To Tame a Highland Warrior by Karen Marie Moning

Rating: SNAG!

To Tame a Highland Warrior
by Karen Marie Moning
Genre: Romance, Historical Fiction
Paperback: 366 pages
Publication Date: June 2004





Cover Description

Only her love could gentle his savage soul—
He was born to a clan of warriors of supernatural strength, but Gavrael McIllioch abandoned his name and his Highland castle, determined to escape the dark fate of his ancestors. Hiding his identity from the relentless rival clan that hunted him, he called himself Grimm to protect the people he cared for, vowing never to acknowledge his love for ravishing Jillian St. Clair. Yet even from afar he watched over her, and when her father sent an urgent summons, "Come for Jillian," he raced to her side—into a competition to win her hand in marriage.
 
Why had he run from her so many years before? And why return now to see her offered as a prize in her father's manipulative game? Furious, Jillian vowed never to wed. But Grimm was the man she loved, the one who urged her to marry another. He tried to pretend indifference as she tempted him, but he could not deny the fierce desires that compelled him to abduct her from the altar. She was the only woman who could tame the beast that raged within him—even as deadly enemies plotted to destroy them both....

Verdict

To Tame a Highland Warrior is not one of Moning's best endeavors. It was very reminiscent of the typical trashy romance novel. The romantic overtures, at times, were so ridiculously sweet I felt like Molasses was dripping from the pages. The novel lacked that typical Moning quality that I find so enticing.
However, if you are a big fan of Moning, it is worth the time and money.

Good Reading!
Sarah :)

Beyond the Highland Mist by Karen Marie Moning

Rating: BRAG!

Beyond the Highland Mist
(Highlander Series #1)

by Karen Marie Moning
Romantic Fiction, Time-Travel, Faeries
Paperback: 416 pages
Publication Date: June 2004

Warning: Sexual Content



VERDICT
Tantalizing faerie tale for grown-ups! Beyond the Highland Mist is an unbelievably gorgeous love story. Karen Marie Moning combines a bit of magic, a bit of faerie, some sensual highland men, and a lot of undiscovered love. Wonderful ending, beautifully told!

Good Reading!
Sarah ;)

Other books by Karen Marie Moning

Now Reading... Beyond the Highland Mist by Karen Marie Moning

Beyond the Highland Mist
(Highlander Series #1)
by Karen Marie Moning
Romantic Fiction, Time-Travel, Faeries
Paperback: 416 pages
Publication Date: June 2004








Cover Summary
 
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 irresistible 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 within her. Not even the barriers of time and space would keep him from winning her love. Despite her uncertainty about following the promptings of her own passionate heart, Adrienne's reservations were no match for Hawk's determination to keep her by his side....

Author's Website
http://www.karenmoning.com/


Reading Soon
Devlin Diary by Christi Phillips
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Now Reading... The Scottish Rose

The Scottish Rose
by Jill Jones

Historical Fiction, Romance
Publication Date: February 1997
Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages

Cover Summary

It began with a letter...that leads to a passion and adventure beyond her dreams...

"I have taken measures to hide Mary's rose chalice...I fear that all in the castle may die for hiding it, but it is our duty to protect this sacred emblem of Scotland."
--Letter written in 1651

Taylor Kincaid hosts a top-rated television series that debunks everything supernatural. So when she finds herself on the Scottish coast-- to claim an out-of-the-blue inheritance and ancient letters telling of royal gold-- she's prepared to explode the local legend: an archway made of stone through which young women disappear. Until a stormy sea sweeps her through the Ladysgate-- and with her, handsome, rugged sea captain Duncan Fraser.

Beyond it lies the Scotland of 1651. It is the land of Taylor's heirloom letters and Mary Queen of Scots' fabled jeweled chalice, The Scottish Rose, emblem of peace. Together Taylor and Duncan must search for it amid the passions and perils of history...or, in a desperate bid to recross the centuries, risk losing each other and the love they've found beyond the gates of time.

Author

Jill Jones lives in western North Carolina with her husband, Jerry, who is a watercolor artist.

