​Love Beyond Measure - Review

​I swear, Bethany Claire is a one woman writing machine! Love Beyond Measure is the logical next installment in the Morna’s legacy series and with new characters and adventures to be had! [goodreads | Audible]

The Past Comes to the Present!
#Romance #TimeTravel #Fantasy

3 Stars
Series: Book 4: Morna’s Legacy
Characters: Eoghanan McMillan & Grace Mitchell
Setting: Scotland (Past/Present)
Mature Themes: Sex & violence

Recommendation: If you’ve liked the story so far, keep at it, they are still enjoyable and in this one you’ll see a lot more of Morna. Besides, Cooper is worth reading/listening to.

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Grace and Jeffery are parents to a charming and bright little boy, Cooper, but their love is not one of sexy negligees and candle lit dinners. Tell that to Grace’s father. To avoid her family's pressures Grace runs to Scotland and uses a new work assignment as her escape. When she gets to Morna’s Inn, things are not as they seems, but then… when ever is it with Morna?

Love Beyond Measure was a little bit of a departure from the rest of the Morna series as the bulk of the story took place in the present in Scotland than in the past. This was also the first book where family was a main theme for the woman in the relationship. Yes, Brie had her mother, but for the most part she wasn’t in the same time. This dynamic and different perspective on family, paired with the longer modern day storyline was a welcome departure for the series as five books in, the series had the potential to become stale. Being able to see through Cooper’s eyes also helped to make this book stand on its own. 

It’s now a lot easier for Bethany Claire to fall into stereotyping or “easy” plot tricks, thankfully she didn’t. Grace and Jeffery’s relationship and how they interact with one another and Cooper would easily be difficult for a Scotsman from the past to not understand, but with Eoghanan’s familial history he is extremely understanding of it. Here’s where this plot point was handled brilliantly, Grace had no idea. Really, six hours in and Eoghanan finally tells her that he was adopted by the McMillan clan. It would have been an easy out to use that face when he initially meets Jeffery, but it didn’t happen and the book was stronger for it.

All that good being said, this is book five in a series and it’s bound to have its weaknesses. This was the weakest in terms of the plot “climaxes,” in that the villain and the two main heartbeats of the story seemed rushed and as if they were after thoughts and add ins. There was also a lot more sex, too much, it was less about a deep emotional connection and more about instant-love and attraction, sad when the previous stories were so focused on strong women and Grace belongs within their ranks. One final criticism is Grace’s siblings. Throughout the book she mentioned she cares for them and loves them, but without hesitation and a thought to them she moves to the past with her kid, “father,” and best friend. Huh. 

Audiobook Review:
Lily Collingwood’s Jeffery and Cooper are now on my list of all-time favorites! Cooper was child-like and adorable while Jeffery’s was gruff and american, a stark contrast to one another and the rest of the cast. Grace was still a generic woman as most of the American women have been. As usual, the recording quality was great with no hum or distortion and made the entire focus on the story.