Taming Her Irish Warrior [Mass Market Paperback]

Honore St. Leger has no plans to marry. Now widowed, she has no inentions of yoking herself to the nightmare she has known as marriage. Now widowed, she has freedom but her father insists that she marry. Ewan MacEgan has plans to marry to marry her sister Katherine. The little brother of the impressive MacEgan brothers, he wants to finally make his way in the world. Marriage to her would improve his position. As he pursues Katherine, Ewan cannot help but be drawn to the feisty Honore, his childhood friend. Together they used to battle with swords a children. Today, Honore has all the spunk and determination she did as a child. As the passion sizzles underneath the surface, will Ewan and Honore find a way to admit the love they have for one another, not only to themselves but to each other?

In TAMING HER IRISH WARRIOR, Michelle Willingham gives her readers the story they have been craving ever since the appearance of debut Medieval historical romance, HER IRISH WARRIOR. Now grown up with a handsome body to match, Ewan still carries within him the need to prove himself, and yet, he has just the right amount of sensitivity and determination to be able to reach through the walls Honore creates to protect herself. Honore is not your average woman. Unlike her beautiful but mild-mannered sister, she doesn't hesitate to take charge of situations. She loves sword-play. She breaks all the rules for feminine behavior and comportment and yet, Ewan recognizes the beauty and passion within her. In a society where business, not love, binds marriages, can these two friends and lovers find a way to do not what is expected of them but rather marry for love?

Fans of the MacEgan Brothers will discover again in this romance that Michelle Willingham's characterization is superb. Having seen Ewan before, many readers will have high expectations about Ewan. I, myself, had a certain image in my mind of him and what kind of woman with whom he should be paired. Michelle Willingham surprised me a little as she paired him up with a woman so bold and daring but as I read more and more about them, it hit me in one of those wow moments how truly perfect each was for the other --- and in a way even better than I imagined. Rather than overshadowing him, Honore and his love for her is exactly what he needs to step out of the shadow of his mighty brothers and become his own person --- and does he ever. Likewise, Ewan is just the man to reach the passion locked within Honore and see her as she truly is. The ending is just perfect! Kudos to Michelle Willingham for not watering her heroine down at the end. Always true to her characters, Michelle Willingham writes an ending that will steal the heart with its imagery, emotion and romance.

For those new to the series, TAMING HER IRISH WARRIOR does work as a stand-alone. Michelle Willingham does an excellent job at making someone unfamiliar with the series knowing his emotional background in terms of proving himself to his brothers. She doesn't waste time summarizing the plots of her previous books but rather readers new to the series get to know Ewan from the character himself. I myself prefer this to getting bogged down with plot rehashings. Fans of the series, of course, will enjoy revisiting Ewan and discovering what new insights Michelle Willingham has given into him as he has moved from a young little brother to a man, a man just as endearing if not more so than the brothers which have preceded him.

COURTESY OF BOOK ILLUMINATIONS

This is my second favorite book of the MacEgan brothers. I have enjoyed hearing about Ewan growing up in the other books and now he finds a love of his own. He has travelled to offer himself to the beautiful Katherine but finds himself intrigued by her sister Honora, who he thinks of as a "good friend". Honora is not a typical, gentle daughter but is instead a sword-fighting tomboy who has to hide her talent from everyone but Ewan, who helped train her years ago. I was afraid Honora might be too stubborn and hard-headed to be likeable but she was not at all, and it was evident at the beginning that she was right for Ewan. As a younger son Ewan is focused on gaining his own land a bit too much at first, but it is understandable. A great edition to the saga and a fun way of showing Ewan "all grown up".

I had looked forward to reading Ewan's story. I was a little disappointed in it, though. For as long as it is, I was hoping for a little more of Ewan, but the story was more focused on Honora and her fighting skills. I loved Ewan in the previous stories, watching him grow up. All of a sudden, he is a man, & we are given no background in between his teenage years and his adulthood but we know everything about Honora. Kinda annoying. The book takes forever to get to the point and I got tired of hearing about the treasure. There are no treasures, people. I still enjoyed revisiting the characters from the previous stories, but I feel Ewan was slighted in his. Honora wasn't even really likable. 3 1/2 at the most.

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