Reading Soon...
Devlin Diary by Christi Phillips

The Scarlet Lion by Elizabeth Chadwich
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Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander series #2) by Diana Gabaldon

Rating: BRAG!
NOOK Book: 866 pages
Historical Fiction
Warning: Language, Sexual Content

Excellent writing! It was a long read but certainly time well spent. Diana Gabaldon mesmerizes her readers with tantalizing detail throughout and sensational character development! While it was my second time reading it, I found it extremely difficult to put down. You will cry, cringe, crack up, and be contented while reading Dragonfly in Amber.
I can't wait to move on to Voyager (Outlander series #3)! But I will read a few other novels before beginning this long read.

Good Reading!!
Sarah

Now Reading Update... Dragonfly in Amber

Phew!! This book is incredible, but very stressful to read. I find myself leaving off when I recognize a particularly emotional section approaching. Mind you, it is only because I have already read it and know what is coming. If I did not, I would not be able to put it down. Here is a quick sample of my day's reading...

Jamie reached forward suddenly and took my hands.

"I think it will not happen, Claire; I think we will stop him. And if not, then still I dinna expect anything to happen to me. But if it should..." He was in deadly earnest now, speaking soft and urgently. "If it does, then I want there to be a place for you; I want someone for you to go to if I am ... not there to care for you. If it canna be me, then I would have it be a man who loves you." His grasp on my fingers grew tighter; I could feel both rings digging into my flesh, and felt the urgency in his hands.

"Claire, ye know what it cost me to do this for you - to spare Randall's life. Promise me that if the time should come, you'll go back to Frank." His eyes searched my face, deep blue as the sky in the window behind him. " I tried to send ye back twice before. And I thank God ye wouldna go. But if it comes to a third time - then promise me you will go back to him - back to Frank. For that is why I spare Jack Randall for a year - for your sake. Promise me, Claire?"

Winter Sea Awesome Deal

Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley is now only $2.99 as a NOOK Book!!

Good Reading!!

Now Reading Update..... Dragonfly in Amber

I am now in the middle of Chapter 17 and tonight Claire and Jamie have induced me to laughing out loud - producing odd looks from my husband - and being mesmerized by their devotion to each other and their adventures in Paris.

Book quote from my readings of today...

(While Claire is washing Jamie's hair for him after a very difficult night with Bonny Prince Charlie.)

He was big, I thought. Near him so much, I tended to forget his size, until I saw him suddenly from a distance, towering among smaller men, and I would be struck anew by his grace and the beauty of his body. But he sat now with his knees nearly underneath his chin, and his shoulders filled the tub from one side to the other. He leaned forward slightly to assist my ministrations, exposing the hideous scars on his back. The thick red welts of Jack Randall's Christmas gift lay heavily over the thin white lines of the earlier floggings.

I touched the scars gently, my heart squeezed by the sight. I had seen those wounds when they were fresh, seen him driven to the edge of madness by torture and abuse. But I had healed him, and he had fought with all the power of a gallant heart to be whole once more, to come back to me. Moved by tenderness, I brushed the trailing ends of his hair aside, and bent to kiss the back of his neck.

I straightened abruptly. He felt my movement and turned his head slightly.

"What is it Sassenach?" he asked, voice slow with drowsy contentment..........

"No, not a thing," I said again, reaching for the ewer on the stand. Placed near the window, it was ice-cold to the touch. I stepped behind Jamie and upended it on his head.

Good night and good reading!!

Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley

Rating: BRAG

The Winter Sea is a must read!! It is a spellbinding novel and you will not want to leave it's pages. One of the best books I have ever read. If you like historical or romantic fiction, you will find yourself enthralled from the very beginning. It will leave you breathless, it will make you cry in at least one chapter, and it will make you wish it were a series because you will not want it to end.

Susanna Kearsley has written this book with such creativity and detail. She approaches this book with an interesting way of reaching back and forth across time. And as amazing as it is, I am so relieved to say that it is a clean read!! There is no bad language and there are no sexual scenes; there are definitely romantic scenes, but they stay at that endearing level and do not reach an uncomfortable amount of graphic detail. This goes to prove that it can be done - we can find heartstopping reads that are clean too!! Maybe it just takes an exceptional writer to do it.