These books just keep getting better and better! I simply ADORED "Spell of the Highlander" For me, the most important thing while reading a book is to connect with the characters. You can add a storyline, a million storylines that will take your breath away, but if the characters are sh*t (pardon my expression) all the imagination in the world won't do for me. Well, as you'll figure it out, the characters in here were far from sh*t XD In this novel, the story was in second place. It's about Cian MacKeltar, the most powerful druid from his line, being trapped in an ancient mirror for more than a thousand years (!!!) and seeking revenge to his jailor. That's basically it lol, Jessi finds the mirror and brings him out, she becomes prey to the ultimate druid bad guy, and they run to Scotland ( ). He is constantly forced to return into the mirror by the magic, so their escape is not so smooth lol.The story was good, although not so intense as some from the previous books, and the part I most loved about it is that I had NO IDEA how it was going to end till the very ending and when it was all explained. I just LOVE that in a book <3 Most of the time the end is pretty predictable, and although I knew there will be a happy end (duh), I didn't know how it will come to pass. Now to the center of the novel - Cian and Jessi. I fell in love with them! They were so lovely, hilarious and adorable, they got me hooked from the start :) Cian, although a fierce warrior, made me laugh all the time! He was unintentionally hilarious, and I loved him for it! He always called Jessi "wench" or "woman", and that first command when he came out of the mirror, ahahahah oh man I couldn't stop laughing XD I have to put it in here loool it's hilarious XD (Cian just came out from the mirror and wants a bit of hanky panky, poor guy, being a thousand years without a woman, and he uses The Voice to command her to do his bidding XDXD)“Cease speaking, wench. You will bring that sweet ass over here and kiss me now.”Jessi gaped, mouth open, midword. Snapped her mouth closed. Opened it again. Her head suddenly itched just beneath the skin, above her metal plate. She rubbed at her scalp. “As if.” She meant to hiss it indignantly, but it came out more of a squeak. Sweet ass? He thought she had a sweet ass? They could form a mutual admiration society of two.“Remove that woolen, woman, and show me your breasts.”Choking on an inhalation, she sputtered for several seconds. Numerous were the men who’d tried to go there—even she knew she had exceptional breasts—but none quite so obviously and without exerting even an ounce of seductive effort. She clamped her hands over them defensively. And his first ride in a car hahahah"Cease ceasing movement so abruptly! Christ, woman, must you catapult forward after each cessation? Are you certain you’ve strapped the mirror securely? We should stop and check it. By Danu, wench, try nudging this beast gently, not kicking it with both heels! A silence, a slew of choked curses, then: Horses! What the bloody hell is wrong with horses? Have they all been slain in battle?"Yup. LOVE him <3 This book had me from the beginning to the end :) And btw, the ending was great, we got to see the MacKeltar brothers again in action <3 and it was quite unpredictable <3 There had been a teary moment near the end but surprisingly, the epilogue was not cry-worthy XD There was that bit with the Queen I did not get at all, maybe it's an intro to the upcoming books, or maybe it's a reference to the Fever series, dunno...All in all, a very bright 5 shining stars for this one <3
Cian MacKeltar was trapped inside a cursed fae mirror eleven centuries ago but the blackout at the end of The Dark Highlander happens and the mirror is stolen and sold on the black market. That's how the mirror ends up in Jessica St. James's life. I have to be honest, this was not my favorite book in the series, but not my least favorite either. I had more of a meh reaction to it. Jessi's character seemed like a rehash/mashup of several of the MCs from earlier in this series. And Cian manages to be my least favorite Mac Kelter, which considering how minor of a role Christoper plays in this series and the fever series is kind of amazing. Cian has more druidy power than even Daegus so he is kind of a scary imposing guy. He is a Mac Kelter so of course he is gorgeous and cocky, but I just didn't like him as much. He was almost as bad as Daegus on the inappropriate actions chart, but I didn't find him nearly as interesting as Daegus to make up for it. The first chance he gets he tries to use "Voice" on Jessi to get her to take off her clothes.WHAT. THE. HELL.Barrons would NOT approve.Then he literally tosses her over his shoulder and carries her off.Jessi is not exactly TSTL, but at one point in the book all I could think about wasTotally harsh, I know, but seriously, I was questioning a lot of her decisions. The best part of this book... is actually the villain, Lucan. He is by far the creepiest bad guy in the whole series. KMM does a fantastic job of making me uncomfortable when reading about him in a skin crawly oh-my-god-I-wouldn't-want-him-to-touch-me kind of way.There is an event at the end of this one that is totally spoilery for this book but kind of a fun tip of the hat to what was about to happen in the Fever series, not a major spoiler but be sure you want to click this (view spoiler)[At the end of this book Queen Aoibheal admits to manipulating many of the events in the earlier books in this series to make sure that the most powerful Mac Kelter druids will all be living at this specific present time because she is going to need their help to survive an event not far into the future. (hide spoiler)]
What do You think about Spell Of The Highlander (2007)?
