Series: MacLeod (Book 10)
In search of a fresh start, Emma Baxter has traveled to Scotland to try to forget her rocky love life. Luckily, the gorgeous Highlander who owns the house up the path from her rental cottage might be exactly the kind of distraction she needs. But there's more to his intriguing qualities than she can explain -- although she certainly isn't buying into the local legends of Highland magic.
Nathaniel MacLeod is a man adrift, all thanks to the unwanted gift that forces him to continually jump between centuries. He never knows if he'll wind up in the present day or the fourteenth century, but when Emma follows him back through time, he suddenly has more to worry about than keeping his separate lives straight...
Someone has started to notice Nathaniel's travels and now, no time period is safe, for him or for Emma.
I loved the latest entry into the MacLeod series. Emma is an American looking for a fresh start after a bad break up. The trip to Scotland was just what she wanted for inspiration. Emma is a bit of a romantic, hence her visit to magical Scotland, but she is also a fairly practical woman. When she first arrived in the village she overheard conversations in the pub talking about the odd things that happen, comments about the local laird and his brother and who they really are, and a few other things that just make her roll her eyes. She also overheard some women discussing the local recluse, who is young, handsome, and extremely rich, and the best ways to hunt him down. All she wants is some peace and quiet and the opportunity to get her jewelry business restarted. Things took an unexpected turn for her when she witnessed what appeared to be a Medieval reenactment before the participants vanished into thin air.
Nat is a Scotsman whose life jumps from one crisis to the next. Our first sight of him was as he's dining in the pub and listening to the women who are hunting for him, feeling very much like Nessie. He has his very successful business as a venture capitalist that kept him extremely busy. Then there were the regular confrontations with his grandfather, who wanted something Nat has and won't give up trying to get it. But the thing that had him most in turmoil were the frequent trips to a century not his own. He had no idea why, and he never knew when the need would come. When one of these trips was inadvertently witnessed by Emma, his life became even more complicated.
I liked both Emma and Nat. They are both intelligent, easy to like, tenacious, and surprisingly optimistic considering their current lives. Each of them also has secrets and unexpected abilities. It was sweet to see the protective Nat jump right in when he saw the smoke pouring out of Emma's cottage. His brief glimpses of her before intrigued him but that gave him the chance to get to know her a little, and he liked what he learned. Emma's curiosity was just as intense, as she recognized him from that moment in the woods. Though interrupted by yet another call to the past, Fate threw them together the next day. Yet again, Nat's protectiveness kicked in as he offered his assistance. I loved their conversations, which were fun and riddled with teasing. Things took a turn for the weird during a sightseeing visit. I ached for Nat, who didn't know why he was so affected by what he saw. I loved how it was Emma's turn to take care of Nat. Her curiosity was stirred, also, which ultimately led her where she shouldn't go.
Two unexpected trips to the past, and two rescues by Nat, and it seemed that he and Emma were now inexplicably linked. Nat was determined to protect Emma and get to the bottom of why she was involved at all. Emma was not the type to sit back and wait for others to figure things out. It was fun to see them dance around the truth at first, neither one wanting to appear crazy, but needing to figure out what the other one knows. Once the truth was out there, they teamed up to search for answers. And what fun that search was. Their trip to Edinburgh had me in stitches at places. I love it when a MacLeod crosses paths with a de Piaget, and the conversation between Nat and Stephen had me laughing out loud. There were also darker moments, and the presence of a particular dagger in an armaments museum raised further questions.
For the past five years, Nat did everything possible to avoid encountering either Patrick or James MacLeod. But the deeper the mystery over his trips to the past became, the more he realized that he had to talk to them. Things that Nat suspected, but didn't want to admit, suddenly became very important. I thoroughly enjoyed the "discussion" between Nat and Patrick. It was also fun to reacquaint myself with Robbie the piper and his friends. Even Emma received some unexpected attention. The conversation with James was a bit more difficult, as were some of the things he recommended. It all led to Nat's decision to force the issue of keeping Emma safe, and an unexpected twist landed him in graver danger than he expected. What was grand to see was that this time it was Emma's coming to his rescue. She had some unexpected help, which also cleared up some questions from the beginning of the book. The ending still had a couple of twists, but they were great ones.
The development of the relationship between Nat and Emma was pretty sweet. The connection was there from the start. I loved Nat's protectiveness, not just regarding the time traveling issue, but also in the present day. His interactions with Emma's father and ex were great. Emma was also equally protective of him and not shy about doing something about it. The effects of what happened gave both Nat and Emma ample opportunity to show the caring sides of their personalities, and I loved how those moments strengthened their feelings for each other. It was a bit amusing to witness Nat's awkward declarations, as the timing is never the best. I liked the epilogue and seeing how things have settled out for Nat and Emma. I am curious to see if they appear in any future books and if there is any more traveling. I also suspect that we haven't seen the end of Nat's cousin Gerald and that there is something up with Nat's sister.
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