Kiss of the Highlander: Highlander, Book 4

***NOTE MY REVIEWS OFTEN CONTAIN SPOILERS***When Gwen Cassidy takes a trip to Scotland to escape from her life she wants for something to change it. But she never planned on falling down a cliff to land straddling a large half naked man in a kilt. At first she things he's dead until the sexy stranger opens his eyes and claims to have been born 500 years in the past. Drustan MacKelter doesn't want know what happened to him, what he does know is he must use the stones and his druid powers to go back and change it. Unfortunately without the fetching woman who woke him, he can't make that happen. So he drags her with him with or without her approval, but what he doesn't plan in is falling in love with her. Can an ancient druid and a modern woman make their relationship work? Will Gwen agree to help him save his clan or will her have to force her to help him? Even together, can the couple save his clan or will their druid heritage be lost forever?So this is either my third or fourth time reading this book, it truly is one of my favorites. It was the first Karen Marie Moning book I'd ever read and the one that made me a fan, long before her more well known novels were published. I have to say I didn't devour it as much this time reading it as I had in the previous times, I noticed more faults to it, etc, but considering I had read it three or four times it deserves at least a four star rating for keeping my attention though that many readings of the story. For those who have read Moning's Fever series, you'll notice this book introduces three more characters from that series. Granted all of them are minor characters in the in the Fever series and the one with the largest role in that series only makes a small cameo appearance at the end of the novel, but still they are introduced and made important here in this book. While the book only mentions the idea of fairies, but doesn't include any fairy characters, it does introduce the Druids, some of whom later appear in the Fever series. It also mentions characters from past Highlander Series books. If by now you've read Beyond the Highland Mist, the first book in the Highlander series, you should remember Rushka, the leader of the gypsy tribe and note that his appearance in this book isn't as pleasant as it is in the last. The past scenes in this book only occur five years after the past scenes in the novel where Rushka was introduced. However, it also mention a gypsy queen, which I found strange because it seemed the first time we met the gypsies, Rushka was their sole leader and being make kind of rules out the idea of being a queen. So I found that a little contradictory. There are also ties to the third novel in the Highlander series, within this book. If you'll note when Gwen and Drustan first meet he questions how so many people are around Brodie's Loch because Brodie is a very private man. Brodie, if you've read The Highlander's Touch is the immortal son of a fairy who the laird of his own manner. He protects that Fairy Hallows while the MacKelters protect the Druid Lore given to humanity by the Fae. So my point here is that as you read each of Moning's books you start to see a little more connection, a little more build to what one day would become her legendary Fever series. She may have dreamed the novel after she'd already written these, however it's as if her subconscious already knew it was there and was arranging the setup for it in all of her novels previous to it.Sex is used a lot more sparingly in this novel than it was in the first three in the series. Gwen spends days thinking Drustan is crazy even as she helps him reach the stones near his home. It's right before he leaves, right before he plans to prive to her that he's not insane that she give him her virginity. However when they go back into the past, his past and future self war with each other, and his past self wins, leaving him no memory of having ever met Gwen. I'd have to say that's part of the reason I love this novel because my favorite parts of romance aren't the sex scenes, they're that fiery build up of two people clashing and denying the inevitable. Because Drustan doesn't remember, we get that build not just once in this story, but twice. And it puts a decent amount of space between the largest sex scenes which I liked. However, after the second there's a couple more fairly close together, but she does break it up a little with some action so it's not as bad in this book as it was in the three previous. The scenes drive the plot forward and enhance the love story for the most part. One thing I didn't like is that because I remembered the basics of the plot and spent the first half just dying to get to the garderobe scene. which is one of my favorite romantic scenes ever written, I wasn't as lost and caught up in the story as I had been in previous read so therefore notice a lot of details I hadn't noticed before which would have bothered me if I had. For example the first couple times I read this I didn't notice a scene where she give him "small sips of wine from her lips" because if I had I sure wouldn't have found that scene nearly as romantic as I remembered the book being. I've been with my husband almost four years and if he tried to get me to drink from his mouth I'd probably vomit. Little things like that totally escaped my notice the other times I read the novel, and I kind of wish they had on this read too.I also failed on first reads to notice how Gwen's thought and speech at time read a little like a science text book and can get dry at points. Will you notice this your first time reading the book? Probably not, but like I said I've read it at least twice before this. This book is a well written close third person novel filled with magic and adventure. The story is so intriguing and the sparks between the characters are so intense that it's very easy to get caught up in the story where all the knit picky little things melt into the background. Most likely on your first read through this novel you won't notice a single thing I've mentioned unless you read the book thinking of my