Reviewed by Grant Leishman for Readers' Favorite

The Once and Future Love by J.G. McLeod is a joyful romp through time that will have you not only chuckling and swooning but also gripping the book with tension. Take Outlander and throw it into reverse and you begin to see the premise of this “final” episode of the MacLeod Scottish Time Travel series. Brigid McDonald is a frustrated young woman in small-town Huntsville, Ontario. An orphan, she grew up being tossed between various foster homes, never receiving the love she craved, and being incessantly bullied throughout her childhood for her unusual flaming red hair. As a result, Brigid focused on developing her karate skills to the point where she is now a black belt and a sensei at the local karate dojo. Desperate to attend university but forced out after her first year due to lack of tuition fees, she struggles to survive on her barista pay and her dojo training fees. A $10,000 first prize in an outdoor survival competition gives her hope she can raise enough funds to attend her second year and she plans to enter with her doctor best friend Selma. All Brigid’s plans and dreams are upended one evening when a strange, tall, muscular, and exceedingly handsome, but badly wounded Scot named Ferghus appears, seemingly out of nowhere, in her apartment closet, dressed in a traditional kilt and armed to the teeth with knives. Brigid is dumbfounded but deeply drawn to this man who will change her life forever.

Although I did read the first installment, I had not read the second but I can assure readers it is not necessary to have read the earlier iterations to enjoy this wonderful story fully. J.G. McLeod does an excellent job of dropping little gems of information throughout the narrative to fill in background information but does so without removing elements of mystery and suspense, which is great. While I enjoy time travel conundrums, this story is light on the time travel aspect and is more of an exciting and wild ride with plenty of heart-stopping adventure and a massive dose of romance and sizzle. The love scenes in particular were extremely exciting and erotic without ever being crude, which displays a real talent in scene construction and writing. Readers should never lose sight of the fact that, at its core, this story is inherently funny and I found myself grinning broadly at many of the interactions between Brigid and Ferghus. These are the core of the story and many of their confusions and misconceptions arose through them. When a determined, driven, and independent, twenty-first-century young woman comes up against the social mores and sexist views of a fifteenth-century Scottish clan chief, tension and humor are exactly what one would expect and this author plays the interactions between the pair perfectly. I also appreciated the liberal use of Gaelic throughout the story which I felt lent authenticity to the narrative, if authenticity can ever be ascribed to a time travel tale. I appreciated the English translations as well. The author offers an alternative ending, which opens the door for a possible fourth novel based on these characters. I hope she does, as this series is one of high adventure, fantastic characters, thrilling battle scenes, exciting premises, wonderful romance, and a great deal of humor and fun. I highly recommend The Once and Future Love.