Okay, here is my review for the whole series. My opinion varies whether you've read the Fever series or not. (Fever fans, be sure to read this whole review). As a stand alone series, I give the series 2 stars. It really isn't worth reading. Most of the books were written as stand alone and they all have the same plot. Twenty-first Century girl somehow finds herself magically transported to Middle Age Scotland. The males of each story all look identical. The girls are all virgins despite being 24 or 25 (not a judgment, just pointing out the improbability). The plots are very redundant and with the exception of the last four books, there's no overall plot to justify even making it I into a series. That being said... As a big fan of the Fever series, I give the last four books an overall score of 3.5 stars simply because they revolve around characters I already know. Books 4-7 follow the Keltar clan and gives us the backstories of Drustan, Dageus, and Cian MacKeltar. Book 6 (my favorite of the series) follows the mysterious Adam that we just got a glance of in the Fever series. It was nice to get more backstory on these guys and made me want to just turn around and read the Fever series again. So bottom line: if you are looking for a good PNR with a sting plot and incredible characters, read the Fever series. If you like that series and want to read more about the Keltar clan, then read books 4-7 of this series (don't bother with 1-3). If you are not interested in the Fever series, don't bother reading these unless you just want a cookie cutter romance with a lot of gratuitous sex. Even if that is the case, do not bother reading the whole series as they all have the same plot. I would suggest either book 4 or 6.
—Salome Douglas
I just had to give this a 5* because Drustan & Daegus & their wives played such big roles in this story. And I really liked the tale that slowly unfolds as to the how and why of Cian getting bespelled into the mirror. I also liked that Cian remained basically moral even after he'd done some dabbling in the Black Arts, AND after being held prisoner for 1,133 years. For some reason, I focused on how that number kept getting repeated at odd times in the story, almost like that would become meaningful in the solution of getting Cian out of the mirror - oh, well!I liked Jessi's character from the beginning - she was definitely creative in problem-solving whenever Cian got suddenly whisked back into the mirror! But the repeated episodes of her turning into a boneless puddle immediately and often over just the sight or thought of Cian was just a little over-the-top. We got the idea already!!
—BJ Rose
I have to admit, before starting this book, I was what is officially known as a “highlander virgin”. My days I spent watching the TV show, Highlander (aptly put, don’t you think?) doesn’t come close to this!! This book had me humming and then full on singing the song to the highlander series. “I am immortal! I have inside me blood of Kings *aaahhhh* I have no rivals…. La la la la la…send me to the future of the world!!” I had dreams of William Wallace aka Brave Heart, riding into his village on horseback finding his wife murdered…I know right?!? I couldn’t stop! I even started using words like “bairns” and “lass” a total mind trip It’s the first time reading the highlander series, and although I’ve read the book out of sync, I plan to get right back on that Highlander horse and start at the beginning.Jessica St James, a socially inept student, studying archaeology, lectures classes, and has no life to speak of. Meets Druid Cian Keltar from the highlands of Scotland. I loved the characters so much; Jessi is one of those people to which strange things always happen to. Exceptionally funny and just an all round good heroine. Cian, well… Cian is a 6’5” sexy powerful Druid / evil sorcerer, with a devilish smile which can make a girl’s toes curl. Only problem is, he’s trapped in an unseely mirror. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the banter between Cian and Jessica, see, Cian… for all his gorgeousness had one flaw…. He’s extremely domineering, to a fault really. And Jessica, Jess just doesn’t roll that way. I loved the trip (running away form the baddies) they took, and how Cian laughs when Jess does something unintentionally funny. And when they reached Scotland, and stumbled across the other Keltars in the clan, it was complete testosterone overload. Though I loved the characters, I think I would have appreciated them more if I read the previous books. Also, I would have wanted to know more about Scotland, and Cian’s clan, and the way the druids lived… since I didn’t have a mental background to picture events taking place against. Also, I didn’t want the author to skip the magyck scenes…. *sigh* But all in all, a very entertaining read.
—Ilse Snell
