If Outlander, Karate Kid, Leap Year, Survivor, Brave New World, and Frankenstein had a love child, J.G. MacLeod's The Once and Future Love would be the result. This final instalment of the MacLeod Scottish Time Travel Rom Com series is an epic mashup of historical romance, action, adventure, science fiction, and satire that is both lighthearted escapism and a prescient SOS call.
Brigid MacDonald leads a mundane existence in Huntsville, Ontario. Her childhood as an orphan in foster care was traumatic enough, so why should she take risks that could cause her more emotional damage? Instead, Brigid thrives on the predictability of her coffee barista job, and being a sensei at the dojo where she teaches karate. The most exciting things that happen to her are hanging out with her BFF, Selma, being adored by fellow black belt, Mark, and finding her neighbour's cat when he escapes from his apartment.
That all changes when she discovers a strange man, magically transported inside her storage closet one night. He's ridiculously tall and handsome, wears a blue-and-green kilt, and speaks an ancient dialect that confounds explanation. Where is he from, and how did he get there? None of Brigid's theories explain his bizarre appearance, nor the fact he doesn't understand anything about modern society. Worse yet, he's been gravely injured and reveals that he challenged his elder brother to prevent his clan from marching upon their sworn enemy. What's a girl to do?
Ferghus MacLeod is equally shocked to find himself in a country he's never heard of before, in the home of the bonniest lass he's ever laid eyes upon. Her Canadian accent warms his blood and almost makes him forget he should try to return home. He doesn't understand why someone so accomplished has been left without the protection of a clan. Despite Ferghus's commitment to his own people, he can't deny his growing attraction for this intriguing redhead, which pushes his self control to its limit. It wouldn't hurt if he stuck around for a few more days, would it?
As Ferghus tries to acclimatize himself to life in the twenty-first century, and Brigid attempts to win the prize money in a survival competition so she can return to university, the pair discovers their chance meeting might not have been as accidental as they once believed. Not only could the star-crossed lovers be in danger, but the rest of humanity, too.
“Naethin’ is certain in yer time; ye’ve cut down the trees, and burned the roots.”
Can Brigid MacDonald and Ferghus MacLeod work together to solve the mystery of the time travel and confess their true feelings for one another before forces beyond their control destroy their past, present, and future love?
J.G. MacLeod is an award-winning, Canadian author who earned a university degree in Honors English and history with a focus on 19th-century British studies. Her novel, Lady Ellen, which is set in Ireland in the 1840s, won the 2018 Breakthrough Novel Award for Historical Fiction, and a Readers' Favorite Book Award (2019). https://mybook.to/LadyEllenBoxset The Future Bride & The Past Love were both named 'Finalist' in the Independent Author Network Book of the Year Awards for 'Romance' (2020 & 2021). https://mybook.to/MacLeodTimeTravelRom
J.G. MacLeod also possesses a university degree in Education with twenty-two years of teaching experience, including creative writing, English literature, literary theory, psychology, and counselling. Her novel Abalone won the 2018 Online Book Club Book of the Year Award for 'Other Fiction', & is a gritty, psychological novel for readers who loved Gone Girl, Safe Haven, & The Lucky One. https://mybook.to/Abalone
J.G. has been writing extensively for years, everything from essays, to short fiction, novels, and biographies. She is a proud supporter of the online Writing Community and has several gigs on Fiverr, including professional book marketing for X (Twitter), proofreading, and beta reading.
J.G. has three young children and resides in southwestern Ontario where she enjoys cottage country, hiking, gardening, and photography.
I’m afraid that I, ah, sort of threatened the author at the end of my review for her previous book in this series, The Past Love. My very words: “I will say that there had better be a book three, Ms. MacLeod. Or else.” I feel terrible about it now. So rude. I promise to behave now. After all, she did finally (lol) deliver with The Once and Future Love. With which I am as much in love as the first two books, beginning with The Future Bride. There were so many questions I needed answers to. How on earth did Brigid, a thoroughly modern woman, find herself in 15th century Scotland? Twice? Much more importantly (to me), how did Brigid find the gorgeous, stalwart, bantersome, incredibly sexy Highlander named Ferghus? Twice? Among others. Ahhh, now I know. But I’m not telling. I will say that many of the aspects I liked so much in the first two books appear in this third and last in the series as well: the Gaelic snippets, properly footnoted (I love this); the way Ferghus inserts the commingled loveliest-and-strangest compliments into conversations; the way he can start a fire by just giving the wood a stern stare (kidding, but he’s that good); the way poor Brigid is turned to aroused jelly every time she sees his muscular chest or drool-worthy thighs. The man is wearing a kilt, after all. May I add that I read very little time travel, romance or science fiction. But this series transcends specific genres in the greatest part because of its characters. Not unlike Brigid (well, it may have taken her a few minutes), I fell in love with Ferghus the second I met him. And I will miss him. But I’m also so happy to have read the last installment in the series, which I will indeed read again.
