Customer Reviews

The Immortal Highlander

5 star:		(113)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I have been waiting for over a year for "The Immortal Highlander" to hit the bookstores. I may be Karen Marie Moning's biggest fan, having read and loved every magical, unique novel she has published. I especially like "The Dark Highlander" and "The Kiss of the Highlander." Adam Black, our hero here, had small, but important roles in these two novels, and Ms. Moning does not disappoint with her latest, Adam's story. It is not necessary to have read her prior books to enjoy this one. "The Immortal Highlander" stands on its own.

Black belongs to "Tuatha De Danaan," a highly advanced race of immortal beings that settled in Ireland thousands of years before the birth of Christ. Although this race is called by many names, they are most commonly referred to as Fae or Faery. Frequently portrayed as tiny, luminescent creatures who flit around, the true "Tuatha De Danaan" are neither small nor benevolent. Adam Black is a rogue among his own kind. He meddles too much in the affairs of men, frequently taking on the human form of a tall, dark, and (you got it!), handsome male, powerfully built and extremely seductive. He is unpredictable, arrogant, mesmerizing...and Trouble, with a capital "T."

Aoibheal, Queen of the "Tuatha De Danaan," punishes Black for his interference in the world of mortals, by stripping him of his immortality and making him human. And to make matters worse, she curses him with the threefold power of feth fiada - which makes him invisible to mankind. No one can see him, hear him, touch him. And almost as bad, now he feels hunger, thirst, fatigue, lust, and loneliness. His own kind, although they can see him clearly, have been forbidden to acknowledge him. After months in this state, Adam is desperate.

Enter human female, Gabrielle O'Callaghan, who is (yes) lovely, intelligent and has the gift of sight. She can see both worlds - mortal and faery, which to her has always been a curse rather than a gift. Gabrielle can see and hear Adam. Once he finds this out, and he does very rapidly, he will not leave her alone. Besides wanting very much to seduce her, she may be the only means he has of communicating with humans or faeries.

Adam must persuade Gabrielle to help him in his quest to regain his immortality - a quest that will take them into a world of magic where they discover a conspiracy to destroy both mortal and faery realms.

As with Ms. Moning's other novels, this one has it all - romance, magic, time travel, extraordinary characters, great plot, writing that flows, and most important, an original theme and storyline. It just doesn't get better than this! Highly recommended!
JANA

I've been waiting for Adam's story for what seems like ages, in reality, only a couple of years. I was worried how it would play out, but I have to say, it was wonderful. KMM just continues to improve as a writer and storyteller and Adam's story proves that not only can she write erotic romance, but she can spin a good story too, filled with all the things we'd expect in fairy tales and time travel stories.

Gabrielle O'Callaghan can see the Fae. It's a gift she's had to hide her entire life, but when she catches a glimpse of oh so sexy Adam Black, she can't help giving him a second glance, which he notices.

Adam has been punished by the Queen of the Faery for helping the MacKelters, humans. He's now a human himself. When he realizes Gabby can see him, he convinces her to help him in his quest to gain Queen Aoibahel's attention. He uses whatever means necessary to gain her help, and in the process both start to feel things that they've never felt before. In Adam's case, he's never felt human emotions, and now he can't help wanting Gabrielle more passionately than he's ever wanted any woman before. Soon their quest begins, taking them on adventures in Ohio and Scotland. In the process, both start to fall deeply in love. But Adam is immortal and Gabby's human... how can they ever hope to be together?

KMM answers a lot of questions in this book that have been raised in her previous Highlander books. She also leaves plenty of questions unanswered that hopefully will be answered in upcoming Highlander stories.

The Immortal Highlander really is KMM's best work to date. It's steamy and sexy and everything you'd expect from the Black Fairy. Adam was truly a memorable character and she did a wonderful job of showing his growth from arrogant fairy prince to humble human man in love.

Gabby was also a great heroine. I love KMM's heroines because they are all strong capable women who do great on their own, but when they meet the Highlanders of their dreams, they manage to show their vulnerabilities a bit more. Gabby has never quite fit in anywhere her entire life, due to her ability to see the Fae, but when she meets Adam, she finally meets someone who can share her life with her and understand what she's gone through in life.

