Customer Reviews

Forbidden Highlander: A Dark Sword Novel

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You know usually the second book in the series is not as good as the first. But I am so glad to say I enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed the first book "Dangerous Highlander". I was not sure that I was going to like Larena. With Lorena being the first and only female warrior I thought she was going to have this over the top woman's "I can do it all and don't need a man" personality! However, Donna Grant developed her character to be extremely well balanced. Larena is both warrior woman with the soul of a woman who wants to stand with her man. Larena even with her being a warrior knew her limits and respected the opinions of Fallon. I loved the fact that she did not make stupid choices. She is the perfect woman for Fallon who finally grabs the role of Laird of the Mcleod Clan and has the fealty of all the warriors flocking to his castle. Fallon and Larena certianly heated up the pages with their passion and love. I loved seeing Fallon finally becoming the man his father raised him to be! Another thing I loved about this book is Ms. Grant did not leave out Lucan, Cara or the any of the other warriors, they ALL have become family to one another! I cannot wait for each of their stories and I hope that each book released is better than the last. This book like "Dangeorus Highlander" holds so much magic, love, mystery and slowly the puzzle is coming together. Another great book from Donna Grant! She is slowly edging toward becoming my #1 Author!

Fallon MacLeod and his brothers are the last of the MacLeod clan. The MacLeod clan was destroyed by Deirdre. She wants the brothers for herself. She once had them long ago. The MacLeod men are cursed with strong Gods entrapped inside each of them.

Fallon feeling horrible that he didn't do more for his clan decides to travel to see King James to ask for his help.

Larena Monroe has been searching for the MacLeods for a long time. When she learns that Fallon is near, she seeks him out. She needs his protection but can she get him to listen to her?

Forbidden Highlander is book two in the Dark Sword series. I enjoyed Dangerous Highlander but Forbidden Highlander blew me away. I couldn't get enough of Fallon and Larena. Fallon and Larena sizzled and smoked together. I like that Larena was an equal to Fallon. This book is darker and edgier then the first one. If you like historical novels with hot, sexy warriors and strong heroines then you have to check out this series. The only thing forbidden about Forbidden Highlander is if you don't pick up a copy of this book today!

FORBIDDEN HIGHLANDER by Donna Grant is a spellbinding historical romance set in 1603 Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the second in A Dark Sword Novel, but can easily be read as a stand alone. Some of the characters from the first book Dangerous Highlander reappear in this one also.It has danger, romance, sensuality, secrets, passion, demons, druids, an extremely evil witch who is after more power, dark magic, find their destinies, true love and a battle to overcome an ancient curse. The hero, Fallon is the eldest of the MacLeod brothers( Fallon, Lucan, and Quinn). We meet Lucan in Dangerous Highlander. Fallon is strong, handsome, is immortal due to his demon, drank to much to try to keep his demon at bay,is battling guilt from not being able to save his family,and falls for the beautiful Larena.The heroine, Larena,is beautiful, has a dark secret,fears for her life, needs the MacLeod clan to help her. For Larena is also has a demon, a female demon one of few, if not the only one known. She holds the secret to how to vanquish the evil druid who wishes to wreak havoc on earth and mankind.Sparks fly between Fallon and Larena for she is able to open his heart and his soul. The story is about Fallon and Larena and their quest to find true love. I would highly recommend this book especially if you enjoy romance, passion, dark, sensual and enchanting reading. It is fast paced page turning and will keep you on the edge of yours seat. I am waiting for the next installment to learn about the younger brother Quinn, who has been captured by the evil witch and the MacLeods out to free and destroy the evil witch. This book was received for review and details can be found at St. Martins Paperbacks and My Book Addiction and More.

Fallon MacLeod is a Warrior, forced to accept a God into himself. He is immortal, having been alive 300 years and within him and his two brothers rests the god of revenge. Deirdre, a drough, a druid that has given herself to black magic captured Fallon and his brothers Lucan and Quinn all those years ago. But now Deirdre has Quinn in her grasp again, hidden away in her fortress and Fallon is desperate to get him back.

Fallon's family has lost all their land, but he wants to ensure they get to keep their castle forever. He has opened the castle as a sanctuary to Warriors and druids, so they don't suffer at the hands of Deirdre. He arrives in Edinburgh to meet with the king to discuss these matters, and it is here he meets Larena Monroe. One glance and his lust goes into full gear. Ironically, Larena is at the castle for information about him. Larena is a female Warrior, maybe the only one of her kind, and she needs Fallon's help.

Fallon hears a rumor there is a scroll that contains all the names of every person that has been inhabited by a god. He knows Deirdre would do anything for this list - possibly trading his brother Quinn for it. When Larena learns that Fallon wants that scroll, she has a secret that changes everything.

Forbidden Highlander quickly turned into a frustrating read for me. The foundation of my frustrations lay at the attraction, and subsequent relationship of Fallon and Larena. It is lust/love at first sight for them, which is fine. I don't love that scenario, for as much as sexual tension gives me heart burn, these relationships need a certain degree of it. They went straight to bed the first night. But what REALLY got under my skin is the familiarity they have with each other less than 24 hours together. They both act like they know all intimate details of the others lives.

Larena also must deal with her secret, that she actually has the scroll hidden on the ring on her finger. They love each other from the start, but Larena is scared if Fallon knows she has the scroll, he will first take it and give to Deirdre and then be upset that she withheld that information from him. Even this didn't add tension to the story because eventually Larena just gives in. She breaks the vow she gave to never tell of the scroll, even to her husband. Deirdre, the villain couldn't decide if she was evil or if her minions should do all the dirty work. Nothing really worked for me in this book.

