Book Review: Beyond the Highland Mist (Karen Marie Moning)

AN ALLURING LAIRD

He was known throughout the kingdom as Hawk, legendary predator of the battlefield and the boudoir. No woman could refuse his touch, but no woman ever stirred his heart—until a vengeful fairy tumbled Adrienne de Simone out of modern-day Seattle and into medieval Scotland. Captive in a century not her own, entirely too bold, too outspoken, she was an irresistibly challenge to the sixteenth-century rogue. Coerced into a marriage with Hawk, Adrienne vowed to keep him at arm's length—but his sweet seduction played havoc with her resolve.

A PRISONER IN TIME

She had a perfect "no" on her perfect lips for the notorious laird, but Hawk swore she would whisper his name with desire, begging for the passion he longed to ignite in her. Not even the barriers or time and space could keep him from winning her love. Despite her uncertainty about flowing the promptings of her own passionate heart, Adrienne's reservations were no match for Hawk's determination to keep her by his side...

I was thirsting for historical romances lately so a friend recommended this series and I was very fortunate to be offered the whole series for review. Beyond the Highland Mist introduces us to Karen Marie Moning's Highlander series and what an introduction it was! Now I understand why many recommend this so much. It's the perfect historical romance!

Our (insert all words synonymous to sexy here) hero is Sidheach 'Hawk' Douglas, who has been ordered by the King to marry Janet Comyn, known to be a madwoman. Fortunately for Hawk, Janet is now dead and in her place is Adrienne, who has recently been transported from the future by Adam Black, a Fairy fool seeking to torment our hero. Being the legend that he is, Hawk's ego takes a heavy stomping under Adrienne's denial of his seduction. To make things worse, Adam is present to distract Adrienne further, and his every move irritates Hawk to no end. What I found most hilarious about Hawk is the way he acts. He may be a fearless laird, but when it comes to Adrienne he really takes a bruising and frets like a toddler. Hilarious!

For her part, Adrienne plays the perfect heroine for Hawk. As an orphan, she has lived a lonely life in the twentieth century. Worse, her ex-fiancee Eberhard has only used her for his illegal activities. She has sworn off handsome men only to be so suddenly transported into the past and married to the most tempting man she has ever seen. Her denial of him makes some very interesting results and I loved reading every bit of it! Their characters are moulded well to fit each other and the romance is just as sizzling!

Beyond the Highland Mist should really be sold with a fan because it will drive you crazy from its very first pages. Karen Marie Moning's choice of words are seductive at the very least. I'm sure readers - female readers especially - will enjoy imagining their own version of Hawk, and if one is not enough, there are at least two other sumptuous heroes for you to drool on in this highland romance! I particularly love how all of them practically drips of masculinity. Strong, protective, competitive and arrogant - you can just imagine what happens when any two of them clashes.

Not only are the secondary characters noteworthy, they are also involved in subplots which were given enough attention to not be entirely distracting in the flow of the plot. It has recurring characters that will later be useful should you continue reading the series too. Beyond the Highland Mist is a wonderful blend of paranormal and highlander romance, with to drool for characters and is an undeniably excellent start to a fantastic series!

FIVE STARS.


*My E-book copy is received for review.