A Highlander's Homecoming by Melissa Mayhue

A Highlander's Homecoming
(Daughters of the Glen Series, Book #6)
by Melissa Mayhue

Genre: Paranormal Romance | Time-Travel

SCOTLAND, PRESENT DAY. When Faerie Magic swept ROBERT MACQUARRIE forward in time, modern medicine saved him from a fatal wound. But he also left behind an unfulfilled vow—to protect his friend’s young daughter, Isabella. Haunted by guilt for over a decade, he leaps at the chance to go back and keep that vow. The magic of the Fae works in its own mysterious ways, however.

SCOTLAND, 1292. ISABELLA MACGAHAN has reluctantly chosen a lonely existence, scorned for her Faerie blood and uncontrollable power. When she’s caught in a conflict between clans, a pawn in the struggle for power and land, her only option is to trust a handsome stranger. One who swears he was charged with her safety a full twenty years before... although the deluded man seems little older than she is.

No one is safe when Mortal schemes and Faerie magic push Robbie and Isabella to confront their worst fears. Will the magic demand the ultimate price from them both—or will they find their true homecoming in each other’s arms?

Robert has grown accustom to 'the future' but is constantly bothered by a long-ago promise he hasn't kept. Thus when a opportunity presents itself where Robbie can return to the late 1200s, he eagerly volunteers in hopes to easing his conscience. Yet, fairy time-travel is tricky and Robbie finds himself not actually returning to the time he thought. Regardless, he stubbornly takes his friend Thomas's daughter, Isabella, under his watch & protection even though trouble is a brew and feelings are becoming a little to hot to handle.

You kind of go back, forth and back again in this time-travel romance, which was fun and entertaining. Sure, Isabella is somewhat silly in her actions and Robbie is freakishly calm with his motives, but overall - their romance is oddly realistic and enjoyable to read about. Robbie is so adorably persistent in how he handles Isabella's anger that it keeps the reader entranced and he slowly helps her come out of the disillusionment she had made of her current status. On the other hand, Isabella has horrible memories of her past due to her grandfather's neglect, but it's enduring to see some amends attempting to be made; especially when Robbie becomes involved. All in all, great read - nice mixture of lust, love, and romance!

Likes: I highly enjoyed the ending because I was reading this book during the 4th of July weekend, same time in which the epilogue was set and I could easily get into the whole fireworks/ hot dogs on the grill/ outside with drinks setting! Nice!

Dislikes: It's a easy read, good summer stuff, but a bit empty at times as well. I like a little bit more depth to my tales!

Rating:

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A Highlander of Her Own by Melissa Mayhue

A Highlander of Her Own
(Daughters of the Glen Series Book #4)
by Melissa Mayhue

Genre: Paranormal Romance | Time-Travel | Historic

TEXAS, PRESENT DAY. ELLIE DENTON's world has spiraled out of control. A strange new birthmark, animals talking to her, and her mother's ex-husband laying claim to the family ranch have her thinking life can't get more complicated. But Ellie doesn't know the birthmark's connection to her Faerie ancestors. Complicated takes on a whole new meaning with her innocent wish to find her true love.

SCOTLAND, 1304. CADEN MACALISTER has more trouble than he can handle. With his brother held for ransom
and the laird missing, the last thing he needs is another problem. But the Fae have other plans.

A mysterious woman shows up in his stables, sent by Faerie Magic to find her true love. Fighting his attraction, Caden insists she's meant for one of his brothers. With his history, he has no desire for a woman in his life—especially a woman sent by the Fae.

Only the magic of the Fae can determine whether Ellie will find a Highlander of her own...

Ellie has had to deal with a lot of shocking things recently: her Mother passed away, she's getting a new birthmark medically tested, her ranch is in danger of falling into the wrong hands, and suddenly she's communicating with animals. On top of all that, she even finds herself stuck in another place and time that isn't exactly Texas. She soon learns 'words' are a lot more powerful than one thinks and sets herself on a mission to discover her future soul-mate by accepting the past.

