They are the best of the best, chosen for their superior skills in each discipline of warfare. Our Story Begins: Handpicked by Robert the Bruce to help him in his quest to free Scotland from English rule, the Highland Guard is an elite fighting force unlike any the world has ever seen. As the battle for king and country sounds across the shores, will Ellie’s love be enough to finally tame the legend known as the Hawk? Still, he is a man driven by loyalty, and she is a woman with secrets that could threaten his mission and jeopardize Bruce’s chance to reclaim his throne. Erik is as wild and untamed as the wind, sweeping away her resistance with a desire that resonates deep within her heart. Her captor may look every inch a powerful, rugged warrior, but Ellie vows it will take more than a twinkle in his blue eyes and a wickedly suggestive caress to impress her. Worse, this confounding, fascinating, irresistible woman is determined to prove herself immune to his charms-a challenge he cannot resist. Ellie’s ordinary appearance belies the truth: she is in fact Lady Elyne de Burgh, the spirited daughter of the most powerful noble in Ireland, and a close ally of the English king. I highly recommend reading all three books even if you have to slog through the second half of Oh, Play That Thing.Erik MacSorley is unrivaled on the seas, a brilliant seafarer who has never encountered a wind he could not harness nor a woman he could not win-until he drags a wet, half-naked “nursemaid” out of the waters off the Irish coast.

Yet, Henry soon comes to realize that the IRA's vision of Ireland is as false and idealistic as Fords.Overall, Doyle does a great job in this series at taking on modern Irish history - warts and all - through the lens of this fascinating (if not always likable) character. He's hailed as a hero of the rebellion and called back into action by the modern IRA. Henry gets caught in the terrorist bombings in Dublin (coincidentally the second book this month I've read where these bombings play a crucial role after Let the Great World Spin) and his true identity is revealed. Escaping Ford's green-tinted lens view of Ireland, Henry settles into working as a janitor at a school in a modern Dublin suburb where he may or may not be reacquainted with his long lost wife. The final installment brings Henry back to Ireland and is a return to form albeit still failing to approach the brilliance of the first novel.Henry accompanies John Ford to make a film based on his own life which Ford turns into The Quiet Man. The sequel which follows Henry to America in the Roaring Twenties - Oh, Play That Thing - starts of brilliantly but then collapses due to some poor narrative choices. The first book in this series A Star Called Henry is one of my favorite novels of all time. Doyle completes The Last Roundup trilogy, a story of Ireland and the Irish in the 20th century through the lens of one everyman - Henry Smart.

The Hawk by Monica McCarty