The McLeod brothers (Fallon, Lucan and Quinn) were descendents from a cadre of warriors created by Druids to repel the Romans from Scotland and England. For three centuries the siblings hid from Deirdre who wants their magic. However in 1603, Lucan meets his soulmate (see Dangerous Highlander), but Quinn was captured by their enemy.

In Edinburgh Fallon meets and falls in love with Lady Larena Monroe. He is shocked to realize she is a warrior; the only female he ever met. She accompanies Fallon to the McLeod estate, a haven for warriors and Druids. As Deirdre assaults the stronghold, Fallon plans to rescue his brother, but first proposes to his beloved. She wants to say yes, but knows she conceals from her beloved a dark secret that will turn his love to loathing.

The second McLeod brother historical fantasy is a terrific tale with a nice twist that readers will know is coming yet Donna Grant makes the spin fun to follow. The story line is fast-paced and is more than just a middle book as Fallon's fate is decided. With Quinn still held captive by the obsessed Deirdre, sub-genre fans will be impatient for his Dark Sword legend as the audience anticipates his confrontation with his much stronger jailer.

Harriet Klausner

I fall in love with all her characters. She has a way of making them understandable, even the evil bitches...:)
I'm always thoroughly entertained and exhausted by the time I finish her books, I can never put them down.

Fallon MacLeod has left his ancestral home where he has been hiding for over three hundred years with his brothers Quinn and Lucan to reclaim their castle and save Quinn from the evil clutches of Deidre. Deidre is a drough--a druid who practices black magic--and she is hell-bent on capturing all three MacLeod brothers and unleashing their gods for her evil purposes. Larena Monroe has secrets she would die to protect, but meeting Fallon changes her course. Together, Larena and Fallon embark upon a journey to fight evil and find true love.

Fallon is a tortured hero punishing himself for the deeds of his past. He proves to be a good man with the help of a good woman. Because of who and what Larena is, she was forced to lead a lonely life, but her plight made her stronger. She bears the weight of tremendous responsibility. Fallon and Larena make a particularly good pair as they compliment each other's strengths and weaknesses. Forbidden Highlander is more of a love story about Fallon and Larena and less about the Warrior's accomplishing their goals including freeing Quinn or a conference with the king. Future intriguing stories are set up, though. While I was disappointed that Quinn's situation was not resolved, ultimately, I think the story as a whole benefits for the wait.

Nannette
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Immortal Warrior Fallon MacLeod has traveled to Edinburgh Castle to speak with the King ~~ never did he imagine that he'd meet the beautiful, mysterious Larena Monroe, who catches his eye and his more from the first look. But Fallon is on a mission to save his not only his family lands, but his brother Quinn, and he doesn't have time for distractions in the form of a woman ~~ even one as beautiful and magical as Larena. Will she convince him otherwise?

In this magical and mystical 2nd installment of the Dark Sword series by Donna Grant,
readers will be thrilled with the secrects revealed, the love story between Fallon and Larena, and the fight between good and evil that roars...

I really enjoyed the 2nd book in the Donna Grant's Dark Sword series. In some ways, I found it even more enjoyable than the first book. While this book still had the same problem of a lame attempt at using dialect/brogue that I found in the first book (basically, only tossing in the occasional "doona", "canna", etc), I found it less annoying in this book than I did in the last. (Maybe I was just used to it?)

Fallon is a strong leader for this group of warriors and he has a perfect match in fellow warrior, Larena. Both have their hang-ups which causes some minor tension in cementing their relationship (he feels he's not worthy of her and she's too scared to trust anyone enough to commit), otherwise the rest of the story continues to build on the whole conflict with Deirdre and how to go about rescuing Quinn from her mountain stronghold.

There is plenty of time spent at MacLeod castle with Lucan and Cara and the other warriors we met at the end of "Dangerous Highlander". It was great to see their group bond growing stronger into a "brotherhood" of sorts. In addition to the other warriors, we are introduced to Malcolm, Larena's cousin, who will hopefully become an integral part of the group as the storyline progresses in future books. We also get an inside look at Deirdre and her stronghold and really begin to see in more detail just how evil and twisted she is.

While this book can be read without having read "Dangerous Highlander" (book 1), I do not personally recommend doing so, as this story picks up shortly after the previous book left off and things that happened in that book play an integral part in this one. That said, Grant does a good job of filling in the blanks for those that missed book 1.

Forbidden Highlander: A Dark Sword Novelthis is the second book in the series by Donna Grant i happened to get this one first so the story of Fallon was a bit confusing as to why he was reluctant to release his god (back story to fight the Romans out of Scotland the Druids and Celtic made a spell to place demon gods inside their best warriors but this backfired when the result was too good so the gods were bound inside the warriors and passed down thru the generations with any problems) the main story evolves around a power hungry drough named Diedre who starts unleasing all the gods again--Fallon and his two brothers Lucan and Quincy escape from her and live in their old family castle together where they have been gathering all the other warriors who escaped and are planning to go back to her fortress mountain to rescue Quincy who has been captured while in London Fallon meets a female Warrior who has the Scroll that lists all the warriors. a copy is maded of this to bargain with Diedre to get her to release Quincy who she thinks is her mate--good read but get the first book too to fill in the gaps this is a three book series