REVIEW: A Highland Wolf Christmas by Terry Spear

In A Highland Wolf Christmas (Heart of the Wolf #15) by Terry Spear, Wolf-shifter Guthrie MacNeill remembers the years when his family struggled to make ends meet. Since then, he’s become the head of their finances and has vowed to keep his loved ones fed and to be able to provide for their own kin. So when he finds out that Calla Stewart, a friend of the family, has been hired to plan a Christmas event at his family’s Argent Castle, Guthrie is not exactly thrilled. Although he doesn’t mind spending time with the beautiful lass, he worries the party will be frivolous. But if anyone can change his mind, it’s Calla. And once Guthrie is near her, and must protect her from her ex-fiancé, he realizes the depth of his attraction for her. Now for him to convince Calla to take a chance.

‘Guthrie leaned down a little and said with a rough and interested voice for Calla’s ears only, “Does this mean what I think it does?”
She smiled wickedly up at him. “That…we’re courting? Aye.”

She-wolf Calla Stewart is proud of the event planning business she’s built on her own. And she’s more than excited to work with her friends the MacNeill’s on their first ever Christmas celebration. It’s just what Calla needs to get over her rough break up with ex-fiancé Baird who just won’t let her be. Fearing for her safety, her friends ask her to stay at Argent Castle so they can look out after her. Calla never expected to fall for another wolf so soon after the end of her relationship with Baird, but she can’t deny how drawn she is to Guthrie. He proves to be so kind and sensitive in the way he protects her, hinting that he’d like to begin courting her. But is it too soon to try again? Is she just on the rebound or could this be true love?

‘This…was exactly what Calla had been looking for in a wolf all her life. The heat, the fervor, the common interests, the need, and the mutual respect they had for each other, a wolf that was as close to being right for her–she thought–as he could be.’

What’s better than a romance novel about a hunky Scottish Highlander? A romance novel about a *wolf-shifter* Scottish Highlander and his sexy brethren. Be still my beating heart…

Okay. So I know I’m not alone in finding guys in kilts pretty darn sexy. Not that I’ve ever Googled the subject or anything. *grins* But add in some paranormal to the mix and I am so there. I’m used to seeing Highlander-type characters that time travel or that may have some other magical ability, but a wolf-shifter, for me, was a new and exciting idea. I thought author Terry Spear did a great job blending this fairly traditional family in with more modern elements, including new(er) social rules such as dating. I loved that there was an actual courtship expected between Guthrie and Calla, but with an abbreviated length of time compared to the old ways. And Ms. Spear’s writing style combined elements of conventional Scottish dialect with present day dialogue. It worked extremely well for these characters.

Charming is the best word I can use to describe the romance that blossoms between Calla and Guthrie. There was something so right about these two getting together, with so much tenderness in their relationship. I love it when a couple clicks right away, with the story then building up the sexual tension between them until they are forced to admit they are a couple or just move on. That question of whether Guthrie and Calla would make it official that they were pursuing each other hung in the balance for a while. Seeing as how this is a HEA, you can guess what the answer was! I also had a blast getting to know Guthrie’s loving family, who were all cheering on these two lovebirds. And the fact that this is a holiday story only added to the excitement and deep emotion I felt when I was reading this.

I truly hope you enjoy A Highland Wolf Christmas. I think you’ll fall in love with uber protective and big old softie Guthrie, as well as for caring and sensual Calla.

Book Info:

Published October 7th 2014 by Sourcebooks Casablanca

It’s going to take a lot of mistletoe…
Guthrie MacNeill, financial advisor for his clan and werewolf pack, is at his wit’s end when the pack leader’s mate hires a gorgeous party planner to bring holiday cheer to the castle. Guthrie’s wildly attracted to Calla, except he can’t reconcile the fact that his job is to save the clan’s money, and hers seems to be to spend it.

To warm this Highlander’s heart
Calla Stewart has never had a more difficult client. The laird and lady of the castle are delightful, but the handsome Highlander holding the purse strings is quite impossible. Since she specializes in holiday magic, Calla hopes she can make the scrooge-like wolf lighten up. Then Guthrie takes on the role of Highland warrior to protect her from an unexpected threat, and the holidays take a turn for the passionate.