I love time-travel romances (plus adding faeries and highlanders makes it even more exciting) and on my trip to Texas for Easter . . . I thought reading about Texas would be enjoyable, but I found this tale almost too silly. Personally, I'm just beginning Mayhue's Daughter of the Glen series and while some books have really held my attention, this one just feel flat and was rather boring throughout. The characters of Caden and Ellie's were to drastically different that it was hard for me to really get evolved in their romance and to become absorbed in their story.

I felt the book skipped a lot of character development and because of that I really missed out on feeling emotions toward the leads in the story. Ellie was just too accepting of her situation that it was just so unbelievable and Caden too stubborn of his future that they just didn't mesh well together. Plus, I am NOT a fan of dogs in story (sorry dog lovers!) so I would skip ahead many of the parts that included Ellie's Missy & Baby. Ugh! There were a few interesting parts of A Highlander of Her Own that I liked, (the bath house scenes-being one) but all in all - it was a bore (love scenes included!)

Likes: The side-character, Dair Maxwell, added some much needed entertainment to the tale.

Dislikes: I wanted more of a well-rounded ending for Ellie and for her to personally get revenge on Ray back in present-time Texas, but how it was written out was just not what I liked. I could have imagined many other/betters endings.

Ratings:

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Highland Guardian by Melissa Mayhue

Highland Guardian
(Daughters of the Glen Series Book #2)
by Melissa Mayhue

Genre: Paranormal Romance | Fantasy

SARAH DOUGLAS is a successful thirty-eight year old romance novelist with big problems. She's come to Scotland on a three month working vacation hoping to recapture her muse - who's deserted her - and resolve the issue of her strange 'feelings' - the ones which allow her to sense the emotions of everyone she touches.

From the moment she arrives, however, her problems only intensify. She's being stalked, but by whom? Is he real or only a figment of her imagination? What about the darkly handsome owner of the cottage she's leasing? How is she ever going to deal with her growing attraction to a man ten years her junior? She knows from bitter experience men - particularly men who look like Ian - aren't interested in women like her.

IAN MCCULLOUGH is neck-deep in troubles of his own. As a half-mortal descendent of Faeries, he's a Guardian, sworn to protect both the mortals of this world and the Portals leading to the Faerie Realm. After six hundred years, he's confident he knows what to expect in just about every situation and exactly how to handle it. But he never counted on a woman like Sarah showing up in his life; a woman who intrigues and charms him. A woman who turns out to be of Faerie descent herself, although she has no idea of her heritage and no belief in any Otherworld beings.

When he's assigned to protect her, Ian finds the job is tougher than he could possibly have imagined. Oh, he can handle the stalker and the ex-husband and even the renegade Faeries trying to kidnap her for their own purpose. It's falling in love and forsaking his status as Guardian, a position he swore to honor at his father's deathbed, he's having trouble with.

Both Sarah and Ian struggle to battle the demons of self-doubt and their individual pasts. In the process they learn that healing will take the strongest magic of all, the true love that occurs only between two souls fated to be together.

Sarah escapes to Scotland to stimulate her muse and get back into writing her books, she chooses to ignore the fact that something else is drawing her there as well. Ian doesn't have the time to be bothered being babysitter to the new "American" arrival at his friend's summer cottage, but upon their first meeting - things drastically change. Now Ian is torn between duty and love while Sarah must make some startling acceptances herself before the Fairy portal is revealed and all ciaos ensues.

I like this series! It's easy to read, fun and sassy, plus the characters are enjoyable overall. Ian and Sarah were very realistic and their relationship together just kept getting better and better. The story wasn't cheesy and their romance didn't feel rushed and/or pushed as many similar tales can be. Don't expect a lot of in-depth story development, but if you want something to read after a long day at work - this is a great series to get into. The author opened up the character field a lot within Highland Guardian, so many of the future books in the series can really go all over the place now - which excites me since Soul of the Highlander is up next in my TBR pile. Plus, it was nice to get a glimpse of Cate and Conner from the first book in the series.