review. Like I mention above, this book is the introduction of Druid magic into the Highlanders series. It's the MacKelter's purpose in life to protect the lore and ensure that there is always a MacKelter there to protect it. Because of the rumors surrounding what is considered in this time to be pagan rites, Drustan has had four failed engagements when we first meet him. Women in his time are frightened of him. Some are more than happy to gace that danger for a quick roll in the hay but none are willing to have any sort of relationship with him beyond that. When he meets Gwen who had no fear of him at all, it's a completely new experience for him and sparks literally fly between them. Someone in his time has had him cursed and with his brother dead, it was up to him to carry on the line since that didn't happen, it's now his responsibility to go back in time and fix it all. That in and of itself is an interesting plot. The complications of time travel give readers the opportunity to witness the characters falling in love not once, but twice. We get a secondary love story between his father and Nell and the end opens another twist in their story with a bit of a cliffhanger to entice readers to the next story. First time readers are likely to be so engrossed in that love story they never notice anything I've mentioned and I'll admit I didn't notice most of the faults I've found here the first time through.As with her other novels Moning brings to the table fully developed and realistic leading characters. But in this novel, unlike the last two she also take the time to develop many of her secondary characters into fleshy people. Gwen is a genius and while some people find the way she was treated in the past unrealistic, anyone who's been the most intelligent person in the room will completely relate to dumbing down their speech to be understood rather than ostracized. About the first time someone tells you they had to read the dictionary to understand you, you'll understand how small that can make you feel. There's a fine line between intelligence being respected and considered a freak. If she's a genius it's obvious she'd be on the freak side of that line with many of her peers. It's always easier to fit in if you never let them know how smart you really are, don't let them think you're stupid, but if you really demonstrate how intelligent you are they'll think you're condescending and superior whether you're trying to be or not. If you'll think back to high school and how the obviously smart girls were treated you'll find how realistic this was. I don't remember any of the girls who went out of their way to show off their intelligence to its full potential having full social lives with the boys. The boys that showed interest were interested because of what that girl could do for them rather than the girl herself. Or think about it this way if Einstein looked like Brad Pitt would you have sauntered up to him and asked him for a date or would you have been a little intimidated by him? Don't get me wrong, I'm not faulting high intelligence, I'm saying that people that don't share that intelligence are often intimidated by it, so Gwen's memories about how men in her past reacted to her are in my opinion extremely realistic. Her memories of her parents however do seem a little farfetched, but that could be just because I can't imagine people in the modern era treating human relationships like horse breeding and only pairing because of the child their DNA could create. I also can't imagine them disowning their child because she didn't follow their life plan for her. There may be people out there like that, but I haven't met them. And despite what I've read in other reviews, it never says Gwen is beautiful. It says that Drustan thinks she's beautiful, my husband thinks I'm beautiful too, but you'll never see me on a magazine cover. Beauty is about perception. If you listen to Gwen's opinions of herself, she slightly overweight, though not exceptionally so, short with a well developed chest. It's quite possibly to everyone else that her appearance would be average looking and there's no talk anywhere of her turning heads when she walks into the room. In fact the store clerk makes it sound like it's highly unbelievable that Drustan would have even looked Gwen's way. Beauty, like I said is a matter of perception, and if you think about the hygiene in the 1500s and the lack of dental and medical care, to him she's probably super model material. Back then it was important that a woman be sturdy enough to bear children and produce an heir. Scrawny, you can count their ribs, models, wouldn't be considered nearly as gorgeous as they are in today's world. I personally don't feel she was portrayed too perfect or that her appearance is described as model worthy at any point within the book. It's my personal opinion that somewhere in the world is someone who finds every person physically beautiful. Meaning not that one person is awed by the rest of us, more that for each person in the world, there is another who will think they're beautiful. So if you follow that line of thought then the character hasn't really been made to be too perfect because very few adult women can say that no one has ever called them beautiful. Most likely if Gwen were a real woman and we were to see her on the street, she'd be a moderately attractive, possible slightly above average woman, not your average playboy pinup. Okay enough of my rant in defense of one my favorite novels, you get the point.Drustan is also well developed with his own giant insecurities, faults and strengths. What I really love though is the amount of well developed secondary characters in this novel. The secondary love story between Nell and Silvan is one of my favorite parts of the book and she's made these characters so realistic, it makes you want to reach out and touch them.Overall the book does lose some of its appeal after three or four readings, but for me to even want to read the same book three or four times, tells you how excellent this novel is. Highly recommend to lovers of time travel, paranormal and historical romance.

