Evergreen Evermore by Margaret Izard opens in thirteenth-century Scotland, where Ewan MacDougall, son of the Lord of Lorne, must escort three magic Iona Stones to their new guardian. The Fae send Lady Anne, a gentle healer who can read minds, as the courier, with two dragon-blooded Douglas brothers as bodyguards. A night attack on the road nearly kills Ewan, but Anne’s secret power saves him, carrying the party to Dunstaffnage Castle. There, a chapel rises to house the stones while Ewan’s sharp-tongued sister, Kathryn, treats Anne as an omen of doom and the clan slowly warms to the stranger. As the winter solstice nears, a Fae fable book appears, three stone carriers are chosen, and Anne’s growing love for Ewan collides with a fate she has kept hidden. Christmas brings family, a wedding, and a new life, until the villainous Balor, king of the Fomoire, returns to claim the stones.

Evergreen Evermore by Margaret Izard is more interesting than just a holiday romance. The argument is sound: duty alone can’t save anyone, but love, chosen freely, can. The three stones stand for Faith, Hope, and Love, an echo of the famous Bible passage, and the line “The greatest power of all is true love” returns like a refrain. The structure backs the idea up, moving from a road trip to a castle-and-chapel build to a full showdown, while alternating Anne's and Ewan's viewpoints keep both halves of the romance in view. The fables Anne tells (thirteen daughters, three trees) mirror her own fate. Friar Richard’s scripture-quoting grumbles are a delight, and the clash between medieval customs and a time-traveling warrior’s modern ideas, like a decorated Christmas tree, adds charm. Fans of medieval Scottish romance, fae fantasy, and faith-tinged love stories will be happy, though closed-door readers should know that the love scenes are explicit. The book is heartfelt.

Evergreen Evermore is a Christmas companion book in the Stones of Iona Time Travel Romance series by Margaret Izard. In this story, Dagda chooses Anne to carry the Iona stones as they travel to the new Guardian, Ewan MacDougall. The MacDougall clan has built a castle, Dunstaffnage, and they need to complete a special chapel to keep the stones safe. Friar Richard is an experienced builder, and Anne, the stone courier, must also ensure the church's interior layout and decoration are perfect. Anne was chosen for this task and knows the price she must pay to complete it, but when she meets Ewan, she cannot deny she would give everything to have a life with him. When a dark menace attacks Anne and her party, Ewan is seriously hurt. Placing herself in danger, Anne is adamant about healing him. After he heals, Ewan's love for Anne grows, while she is caught between her duty and the chance of love. As the cloud of darkness that is Balor returns to the Chapel to claim the Iona stones, Ewan executes a plan to save his true love, but will saving Anne come at a cost?

Since Evergreen Evermore is a companion book, it's best to read the earlier books in the series first. Otherwise, it can be confusing to keep track of the present, the past, and the characters. The series follows the people who carry or search for the stones of Iona. The novel includes some mature content, as it is a romance at its heart. It explores many themes, but the most important are true love and family. Ewan and Anne's story centers on true love, and for Anne, realizing she deserves it is key. The struggle between good and evil is also a major theme. Over time, Balor has tried to obtain the stones, as whoever holds all of them can bring great good or great harm to the human and Fae world. The series' time-travel element keeps the story moving and full of surprises. Each book has a unique plot and character development. I can recommend this series because it has great characters with on-page chemistry and an inner cohesion that ties the stories into an unbreakable whole.