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bookishbynature's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
Love the secondary plot with highland warriors, immortal primordial gods, and druids. I also enjoyed most of Cara and Lucan's love story, but there was a lot of repetition in the spicy scenes and other areas in the story that pulled me out of the story too much.
smalltown_librarian's review against another edition
2.0
Not my most favorite story... it was a bit disjointed and choppy.
natureofjade's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
lee25's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 Stars
[b:Dangerous Highlander|6498925|Dangerous Highlander (Dark Sword, #1)|Donna Grant|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1425583722s/6498925.jpg|6690432] was just okay...
I really liked the premise; druids, gods, and highlanders all sound great. HOWEVER... I know it is a romance novel, but the main characters are "in love" literally within hours of meeting each other. AND... within days every character in the book (including minor characters) have changed 200 years of distrust and concealment or plotting to
I did, however, really like Quinn. If I keep going with this series, it will only be to find out what happens to him.
[b:Dangerous Highlander|6498925|Dangerous Highlander (Dark Sword, #1)|Donna Grant|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1425583722s/6498925.jpg|6690432] was just okay...
I really liked the premise; druids, gods, and highlanders all sound great. HOWEVER... I know it is a romance novel, but the main characters are "in love" literally within hours of meeting each other. AND... within days every character in the book (including minor characters) have changed 200 years of distrust and concealment or plotting to
Spoiler
protect or attack Cara, an untrained druid they don't know and who, at least so far, seems no different from the many druids they have chosen not to worry about for the past 200 years.I did, however, really like Quinn. If I keep going with this series, it will only be to find out what happens to him.
bitterlina's review against another edition
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
He's comically horny for her and while it likely was not supposed to make me laugh, it did. Upgrading to three stars for the unintentional humor.
eiie's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars. It was okay. Never spectacular, never awful, just okay. I can't complain about a cursed Highlander plot (I always love those), actually I can't complain about anything in this book nor would I want to. It's an okay fantasy/Highlander romance.
jscarpa14's review against another edition
3.0
Okay I've been following Donna Grant on social media for a while because her books have been in the never ending TBR pile pretty much since they came out. The plots look interesting so I follow her to make sure I don't miss one to add the TBR pile, I will admit however I just now have actually gotten around to reading this one.
My reviews are kind of mixed partially because I actually do agree with some of the complaints other have listed. The written Scottish accent comes and goes I honestly feel that's one of those things you need to either disregard all together or commit to fully. As all the warriors are supposed to have been descended from the original Celtic tribes it really should have been something Grant committed and continued religiously throughout dialogue in the book so that the reader could get used to and fall into that cadence of speech instead of being jarred by it the few times it did appear. Additionally Lucan thought about sex to an obsessive distracting degree. Like I get that guys do think about sex, and a guy that hasn't had any in 300 years will probably think about it a little more than the average man when he finally encounters a woman, but I have a hard time believing he'd think about it THAT much. Like Lucan seems to drift off into sexual fantasy during every single conversation he has. Almost every time the book was in his point of view he had a sexual fantasy. Also on the topic of sex it's a personal pet peeve of mine when the scene starts out by making everyone aware that the big bad of the story will be there in moments, and the lead characters look at each other and pretty much say okay we've got a minute or two lets have a quickie. Grant's not alone in that kind of scene it's actually a regular occurrence in books and movies but in my head at the beginning of the scene I'm hearing:
https://youtu.be/GuclYjRJ6jI
And it's like that with every book or movie I read or watch that has that scenario. There's a part of me thinking if you have this much trouble controlling your hormones I'm not really going to blame the bad guy for taking you out.