From beginning to end, I was impressed with the story Karen Marie Moning weaved. The ending was just superb, something I didn't see coming at all, though in hindsight I should have as there were a lot of clues.

If you're a fan of KMM's previous works, then run to get your hands on a copy of The Immortal Highlander. If you're new to KMM, this book is a great place to start, though reading the previous stories might help to understand this story.

Finally, Adam Black's story is here and it was worth every minute of waiting! Adam, who thought he couldn't fall in love, (The Tuatha Dé feel no emotions) meets with Gabby O' Callagahan his perfect match and he falls very hard for her. A Tuatha Dé and and a Sidhe-Seer, that seems to be immpossible, but wait till you read this book. I say only so much, the sparks are flying between these two. You will also meet some old friends, from earlier books, again in "The Immortal Highlander".
"The Immortal Highlander" is a real treat and real page-turner. It's one of the best books I have read for a long time!

I've been anticipating this book since the minute I put down "The Dark Highlander". Of all of the authors on my "automatic buy" list who've been putting out hardbacks lately, there was only one for whom I would actually spend the extra money. I love Karen Marie Moning. Her books just speak to me, and I'm so happy to say that "The Immortal Highlander" was worth every dime.

Adam Black, Tuatha Dé Danaan extraordinaire, has been punished for his act of kindness toward a human. He's been sentenced by his occasional lover the Faery Queen to live a human life among mankind while under a spell that makes it impossible for other humans to see or touch or hear him. He's about to go stir-crazy after living his invisible life for a few months when he comes across Gabby O'Callaghan who-amazingly-can see him.

Gabby is the last in a long line of women who can see faeries. Knowing that her life is forfeit if one of the Fae ever discovers that she can see them, Gabby has tried to create a normal modern life for herself. She's in law school, she's searching for the perfect job, she's tried to have boyfriends, in short she's done her best not to let her weird, supernatural ability keep her from being normal. Though she's accustomed to running across ethereally beautiful Faeries but pretending all the while that she doesn't see them, she's so taken aback by the sight of Adam-whose beauty is stunning even by Fae standards-that she stares a moment too long, allowing him to realizes she can see him.

So begins Adam's forceful courtship and coercion of Gabby. You'd have to have read everything by Moning to really understand the nature of Adam. He's known as the "Dark Fairy" for a reason. When compared to other Faeries he's a humanitarian, but he's still a ruthlessly selfish being. While he needs Gabby's help to get him re-instated to his full Faery powers, he also want to get in her pants and while he won't force her, he'll manipulate her to get what he wants-even stooping to blackmail. Everything about Adam is "alpha" to the extreme, and in another author's hands he'd have been an unforgivable jerk, but Moning takes Adam and puts him through the wringer to create her most magnetic hero to date-and with this author that's really saying something.

Gabby is not quite the miracle of a character Adam is. While Adam is in many ways a stock Moning hero, for some reason I buy into his uniqueness more than I do Gabby's. Not that her character type isn't good. She's a typical Moning heroine, and I like Moning's heroines. They're invariably smart, out-going, funny, lovable virgins, but I guess they're just too much alike and starting to wear a little thin for me.

I'm also not thrilled with this book's re-visitation of past Moning characters. It's fine that they're there, but do we need the cute references to their stories? Do we need yet another character's affirmation that past heroes and heroines were the smartest, prettiest, coolest, etc.? Personal pet peeve. (And if we had to revisit characters, why couldn't it have been Circenn and Lisa? I'd have loved to have seen Adam interact with Circenn. Really my only complaint about how Adam's character was handled in "The Immortal Highlander" is that I still don't feel like his relationship with Circenn has been resolved-the fact that he's Circenn's father has had such a big role in making Adam different from his fellow Fae, I was really hoping it would get some serious screen time in this book.)

All in all, though, this book is excellent. I unreservedly give it four stars. Karen Marie Moning's voice pulls you into her passionate world of Highland warriors, Druids, Faeries, time-travellers, and spunky twenty-first century heroines. Her intricate, vibrant, finely-honed prose stands out like a Fabergé among plastic Easter eggs. She's the absolute best the romance world has to offer and consistently delivers some of the most delicious, irresistible heroes around.

