Undine Douglas is playing a dangerous game in the early 1700s, spying on the English to help the Scottish Highland clans. She can work her magic on anyone—except for the sexy distraction she pulled out of the 21st century.
In a quest to bring peace to her beloved Scottish borderlands, fortune-teller and spy Undine Douglas agrees to marry a savage English colonel. Desperate to delay the wedding long enough to undermine the army's plans, Undine casts a spell to summon help and unexpectedly finds herself under the imperious gaze of the handsome and talented Michael Kent, twenty-first century British theater director.
Though he abandoned acting years ago, Michael will play whatever part it takes to guard Undine's safety—he's used to managing London's egocentric actors and high-handed patrons, after all. But not even Shakespeare could have foreseen the sparks that fly when the colonel's plans force Undine and Michael into the roles of their lifetimes.
They say not to mess with Mother Nature, but Undine just wouldn’t listen and blended a love potion for another couple. Too bad the dastardly English Colonel John Bridgewater took it, drank it and fell for the first woman he saw, Undine. A formidable spy and fortune teller, somehow this little event went under her radar and she is trapped into having to marry the fiend to bring peace to her people. She was desperate for help, so doing a summoning seemed the best thing to do, yeah, because that potion worked out so well, eh? Little did she realize she would summon her hero from the twenty-first century in the form of a handsome and quick-witted British theater director, Michael Kent.
A master of improvisation, gifted in all things acting, Michael is about to do the performance of his life in order to save this plucky woman he has fallen for. Guess all those years of handling the egos of the wealthy as well as the vanities of the actors may come in handy, if they are both to live.
Come for the magic, the humor and the danger, step back in time when men were men, even if they wore skirts, I mean kilts and the women knew how to handle them! Gwyn Cready’s Every Time with a Highlander is fun fantasy with feisty characters, evil villains and an alpha male who can make Shakespearian thespians look like understudies in the theater of life, love, passion and fate.
I received an ARC edition from Sourcebooks Casablanca in exchange for my honest review.
Series: Sirens of the Scottish Highlanders - Book 3 Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca (August 2, 2016) Publication Date: August 2, 2016 ISBN-10: 1492601993 ISBN-13: 978-1492601999 Genre: Historical Paranormal Romance Print Length: 384 pages Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble For Reviews & More: http://tometender.blogspot.com
Every Time With a Highlander is the third book in the 'Sirens of the Scottish Borderlands' series by Gwyn Cready. I haven't read the previous books in the series and can safely say that you don't need to have read them to fully understand and enjoy this book.
This is the story of Undine Douglas, a woman willing to sacrifice all for the cause. The cause being to undermine the army's attempts to stop a peace treaty between the Scottish and the English. She is a spy and a fortune teller who can make powerful potions. A love potion she had made for somebody else, fell into the hands of her greatest enemy, a man she is sure is deeply involved in the plans to stop the peace treaty from happening. When he stole the potion, thinking it was something to improve his libido, he ends up head over heels in love with Undine. He is desperate for her to marry him, and she agrees. She moves in with him, in separate rooms, giving them time to get to know each other before the eventual wedding. It gives her time to spy around his house and listen to conversations for the proof she needs of what he is planning to do. Unfortunately for her, he has an agenda, part of which is marrying her as soon as possible. He tells her he has sent for a priest to marry them, and although she would go as far as marriage, she didn't think it would happen so quickly. Thinking of the only way to at least slow things down, she makes another potion, this one summoning a priest, but an excommunicated one that although could do the service, it could be done without it being official. What she ended up with was something/someone totally unexpected....
Michael Kent was a famous actor, but now is a director of theatrical productions in the 21st Century. 300 years ahead of Undine's time. He has to take part in one of his plays when an actor doesn't turn up, so he is dressed as a man of the cloth, and in his part of the play he has to drink a potion. How the magic worked I can't be sure, but work it did, and the potion Undine made, is the potion that Michael drank and he is whisked through time to be at Undine's side. She doesn't realise of course that he isn't a priest, but it's not unusual for her potions to go awry, so when she finds out she still manages to get him to agree to help her avoid marriage and to help her find what she needs to stop the peace treaty from being sabotaged.
What follows is the sometimes funny, some times deeply emotional story of the couple, and their endeavours to thwart the enemy. Of course the more time they spend together the more a romance develops between them, but if Undine doesn't end up dead from her spying, can Michael even think about staying rather than going back to his own time?
This was a captivating story, and I love how the author managed to make a serious story not too deep by adding some fun light hearted moments. The romance was sexy yet gentle, and the suspense of how the romance would fare with the time element thrown in kept me wanting to read as quickly as possible to see what would happen.
