Mcalistair's Fortune (Leisure Historical Romance) [Mass Market Paperback]

I'm two for two today with Alissa Johnson's "McAlistair's Fortune" as my second gem of the day! This is a wonderful historical brimming with snappy dialogue, humor, heart-warming romance, a tortured hero, and a not-so-perfect heroine.

Evie's always been pretty sure that love and marriage weren't in her future. She does, after all, have a facial scar and a limp as a result of a carriage accident when she was a young girl. So she's turned her life towards different pursuits and helping abused women and children escape from their tormentors. But one night she 'overhears' (with her ear against a door mind you) a plot to find her a husband via a bogus threatening letter situation for her 'hero' to then save her from. And shortly later when she receives receives a real threat in the mail, she assumes it's all for show. And it's almost worth it when she realizes she'll get to spend time with the infamous Hermit of Haldon Hall. Especially since they once shared a romantic kiss!

McAlistair is a man tortured by his past actions...he was an assassain for the war department. When he 'quit' he became a hermit, living in the woods in silence and alone...then one day he heard a woman laughing and his world changed. He knows he's not the right man for her, but he's also determined that he will protect this woman with every skill he ever learned.

How romantic! Neither the hero or heroine is perfect, titled, ultra-rich, gorgeous, etc.; instead both are real people with real flaws. Johnson did a fabulous job writing a gradually unfolding closeness and intimacy between these two. There's even humor which they both need in their lives. It's a smart story with characters I grew to care for and when I finished I had a very large grin and the desire to read more of Alissa Johnson's stories.

There is a connection between this and two previous books, but reading the others isn't necessary to enjoy "McAlistair's Fortune". Of course, my bet is that once you read this one, you'll be looking for Ms. Johnson's backlist!

Finished it late last night and wanted to just let the story rest, not get out of bed to write a review. Here are the basics: the main characters were great; the romance sooo enjoyable; the mystery subplot somewhat rushed and random at the end, but oh well; and overall a wonderful read!

One thing I appreciated was that both characters were honest about their feelings for the other - if not with one another, than at least with themselves. So often the character is supposedly oblivious to anything besides for lust until the second to last chapter when suddenly, *EPIPHANY*! "I'm in love with her/him! Oh wow!" No really, dumbo?

Don't worry, there are still plenty of complications and resistance and doubts and etc., but they were - for the most part - very well done. From the beginning there is a deep and heady connection between McAlistair and Evie and it only continues to grow as they spend more time with one another. Each has (real) doubts and insecurities, but they only serve to strengthen the relationship in the end. Some of these issues were resolved a little too quickly IMHO, and should have been brought up earlier so that they could be fully discussed and resolved.

HERO, Mr. James McAlistair (? - which was really annoying!):
Wednesday I was in love with Loretta Chase's Alistair, Thursday I was in love with Alissa Johnson's Whit ... and yesterday McAlistair replaced them both!! (Maybe I have something for the name Alistair). Like lonely, silent, mysterious, and tortured heroes? Well go no further! McAlistair is extremely sigh-worthy and his deep love and longing and hunger for Evie will give you goosebumps (and make you extremely jealous, lol). He was an assassin for several years for the War Department, and while he knows that Evie is not for him because of all that he has done in his life, he cannot help but be drawn to this woman who represents all that is good and pure and innocent.

He's just such a sweet hero, while also being deliciously dark and dangerous. You know an author is talented when you're already half in love with the hero, yet he's barely spoken two words out loud and you haven't even reached page 20! As another reviewer mentioned, the fact that McAlistair and Evie have a significant of time alone with one another gives their relationship time to grow and deepen and makes the romance all the more believable and enjoyable. The change that he undergoes with Evie is subtle, but it's significant and you'll find yourself envying Evie for the love she engenders in this man and the power she has over him ... or was that just me ...?

HEROINE, Miss Evie Cole (26):
Evie lives up to her counterpart and is an equally engaging character. She has a healthy sense of humor, is passionate and intelligent, takes everything in stride. She's a strong woman who has had to overcome difficulties: her father was emotionally abusive, though thankfully he died when she was young and he drunkenly crashed their carriage - not so thankfully, that crash left her with a slight limp and a large scar down the side of her face (this last was pretty infrequently mentioned and I often forgot she even had it). Evie is drawn to McAlistair, despite his mysterious and unreadable facade, which tells her so little about his true feelings - or if he even has any at all.

She is part of an underground network that helps abused women escape their abusers, and one thing I will say is that I would have appreciated more detail on this. I found it a very interesting subplot, but although it's mentioned and is (potentially?) directly relevant to the mystery subplot, it's not explored much.

PROVIDENCE SERIES:
1) As Luck Would Have It - Miss Sophie Everton and Alex Durmant, Duke of Rockeforte
2) Tempting Fate - Miss Mirabelle Browning and Whittaker Cole, Earl of Thurston (4.5 stars)
3) MCALISTAIR'S FORTUNE - Miss Evie Cole and Mr. James McAlistair (4 stars)
4) Destined to Last - Lady Kate Cole and Mr. Andrew Hunter

BOTTOM LINE: Absolutely great - read Tempting Fate first to enjoy it all the more. My overall rating for that book was higher, but the heroes are definitely tied - no question about it!

RECOMMENDATIONS:
* Scandalous (Banning Sisters Trilogy, Book 1) by Karen Robards (5 stars)
* A Notorious Love (Swanlea Spinsters, Book 2) by Sabrina Jeffries (4 stars)

McAlistair's Fortune has a nice hero and heroine and decent plot. There were times it moved a bit slowly but overall it was an entertaining read.

Heroine Evie is a resolute twenty-six year old spinster set upon never marrying. It is only later in the novel that the reader truly understands her aversion to the marriage state and in some ways it would have been nice to know some of her past earlier. Her actions would have been easier to understand. Evie has wonderful but meddlesome relatives who do want to see her married and she eavesdrops upon a scheme to find her a husband. She overhears bits and pieces of a plan to have her future husband rescue her from imminent danger.

Soon Evie receives a threatening letter and she believes it is all a plot cooked up by her well meaning family to further their marriage plans for her. Brought in to guard her is hero McAlistair. He lives a life almost as a hermit and has been secretly in love with Evie for years but she has no idea of his feelings.

Evie and McAlistair are forced to travel alone together and during this time Evie tries to engage the very taciturn McAlistair into a conversation lasting more than two sentences. She is not too successful but she is spontaneous and fun loving and the complete opposite of her bodyguard.

McAlistair is a former soldier and has a boatload of baggage from his past. He does long for Evie and this is what drives the romance. His noble self is in a constant struggle with his selfish desires. Evie is unaware of this at first but then she smartly realizes that McAlistair has some feelings for her.

The best parts of this book are when McAlistair shares his past with Evie and when he explores his emotions also. For so long he has lived a solitary life, he has trouble truly communicating his thoughts with Evie. He is honorable and a little stubborn too but not as stubborn as Evie. This works both to her advantage and detriment. She is persistent when it comes to reaching out to McAlistair but mulish when it comes to facts. She has a tendency to ignore them.

Overall this book gets almost 4 stars. Evie and McAllistair are nice together but they lacked a certain emotional connectedness until late into the novel. The middle portion dragged a bit. Evie tried hard to break through McAlistair's shell and at times it worked but often led nowhere. I had not read the previous books in this series and was a bit lost on the characters. There are several of them that pop up and I had to go back and re read how they were related to Evie.