For the Highland series, I was one of those readers who read the Fever series, loved it, and proceeded to read the first Highlander book. Did I like the first book, Beyond the Highland Mist? Not one bit. The plot was filled with loose strings, barely held together, the characters annoying, and it was one of those books that I only finished because I hate abandoning books. I was dismayed. How could the brilliant women who wrote the Fever series also write THAT?But, after reading a multitude of reviews and recalling similar feelings with Magic Bites, the first book in the Kate Daniel series, I decided to take the other reviewers' advice and chance another Highlander novel.As several of the reviewers had suggested, I didn't bother with the second and third books (a fact that's driving me slightly crazy as I've never read books out of order before) and instead opted to just buy this one.Now. Did I love this book? (You know, if the five stars didn't give it away.)Let me answer that question like this:I bought it on my Kindle around midnight this morning. I stayed up till 7 (AM!) finishing it and fell asleep. I woke up at 4:30 PM (Thank God for Saturdays!).To me, this screams the mark of a great book. All the books that I've been willing to forgo sleep for are irrevocably seared into my mind. This one is now added to that list.And damn, I'm overjoyed with that fact. I haven't been reading much lately because it's seemed that every book I've picked up has had such prospect and then utterly failed; I'd been unable to find any books that I truly LOVED. This one has helped pull me out of that slump.Okay...So onto the actual review part...As earlier stated, this book had a much more substantial plot than the first Highlander book. It was engaging, there were a few turns, and it made you wonder. The plot gets a gold star. (Admittedly, it wasn't as twisty or as suspenseful as the books I normally go for, but then again it's a "romance" and few of those ever do. Great with what it was working with, though.)The humor was fantastic. When I get a chance, I'll be adding the quotes I highlighted with my Kindle to Goodreads, if they're not already there. It was the wicked, flirty humor I'm so fond of. It had me grinning and snickering late into the night. For me, humor makes everything better, whether in book world or real life. My favorite book boyfriends are always the ones that make me laugh. Drustan MacKeltar gets added to that list. (I shall gush on him shortly.) The humor that so easily played between him and the heroine, Gwen, was fantastic and utterly adorable-sexy. The mark of a memorable book to me, is one that makes me laugh. Those are series that I never tire of, that I always want to come back for more of. They spark vividly in my mind. You can toss all the violent, suspense packed books at me; all the scorchingly hot books; all the poignant emotional triumphs and still, none of those will get to me quite in the way that ROFLMFAOs will. Eventually all the action scenes I've read, all the relationships, all the emotional traumas blur together. Humor doesn't and the Kiss of the Highlander had it in spades. (''')Now, for the romance aspect...Awesome. I loved every second of Gwen and Drustan together from the second they met. It was played perfectly, and Moning elicited all the reactions she wanted from me. Unlike the first book in which I felt as if the two characters were too obsessed with the other's looks, it wasn't so with Drustan and Gwen. (Though trust me, they certainly liked that aspect about each other alot! <<SPOILDER>>The sock. I died. Even now, writing these words, I'm snickering at the thought of those blue trews of Drustan's. <<END SPOILER>> These two characters linked on every level: physical, emotional, and mentally. They had that relationship that's oh-so coveted: they could spar mentally and physically; could engage the other, stimulate each other. Their relationship was such that they pushed and frustrated the