car on voit là toute l'épaisseur du personnage. Alex est un homme loyal, droit dans ses bottes, mais il va devoir mettre de côtés certaines illusions pour pouvoir avancer.
Joan est une femme fougueuse, courageuse, elle mérite amplement sa place au sein de la garde, et j'ai aimé la voir s'adoucir au contact d'Alex. Tous deux se complètent à merveille et forment un très beau couple.
Les dernières scènes m'ont remplie d'émotions, j'ai senti vibrer en moi l'histoire, la fierté et la cause de tout un pays, une histoire qui résonne encore aujourd'hui, d'ailleurs. Je quitte cette série avec une pointe de nostalgie, mais je n'oublierai pas de sitôt ce souffle épique que Monica McCarthy a fait souffler tout au long de ces 12 tomes (sans compter les nouvelles à ce jour inédites en VF). Histoire avec un grand H, passion amoureuse, valeurs d'amitié, de loyauté, de fidélité ... Bref, c'est tout simplement pour moi LA meilleure série de romance histo en kilt !
colleen1011's review against another edition
4.0
I really was looking forward to this book. The Highland Guard series is one of my favorites. I love how Monica McCarty combines the romance with the history. I have not read another author who does such a good job with this in a romance book. I loved Alex and Joan's characters. They had great chemistry and interactions. They worked ell together and I was happy that I was correct in guessing their pairing. My only problem is that I thought the book ended quickly. I would have liked to see more interactions between Joan and the Highland Guard. I especially wanted to see more with Lachlan and Alex. I was also sad that we did not see a reunion with Joan and her mother. I know we had a glimpse in an earlier book but I would have liked more detail. Overall, great book, a good end to the series. I am now waiting to find out the next series she has planned. I recieved an ARC from NETGalley for my review.
romancejunkie1025's review
5.0
Wow what an ending to a series that has capture my heart and imagination for years now. I am fighting tears as i write my review but i will get it posted to the blog as soon as possible.
nelsonseye's review
4.0
This was a nice close the the series. I'm glad certain scenes were not too drawn out, and the epilogue was lovely.
thatashgirl83's review
4.0
I enjoyed this series but it was so detailed and spread out over so many years that I actually had a hard time keeping the many characters straight in my head.
Nice wrap up at the end though.
Nice wrap up at the end though.
snapplejuice's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
metzireadsromance's review
5.0
Joan and Alex
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I loved this book
⭐⭐⭐⭐ I really liked this book
⭐⭐⭐ I liked this book
⭐⭐ Meh...bored or annoyed
⭐ WTF did I just read?!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I loved this book
⭐⭐⭐⭐ I really liked this book
⭐⭐⭐ I liked this book
⭐⭐ Meh...bored or annoyed
⭐ WTF did I just read?!
dragon_lion64's review
3.0
Joan Comyn's father forced her to see her mother, Isabella MacDuff, in the cage King Edward 1 so cruelly hung from the ramparts of Berwick Castle when she was twelve. Her father thought it would make her see her mother as a traitor but it had the opposite effect. It pushed her to give her loyalty to Robert the Bruce of Scotland and become a spy for him.
Joan sometimes has to do things she doesn't like to do to get information and it has increasingly become more dangerous as the war ramps up. She targets men in positions to have top-secret information and tries to hold them off with a few kisses and hope she can keep them at bay but some men are harder to manipulate than others. She's playing a dangerous game that could end up in a bad way.
Alex Seton was in the elite group of secret warriors known as the Highland Guard who fight for Robert Bruce until he left them two years ago. He is a knight with a strict code of honor where everything is black and white. He was tired of the Guards pirate-like tactics along the border lands where he sees the people suffering from the war. He thought he could make a difference on the English side and convince the king to see that a truce was the best outcome. So far, he hasn't made a difference.
When Joan meets Alex, she knows exactly who he is and knows he is the one person who might figure out she is the Ghost, the spy for the Highland Guard. She knows to stay far away from him but Alex has other ideas. He thinks he is her new protector even though she has told him she does not want his protection.
I don't know how many times I called Joan a bitch because that's exactly what she was with the things she said and did. She was just too mean at times. She built up her reputation as somewhat of a harlot on purpose and then became offended when someone said something about it. It irritated me but I ended up liking her as the story progressed.
