The Recruit by Monica McCarty Also in this series: The Raider, The Viper, The Saint, The Arrow, The Hunter
Series: Highland Guard #6
Published by Ballantine Books on October 30th 2012
Genres: Historical Romance, Medieval Era, Scottish Highlands
Pages: 405
Format: Paperback
Source: Library
ISBN: 0345528417
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?
Kenneth Sutherland is a skilled warrior, and wants to be in the Highland Guard more than anything. He is willing to fight and do whatever it takes to reach his goal. He believes in the fight for Scotland’s freedom, and fighting to join the elite warriors will be the greatest battle he will fight. His chance to prove himself to the elite warriors and Bruce, will be at the Highland games. He is so focused on his determination to win, he gets stunned upon meeting Mary of Mar. Mary is a widow, and was used by her husband, and the son she never got a chance to mother, barely knows her but she is determined to have him in her life again. When she attends the Highland Games to appeal to Bruce, she finds the most gorgeous specimen making passionate love to a woman. Mary’s experience was short and swift and more painful than pleasurable. But when Kenneth pursues her she resists the temptation of a night in his arms. Soon his sensual embraces make her want to risk everything even her heart, just to have him in her life for a short moment. But will Kenneth pursue the one woman that holds his heart?
The Recruit is the sixth book in the Highland Guard series. The Recruit is a story that is a bit different than the others that I have read, but one of my top favorites. The way this author writes her romances is simply magical!! You can never go wrong with Monica McCarty, from the very first page you are instantly pulled in. I love that I know that when I read this author, I know that it will be a compelling story and I won’t have any problem getting into it. So for those that have never read this author…YOU ARE MISSING OUT!! I guarantee that once you pick up this author, you will fall in love!! 🙂 There is nothing that you won’t like about her stories. They are the epitome of what makes a romance story superb!!
The story starts out with seeing Mary and how determined she is to survive, despite the betrayal of her husband, and the loss of her son. Mary was a character I came to admire so much. Strong willed, caring and passionate about life. She craves love but knows she will probably never have it. Then Mary and Kenneth meet and fireworks. Kenneth is like a bull dozer when it comes to something that he wants, and he wants Mary. The exchange between Kenneth and Mary is priceless, and thus begins a rocky romance. This story is packed with ups and downs, and seeing the rewards of fighting for what you believe. I loved the vital emotion that just erupts from this story and threatens to consume the reader! So much intensity and passion, and a love story to break your heart. A sizzling tale of desire, determination, and fighting for the one you love~~STUNNING!!
About Monica McCarty
What do you get when you mix a legal career, a baseball career, motherhood, and a love of history with a voracious reader? In my case, a Historical Romance Author.
Like most writers, I’ve always loved to read. Growing up in California there was always plenty to do outside, but all too often I could be found inside curled up with a book (or two or three). I started with the usual fare: The Little House on the Prairie series, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, Watership Down, Nancy Drew, and everything by Judy Blume. Once I cleared off my bookshelf, I started swiping books from my mom. Some, like Sidney Sheldon’s The Other Side of Midnight, probably weren’t the most appropriate choice for a pre-adolescent—although they were definitely illuminating. I can still remember the look of abject horror on my mom’s Catholic-girl-face when I asked her what a virgin was. After that rather brief conversation, she paid a little closer attention to what had disappeared off her book shelf, and steered me in the direction of Harlequin and Barbara Cartland romances. I was hooked. I quickly read through the inventory of the local library and was soon buying bags of romances at garage sales.
In high school, with the encouragement of my father (who I think was a little concerned about the steady diet of romances), I read over eighty of the Franklin Library’s One Hundred Greatest Books ever written—including Tolstoy, Confucius, Plato, and the entire works of Shakespeare. Some of them were tough going for a teenager, but the experience would prove an invaluable foundation for college. After reading War and Peace, I wasn’t easily intimidated.
For some reason Monica decided to go into writing and not fashion.
After graduation, I loaded up the VW (Jetta not Bus) and trekked down I-5 to attend the University of Southern California, majoring in Political Science and minoring in English (see why all that reading helped!). I joined the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, and when I wasn’t studying or at football games, did my best to support the local bartending industry. Ah, the good old days.
With that kind of fun, four years of college wasn’t quite enough. So leaving Tommy Trojan behind, I traveled back up north to Palo Alto for three more years of study at Stanford Law School. Once I survived the stress of the first semester, law school proved to be one of the best times of my life—garnering me a JD, life-long friends, a husband, and an unexpectedly intimate knowledge of baseball. (See “The Baseball Odyssey” below).
Law School was also where I fell in love with Scotland. In my third year, I took a Comparative Legal History class, and wrote a paper on the Scottish Clan System and Feudalism. So I immediately dropped out of law school and went on to write Scottish Historical Romances…well no, not quite. You see, I always knew I wanted to be a lawyer. My father was a lawyer, I was a “poet” (i.e., not into math), and I love to argue. It seemed natural.
So I finished law school, got married, passed the CA bar, moved to Minnesota (with a few stops along the way), waived into the MN bar, worked as a litigator for a few satisfying years, moved back to CA, had a couple of kids, realized that a legal career and being a single parent for most of the year (due to husband's career) would be extremely difficult, and THEN decided to sit down and write.
And how did I end up writing romance? It’s not as divergent as it seems. What I loved about being a lawyer are the same things I love about being a writer—research and writing. The only thing missing is the arguing, but that’s what a husband and kids are for, right?
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