Spell of the Highlander (Highlander, #7) in Dangerous Hero Addict Support Group

Feb 26, 2009 Dina rated it really liked it

Shelves: paranormal-romance

I love KMM's Highlander series - I haven't read the 1st 2 books yet but the other ones were all 5-star reads to me - so I was really anxious to see if this latest installment would live up to my high expectations. Well, I'm glad to say it was another winner. :)

On a Friday night, close to midnight, Jessica St. James, an overworked and exhausted Archeology graduate student at the University of Chicago, is asked by her advisor, who's just suffered a car accident, to go to his office and receive a p I love KMM's Highlander series - I haven't read the 1st 2 books yet but the other ones were all 5-star reads to me - so I was really anxious to see if this latest installment would live up to my high expectations. Well, I'm glad to say it was another winner. :)

On a Friday night, close to midnight, Jessica St. James, an overworked and exhausted Archeology graduate student at the University of Chicago, is asked by her advisor, who's just suffered a car accident, to go to his office and receive a package for him. She wonders what kind of package gets delivered at such unusual hour, but it's not like she has a life and she can't really refuse her advisor's request. The strange delivery turns out to be the Dark Glass, an ancient mirror with a 9th-century hot Highlander Druid locked inside, and Jessi's life takes a turn for the worse... or for the better?

Cian MacKeltar, the Highlander hottie from the past, is the most powerful Keltar Druid ever born, but he was betrayed by Lucan Trevayne, a "fellow" Dark Sorcerer, 1,133 years ago and has been imprisoned in the Dark Glass since then. The powerful artifact is the source of Lucan's immortality, so he's more than annoyed when it's stolen from him - by a mere thief! - and he'll stop at nothing to get it back. Too bad Jessi is in the middle of the battle between Cian and Lucan now...

Cian needs Jessi's help in order to break the spell that keeps him imprisoned inside the Dark Glass and, after the initial shock - it isn't everyday that you find a hunk in a mirror and, worse, an assassin after you -, she realizes she needs him to keep Lucan's assassins from killing her. The trick is, Cian can be summoned out of the Dark Glass for short periods of time only, so he has to make the best use of his free time if he wants to play his revenge against Lucan and seduce Jessi at the same time. The outcome of his battle against the Dark Sorcerer is uncertain, but there's no doubt in Cian's mind that Jessi is his woman and, soon enough, there's no doubt in her mind either. But what will happen after the spell is broken? Will Cian be able to survive outside the Dark Glass?

Okay, I'm going to say it: I liked Cian, but I didn't love him. Don't get me wrong, he was hot and yummy, but I thought he was like a "mix" of the previous heroes in the series and, as a result, he paled in comparison with them. Having Dageus and Drustan playing strong secondary roles in this book didn't help Cian's "allure", as I found myself more interested in getting myself reunited with the MacKeltar twins than reading about Cian pacing inside the Dark Glass.

As for Jessi, I loved her. She was intelligent, brave and bold. The stunt she pulled at the Edinburgh Airport was a bit farfetched, but the whole ancient-Druid-imprisoned-in-a-mirror thing wasn't exactly ordinary so I went along with it happily. There was a scene near the end when I thought she was going to have a TSTL moment but, thankfully, she retreated before putting herself - and Cian, as a consequence - in danger. Gotta love a smart heroine!

The plot was interesting, the action was fast paced, and the love scenes were hot. The solution for Cian's "conumdrum" was kind of obvious, but I wasn't disappointed by it because it made sense and it was consistent with what had happened before in the series. The ending was a bit "strange", though. Instead of writing an epilogue, KMM chose to write a "Dear Reader" letter telling us that what happened to Cian and Jessi after their final confrontation with Lucan. It wasn't how I wanted to see the story end, but it wasn't "bad" enough to ruin the book.

All in all, this was another great installment in the beloved Highlander series. I wish KMM was still writing new books in this series but, alas, it looks like she's dropped it in favor of her Fever series - at least, for now. Oh well, it was good while it lasted.
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Feb 26, 2009 BJ Rose rated it it was amazing

Shelves: paranormal, series

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 meaningf ...more

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Oct 07, 2009 Ilse Snell rated it really liked it

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 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.
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Nov 27, 2011 Amy Nielsen rated it liked it

Shelves: authors-who-don-t-suck, romance-and-then-some, romance, 2012-booklist, fantasy-fiction, naughty

Yeah! I finally finished this book and now I have only one book left! It actually got a bit brutal at times but I had to read it because of how much of the Fever series pulls from this one. I probably should have read it first but if I had, I never would have moved on to the Fever series. It's like the two series were written by two different authors!

This book was probably the best in this entire series but still totally predictable and insipid. It's like there was this ridiculous "pattern" for ...more

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Apr 05, 2009 Netanella rated it really liked it

Shelves: paranormal-romance

The third book in this series to feature a MacKeltar Druid, this one goes way back to the 9th century to resurrect Cian MacKeltar, a druid who is caught in a mortal battle with a dark sorcerer and becomes trapped in the Dark Glass for centuries. His rescuer is an archaeology student who finds herself caught up with danger and intrigue and fairies, among other things.

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