Author: Karen Marie Moning

Throwback Thursday Review: Spell of the Highlander by Karen Marie Moning

Posted August 2, 2018 by Rowena in Reviews | 6 Comments

Throwback Thursday Review: Spell of the Highlander by Karen Marie MoningReviewer: Rowena
Spell of the Highlander (Highlanders #7) by Karen Marie Moning
Series: Highlanders series #7
Also in this series: An English Bride In Scotland, An English Bride In Scotland (Highlanders, #1), An English Bride In Scotland (Highlanders, #1), Surrender to the Highlander, The Highlander's Promise (Highlanders Series #6)
Publisher: Dell
Publication Date: August 28th 2007
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 394
Add It: Goodreads
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five-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

It's taken him eleven centuries to find the right woman. He's not about to lose her now.

Jessi St. James has GOT to get a life. Too many hours studying ancient artifacts has given the archaeology student a bad case of sex on the brain. So she figures she must be dreaming when she spies a gorgeous half-naked man staring out at her from inside the glass of an ancient mirror. But when a split-second decision saves her from a terrifying attempt on her life, Jessi suddenly finds herself confronting six and a half feet of smoldering INSATIABLE alpha male.

Heir to the arcane magic of his Druid ancestors, Cian MacKeltar was trapped inside the Dark Glass eleven centuries ago. And when the Dark Glass is stolen, an ancient enemy will stop at nothing to reclaim it. For Jessi, the sex god in the mirror is not only tantalisingly real, he's offering his protection—from exactly what, Jessi doesn't know. And all he wants in exchange is the exquisite pleasure of sharing her bed....

Every Thursday, we’ll be posting throwback reviews of our favorite and not-so-favorite books. Enjoy!

Rowena: Holy cow, this reviews brings back memories of how freaking obsessed Holly and I used to be over these sexy Highlanders. Oh, Cian and his mirror, LOL!

This review was originally posted on August 1, 2007.

I’m in a slump, y’all.

Nothing that I’ve picked up has been able to catch and keep my attention for longer than fifteen minutes and it really sucks but, I did pick this book up last week and was sifting through it, hoping that this book would bring me out of my reading funk.

A Karen Marie Moning is a good choice to kick off a reading slump because I was instantly wrapped right up in Cian and Jessi’s world. I was loving the whole mirror business and the whole paranormal aspect of the story, the magic, the good versus evil business and really, the biggest thing for me was the Dageus MacKeltar business.

I was all over that mug in this book, again.

This whole book was really good for me, from the total alphaness of Cian and his “voice” that works on EVERYONE but Jessi, I loved the whole getting to Scotland thing and just the bond that formed between Cian and Jessi. This book seriously had it all, sexy heroes, steamy plotline and out of this world characters that just heated up page after delicious page.

The scene where Dageus takes off with the mirror and Cian is ripping into him because he left Jessi vulnerable and just that whole scene was one great big AWWWWWW scene for me because you could see just how stubborn Cian was and you could tell how much Jessi had come to mean to him and it was just a fantabulous scene.

This whole book was one great big roller coaster for me, it had it’s high moments where I was rootin’ Jessi and Cian on and it had it’s moments where I wanted to kick someone because the evil dudes were just so evil but I love the world that KMM has created with the MacKeltar men and I just love the way KMM tells her stories, with lots of feeling, character development and just every damn thing about everything.

By the end of the book, I felt like I knew Cian and Jessi and I was just so hot damn happy they got their happy ending and I was hella loving all the Dageus and Drustan in this book too, gosh I love those twins. And that ending is something else, man I just effing love stuff like this.

This book gets a great big A for me because it was the hot damn bomb diggity with a cherry on top! Read it if you haven’t but first read the others, I skipped all the other books because this one was calling me…

Grade: 5 out of 5

Highlanders

five-stars


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DNF Review: Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

Posted February 23, 2014 by Holly in Reviews | 4 Comments

DNF Review: Darkfever by Karen Marie MoningReviewer: Holly
Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning
Series: Fever Series #1

Publication Date: October 31st 2006
Genres: Fiction, Fantasy
Pages: 320
Add It: Goodreads
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DNF

BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Karen Marie Moning's Bloodfever.
MacKayla Lane’s life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she’s your perfectly ordinary twenty-first-century woman. Or so she thinks…until something extraordinary happens.
When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death–a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone–Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed–a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae….
As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlane–an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women–closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book–because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands….