other; drove them crazy and made their hearts lurch; teased and provoked and joked. I loved every second of it.Gwen. I liked her. She was feisty and intelligent and didn't back down. I loved that about her. She was someone worth admiring. My only hang up with her (and this isn't really her fault, or a fault of her character) is her height. The whole time they all blathered on about what a "wee lass" she is, I just kept thinking over and over, "Yeah? Well I'm SHORTER!" I know; it's irrational. I still love Gwen and Moning. (I'd be a horrible reader if something like THAT made me dislike a book!) I'm kind of amused with how distraught I am over it, I suppose because it was brought up SO many times and I'm perpetually mocked for being completely grown and only 4'11" (and a half!). See how she'd feel next to Drustan with another 3.25 inched deducted (I know I'd want to!). But irrational height grudges aside, I loved Gwen Cassidy and found her to be worthy heroine.Drustan. Yup, definitely liked him a LOOOOT! The boy was the epitome of yummy. Take a moment and figuratively close your eyes. Closed? Good. Now...imagine a man. Approximately six and a half feet tall. Smooth, bronzed skin. Flashing, silvery eyes. Thick, dark hair begging to have fingers run through it. A muscled frame, built to perfection, the body of a warrior. Now imagine said body shirtless. With leather bands strapped across his rippling chest. And him in only a kilt. Now, dear reader, recall what you know about Scots and their kilts. And if your mental image can't quite grasp what I'm saying, understand that at one point while Drustan was in our time, he looked around at modern man's jeans and wondered if all of them only had carrots in their pants. And here you have Drustan.So yes, without a doubt Drustan was physically to die for, but in my mind that doesn't necessarily merit yumminess. What makes Drustan MacKeltar yummy is that he's a hero who's soundly intelligent, with a wicked, devilish sense of humor; that he can be both smirking and cocky and at the same time unsure of his charms through a series of incidences in his past. It was adorable. He was adorable. Sexy, lovable, sinful. Drustan. All aspects of him were appealing, whether he was warring and raging, fascinated with purple track suits, terrified by a car ride, or languidly sauntering forward, sparking silver eyes hooded. Mmm. Loved him. He shall be added to the list of men whose souls I own.Another aspect that I appreciated much more about this book than the first in the series, is the adaptions to being ricocheted through time. In Beyond the Highland Mist, the female protagonist (note the lack of use of the word "heroine") seamlessly slipped into life of the 16th century, and magically gained a burr within a day. Did she fret once about the change of attire? The lack of electricity, the plumbing? The differences in food? Did she ever frown at the diction of the Highlanders, unable to understand the slang of the time? No. Not once. This was attempted to be downplayed when, before she arrived in Scotland, the fairy that plucked her out of her time was sent to find a woman who "believed in a bit of magic". Okay, well, yeah, that can explain a bit of the lack of panic over suddenly finding herself 500 years in that past, but that didn't excuse the lack of wondering going on over the other differences. But with Kiss of the Highlander, the time travel and reactions of such travel were handled with much more care and forethought. All of it was done much more satisfactorily, and the manner in which the time travel was achieved was more plausible.What this says about Moning is that she's capable of learning from past mistakes, and rectifying said issues and that makes me respect her.Speaking of the time travel and Moning, I gotta say, I love how she handles magic and myths and legends. Unlike the first book which mainly only received an eye roll from me, the fantastical elements of this book were much more