Customer Reviews

Highland Guardian (Daughters of the Glen, Book 2)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sara Douglas a romance novelist come to Scotland hoping to overcome her writer's block and come to terms with her special ability to sense the emotions of everyone she touches.

Ian McCullough is a half-mortal Fae and a Guardian for more then six hundred years.

When Ian meets Sara, he can literally "see her soul" looking out at him.

The romance and sensual undertones kept this romance story snapping. Loved the interaction with the other Faeries and Ian's well meaning friends and relatives.

Future novels with Dallyn and Ramos are promising and will be on my auto-buy list. Thanks Melissa Mayhue for writing a lovely book. When I finished it today, I thought "can't wait for the next one".

When I read Melissa Mayhue's debut novel, Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband [Pocket, June 2007], I fell instantly in love with the characters and world she'd designed around a historical magical glen and a faerie promise. There's just something about the Fae dabbling in the mortal world--past or present--that creates the most delightful and conflicted stories. I could hardly wait for her second release in the Daughters of the Glen series, Highland Guardian. It's every bit as satisfying as I expected.

Romance novelist Sarah Douglas arrives in Scotland determined to overcome her writer's block and come to terms with her strange ability to sense the emotions of everyone she touches. Add a stalker who might be a figment of her imagination to her attraction to the yummy but much younger owner of the cottage she's rented, and her troubles are only beginning!

A half-mortal descendent of Faeries, Ian McCullough's been a successful Guardian for centuries. His new assignment, though, is way beyond his experience. Handling Sarah's stalker and the renegade Faeries determined to kidnap her is the easy part. Falling in love and forsaking his role as Guardian may be his biggest challenge yet.

Although Sarah and Ian's story takes place in the present instead of the past, as in her debut novel, Mayhue's fantasy world holds firm. I have no doubt there are faeries and Guardians living and breathing amongst the mortals in Scotland today. Highland Guardian is a story filled with suspense and desire, with a strong thread of magic and Fate thrown in. You can't go wrong picking up this one!

These two Highland books are ones to "run to store today and buy" or at least have shipped overnight! I fell across the first one, and automatically bought the second one the minute it was out. Nothing "formula" about them and both just awesome!!! They don't have to be read in order (in my opinion)- but they must be read!!

A successful romance writer with writer's block, Sarah Douglas travels
to Scotland to work on her novel. Sarah must also come to terms with
her ability to feel the emotions of people she touches. From the
moment of her arrival, nothing goes as it should. First, there is a
horrible storm that makes traveling to her lodging almost impossible.
Second, there is what may or may not be a stalker she sees in the
shadows. And third, there is her attraction to the very handsome,
much younger Ian McCollough.

Ian McCollough has worked as a Guardian for over six hundred years.
Part mortal, part Fae, Ian has been assigned to protect Sarah. Not
only must Ian protect her from a stalker, a jerk of an ex-husband and
rogue Faeries, Ian must not fall in love with Sarah. Falling in love
will jeopardize Ian's role as a Guardian, a role he is honor bound to
hold. But Sarah ignites Ian's passions and loving her may very well
be his destiny.

If I thought I could have a Highland Guardian too, I'd be on the next
jet airliner to Scotland. Ian and his comrades are truly delicious.
Much like the DeLafee chocolate Sarah receives, these Faerie
descendants are mouthwatering.

Melissa Mayhue's writing is magical. Unable to stop, I devoured
Highland Guardian in one afternoon. Highland Guardian has dark
suspense, wretched villains, and smoking hot romance. Highland
Guardian is fantastic!


Annmarie
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

it was still a great book. I have to admit I was a little disappointed compared to the first, (and third book) but it was still an enjoyable read. However, that being said, if I had read this one first, it would still make me go for her other books in the series. I think the way she weaves a story is wonderful, and love her choice of words. I have read other romance books where I couldn't care less for the lead characters, but all of Melissa Mayhue's characters have strength, determination and grit without being annoying, selfish and pathetic. The passion is all her novels is thrilling!

While I don't do many reviews, I had to remark on Highland Guardian. I found the book one of the most enjoyable I've read in ages.

Ian is a dream, the perfect combination of edgy and yummy. Though he continually reminds himself he can't get involved romantically, he can't resist standing up for her when her ex acts like a jerk.

Sarah isn't your run of the mill heroine needing rescuing, either. Despite people and otherworldlies being after her, she doesn't wilt like a flower. She also doesn't fold when Ian doesn't like the attention Ramos gives her.

I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading Melissa's next one during my vacation.

