Where to Begin Your Highland Time-Travel Adventure
For readers ready to dive into Bethany Claire's enchanting worlds, the ultimate starting point is the book that launched her career: Love Beyond Time (or its sweet/clean counterpart, Morna's Spell). This novel introduces Brielle 'Bri' Montgomery, a modern-day Texas schoolteacher who is unexpectedly swept 400 years into the past by the magic of the mysterious witch, Morna Conall. There, Brielle must navigate a match with the rugged Scottish Laird Eoin Conall to save his clan. Starting here is crucial because it establishes the time-travel mechanics, introduces the key clans, and sets up Morna's recurring role as the series' magical matchmaker.
The Dual Paths: Spicy vs. Sweet
One of the most unique aspects of Bethany Claire's bibliography is that she offers two parallel versions of the same core storyline. Depending on your preference for romantic heat, you can choose between two series:
- Morna's Legacy Series: This is the original, steamy (spicy) version of the stories, featuring explicit romance scenes.
- The Magical Matchmaker's Legacy Series: This is the sweet, clean version of the exact same stories, rewritten with closed-door romance and clean language.
The first seven full-length novels and two novellas are available in both formats, mapped directly to one another. However, readers should note that the sweet adaptations currently end after Book 7 (Morna's Vow). If you want to continue the series beyond that point, you will need to switch to the original Morna's Legacy line.
Parallel Book-by-Book Comparison
Here is how the two series align book-by-book so you can choose the edition that fits your reading style:
- Book 1: Love Beyond Time (Spicy) / Morna's Spell (Sweet) — Follows Brielle Montgomery and Eoin Conall.
- Book 2: Love Beyond Reason (Spicy) / Morna's Secret (Sweet) — Follows Brielle's best friend Blaire MacChristy and Gillian Conall.
- Book 2.5 (Novella): A Conall Christmas (Spicy) / The Conalls' Magical Yuletide (Sweet) — A holiday installment focusing on the Conall clan's early days together.
- Book 3: Love Beyond Hope (Spicy) / Morna's Magic (Sweet) — Follows Sydney Larrimore and Logan Conall.
- Book 4: Love Beyond Measure (Spicy) / Morna's Accomplice (Sweet) — Follows Emilie Finch and Callum McMillan, introducing the rival McMillan clan.
- Book 4.5 (Novella): In Due Time (Spicy) / Jeffrey's Only Wish (Sweet) — A holiday story focusing on Jeffrey's journey.
- Book 5: Love Beyond Compare (Spicy) / Morna's Rogue (Sweet) — Follows Jane Mitchell and Adair MacAlpin.
- Book 6: Love Beyond Dreams (Spicy) / Morna's Ghost (Sweet) — Follows Gillian Wright's mysterious dream connection at Cagair Castle.
- Book 7: Love Beyond Belief (Spicy) / Morna's Vow (Sweet) — Follows Hew Morrison's quest for love.
The Complete Chronological Reading Order
To experience the full progression of the characters, family trees, and recurring storylines, we highly recommend reading the books in publication order. Because the narrative timeline matches the publication order, this double-serves as the chronological sequence. After Book 7, the story continues exclusively under the Morna's Legacy banner:
- Love Beyond Time (2013) / Morna's Spell (2017)
- Love Beyond Reason (2013) / Morna's Secret (2017)
- A Conall Christmas (2013) / The Conalls' Magical Yuletide (2017) [Novella]
- Love Beyond Hope (2014) / Morna's Magic (2017)
- Love Beyond Measure (2014) / Morna's Accomplice (2017)
- In Due Time (2014) / Jeffrey's Only Wish (2017) [Novella]
- Love Beyond Compare (2015) / Morna's Rogue (2017)
- Love Beyond Dreams (2015) / Morna's Ghost (2018)
- Love Beyond Belief (2015) / Morna's Vow (2018)
- A McMillan Christmas (2016) [Novella - Morna's Legacy #7.5]
- Love Beyond Reach (2017) [Morna's Legacy #8 / Morna Conall's backstory]
- Morna's Magic & Mistletoe (2017) [Novella - Morna's Legacy #8.5]
- Love Beyond Words (2017) [Morna's Legacy #9]
- Love Beyond Wanting (2018) [Morna's Legacy #10]
- The Haunting of Castle Dune (2018) [Novella - Morna's Legacy #10.5]
- Love Beyond Destiny (2019) [Morna's Legacy #11]
- Love Beyond Boundaries (2020) [Morna's Legacy #12]
- The Curse of McMillan Castle (2020) [Novella - Morna's Legacy #12.5]
- Love Beyond Magic (2022) [Morna's Legacy #13]
What to Know Before You Start
The Anchor of Magic: Morna Conall
At the center of all the chaos and romance is Morna Conall, a powerful, well-meaning witch who resides in 17th-century Scotland. Morna has the unique ability to identify souls born in the wrong era. She uses her magic to draw modern-day women back to the Highlands, matching them with honorable Scottish warriors who need healing, support, or a wife to stabilize their clan. In Book 8, Love Beyond Reach, the timeline takes a brief step back to explore Morna's own origin story and how she met her own modern-day match, Jerry.
Standalone Accessibility vs. Series Continuity
Bethany Claire writes each romance with a satisfying, complete conclusion and a guaranteed Happily Ever After (HEA). Technically, you can pick up any book in the series and enjoy it on its own. However, the overarching plot features a highly interconnected web of family members, siblings, and friends. Reading the books out of order will expose you to major spoilers regarding which previous characters successfully married, had children, or resolved historical clan disputes. For the most rewarding emotional experience, stick to the numerical order.
Holiday Novellas Matter
Unlike some romance series where holiday novellas are optional throwaways, Bethany Claire's novellas (such as A Conall Christmas, In Due Time, and A McMillan Christmas) are fully integrated into the series timeline. They show crucial updates on past couples, resolve lingering plot points, and introduce new characters who eventually get their own full-length books later in the series. Skipping them might leave you confused when those characters suddenly reappear in the main novels.