After countless warnings to stop his involvement in the lives of mortals, Queen Aoibheal of the Tuatha De punishes Adam Black. Aoibheal turns him into a mortal human, but worse the Fae monarch also curses him with the Feth Fiada enchantment, a spell he has used to appear invisible among mortals when he wanted to make undetected mischief as human senses cannot notice the invisible. Adam believes this punishment is cruel and inhuman.

A few months later in Cincinnati Adams seeks his half-Fae son, Circenn Brodie to help him. However, Adam is shocked when law student Gabrielle O'Gallaghan behaves as if she sees him. Gabby flees, but Adam chases after her as he feels she can help him converse with Circenn. When his ancient enemies led by High Counselor Darroc try to kill Adam as part of a bigger plot and willingly use Gabby as a pawn, he knows he must keep her safe even if it means his life. When Adam first pursued Gabby, he never expected to fall in love.

Noted for her Highland romances, Karen Marie Moning provides her a great urban romantic fantasy. Fans will appreciate the womanizing Adam's seduction of Gabby as he uses all his ruses from chasing endless women, but the modern third law student forces him to look inside to his heart. Adam is a wonderful egotistical male, but what makes this story so much fun is the pragmatic Gabby as the only one who can see the thorny hunk and his deadly foes. THE IMMORTAL HIGHLANDER is a fantastic tale that will bring more fans to the already popular Ms. Moning.

Harriet Klausner

Ms. Moning as penned another great story that you will be loathed to put down until you read the final page. In her latest effort she has given us Adam's Black's story and it's just a fun if not more then her previous efforts within this series.

Adam has been changed to a mortal (perish the thought!) and to add insult to injury, he finds out (thanks to our heroine Gabby) that he's invisible to his fellow Tuatha De and unable to contact anyone in order to get his fairy powers back. Then he stumbles upon Gabby and this arrogant fairy finally realizes that although he has lived thousands upon thousands of years, he has not really lived! Gabby is not only strong willed, she does not let Adam's incredible good looks turn her head, or soften her heart. Together they work to save not only his Queen, but the special compact that is shared between the mortals and Fae from Darroc an Elder that is bound and determined to rule the fairy world.

Gabby has a problem. A BIG one! She can see fairies and so she has to walk a fine line between not letting the Fae know this (she has had it drummed into her head since she was a small child that the Fae would carry her off and do lord knows what to her if they knew she could see them) and at the same time not letting her friends and co-workers think that she is a total fruit cake. Her life was going just fine and dandy until the DAY. She finally has a day that's for the record books. If anything could go wrong, well, it did. Unprepared for anymore issues, or tragedies she sees Adam on a park bench and that was the end of that! Suffice it to say Gabby is going to learn more about the Fae then she ever thought possible.

This was a very fast-paced read, that not only offers laugh out loud moments, but it's a sensual read as well. You will be introduced to a whole new Adam, and you will also be able to visit with some old friends. Ms. Moning is a very entertaining, and gifted storyteller and one that I highly recommend to any reader.

Official reviewer for www.romancedesigns.com

Gabby is a fiesty, 21st Century woman with a family "curse," she sees fairies. After an interview gone bad, she stops for coffee and spies the most notorious of them all, Adam Black.

Adam has been trapped for months. He is in human form, unable to be seen by both his people and humans. He is in shock when he spies Gabby gawking at him. Amazed that she can see him, Adam tracks her to her home. Gabby, being the modern woman she is, punches him in the face in order to escape. The following 200 plus pages are just as fast paced, entertaining and full of spunk.

I literally finished this book in one day. It was easy to read and easy to follow, even if you have not read the other books in the series. Adam's story, for those of us who have read the others, has been the one worth waiting for and Gabby is his perfect match. I highly recommend reading THE IMMORTAL HIGHLANDER.

And I can't stop! OMG. I think most of you ladies would agree that if you met Adam Black in the flesh you would run away with him in less than a heartbeat. He is masculinity defined.