I boycotted this series for years because I wanted Moning to finish her Highlander series instead of doing this first person off-shoot. I finally decided to read it because I was looking for a fantasy or paranormal romance and this was free for the Nook.

Sadly, I gave up after 110 pages. Mac, whose POV the story is told from, frustrated and irritated me.  She was shallow and silly. I didn’t connect with her at all, which made reading the story extremely difficult as it’s a first-person tale. I wasn’t very interested in her search for the Dark book her sister told her to find and Jericho Barrons was an ass.

The only thing I found myself even mildly curious about was who her sister was seeing and how she died. But I’m not willing to slog through 5 books to find out.

I was told the series gets better as it goes on. If I was more invested in the storyline I may try to find out if I agree. As it stands, I’ll chalk this up to a failed experiment and move on with my life.

DNF

This book is available from Random House. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

DNF


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Review: The Dark Highlander by Karen Marie Moning

Posted January 8, 2013 by Holly in Reviews | 5 Comments

Review: The Dark Highlander by Karen Marie MoningReviewer: Holly
The Dark Highlander by Karen Marie Moning
Series: Highlander #5
Also in this series: Spell of the Highlander

Publication Date: October 1st 2002
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 400
Add It: Goodreads
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three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Journey to a world of ancient magic, breathtaking sensuality, thrilling time-travel.... Journey to the world of The Dark Highlander. Crisscrossing the continents and the centuries, here is a novel as gripping as it is sensual—an electrifying adventure that will leave you breathless....
I am Dageus MacKeltar, a man with one good conscience and thirteen bad ones, driven to sate my darkest desires…
From his penthouse lair high above Manhattan, Dageus looks out over a glittering city that calls to the darkness within him. A sixteenth-century Scot trapped between worlds, he is fighting a losing battle with the thirteen Druids who possess his soul, dooming him to an eternity of sexual pursuit. When Chloe Zanders, student of antiquities, is drawn into his world, she finds the insatiable alpha male an irresistible lure.Before long, she is caught up in an ancient prophecy that will sweep her back into time to medieval Scotland. Plunged into a world of timeless magic and dark seduction, she will soon face the challenge of a lifetime: fighting thirteen evil spirits for the heart of one irresistible man....
From the Paperback edition.

I remember loving The Dark Highlander back in the day. Dageus was my favorite character of the series. Rowena and I used to fight over him all the time. It’s been many years since I read this and I’m sorry to say I didn’t love it as much this time around.

Dageus MacKeltar is filled with the spirits of 13 powerful and evil Druids. He used his power for his own purposes when he went back in time to save his twin brother, and the Druids are the consequences. He’s barely holding on to his sanity and his humanity. His hope is to find a cure in some old texts. Unfortunately  he hasn’t been able to acquire all the texts legally.

Chloe is charged with bringing him some texts he’s borrowing from the museum she works at, and finds the ones he stole. He ends up kidnapping her and holding her hostage while he finished his work in New York. After, she agrees to stay with him to help him find the cure he needs.

The story here is well done and kept me interested. I couldn’t wait to see how Dageus would be saved ( I’d forgotten the details) and I loved the parts from his POV. Especially his interactions with his family.

What didn’t work for me this time around was Chloe. She acted like a brainless twit for most of the book. She constantly put herself in danger, rarely thought before she acted and was, in general, a total peahen. I don’t remember hating her this much before, but I admit when I thought about this book at all it was Dageus that came to mind, so I guess that says something.

I’m sad that my fond memories are somewhat marred by the heroine, but I’m glad to know Dageus is still worth reading about.

3.5 out of 5

This book is available from Dell. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

three-half-stars


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Updated: Author Spotlight Giveaway: The Immortal Highlander – *Autographed*

Posted February 3, 2010 by Holly in Features, Giveaways | 25 Comments

Updated: Author Spotlight Giveaway: The Immortal Highlander – *Autographed*Reviewer: Holly
The Immortal Highlander by Karen Marie Moning
Series: Highlander #6
Also in this series: Spell of the Highlander, The Dark Highlander

