This series caught my eye years ago. It wasn´t the cheesy German covers that made me read the books; it was the summary of the first one. And after that, I simply had to have and read the other volumes, too. The combination of Highlands, time travel, and fantasy is fascinating and started over twenty years ago with another Highlander series by another author. And Karen Marie Moning gave the Highlander-time-travel twist a dark side without being too dark.
The Dark Highlander
by Karen Marie MoningHighlander Series #5
Publisher Dell on October 1, 2002
Genre Paranormal-Fantasy
Pages 400
Format Paperback
Source Purchased
Goodreads
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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, a 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...
Story
When Chloe meets Dagaeus, she's not exactly in a good position. But she's not easily intimidated, even if it means her life has been turned upside down this time. She literally becomes a modern-day prisoner. Dagaeus cannot escape the attraction Chloe has for him, even if he is not willing to give in to it. Too many demons fight to control him after he broke the most sacred of rules to save his clan's survival. But the dark side of Dagaeus doesn't stop Chloe from falling in love with him, and to his amazement, she agrees to accompany him to Scotland. Her strength and her fearless determination impress him, and Dagaeus believes that he can still defeat the demons in himself and that he can prevent the catastrophe described in legends thousands of years old.
Style
Karen Marie Moning has created a successful novel with partly biting humor, quick-witted dialogues, and incredibly emotional scenes. Clear, full of feeling, and with an unbelievable fascination for the dark side of a human being. The evil staged shadowy and therefore more threatening forms an incredibly attractive contrast to Chloe and the inner struggle that Dagaeus has been waging within and against himself for centuries. Karen Marie Moning manages to playfully increase the tension so that the reader is unsure how this fight will end until the very end.
But as evil, as it gets at times, the author never leaves any doubt that love is the greatest and strongest power that should not be underestimated. In short sequences, the author repeatedly lets it be known that the fairies often underestimate them and usually only set the events in motion through their interventions. Not always to the advantage of the druids and their soulmates.
Characters
As always, the male characters are the purest testosterone hurricane, against which only the right female counterpart knows how to assert themselves in a quick-witted, funny, and clever way.
Chloe is incredibly curious and fascinated by ancient relics, and her scientific urge to get to the bottom of things almost becomes her downfall at times. Small, well-built, and with the courage of a lioness, she ventures into an area that literally challenges everything she has learned and seen up to that point and often pushes her scientific mind to the limit. But what are borders for if not to overcome them? Chloe meets the challenges with the tools at her disposal, a sharp mind, incredible intelligence, and even greater determination. And even if she finally must realize the unbelievable, she does everything to help Dagaeus and protect him. What a protagonist!
Conclusion
Anyone who likes dark romance with a touch of danger and pure passion is well served here. One of the best books of this famous saga. A must for Karen Marie Moning fans!
Happy reading
Karen Marie Moning
Karen Marie Moning is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Fever series, featuring MacKayla Lane, and the award-winning Highlander series. She has a bachelor´s degree in society and law from Purdue University.
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