Oh my heart ! ❤️

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. ( )

The Ghost by Monica McCarty is a 2016 Pocket Books publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

I have had this book for a little while, but I’ve put off reading it because it is the final book in the “Highland Guard’ series, and I really hate to see this series end.

This twelfth installment features Joan Cromyn, a spy for the Scots, living in England with her cousins after she is stripped of her inheritance. She does her job so well, she had been dubbed, “The Ghost.”

Alex Seton was once in the guard, loyal to Bruce, but the war has dragged on for so long, he lost faith, believing that unless he could convince the English to work on a truce, the war would never end. To that end, Alex switches sides, hoping to find a way to end the war.

He has been commissioned to flush out the ‘The Ghost’, but he never anticipated running into Joan, Bella MacDuff’s beautiful daughter. He is shocked at how he reacts to Joan, but of course the couple can never have a life together, because her step-father would never allow her to marry a traitor. Can Joan convince Alex to rejoin ‘The Guard’, and fight once more for his own country?

Alex is perhaps the gentlest member of ‘The Guard’, and melted my heart. He is known for his gallantry and is teasingly referred to as “Sir Galahad”. What he tries to do here is something that has happened in all wars, when weariness settles in and no solution seems forthcoming. However, the English are just as mulish and he soon finds his heart and loyalties are torn more than ever before.

Joan, is an outstanding spy, and her boldness has only grown over time. But, it’s possible she is being watched and could be in grave danger. But, falling in love with Alex was never her intention, and it certainly complicates matters for her. What will Alex think if he ever discovers the truth?

I really enjoyed this last installment as it has a sentimental tone to it. The story highlights the strain and long term agony of war, and the toll it takes, but was also one of the most romantic and sensual stories of the series. I think Joan helped Alex find his way back, and Alex proved to Joan that there really are good, honorable men in this world.

I will really will miss this series. It is one of the very few that actually incorporated authentic historical detail, proving that historical accuracy enhances the romantic elements, and paints a realistic depiction of medieval days, the harshness of war, the grand love affairs, and the intense passions of the Scottish people.

Overall, the series closes on a high note with a special happily ever after. ( )

... 'she failed to free her mother from her cage but ... her mother's suffering had not been in vain'

I very much enjoyed this last of the Highland Guard series. (Hold for a few moments of heartfelt sobbing as this reader farewells a series she's absolutely loved! I can see a binge reread happening in the very near future!)
The turning of a 12 year old into a committed and fervent supporter of the Scottish King when Joan Comyn is forced that day to watch the torture of her mother Bella McDuff, forges the steely conviction to do all she can for the Robert the Bruce. She swears it on that day.
Now Joan, disinherited and declared a bastard is acting as her cousin's maid, is a spy within the English court, gathering secrets and delivering them to the Bruce. By the Way, Joan's cousin is a piece of work; demanding ,selfish and vain. I really don't like her, and seems neither do many others.
Alex Seton is a Scottish border lord, who once stood with Bruce . He turned away from that allegiance in an attempt to look for a better way for the ravaged borderers. He is now labelled 'traitor' by his highland brothers.
Alex has been set to find the traitor in the English court. He is a man who stands firmly by his knighthood oath of chivalry and honor. That oath will be tested beyond endurance as he searches for the unknown enemy, The Ghost. Meanwhile, Joan is attempting to find out what Scottish and English lords have or have not sent forces, troop numbers and locations and likely attack areas so that the Bruce can strike a telling blow against the English army and their Scottish supporters. The stakes are high!
This was not my favourite amongst the Highland Guard books. I really see it as a 4 star read but I rounded that up to 5 when I considered where it sits within the series, the magnetic appeal of the whole series, and the appropriateness of the mystery of Ghost being unveiled as the 'tour de force', in a fitting manner as the last of the series.

A NetGalley ARC ( )

It seems like I've been waiting forever for Ghost, I'm so impatient, is it Alex or not. Now my torment is over...no it's not, it's Joan Comyn and Alex is on the hunt for the Ghost's identity.
This final instalment is full of tension and suspense as Alex and Joan fight against growing feelings for each other and then for their beliefs. A great story, well worth the wait for me.

As always Ms. McCarty includes interesting historical facts from that time and separates what was fictional in the story for entertainment.
I will miss the Highland Guard, I guess I'll have to start from the beginning again...which isn't too much of a task. 5/5 ( )