Sandra Kerns

Melissa Mayhue scores another great romance with Highland Guardian. The story follows Ian McCullough, a half-mortal decsendant of the Faeries, who has been a Guardian for 600 years, and Sarah Douglas, a Sensor, who finds out there is more to her abilities than she expected. The two follow a sexy Scottish adventure as Ian tries to protect Sarah and in the process falls in love.

This is a fun, sexy read! I couldn't put it down. It's full of twists and turns and wonderfully sensual excitement.

I can't recommend Ms. Mayhue's novel enough.

I loved Melissa Mayhue's first book and the second book was just as good. It did take a while for me to really get interested but once I did I couldn't put it down!!! I loved the little twist near the end and the hero was amazing. I can't wait for book number 3. I can only hope that Ramos' story gets told soon.

***NOTE MY REVIEWS OFTEN CONTAIN SPOILERS***
Sarah Douglas is an American Author who has decided to spend a few months in Scotland because one she's hoping it will help her overcome her writer's block and two she believes that fate is pulling her there, to that country, to that cottage. She believes that at that moment it's where she's supposed to be. After spending close to a lifetime of not being able to touch someone without being violently drawn into their thoughts and feelings, she's decided to stop denying her gift and to go where fate takes her. Fate takes her to the doorstep of Fae Guardian Ian McCullough. Ian is a 600 year old war of half fae and half human blood who's mission is to protect the gateway between the human and fae worlds from the evil Fairies - the Nuadian. What apparently only Sarah doesn't know, is her presence presents a risk to Ian and his mission, she's a descendant of the fae as well and as a female descendant she can both see the gate and should she chose to lead the Nuadian right to it. Sarah is quickly drawn into the a web of new faces, new people and new agendas. She doesn't even know if they're all sane, let alone who to trust and to make matters worse she's finds herself undeniably attracted to Ian who looks close to a decade younger than her. In her mind the relationship is entirely inappropriate, but when Ian returns her interest she finds it difficult to turn away. Should she follow her heart or trust what she knows? And when both sides have people she feels she can trust, how can she possibly know which one is right and exactly who deserves her allegiance? Sarah finds herself on an unbelievable adventure of love, magic and dangers that even her writer's imagination could never have envisioned.

This is the second book in the Daughters of the Glen series, however since the ties between the two books are slim it's very easily a stand alone title. There is one small scene where the characters from the first book make a cameo, but other than that until the epilogue it's hard to see how the two books are even connected with the exception of the fact that faeries (though for the most part it's not the same faeries) are characters in both books.

The book was both well-written and exciting, a tale which draws you in and keeps your turning the pages until it's conclusion. As romance it does include sex, however the few scenes of this nature enhance the plot rather than exist for the purpose of having a sex scene.

I had two main issues with this book, the first of which is Sarah. Like in the previous book, the female lead begins as a walking doormat. She does have a lot of character growth and becomes a stronger woman by the stories conclusion, but I'd like to see a heroine from Mayhue that doesn't begin as a woman that you can more easily feel sorry for and ignore instead of a woman with some backbone that you can route for. Sarah sees her gifts as a curse and believes that because of them no one is capable of loving her. She's divorced from a man who married her for her trust fund and belittled her to the point that she barely has an self worth. She can't even find pride in her work, skirting around the genre she writes when questioned by Ian upon meeting him. I get that there are reasons for her skittish behavior, however the character needs a little more to begin with that doormat status. Yes these characters give a lot of opportunity for growth in the course of the novel, but they aren't someone you can respect upon meeting them because they themselves don't seem to possess self respect.

The second thing that bothered me about this book is the relationship between Ian and Sarah. The intense feelings between them seem to develop almost out of no where, born more of mutual attraction than of mutual respect. The communication between the two characters doesn't include enough trust and disclosure to the other person for me to really view this relationship as love. If they characters had spent a little more time talking and little less mentally obsessing I might have seen how this could be love, but I'm not the type of reader who will accept that a couple are soul-mates just because someone says so. I want to see more action to prove that this is the case rather than relying on what the faeries believe to be true.

All of the characters in this story as in the first are extremely well-rounded with the exception of the Nuadian villain, possessing both believable positive and negative attributes. I particularly enjoyed meeting the supporting characters of Will, the young boy who shares Sarah's gift and Ramos Servans who is a good guy in a villain role. What I loved about Ramos's character is that he really believes what he's fighting for is right, the problem is he's been raised not actually knowing the truth of the situation. I look forward to seeing more of both minor characters in future works.

Overall this book is a great read, though I think it will appeal more to reader of urban fantasy than those of romance. Highly recommended.

loved the first two books why cant we get the other 2 books on kindle defeats the pupose of having kindle if you cant read the series all the way through