Likes: Yayy! Scotland - I'm all about books set in Scotland since my trip there is in 42 days and counting . . .

Dislikes: The whole plot build up toward the end kind of fizzled out for me and wasn't as climatic as I would have liked. Plus, I'm noticing a similar trait within the female characters that I'm not enjoying - the two female protagonists so far both suffer from horrible past relationships that weakened them until meeting their new Highland male dream dudes (who of course save them from their pity party), but I like my women characters to be strong individually and not broken/shattered emotionally as Mayhue is writing them. I'm hoping that trait changes here on out for the Daughters of the Glen series.

Rating:

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Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband by Melissa Mayhue

Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband
(Daughters of the Glen Series Book #1)
by Melissa Mayhue

Genre: Paranormal Romance | Historical | Time-Travel

In the misty recesses of time a Faerie Prince loses his true love, prompting a blessing on all his mortal female descendants, bestowing his powers on them that they should be protected and allowed to find their own true loves.

CONNOR MACKIERNAN is a 13th century Scottish warrior, a descendent of that Faerie prince, a man who lives only for honor and duty, but he has a huge problem. His experience of betrayal at the hands of women has left him suspicious and distrustful of any woman's motives. He's sworn never to marry, but finds he must do exactly that to save his sister. With the help of his well-meaning aunt, and a little Faerie magic, the search for a bride is on.

CAITLYN CORYELL is a 21st century woman who longs to be strong enough to find love without sacrificing who she is. Her experience with an unfaithful fiance who wanted to marry her only for her family's money and influence has left her doubting her desirability and any man's reason for wanting her. Imagine her surprise when she puts on an antique pendant and Connor appears in her bedroom, begging her help to save his sister. He offers a simple adventure: travel to his time, marry him and return home. But nothing's simple when the adventure backfires, trapping Cate in the 13th Century.

An ancient Faerie's blessing reaches across the barriers of time to unite two emotionally wounded people. But it will take more than the magic of the Fae to heal their hearts. It will require the most powerful magic of all - the magic of true love.

Caitlyn (aka Cate) is torn, she's days away from her own wedding and she innocently discovers her fiance, Richard, having an affair with his secretary but she's never been one of those women who could end things so easily. Thus, she's weak in her decision about cutting ties and on that same night, a tartan-wearing warrior, Connor, walks through her bedroom mirror. Thinking she's drunk on whiskey and imagining marital related things, Cate accepts this Highlanders proposition of marriage and finds herself in 1272 Scotland with a wedding soon approaching. Yet, as realization sinks in, threats on her life become quite frequent, and romance beginning to bloom, Cate must make some tough chooses about "true" love and the sacrifices one must make in order to get it.

I'm a sucker for time-travels and this one was an easy fun read. A little silly at certain parts, but none the less entertaining. You can't take the story too seriously though since some of the plot concepts just seemed rather oddly unrealistic (even for a time-travel tale), but overall it's a good 'curl-up-on-the-couch' Sunday book. I enjoyed Connor the most. He's unbashful about marriage, daring in his actions, and accepting of all Cate's futuristic quirks. I'm eager to read more into the series to catch further glimpses of him and his family/friend.

Likes: Mairi was a fun and vibrant part of the story that spiced up Cate's character. I enjoyed their little escapes from the castle together to spy on Connor.

Dislikes: Cate came off as a confusing character to me, at times she would display a strong manner with great tact by working within her families international business, but she wasn't very resilient in her attitude toward Richard. It's like her "time-travel experience" was the only pivotal moment in her life that made her actually change for the good and because of that, she just appeared as a weak women to me in her thoughts and actions for most of the story.

Rating:

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