The Dark Highlander

The Dark Highlander, By Karen Marie Moning
Dell, October 2002
Grade: B

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.

Unlike the last book I posted about, this one is not an erotic novel. It's a 'safe' romance for you Conservatives (Ahem, aunt Lucie.) The dark highlander really does bring you on a magical journey. I never had an interest in visiting Scotland, but if the scenery described in this novel has any truth to it, then I want to go now.

Dageus in a Druid from the 16'th century living in our time. After he used a portal to go back in time to prevent the death of his twin brother, he was cursed. He now has 13 evil druids who have taken over his soul. Dageus finds Chloe snooping under his bed and after holding her hostage for a few days she agrees to help him decipher some ancient books, not knowing that he is really looking for a way to banish the curse. She goes to Scotland with him, she travels back in time with him, and of course, she falls in love with. Heck, I almost fell in love with him.

Once you get past the confusing boring prologues (yep, two of them) and get on to chapter one it's very hard to put the book down. I have to admit that I didn't really connect with Chloe, but Dageus sure had my attention.

Only one thing bothered me about this book, and normally these types of things don't matter to me and I tend to forget all about it as I read on. This time I just could not forget the fact that she find three condoms and a black lace thong under his bed (Magnum, for the extra large man. Ha-Ha) then a few pages later it's said that he has never 'tooped' a woman in his bed. Why would condoms be under the bed if he always has sex with his women on the couch?

Anyway, totally cool book. I for sure want to read more from the highlander series.