3.5-4 stars
This book contains two books in the series, although not back-to-back.
What Dreams May Come is one of my favorites in the series - easily 4 stars, because we meet Gray Mackenzie - friend to Kacey Draycott and future companion to Adrian Draycott. Yep... it's quite the story! Of course, it's full of suspense and danger, but it's got such a wonderful happy ending that I can't fault it.
Season of Wishes is a sweet, wonderful tale of Ian McCall, a Scottish lord and Security International's most seasons kidnap negotiator. But the curse of the McCall's is taking its toll on him, and Ian fears he won't be able to continue physically or mentally much longer. Which, to him, means he'll have to give up his ancestral home, too.
Jamee Night is a free-spirit and heiress to the Nightingale fortune, along with her 3 adopted brothers. When she was 17, Jamee was kidnapped and held hostage for months in a small, dark, hot closet, until she was able to escape with her life. Since then, she's tried to put the experience behind her, but she still suffers night-terrors where she strips her clothes off to avoid the small, hot, dark space of that closet. And Jamee's still a target, as her brothers Adam and William know. They ask Nicholas Draycott for advice on who to hire to protect and guard Jamee from the lastest threats without her knowledge - she gets more than a little miffed to have her space and life crowded or to be reminded of the past she's trying to get beyond.
Ian doesn't want to take the job, until he hears Jamee's exuberance and life on the phone... and sees video of her in a sleep study, trying to overcome her night terrors. Reluctantly, Ian takes on the job, and follows Jamee to Scotland, where she's supposed to visit Dunraven Castle to show her textiles to Kara and Duncan MacKinnon.
But Jamee makes a stop to pay tribute to her deceased parents - a stop where she encounters Ian, trying to keep his cover as part of his contract. The two are quickly fogged in by the unpredictable weather, and Ian's knowledge of the area help him to lead Jamee to a cabin where they can take shelter. The fog and weather prevent their cell phones from working very well or at all; they're trapped until the fog lifts, which ends up being days.
While Ian tries to avoid feeling anything for Jamee, she's starting to finally feel something for Ian. Jamee's struggled with intimacy issues, resulting from her kidnapping and her night terrors. Ian knows that the enemy is out there, just waiting to pounce, and he tries to keep his focus on protecting Jamee, preventing them from getting her, and keeping his cover. But he feels badly for having to lie to her, especially since she abhors deception of any kind.
When the enemy sets fire to the cabin, Ian leads Jamee out and to safety... ending up at Dunraven. But the mystery doesn't end there... nor does how the present and past lives of Ian and Jamee interweave and impact them.
Then there's the totally unexpected discovery at Ian's ancestral home... wow!
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I didn't quite feel the chemistry between Ian and Jamee - I did, but... I think because it's not clear how old Ian is compared to Jamee's relatively young 20s, the romance didn't quite feel right to me. Personality-wise, I got it. But I couldn't help but wonder if he was 20-some years older than she? Again, it's unclear or I missed the clues.
Regardless, always good to see Nicholas, Marston, Adrian, and Gideon, and a real treat to be back with Kara and Duncan at Dunraven and see what's happened to them.