I only have one negative to mention and it isn't in any way something that I haven't come across in many time travel books, and that is the reaction of the time traveller when they first end up in a different time. I just don't find them, and in this case, Michael, shocked enough when they realise they have left their home and are in a different place, a different time, and with a whole set of new people, all strangers. Maybe I am too fussy, but I know if I was the one that had time travelled, I would be in absolute shock, not to mention probably feeling sick as a dog from having travelled through time. Michael on the other hand although being curious, jumped straight into his role to help out Undine. I guess though, this is fantasy and as far as we know, it's never happened in real life, so who really is to know what a person's reaction would be to time travel if it's never been done.
But forgetting that one little negative, this book was a treat to read, I really enjoyed it and definitely recommend it.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book in an exchange for my honest review.
I loved this one. It has passion, it has romance, it has everything I want in a great read! I was engrossed with the characters and the plot. The story has depth and keeps you engaged. The writing flows and you sit on the edge in your mind wondering what can happen next. I so enjoyed it that I reread it one more time! I will not give spoilers so .... BUY BUY BUY! You will be engaged and engrossed in the story. Your going to enjoy the characters as well as the plot! The writer shows a fantastic way of unfolding the story. I was given this book in return for an honest review. Regards Anna Swedenmom
Michael is a man's man, "the scent of his skin and promise of his protection made her dizzy . The kisses he was applying to her neck and ears were only adding to the effect. With a firm clasp on her buttocks, he lifted her to her toes. “Let me show you what else you can depend on.” Michael's mind generally says one thing, while his body is always saying another, “I’d believe you,” she said, “if it weren’t for that.” She ducked her head in the direction of what appeared to be incontrovertible evidence of his will to continue." I liked this book, I loved Michael.
Romance done hot and right! Only problem is that now I've read all Gwyn Cready's books to date, at least that I can find - so I'm rather heartbroken. Do hope there will be more from her in the future!
Quel plaisir que de retrouver l’univers haut en couleurs de Gwyn Creader et ses amours à travers les temps si incroyables. Une fois de plus, l’action reprend là où elle s’est achevée, de façon assez surprenante d’ailleurs. Undine est la dernière à trouver l’amour, bien que pour elle cela va être bien plus semer d’embûches. Mais que cela ne tienne, Michael n’est pas du genre à se laisser faire et ses dons d’acteur vont lui être bien utiles. C’est partit pour un dernier tour dans les frontières écossaises en ces temps si incertains mais ou l’amour vaincra toujours.
Undine est une naïade avec des dons incroyables dont celui de pouvoir lire l’avenir et d’invoquer des sorts puissants, notamment d’amener des hommes sexy du 21ème siècle. Undine est au pied du mur, elle doit épouser l’infâme Colonel Bridgewater (que l’on commence à bien connaitre à force) pour le bien commun. Puis elle décide de tenter le tout pour le tout en invoquant un faux prêtre. Bien entendu cela va se retourner contre elle et on va découvrir bien des facettes de sa personnalité, comme la femme passionnée, effrayée ou celle qui est prête à tous les sacrifices.
Pour Undine, il fallait bien un homme hors du commun qui serait capable de la rendre plus « humaine » et qui serait à même de la protéger. Même si on a des doutes sur Michael, très vite on voit sa capacité de s’adapter, de se servir de son expérience dans le théâtre et surtout ses sentiments grandissant pour la magicienne. D’ailleurs, Michael, tout comme Undine, est un personnage complexe qui se découvre petit à petit, de façon assez étonnante et qui arrive encore à nous surprendre à la fin. Il m’aura bien fait rire et surtout fait fondre avec sa passion et son intensité.
En parlant d’intensité, de ce côté-là le couple n’a pas à rougir. Les choses entre eux se déroule rapidement avec force et naturel, il semble évident qu’ils finissent ensemble. C’est chaud entre eux, mais aussi tendre et amusant, on ne s’ennuie pas un seul instant, même si on a parfois droit à des montagnes russes. Le faux « triangle » avec Bridgewater aide beaucoup à donner du rythme à leur histoire et à accentuer le sens du sacrifice et de l’amour destiné qui est au cœur même de cette trilogie.
Cette série se conclut de façon magnifique (même si on sait se qu’il va se produire des années plus tard), avec de l’espoir et de la joie, des fins heureuses pour presque tout le monde, même Nab que l’on aura vu grandir au fil des tomes. Gwyn Cready m’aura bien fait voyager jusqu’à la dernière page et surtout surprise avec certaines révélations. Même si c’est avec un petit pincement au cœur que je dis au revoir à tout ce petit monde auquel je me suis attachée à la longue, je trouve que tout a été dit et que prolonger aurait été inutile. Maintenant j’ai hâte de voir ce que peut bien nous concocter de beau l’auteure pour sa nouvelle série.