I think this was the final book of the series. I'm going to miss it.
Joan sometimes has to do things she doesn't like to do to get information and it has increasingly become more dangerous as the war ramps up. She targets men in positions to have top-secret information and tries to hold them off with a few kisses and hope she can keep them at bay but some men are harder to manipulate than others. She's playing a dangerous game that could end up in a bad way.
Alex Seton was in the elite group of secret warriors known as the Highland Guard who fight for Robert Bruce until he left them two years ago. He is a knight with a strict code of honor where everything is black and white. He was tired of the Guards pirate-like tactics along the border lands where he sees the people suffering from the war. He thought he could make a difference on the English side and convince the king to see that a truce was the best outcome. So far, he hasn't made a difference.
When Joan meets Alex, she knows exactly who he is and knows he is the one person who might figure out she is the Ghost, the spy for the Highland Guard. She knows to stay far away from him but Alex has other ideas. He thinks he is her new protector even though she has told him she does not want his protection.
I don't know how many times I called Joan a bitch because that's exactly what she was with the things she said and did. She was just too mean at times. She built up her reputation as somewhat of a harlot on purpose and then became offended when someone said something about it. It irritated me but I ended up liking her as the story progressed.
I think this was the final book of the series. I'm going to miss it.
claudiasousa06's review
4.0
This book will definitely take 4 stars, one of my favorite in the series!
The build-up with every single book was so good and this ending was so fitting to the story. The stakes were always high and kept me constantly at the edge-of-my-seat.
I loved Joan's story, she was the best heroine I could've asked for in this series! Loyal, brave and true like the song!
Even knowing the risk, she spied and retrieved indispensable information for Bruce's cause over the years. Without her this war might not have been won by Bruce. In more ways than one, actually.
Alex had been struggling with himself, waging an internal war that led him to commit a terrible mistake, switching sides, but he realized not soon after that it was an error.
I think he truly is a formidable gentleman, a knight who upholds values of courage and nobility. Truly a "relic" of days past, like Boyd, his partner in the guard. He is human and made an impossible decision at a moment of weakness, when he thought that the endless war would never know an end.
I loved their romance story, I mean he was such a gentleman, but she quickly made him come out of his shell and become a "brigand" trying to steal her heart.
The role both of them had in leading the Bruce to victory was unquestionable.
Although we don't have a complex, detailed description of the battle, as this is a historical book focused on romance, it didn't made it any less climatic, bringing a decisive end to Scotland's fight for freedom, grating it victory. At least for now, we all know not many years later it was lost and Scotland would become part of the United Kingdom.
It was definitely a ride I enjoyed and perfect for keeping my mind of things, such as going back to school for my masters and to help me get back on track with my reading. I was in a horrible slump, but now I have so many books I want to read, alas my masters in now going to come in between me and my books!
The build-up with every single book was so good and this ending was so fitting to the story. The stakes were always high and kept me constantly at the edge-of-my-seat.
I loved Joan's story, she was the best heroine I could've asked for in this series! Loyal, brave and true like the song!
Even knowing the risk, she spied and retrieved indispensable information for Bruce's cause over the years. Without her this war might not have been won by Bruce. In more ways than one, actually.
Alex had been struggling with himself, waging an internal war that led him to commit a terrible mistake, switching sides, but he realized not soon after that it was an error.
I think he truly is a formidable gentleman, a knight who upholds values of courage and nobility. Truly a "relic" of days past, like Boyd, his partner in the guard. He is human and made an impossible decision at a moment of weakness, when he thought that the endless war would never know an end.
I loved their romance story, I mean he was such a gentleman, but she quickly made him come out of his shell and become a "brigand" trying to steal her heart.
The role both of them had in leading the Bruce to victory was unquestionable.
Although we don't have a complex, detailed description of the battle, as this is a historical book focused on romance, it didn't made it any less climatic, bringing a decisive end to Scotland's fight for freedom, grating it victory. At least for now, we all know not many years later it was lost and Scotland would become part of the United Kingdom.
It was definitely a ride I enjoyed and perfect for keeping my mind of things, such as going back to school for my masters and to help me get back on track with my reading. I was in a horrible slump, but now I have so many books I want to read, alas my masters in now going to come in between me and my books!