Seeker: A Scottish Medieval Enemies to Lovers Romance

Jean M. Grant
Genre: 
Novella

HISTORICAL/PARANORMAL: In Scotland in 1322, Aileana Montgomerie is connected to the power of the earth through her bare feet. She is a skilled archer at a time when women’s skills are downplayed to placate the egos of the men around them. Aileana’s mother is a healer, and uses a magical mortar and pestle to grind her herbs; this tool binds each of the stories together within this series. Brodie MacDougall is the second son of Laird MacDougall, and has an asthma-like illness that causes him to shy away from physical efforts. Thus, he develops his mind and excels at games requiring logic or brainpower. His brother, Keir, has a gambling and whoring problem and keeps losing costly valuables. Keir locked Aileana in a dark barn when she was just a child because she was already a skilled archer, and that threatened him. He cheats to win, which causes trouble. Sometimes he uses things that he doesn’t ‘own’ as collateral for his bets… 

The tension builds steadily throughout this story. There seems to be a bit of evil that is ever-present from the start to the denouement. This author helps readers get to know and understand the conflicts and tensions in each of the main characters. This allows readers to see the evil in Keir and his cronies, as well as the goodness in Aileana and Brodie. The evocative feel of this story makes it seem as if the paranormal element is accepted during this time in history, when people lived much more connected to the land. The story flows well, and the pace is consistent throughout. The mortar and pestle angle adds a unique angle to the paranormal part of this story. 

 

Carey Sullivan