Award-winning, multi-genre author J.G. MacLeod recently released the delightful 5 Star “The Once and Future Love.” It’s the final installment in her popular MacLeod Time-Travel Rom Com trilogy. The series features Brigid MacDonald, a young coffee barista with a black belt in Karate who lives in northwestern Ontario, Canada. In this book, she encounters a strange Scotsman in her closet and, after mutual confusion, learns his name is Ferghus MacLeod and he’s time-traveled there from Skye, Scotland, six-hundred years in the past. Thus ensues a charming tale full of wit, humor, outrageous situations, fizzing dialogue, and slow-burn sexual tension between Brigid and Ferghus. There are also humorous misunderstandings between them, especially as Ferghus speaks little English and Brigid doesn’t understand one word of Gaelic. Though I don’t want to spoil the plot, watch for a sequence in a Provincial Park that is the setting for a survival contest Brigid is desperate to win and Ferghus is committed to help her succeed, whether she likes it or not. Author MacLeod based this trilogy loosely on her own family history and she did her research on fifteenth-century Scottish culture, as represented by the engaging, often enigmatic, Ferghus. I reluctantly finished this book with a smile on my face and, at the risk of being corny, a song in my heart. I highly recommend “The Once and Future Love” to readers of all genres who appreciate an enchanting story, brilliantly told.
The only flaw in this author's writing is that you cannot stop reading until you finish the book. I love your characters, plot twists, humor, action and sadness. All of those attributes demand no less than 5 stars.
I can’t believe this is the end. But maybe it’s just the beginning of Brigid and Fergus’s love story. Through all three books, they were always meant to be together. Through time and space. From Scotland to Canada, the two of them always found each other. I can’t get enough of this story. The Canadian forest part of the story will make you laugh and love. The twist midway through the book explains all the time traveling. And the epilogue may bring more stories for Effie and Nyle.
What a truly wonderful and pleasurable book to read. I laughed so hard in the beginning, trying to put myself into Ferghus, any coming straight out of the 1500s into 2019. Surely, he was terrified of motor vehicles, let alone planes, cell phones, computers, light bulbs, the whole bit. Fergus remained true to his character from the 1500s and kept Bridgid safe. The mix with non-human DNA was a bit of a stretch, but fit right in with the story. Five shiny gold stars.
The Once and Future Love by the talented J.G. MacLeod is a must-read. This novel has something for everyone as romance, humor, action, and well-orchestrated science fiction intertwine to yield an endearing and certainly unconventional love story. MacLeod uses her wit and gift for storytelling to eliminate the predictable and deliver a page-turner with plenty of twists and of course, romance. You will root for Brigid and Ferghus as they navigate language barriers, time travel, and old wounds that, in the end, galvanize their love. Kilts and karate converge in this wonderfully written book that you will enjoy from cover to cover.
The Once and Future Love by J. G. MacLeod is a witty, heartfelt blend of romance, humor, and time travel. When tough, independent Brigid MacDonald discovers a wounded Highland warrior from 15th-century Scotland in her apartment, her world is turned upside down. What follows is a charming and emotional story about love, destiny, and finding home across centuries.
MacLeod’s characters shine — Brigid is relatable and strong, while Ferghus is equal parts fierce and endearing. Their chemistry feels genuine, their banter sparkles, and the mix of adventure and tenderness keeps the pages turning. It’s a wonderfully presented story.
Ferghus came to the future and met Brigid an orphan. She found a match of her DNA and they followed it. Found that her mother messed with DNA and lives in the past. To fix it Brigid must biological non material or undigestible go to the past to fix things.
I thought that the once and future love was wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed all three books in this imaginative humorous and action filled series. I loved all the characters especially little Ros, Ferghus and Brigid. This was a delightful trilogy and I look forward to reading J G MacLeod's other books.
I want to start this review by saying that this is by far the best of the three books in MacLeod's series. It has charm, moves rapidly, and carries the reader with anticipation from one chapter to the next. The characters are interesting and, on the whole, drawn very well. MacLeod has a felicity that undergirds her tale and which will intrigue readers. One comes to care for Brigid and Fergus and can see as well how each, in their own way, grows to care for the other, respecting the things that define them and with a sense of compassion for those things which the mention of would cause pain. Many of those things, such as Brigid's bullying by classmates, her fears of abandonment, and trials in different orphanages, haunt her, while the bad blood between the clan MacDonald and MacLeod and the subsequent falling out with his brother, Dougal connect them, as that feeling of betrayal and is a shared emotion. It is not only through what makes us happy but also the challenges we face that deeper bonds are made. MacLeod understands this, using it to draw her readers in and further develop her characters as living, breathing beings.
