For Love or Loyalty

Hard to believe when looking at plaid fabrics that each of these is like a calling card of sorts. In Scotland, each clan or family was identified based on the plaid fabric that each of them wore over their clothing, that way they could easily be identified as friend or foe. In the case of the latest novel from Jennifer Hudson Taylor, it identified the members of the MacGregor or Campbell family who remained at more than just odds with one another. The Campbell family was in a position of collecting rent from the land that MacGregor's village was set up on. When the rent was late, they made sure to extract not only the money but interest as well. If they were unable to collect it in cash, they took it out in other ways. That is just what happened when Malcolm and his brother Thomas came home to after a long journey.

Their family home was burnt to the ground and his youngest brother Graham fought valiantly to keep his mother and sister from being taken as indentured servants. Now while he recovers, Malcolm searches for clues to where his mother and sister might be. While sending out spies for answers to search in the surrounding countryside, one of them returns with just the right kind of answer to his dilemma, the daughter of Glenn Campbell, Lauren. He has decided she will be the wagering pawn to get his family back no matter what the costs. He just didn't see that the Campbell clan would sell his family as servants on a ship bound to South Carolina. He didn't plan on taking Lauren with him on that journey to find his family and he gets so much more than he ever dreamed he'd bargained for.

The last thing that Lauren had hoped was that her faith in God would be tested in ways she could never imagine. Being treated as a slave in hopes that her father would do whatever it took to get her back, she knows that her father might search for her only as a way of maintaining his loyalty to his clan but based on the years of living with her father, she knows he does not love her like she wants. Perhaps if Malcolm wanted a true bargaining chip, he should have taken her brother instead. But her loyalty to God will enable her to do whatever she can to win over Malcolm's heart and soul. She believes God placed him in her path so she can help him find salvation for his soul. The journey has only just begun but the storm is brewing on the horizon.

I received For Love or Loyalty by Jennifer Hudson Taylor compliments of Abingdon Press for my honest review and did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable one. I found myself walking away with a deep Scottish accent after reading this one, because the author writes so well you feel completely immersed in the culture and setting of her book. We have all had times where our faith is tested, where we simply wonder if there is a point to all of this much like Lauren. However skilled mariners are not made in quiet coves but in turbulent storms and that is just what happens in this case. Lauren by far, is my favorite character because her default mode is always God and her faith in Him, no matter how bleak the circumstances. It shows the reader how powerful that can be to people who only see our faith from our actions lived out among us, much like Malcolm. He is completely baffled by Lauren's refusal to act as he thinks she should given her circumstances. A true test of faith. I give this one a 4 out of 5 stars and this is the first novel n the MacGregor Quest Series.

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For Love or Loyalty by Jennifer Hudson Taylor

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• Series: The Macgregor Legacy
• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Abingdon Press (November 5, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1426714696
• ISBN-13: 978-1426714696
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1 inches