In a quest to bring peace to her beloved Scottish borderlands, fortune-teller and spy Undine Douglas agrees to marry a savage English colonel. Desperate to delay the wedding long enough to undermine the army's plans, Undine casts a spell to summon help and unexpectedly finds herself under the imperious gaze of the handsome and talented Michael Kent, twenty-first century British theater director.
But in this production, he commands the action...
Though he abandoned acting years ago, Michael will play whatever part it takes to guard Undine's safety—he's used to managing London's egocentric actors and high-handed patrons, after all. But not even Shakespeare could have foreseen the sparks that fly when the colonel's plans force Undine and Michael into the roles of their lifetimes.
Review:
Again, I don't seem to pay attention when I pick books for review because this is #3 in the series. Well, if you follow my lead, have no fear you will be fine. This book is pretty self-contained and self-explanatory, I was never lost or confused when reading this book. The story does reference past events and what happened between the other couples in the series.
I had not read this Author before and I found her very fun to read. I loved the wit and dialogue between Undine and Michael, they were very entertaining to read about. The Author did a good job of blending a lot of supernatural forces together in a cohesive story. The time travel is handled in a good way, it sounds as if Undine brings others across with her errant magic. I have read another time travel highlander series recently and liked that they were different in feel, this one felt more dangerous to me. The intrigue of the story really had me wondering what was going to happen next to these two characters. Of course there is romance and obstacles to overcome and good smexy times. That Michael, as an actor, can change himself to help with Undine's spying, I thought made them perfect for each other. Loved the chemistry between Undine and Michael!
Great time-travel, supernatural, highlander romance!
3.5Stars
*Received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.*
I liked bits and I didn't like bits. Once again I wasn't pleased with the end, and as a series I can't say I'm 100% satisfied with the outcome but I'm not hating it at the same time. It was good, but it wasn't perfect.
I hoped I'd like Undine's story the most but there wasn't quite as much magic and such that I hoped for. In fact, this felt pretty much the same as the others except there was another man pining for her and she engaged to him for the good of the people.
I'm confused though, did they change the future? If they stop that one thing it doesn't quite change the outcome.. and if the future was changed why wasn't the men changed somehow? Because they were in the past? Also, am I getting it right that she's related to him somewhat distantly? Why didn't he mention who his families are to her? I'm still reeling over this.
Anyway, it was a lot faster towards the end, I struggled to want to read it in the beginning so maybe this was just my mood and that's why I didn't love it, but it also could be that the overall feel was the same. I mean, magic him in to save the day... I really would have loved seeing a female get magicked in instead of all women calling men. Just to mix it up. But that's what the series is so I guess I'll live with it.
I LOVED Nab and his cute little POV with that Grave girl who whoever she was. Adorable.
This book was a pleasure to read though I have enjoyed every book I've read by the talented and funny Gwyn. She has a way of mixing in humor, adventure, love and steamy love scenes. I have not read the other two books in the series but after reading this one, I want to go back and start from the beginning. Gwyn has an interesting way of bringing out books in a series without feeling the need to read in order though it does give the reader a deeper understanding of what's going on.
Michael and Undine make quite the interesting duo who nearly miss their chance to give into the temptation of being together. I don't want to give too many details away but I will say that both are fascinating, stubborn characters who may not have been born in the same century but find a way to communicate and Undine eventually realizes that it's okay to rely on someone.
I really hope that Gwyn comes out with more books in this series and even if she doesn't, I will read any other books that she does publish. She's for sure on my list of authors to read without knowing much about the storyline. I will say that it's a great book to add to your to be read list especially if you're a fan of love, time travel, humor and Gwyn's writing!
An amusing fast paced time travel book spotlighting the heroine Undine, who is featured in the previous books to the Sirens of the Scottish Borderlands series. Undine has always intrigued me with her ability to cast spells, knowledge of unseen things and her spying techniques. It is refreshing to have her thrown off balance by Michael who keeps changing like a chameleon adapting to everything she throws at him.
This couple complements each other in every way when they get past all the thorniness of Undine. Though Undine is always putting herself at risk I am glad that the author created Michael to balance as well as support her.
There is intrigue in this story with her fiancé, the savage English colonel and the equally amusing secondary characters. But for me I loved the areas in the book that made me laugh out loud. The author has the gift of creating a thrilling read with humor.
I give this book 4 STARS for the pleasure of the read.
Note: I won a free copy through Goodreads giveaways
This was a charming romance. I'm pretty sure this is the first time-travel romance I've read, I was a bit apprehensive, but it really turned out quite wonderful. Michael being an actor definitely provided some great comedy and intrigue. Udine was a very interesting character, a bit stubborn in some respects, but that's not a bad thing. :)
This is a perfect read for lovers of men in kilts, romance, intrigue, and magic (in a way). Great read, will likely search out the other books in the series. Definitely lending to my mom, who loves these types of books as well.