BUT Karen's Immortal Highlander goes way beyond the package, she goes to the heart of Adam. If you've read her other stories, you get the picture that Adam is a pretty evil dude, occasionally doing some good deeds here and there but only if it will be to his benefit. I personally got a huge kick out of the evil persona, he was always just so over the top I literally shook my head many times! But not only is he eye candy, he is also incredibly intelligent, absolutely clever, and has the finest taste in EVERYTHING. She does such a fine job of building up this character throughout the series, and I was definitely NOT disappointed in Immortal Highlander!

This story starts a few weeks before Dark Highlander ends, and Adam has pissed off Queen Aoibheal. In return, she turns him into an invisible pseudo-mortal to make him really think about meddling in the affairs of humans. He is having to experience all the needs that humans have that the tuatha de do not, such as eating, sleeping, etc. She leaves him with a few powers, but that's nothing to one of the most powerful fae. His quest is to find his half-fae son so that he can help him get his powers back from the Queen. Instead, Gabby O'Callaghan, a sidhe-seer, sees him and the game is on...

She was raised to fear the fae and has done a great job her entire life. Until Adam. He is the epitome of Alpha Male and she can't resist taking a peek, but unfortunately he notices that she actually sees him. She returns to her home to collect her belongings, and while looking through the extensive history her ancestors have collected about the fae, she comes across a volume about Adam, or the Dark Fae...and boy is she scared! As she is escaping, he hunts her down and threatens her life unless she agrees to help him. He taunts her with his utterly sexy body, helps her write legal briefs, and takes up residence in her home (much to her dismay). Side note: if this man was taking a shower in my house, I'd be IN there with him! But Gabby is unimpressed until she is forced to deal with him.

Adam vows to protect her with his life and helps her escape to Scotland where the protected MacKelter land is. Gabby tries her hardest to resist falling for the darkest fae in the realm, she knows it's dangerous. Adam is in denial over the feelings his mortal form is having for this woman, even though his soulless body isn't supposed to be capable of love...right? I can't go much further without giving anything away. That would be incredibly rude. Karen describes these emotions in such amazing detail that you can't help but love both of them!

Wow. I laughed out loud so many times reading this, I will warn you that you shouldn't read it in a public place unless you are able to make yourself not laugh. Yeah right. The sex scenes were soooooo steamy, and I promise you that people will know exactly what kind of book you're reading by the redness in your cheeks, the breath being held, and the saliva coming down your chin, so that's another reason to do read in private. But those facts aside, this was such a phenomenal story that I got chills so many times, and for WEEKS after I read it all I had to do was think about it and I got the chills. I loved this story so much that I have broken the paperback binding and I had to glue it back together. So now I'm on a quest to get it in hardcover, along with the rest of Moning's books. I would give it 10 stars out of 5 if that's at all possible :-)

P.S. I know what I'm asking Santa for this Christmas

I looked forward to this book for so long and when I finally got it, I couldn't believe how good it was. I have been a fan of KMM since her first book. I loved the fairy element, the time travel, and the fact that the men are all gorgeous. This book continues her impressive streak. I won't go over the details of the book. Other reviewers have done so. I will just say that this is a book to savor. I took my time reading it. I re-read Beyond the Highland Mist to re-introduce me to Adam Black before I started this book. I just finished The Immortal Highlander and I think I will re-read all her books. KMM is a writer that takes something different(the fae or time travel) and tweaks it enough so that it is different from the other authors out there. She really makes it seem otherworldly. In other books(not KMM's), I get the impression that the hero is the same as every other hero in romance novels, but just happens to be one of the Tuatha De. It's like that element is just slipped in, but doesn't make that much difference. In KMM's books, it is an integral part and so nicely developed and written that it is just beautiful. I really enjoy good writing and KMM's books fit the bill. This one was just wonderful. I'm already looking forward to the next. Who will it be about, I wonder?

I wanted to like these books. I liked the main characters. I liked the story. I had hoped for more though and don't like the ending of this book. It's sad to say but I think this book should have been released as a paperback. It's not a book that I will go back and re-read nor will I re-read the series because of the ending.

I don't like how they depicted the Fay and I don't like how the author has changed Adam Black to give a Happy Human ever after.

If you like straight up Romance Novels were the woman changes the man and they ride off to the sunset then you might like this book.