The Dark Highlander

Rating:
Summary: nice story
Review: the writer is good and the story was fun. I would have appreciated if the writer had gone into the darker magical side of the male character a bit more though.

Rating:
Summary: Sexy Bad Boy with Magic
Review: "Dark Highlander" is one in a series of books revolving around hunky Scottish Druids who can travel through time. Its immediate prequel is "Kiss of the Highlander," though "Dark" can be read alone with little or no reference to "Kiss." The author, Moning, doesn't rely on back-story to make "Dark" flow, which is great for first time readers.

I liked "Dark" MUCH more than "Kiss." "Dark" revolves around Dageus, the MacKeltar twin with black hair falling down to his waist and gold eyes. Dageus also has a secret: he has 13 evil Druids inside him, just waiting for him to lose control of his magical power so that they can use his body to destroy the world.

The story begins with Dageus already "corrupted" by the evil. Once again, it is not necessary to read "Kiss" to find out how Dageus ended up like this in "Dark." In the prequel "Kiss," Dageus was a minor character with very little time devoted to him. His corruption occurs in the last two pages of "Kiss," with about two to three brief sentences (as described in a letter) devoted to the entire incident. In essence, it was a draw to get people to read "Dark."

In "Dark," Moning creates a character in Dageus that is very attractive, and not just because he is gorgeous. He is honorable and lonely, yet he reeks of a predatory sexual dominance that has every female character in the story drawn to him like bees to nectar. Plus, he has a dark side - which is always much, much more exciting than white knights and squeaky-clean heroes.

His heroine is Chloe, a Kansas "nerd" who now works in a museum in Manhattan tending to Celtic artifacts. Dageus, who happened to be from the 16th Century Scotland, is by far the greatest, sexiest, and most dangerous artifact Chloe could ever hope to discover. I wasn't a big fan of Chloe - she just seemed too frumpy and naïve a love interest for such a hot guy, but oh well, I guess. It is a fantasy.

Chloe's reactions to a man like Dageus, however, are very, very real. There is definitely a sizzle to the numerous love scenes. They are long, graphic, and not at all flowery. It's Dageus' aggression and complete control of each sexual encounter that gives "Dark" its satisfying heat. Luckily, "Dark" doesn't not have the overly crude language that I found so vulgar in "Kiss."

This is a story with many magical elements, a dark brooding hero, and an innocent modern heroine. You don't need a background in Celtic lore to understand it. All you need is a desire to read about an interesting man pursued by evil both within and around him, the girl he loves, and his amazing abilities to move back and forth in time.







Rating:
Summary: DARK, HOT, SEXY, ROMANTIC, I WANT AN ENCORE!
Review: My OH MY deagus is hot, sexy, dark, and so scotishly romantic and the way he is so seductive. and the sex is so hot and chole gets it better than me and i have a scot who let me say is romantic but i wish i had my own dark highlander and i wish i had the kind of love chole gets. oh my oh my this was such a good book that i wish there was another to go along with it as a follow up every one should read this book. THIS IS FOR ALL THOSE WHO SAY IT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER; IT WASN'T GOOD; I'M SELLING MY COPY; OR I HAVE READ BETTER get your mind out of the gutter and read a book with an open mind, i have read books from josie litton that could have been better but i didn't think about oh josie litton is a good writer so this will be good, or i read this because the back sounds so convincing no i read because i wanted to create my own opinion and that my friend is what writters try and do.

Rating:
Summary: This was bad....
Review: I don't know why...must be cause this story lacks something. And I just thought it was about sex and nothing more... it didn't say or show why they fall in love or love eachother except. And the only good thing is that it showed a bit of the other people from the earlier works.
I've read all of the earlier books and this is the worst one, I'm not sure if I'm going to read more of this author if it's like this one.... And if i could.. I've given this book NO star at all....

Rating:
Summary: Super, Extraordinary, One Of A Kind, Special Novel!!
Review: I may be Karen Marie Moning's biggest fan! I have read all of her books and "The Dark Highlander" is my favorite. Daegus MacKelter, the dark, intense, super-alpha hero, (the most alpha man around), is the reason. He is smart, sexy, enchanting and determined. Once you meet him, you won't be able to put this book down. The plot happens to be intelligent and exciting also.

Daegus is a 16th century Highlander living in a lush apartment in 21st century Manhattan. Yes, there's time travel here, as well as magic, romance, mystery, adventure and edge-of-your-seat suspense. McKelter is in this century searching for an ancient manuscript, from his time, so he can find the method to exorcise the thirteen evil Druid entities that possess him. He has to find the texts soon because their dark presence threatens to take him over completely, and their power grows with every minute.

Chloe Zanders, an antiquities dealer who is especially interested in 16th century military pieces, is found in Daegus' apartment snooping through his texts and manuscripts. She had actually gone there on official business. When she found the door unlocked she entered. Daegus was not at home - but his treasures, ancient artifacts which appear new, are all over the place, right out in the open - like a museum! How can she resist? Actually Daegus is the one who finds her....and he ties her up. How like an alpha male! He is immediately drawn to this intelligent, feisty lady who would bargain away her soul to get her hands on some of his antiquities. He holds Chloe captive - but this is not your usual captive damsel romance plot. Chloe is no damsel, believe me!

There are plot twists, hilarious scenes that ooze with sexual tension and sensuality. Yum! The dialogue and banter between the two is outstanding! They eventually travel to Scotland because the book he has been searching for is not in America after all - but back home. There he meets with his brother and sister-in-law. Daegus had been avoiding his family because he feared their learning of his possession - knowledge which could lead to his death. And in Scotland the evil grows stronger.

The "Tuatha De Dannan," (a fairy type immortal race), had made a pact with the human race hundreds of years before. The Keltar became the chosen to protect the earth, nourish it and rebuild the land. A compact was forged between the two races - man and fairy. Under extreme duress, Daegus was forced to break this pact and when he did, the 13 "Tuatha De Dannan," who had broken away from the main group and turned to dark ways, possessed Daegus' mind, and eventually threatened his very soul. This is a very special and most unusual story.

Ms. Moning has created a magical world where time has little meaning and lovers will cross centuries and continents to stay together. The author has included fascinating, accurate details of Celtic Druid lore and life. Her characters are three-dimensional and so likable. All I can say, to sum up, is that I read avidly - all kinds of books. This is one of my Top Ten favorites. Highest recommendation!
JANA

Rating:
Summary: A Karen Marie Moning fan....
Review: I have been a fan of historical romances for several years. I have recently found time-travel and para-normal. By far, my favorite time-travel romances are by Karen Marie Moning. Out of all her books I enjoyed Kiss of the Highlander the most. This book, The Dark Highlander, is the sequel to that one. The Dark Highlander is funny, sexy, emotional and most definitely a must read for time travel romance fans. There was some parts of this book I found boring which is unusual for me to find in Karen's writing. It has alot of history of the celtics and druids which I thought could have been cut down a bit..well for me anyway. Some people may enjoy all the history details. It was more confusing than Kiss of the Highlander in that it went back and forth a bit between the Tuatha De' Danaan (you have to read her books to know about this), they are basically like gods to druids (which is what Dageus is), and present time and the 16th century.
As far as the heroine ...Chloe. She was cute and strong in her own way. I do like that both the McKelter men found women that weren't the perfect leggy model type.
THE BOTTOM LINE...4 stars instead of 5 because it was a bit confusing to me with all the history, etc. The book made me laugh out loud and it brought tears to my eyes. The sex is very steamy and a big WOW on Dageus's fantasies.