intriguing and along the lines of the Fever series. One of the characters from those books was even present in a few pages of this one. Much more thought was clearly discerned and for that, I was glad. I'm curious to see what depths Moning explores in the next book (which I will be beginning after dinner!)I think that part of the reason that I was okay with the mild-suspense and action levels is the worldbuilding; just like the Fever series, it was fascinating to learn about the Fae (Sorry, not gonna try to spell the appropriate word for them--Tu-a-blah-blah), whether they were the sole creation of Moning's mind or her recapture of old Celtic myths. Either way, she bits in pieces she doles out leaves me clamoring for more.The side character relationships were well played, enjoyable, and dragged a smile from me. Pleasing, overall.My one consist hangup with this series, that I also found unsatisfying in the first book, are the people. In both instances, the heroes are described as living in a castle inhabited my hundreds of people, but with both books, I got the impression that the couples and any other characters the author mentioned by name, were the only ones there. It was described as housing hundreds, and as an afterthought once or twice, there was said to be a "flurry of maids", but all of this was most definitely telling rather than showing. In both instances, slipping in a simple description of noting the maids moving in and out of the grand hall, or through the courtyard, or into the chambers to tend would have solved this predicament.It was like only the characters directly linking to the plot existed and all others ghosted through the book, never uttering one word or even moving. They just plainly didn't exist. Names and thorough descriptions wouldn't even be necessarily, but I distinctly felt that there were only five people occupying a castle that was supposedly the home for hundreds.Other than that, I enjoyed every page of Kiss of the Highlander and recommend it to everyone. And yeah, from what I've read so far it doesn't appear necessary to read the first three. Don't bother with them, just start with this book.

The highlander books by Karen are a pleasure to read.

I love old-fashioned romance with a twist.

This has been my favourite in the series so far, made me cry :-(I'll be sorry when the series finishes, I'll miss my highland heroes.

現代に生きる女性Gwenは、物理学を研究する25歳の学者。しかしながら、冷たい両親の間に育ち、その両親から研究に打ち込むよう半ば強制されていた彼女は、本当の愛を知らず、自分に心があるのかさえ疑問に思うように。事故で両親が亡くなり、Gwenは自分探しに（本当の愛を探しに）スコットランドへやってきます。そこで、呪文をかけられ16世紀からずっと眠らされていたDrustanをひょんなことから起こすことになり、かつて自分の城があった場所へと向かうDrustanに同行することになるのですが・・・。取っ掛かりは良くあるタイムトラベルロマンスの筋書きですが、それはKaren Marie Moningの本、その後は魔法あり、タイムトラベルありで、盛りだくさんです。研究一筋で生きてきたGwenとある秘密の顔を持つDrustanの境遇、その他様々なことが絡み合い物語に真実味を与えていて、ありえないと思いつつ読み始めたものの、段々と物語の世界に引き込まれ、一気に読んでしまいました。言うまでもなく愛を交わすシーンは熱いですが、でもそれまで2人が愛を深めていく過程がとてもいい。Drustanの言う言葉には本当に深い愛が感じられて、なんといっても読んでいてジーンときます。Drustanのちょっと陰のある弟の存在など、脇役達も個性に溢れ話に奥行きを与えています。たしかにありえないかもしれないけど、でもこんなことが本当にあったら、こんな愛で満ちた言葉を自分だけにささやいてくれる人が現れたら・・・といい夢を見させてくれる、とってもおすすめな本です。

I loved this book and the seriesA 16th century Scottish Lord wakes up after almost 500 years of enchanted sleep. The first thing he sees is a young American tourist, Gwen Cassidy.But the story turns out to be more complex than it seems at the beginning. Drustan MacKeltar is actually from a long line of druids and, when he discovers that his bloodline is extinct in the present, he has no choice but to use his gifts to return to the past to save his clan. But a miscalculation leaves poor Gwen in a bad position, alone in the 16th century, when she finds herself facing the Drustan of the past, who does not recognize her.The meeting of the two temperaments is explosive, which gives rise to scenes that are sometimes hilarious and the most delicious dialogues. The psychology of the characters is well worked out. The secondary characters are not left out (the meeting with Dageus is one of my favorite scenes).Definitely recommend.