Other issues I had with the book were time lines, it wasn't really clear at first that these 300 year old warriors weren't the ones that fought the Romans. And while they know time has changed since the days when these guys were human and they speak about it Grant doesn't seem to remember that her readers didn't live in either the 1300s or the 1600s so some examples of how time changed would have been nice. Yes we're all taught major historical events and remembering battle dates in our high school history classes but I feel a writer whose chosen to write in historical time period regardless of genre has a responsibility to her readers to make the time periods she's using in her story seem realistic and to ground the characters as either being from a time or being in a time. Examples of change would have been really helpful in doing this. Also while I get this is a romance novel, Grant has created this really interesting mythology here with some intriguing allies as well as villains. These secondary characters are important enough to her to offer small scenes from their points of view so I don't understand why she didn't spend a little less time filling up pages with sex and sexual fantasy and a little more time playing up this great scenario she's created. The mythos of this world would have me turning pages a lot faster than the endless sex fantasies. Like Cara's a druid, she grows and kills a few plants and seems pretty fast to pick things up and that's pretty much all we get of her druidic bits. I just feel that Grant was so focused on keeping this a clear romance that she skipped playing into all the truly interesting bits about her story that I for one would love to have read more about. You can still have the romance even when you take time to explain the background and create the world. Sure the book may be longer but as long as that information is actually interesting the reader will keep reading. Finally when I read romance I sort of expect that most of the lose ends are going to be neatly tied up at the end of the book, even within a series, maybe a little tendril of foreshadowing into future titles will be offered but in general most aren't very opened ended. This book on the other hand, well the couple got together. But it's a romance so you knew that was going to happen. It leaves unanswered questions about every single character as well as the future dynamics of the relationship like you know the fact that he's immortal and she isn't. He's not going to find her nearly as sexy when she's 80 and looks it and he still looks like he's in his 20s or 30s you know? I really felt this book really needed more and should have answered more of those questions prior to concluding.
That said despite all this I liked the book and the characters and I intended to continue reading the series in hopes that future titles might shift the focus a little from constant sexual thoughts to the intriguing war and mythology Grant has created for her characters.
My reviews are kind of mixed partially because I actually do agree with some of the complaints other have listed. The written Scottish accent comes and goes I honestly feel that's one of those things you need to either disregard all together or commit to fully. As all the warriors are supposed to have been descended from the original Celtic tribes it really should have been something Grant committed and continued religiously throughout dialogue in the book so that the reader could get used to and fall into that cadence of speech instead of being jarred by it the few times it did appear. Additionally Lucan thought about sex to an obsessive distracting degree. Like I get that guys do think about sex, and a guy that hasn't had any in 300 years will probably think about it a little more than the average man when he finally encounters a woman, but I have a hard time believing he'd think about it THAT much. Like Lucan seems to drift off into sexual fantasy during every single conversation he has. Almost every time the book was in his point of view he had a sexual fantasy. Also on the topic of sex it's a personal pet peeve of mine when the scene starts out by making everyone aware that the big bad of the story will be there in moments, and the lead characters look at each other and pretty much say okay we've got a minute or two lets have a quickie. Grant's not alone in that kind of scene it's actually a regular occurrence in books and movies but in my head at the beginning of the scene I'm hearing:
https://youtu.be/GuclYjRJ6jI
And it's like that with every book or movie I read or watch that has that scenario. There's a part of me thinking if you have this much trouble controlling your hormones I'm not really going to blame the bad guy for taking you out.
Other issues I had with the book were time lines, it wasn't really clear at first that these 300 year old warriors weren't the ones that fought the Romans. And while they know time has changed since the days when these guys were human and they speak about it Grant doesn't seem to remember that her readers didn't live in either the 1300s or the 1600s so some examples of how time changed would have been nice. Yes we're all taught major historical events and remembering battle dates in our high school history classes but I feel a writer whose chosen to write in historical time period regardless of genre has a responsibility to her readers to make the time periods she's using in her story seem realistic and to ground the characters as either being from a time or being in a time. Examples of change would have been really helpful in doing this. Also while I get this is a romance novel, Grant has created this really interesting mythology here with some intriguing allies as well as villains. These secondary characters are important enough to her to offer small scenes from their points of view so I don't understand why she didn't spend a little less time filling up pages with sex and sexual fantasy and a little more time playing up this great scenario she's created. The mythos of this world would have me turning pages a lot faster than the endless sex fantasies. Like Cara's a druid, she grows and kills a few plants and seems pretty fast to pick things up and that's pretty much all we get of her druidic bits. I just feel that Grant was so focused on keeping this a clear romance that she skipped playing into all the truly interesting bits about her story that I for one would love to have read more about. You can still have the romance even when you take time to explain the background and create the world. Sure the book may be longer but as long as that information is actually interesting the reader will keep reading. Finally when I read romance I sort of expect that most of the lose ends are going to be neatly tied up at the end of the book, even within a series, maybe a little tendril of foreshadowing into future titles will be offered but in general most aren't very opened ended. This book on the other hand, well the couple got together. But it's a romance so you knew that was going to happen. It leaves unanswered questions about every single character as well as the future dynamics of the relationship like you know the fact that he's immortal and she isn't. He's not going to find her nearly as sexy when she's 80 and looks it and he still looks like he's in his 20s or 30s you know? I really felt this book really needed more and should have answered more of those questions prior to concluding.