Unfortunately, the tale begins to fall apart in the latter half when she and Fergus journey to Scotland, and then she travels back in time to Scotland. The, 'how" of these travels is explained (by a character we have not known who suddenly appears on Brigid's laptop) and will come across as absurd even to fantasy readers and those who have even an inkling of biology, genetics, and scientific theories concerning physics. Through these machinations, she meets other important characters. The problem is these characters need to be around longer for any authentic connection to be made with readers and Brigid; otherwise, the ramifications and what they mean to Brigid and the story are inconsequential. The other issue is none of it is surprising. Readers want to be dazzled and enchanted. When you give away the goods beforehand, the unnerving thing is you begin to wonder why you even bothered. You can still have a 'happy ending,' which most Romance/ fantasy readers are looking for, without signaling the outcome, especially at the most important point, the climax. The conclusion of any story is what readers are left with, and often, it is what they recall most. Some forty years later, I still remember the endings of such books as 'A Farewell to Arms,' 'East of Eden,' and 'Fanny Hill' because their endings were powerful and had a lasting impact, which is how books live in your mind. I believe MacLeod has the potential to create such an ending if she invests the time into retooling the series while making sure to include such things as:
Technical Edits
* A glossary (there were too many instances where Gaelic was spoken with no footnote to cite here, but please go back and reread. You never want to leave your readers in the dark!
* Remove redundancies such as repeating Fergus's "peacock blue eyes" and "blushing" and repeated references to it. (see my review of book one, "The Future Bride," for further notes on this).
* Fix pagination (page numbers) and remove separator lines so it is clean.
Clarification Edits
* There are three characters: Irene, Iris, and Isla. I don't know if MacLeod made a mistake here and decided halfway through to change Irene's name to Isla, but having three with similar names creates confusion. It is further complicated when, on page 177, Alice confronts Brigid, trying to frighten her, but on the following page (178), when Brigid recalls this to Selma, she calls Irene Isla and refers to her again as Isla in on page 199.
* On page 90, the sentence "It's not like him to lie to me" reads, is missing the word 'him' so it reads, "It's not like to lie to me."
I am unsure if MacLeod has seen any of my reviews or if I am talking to myself, but she has talent, and it would be a shame not to go through and edit; these are easy fixes. I also understand how hard it is to read criticism. Still, I offer this as an editor and poet who works at a magazine devoted to helping female artists. Further, as one who has learned throughout the years that polemics can and should be used as tools to better the work and that if we sit back and think about what is offered and ask ourselves if it has merit, find that it does, and was given with the intent to help, then that can only be beneficial. The benefit, and whether someone decides to use it, is up to them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
The Once and Future Love by J.G. MacLeod is an enthralling blend of historical romance, science fiction, and adventure, perfect for fans of Outlander and Leap Year. The story follows Brigid MacDonald, a cautious orphan turned karate sensei in Huntsville, Ontario. Her mundane life takes a dramatic turn when Ferghus MacLeod, a handsome and injured Highlander from the past, mysteriously appears in her storage closet. As they navigate modern society and unravel the mystery of his time travel, their growing attraction complicates matters. With impending dangers threatening their love and the world, Brigid and Ferghus must unite to save their past, present, and future. This final installment of the MacLeod Scottish Time Travel Rom Com series is a delightful mix of humor, romance, and suspense, making it a must-read for genre enthusiasts.
Not having read the first two books of the series, I didn't know what to expect, but this can be read and enjoyed regardless. The reader is launched into an energetic story where both hero and heroine are bold, courageous and take no prisoners. Partway through, we discover why a man who appears to be from the past, really is. I didn't bother with trying to decide whether the science fiction aspect made sense or not because the story was too enjoyable to bother with logic.
The third book in the trilogy lacked the appeal of the first two. Sorry, but once it took a turn into a survival-type contest with its share of lackluster characters, I lost interest.
The Once and Future Love, the third and final instalment in The MacLeod Scottish Time Travel Rom Com series by J.G. MacLeod, is a wonderful conclusion to a truly captivating trilogy. This time, it’s Ferghus who travels through time – hundreds of years into the future – and finds himself in Brigid’s world. Neither of them remembers their past encounters, and as they search for answers, the truth behind their mysterious connection is revealed in a dramatic and deeply satisfying finale. I loved how Brigid reflects on what it might be like to live in his time, unaware she already has, and how Ferghus’s reactions highlights just how far modern society has travelled from his time, not only technologically, but in how we treat the planet.
The story is both a fun, romantic adventure and a gripping, emotional journey filled with clever twists and unexpected turns. And the ending left me in awe! By the final pages, I felt as though I truly knew Brigid and Ferghus. I’m going to miss them. J.G. MacLeod’s writing throughout this series is superb, the plot is intricate without ever feeling heavy, and the balance between humour, emotion, and depth is masterfully handled. I can’t recommend this book – and the full series – highly enough!