Publication Date: August 3rd 2004
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 384
Add It: Goodreads
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four-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Enter a world of timeless seduction, of ancient intrigue and modern-day passion. Enter the dazzling world of Karen Marie Moning, whose acclaimed Highlander novels have captivated readers, spanning the continents and the centuries, bringing ancient Scotland vividly to life. In a new novel brimming with time-travel adventure and sensual heat, the nationally bestselling author of The Dark Highlander delivers a love story that will hold you in thrall—and a hero you will most certainly never forget.
BEWARE: lethally seductive alpha male of immense strength and dark eroticism, do not look at him. Do not touch him. Do not be tempted. Do not be seduced.
With his long, black hair and dark, mesmerizing eyes, Adam Black is Trouble with a capital T. Immortal, arrogant, and intensely sensual, he is the consummate seducer, free to roam across time and continents in pursuit of his insatiable desires. That is, until a curse strips him of his immortality and makes him invisible, a cruel fate for so irresistible a man. With his very life at stake, Adam’s only hope for survival is in the hands of the one woman who can actually see him.
Enter law student Gabrielle O’Callaghan, who is cursed with the ability to see both worlds: Mortal and Faery. From the moment she lays eyes on this stunning male, Gabby is certain of one thing: He could be her undoing. Thus begins a long, dangerous seduction. Because despite his powerful strength and unquenchable hungers, Adam refuses to take a woman by force. Instead, he will tease his way into Gabby’s bed and make her want him just as he wants her.
Now, no matter how hard Gabby tries to avoid him, Adam is everywhere, invisible to all but her—perched atop her office cubicle in too-tight jeans, whispering softly from behind the stacks of the law library, stealing her breath away with his knowing smile…all the while tempting her with the promise of unimaginable pleasure in his arms. But soon danger will intrude on this sensual dance. For as Adam’s quest to regain his immortality plunges them into a world of timeless magic and the deadly politics of the Faery queen’s court, the price of surrender could be their very lives. Unless they can thwart the conspiracy that threatens both mortal and Faery realms…and give them a shot at a destiny few mortals ever know: glorious, wondrous, endless love.
From the Hardcover edition.

 

“Are you falling for me, Irish?”

– Adam Black

Karen Marie Moning‘s books are riddled with amazing quotes. One liners and short zingers and emotional bombs that go on for paragraphs. If I had the time, I could spend hours and hours finding all of my favorites and listing them.

Since I don’t have hours and hours, I’m going to do the next best thing…ask all of you to share your favorite quotes instead. This way I’ll have them all in one place, but won’t actually have to spend the time finding them all. Brilliant, no?

Thanks to the lovely and generous Karen Marie Moning, I also happen to have a signed copy of The Immortal Highlander just waiting for a home. So how about a reward for all your hard work?

Leave your favorite quote in the comments of this post – or email it to contests @ thebookinge . com (no spaces), with KMM Quote in the subject line – and you’ll be entered to win an autographed hardcover copy of The Immortal Highlander.

ETA: If you’ve never read Karen Marie Moning before and therefore don’t have a favorite quote, leave a comment telling us what book you’re most looking forward to reading and why instead for a chance to win.

You have until Saturday, February 6th at 11:59 p.m. to enter. Come on, show me what you’ve got…

The entire time I’m burning in Hell, I’ll regret each tear I made you weep. But if Hell were the price for twenty days with you, I’d condemn myself again and again.

– Cian MacKeltar

*contest is open to all readers worldwide.

four-half-stars


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Review: Spell of the Highlander by Karen Marie Moning

Posted May 10, 2008 by Holly in Reviews | 7 Comments

Review: Spell of the Highlander by Karen Marie MoningReviewer: Holly
Spell of the Highlander by Karen Marie Moning
Series: Highlander #7
Also in this series: The Dark Highlander
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: 2005
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 307
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
Series Rating: four-stars

Powerful. Sensual. Seductive. He is all that is shamelessly erotic in a man. In her sexiest Highlander novel yet, New York Times bestselling author Karen Moning stirs up a sizzling brew of ancient mystery and modern passion as she brings together a devilishly handsome Celtic warrior trapped in time . . . and the woman who’s about to pay the ultimate price for freeing him. Age-old secrets haunt them. Deadly danger and irresistible desire shadow their every move. It’s a relationship for the ages. And all that separates them is a mere thirteen hundred years. . . .
Jessi St. James has got to get a life. Too many hours studying ancient artifacts has given the hardworking archaeology student a bad case of sex on the brain. So she figures she must be dreaming when she spies a gorgeous half-naked man staring out at her from inside the silvery glass of an ancient mirror. But when a split-second decision saves her from a terrifying attempt on her life, Jessi suddenly finds herself confronting six and a half feet of smoldering, insatiable alpha male.
Heir to the arcane magic of his Druid ancestors, eleven centuries ago Cian MacKeltar was trapped inside the Dark Glass, one of four coveted Unseelie Hallows, objects of unspeakable power. When the Dark Glass is stolen, an ancient enemy will stop at nothing to reclaim it, destroying everything in his path–including the one woman who may just hold the key to breaking the ninth-century Highlander’s dark spell. For Jessi, the muscle-bound sex god in the mirror is not only tantalizingly real, he’s offering his protection–from exactly what, Jessi doesn’t know. And all he wants in exchange is the exquisite pleasure of sharing her bed.
Yet even as Cian’s insatiable hunger begins to work its dark magic on Jessi, his ancient enemy is about to obtain the final and most dangerous of the Unseelie Hallows–and the ninth-century Highlander must stop him from getting it. Nothing less than the very fabric of the universe and two passionately entwined lives are at stake–as Cian and Jessi fight to claim the kind of love that comes along but once in an ice age. . . .