That said despite all this I liked the book and the characters and I intended to continue reading the series in hopes that future titles might shift the focus a little from constant sexual thoughts to the intriguing war and mythology Grant has created for her characters.
laurenjodi's review against another edition
3.0
Dangerous Highlander
3 Stars
Lucan MacLeod and his brothers are one of a number of immortal Highland warriors cursed by Druids to house evil ancient Gods. The MacLeod brothers struggle against the demons inside them and have shut themselves away in the ruins of their family keep. When Cara, a young woman from the nearby village, stumbles across their refuge, she sets off a chain of events that ignites a fierce war between good and evil in which the MacLeods will have to conquer their fears in order to survive.
A compelling premise with likable characters. Unfortunately, the romance fails to live up to its potential.
While there is nothing wrong with either Lucan or Cara per se, there is simply nothing about them that evokes any real interest or caring in their relationship. As the middle brother, Lucan spends a great deal of time fretting over his brothers (Fallon who copes by consuming large amounts of alcohol and Quinn who is losing the battle with his demon) both of whom are far more intriguing than their anxious sibling.
Although Cara is a sweet heroine, she is also overly trusting and naive, and exhibits quite a few TSTL traits. Moreover, the details of her mysterious background and abilities are underdeveloped and underutilized.
Lucan and Cara also lack the chemistry that would turn their otherwise lackluster romance into a scorching page turner.
The world building is much more appealing. The dichotomy between the warriors and their demons is reminiscent of Gena Showalter’s Lords of the Underworld series. However, the internal struggle is barely touched upon and the extent of the demon’s influence on the warrior is never fully realized.
All in all, an OK historical romance with a paranormal twist. The overall storyline and secondary characters are interesting enough to continue with the series.
3 Stars
Lucan MacLeod and his brothers are one of a number of immortal Highland warriors cursed by Druids to house evil ancient Gods. The MacLeod brothers struggle against the demons inside them and have shut themselves away in the ruins of their family keep. When Cara, a young woman from the nearby village, stumbles across their refuge, she sets off a chain of events that ignites a fierce war between good and evil in which the MacLeods will have to conquer their fears in order to survive.
A compelling premise with likable characters. Unfortunately, the romance fails to live up to its potential.
While there is nothing wrong with either Lucan or Cara per se, there is simply nothing about them that evokes any real interest or caring in their relationship. As the middle brother, Lucan spends a great deal of time fretting over his brothers (Fallon who copes by consuming large amounts of alcohol and Quinn who is losing the battle with his demon) both of whom are far more intriguing than their anxious sibling.
Although Cara is a sweet heroine, she is also overly trusting and naive, and exhibits quite a few TSTL traits. Moreover, the details of her mysterious background and abilities are underdeveloped and underutilized.
Lucan and Cara also lack the chemistry that would turn their otherwise lackluster romance into a scorching page turner.
The world building is much more appealing. The dichotomy between the warriors and their demons is reminiscent of Gena Showalter’s Lords of the Underworld series. However, the internal struggle is barely touched upon and the extent of the demon’s influence on the warrior is never fully realized.
All in all, an OK historical romance with a paranormal twist. The overall storyline and secondary characters are interesting enough to continue with the series.
lynseyisreading's review against another edition
4.0
This was fab. I wasn't expecting it to end when it did - super abrupt- but overall a very good Highlander romance with some druidy magic thrown in.
tamreel_stitches's review against another edition
3.0
The story seemed slow, but I'm going to give this series a chance.