CONNAL MACNEIL

Charm Stone by Donna Kauffman (Bantam 2002)

If you’re a fan of Karen Marie Moning, consider reading this one!

Connal MacNeil’s spirit has been waiting for his betrothed to show up on Scotland’s roaring shores.  When she does, she’s modern-day surfer Josie Griffin, who, after a tumultuous wipeout, found his clan’s stone and put it on.  Only, she doesn’t know the significance of that act, and even when she does, she’s not willing to accept it. 

STATS: 

Connal has bargained his soul for one last chance to save his clan.  When Josie shows up, his first words are, “I believe you have something that belongs to me.”  When he finds out she’s worn the stone, he informs her she is his, as well.  And when she says she’s not a fan of Fate or Destiny, Connal calmly tells her “I’ll convince ye otherwise.” 

THE LOOK:

“He was tall, ruggedly built, his dark hair pulled back from his face.  Unlike most of the men she’d seen in Scotland, he actually wore a kilt, with the excess tartan tossed over his shoulder like a cloak.  The fabric was worn, the colors faded, like a favorite pair of jeans.  And he looked just as natural in it.  Beneath the plaid was a shirt that might have been linen, but in the growing dusk it was hard to tell.  The shirt wasn’t new and neither were the leather boots laced up his thick calves….Imposing didn’t begin to describe the man.” 

LEADING LADY: 

When she puts a necklace with a huge stone around her neck, the last thing Josie  is expecting is a little kilted man to appear and tell her it is her fate to marry Connal MacNeil and bear him children.  Josie doesn’t quite agree.  She doesn’t like being told she’s a victim of Destiny, or as Connal puts it, that she has “no say in the matter.”   

A lot to learn

Connal has a lot to learn about his modern bride, including that she’s not in danger when she’s surfing and won’t take kindly to being “rescued.”  He thinks her “wave hunting” is ludicrous, and she refuses to believe he’s a ghost.  

BOTTOM LINE:

Josie and Connal have wonderful, spirited banter on the way to some magnificent love scenes.  Connal’s swoon-worthy, because he both appreciates Josie’s spirited nature….

“His jaw chenched.  ‘Dinna test me, lassie.’

‘Dinna test me either…whatever it is you call boys,’ she finished on a lesss-than-authoritative note. 

A jagged bolt of lightning lit up the sky, illuminating his face.  In that split second she swore she saw his expression falter, a brief twitch curve his lips. 

‘Lads,’ he said sternly, making her wonder I fit had been a trick of the light.”

…And knows how to make her knees wobble with unrelentless passion:

“’Now,’” he told her, “’you’d best dispatch of your guests or they’ll be treated to the screams I’ll elicit from you when I make you come apart for me again.’  He stepped closer. ‘And again.’” 

Swooning yet?

Be ready to cry too.  When Bagan, Connal’s short sidekick, tosses the stone into the sea (thinking Josie is not the one for  Connal), angering the gods so they call Connal home, you’ll feel Josie’s pain.  And even when she thinks he’s gone forever, she takes it upon herself to do—in the present day—what Connal had always wanted.  Save his clan’s future.  And that’s what saves Connal and their love.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Have you ever felt like you’ve fought Destiny, only to have to accept it in the end and been thankful that you have?