Spell of the Highlander is the 7th book in Karen Marie Moning‘s Higlander Series.

The story is at times funny, sensual and hypnotic. KMM is a master at weaving magical, mystical worlds that draw her readers in and wrap them up in her reality.

Jessi St. James is an ordinary girl, working on getting yet another degree and reaching her life goal. When she’s suddenly thrust into a very strange, very unbelievable situation – a man in a mirror? Puh-leez – she does what any sane girl would do…pretends it was all a dream and goes on about her day like nothing ever happened.

Unfortunately, she’s forced to face the reality of the situation when the six and a half foot Celtic sex GOD steps out of a mirror and commands her to “Remove that woolen, woman, and show me your breasts.” Suddenly, she finds herself at the mercy of a powerful Druid with no qualms about using whatever means necessary to get what he wants….revenge against the powerful black wizard who trapped him in the mirror to begin with.

I love this book. So far, this is my umpteenth re-read and I’ve yet to find a single flaw with it.

Cian is the perfect man. Tall, dark, handsome, very alpha and an absolute horndog. Jessi St. James is a wonderful counterpart for him, too. She’s sassy, smart and has a great sense of humor. And though she’s forced to deal with a very strange situation, she definitely makes the most of it. I thought she was a very believable heroine, not at all like so many others. I’ve heard many others complain that KMM’s heroines are TSTL, or unbelievable, or whatever, but I disagree.

The book is filled with humor, steamy sex scenes and lighthearted banter. Yet, for all that, it’s still very dramatic and tugs at all of your emotions. Or it sure did mine. Honestly? My fate was sealed the second she licked his back.

Seeing the MacKeltar twins, Dageus and Drustan, again was awesome. I love that KMM had them play such a big part in the plot. My only regret is that Adam Black was sadly missing from this story..and from the sounds of it, any future ones as well.

KMM also set this up perfectly for her next MacKeltar book. Unfortunately, I don’t think she’s planning to publish it anytime soon..if ever. Yes, I’m still bitter. No, I don’t plan on getting over it anytime soon. Just so you know.

Some of my favorite quotes:

“Look, I’ve been thinking, what’s your plan, anyway?”
“To bed you.”
“No, I mean, your plan that might actually work.”
“Ah, that plan. That would be to cross this room right now and kiss you until you start rearing off your clothing and begging me to f—“

 

Her life or her “virtue.”
It bore considering that it was a virtue she’d very nearly given him of her own accord.
Granted, she’d hardly been in her right mind at the time, but still.
She got in the damn car.

 

“I will rue for all eternity every moment of suffering I’ve caused you. The entire time I’m burning in Hell, I’ll regret each tear I made you weep. But if Hell were the price for twenty days with you, I’d condemn myself again and again.”

 

He searched her gaze a long silent moment. “You truly donna ken it, do you? Excepting with you, Jessica. You, lass, are the exception to everything,” he said softly.
“You mean, you’re not just stuck with me? You like me?” She wanted to kick herself the moment she blurted the stupid question. Puh-thetic, Jessi, she winced inwardly. That was worse than the “I carried a watermelon ” line from Dirty Dancing.
Suddenly he smiled, and the sadness was vanquished by whisky heat. “Aye, Jessica, I like you. And I’m not just stuck with you. You fit me here, woman.” He thumped his chest with his fist.
Wow. He wasn’t a man of many words, but when he used them, he certainly used the right ones. You fit me here. You are the exception to everything.
Crimeny.

sigh

Overall I really enjoyed the plot, humor and characters. Highly recommend.

4.5 out of 5

This book is available from Dell. You can buy it here or here in e-book format.


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