Customer Reviews

The Legend Mackinnon

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The reviews for this book have really pegged Legend MacKinnon dead on. It is a great paranormal book, with three very interesting premises for a combined story, but the actual execution of the book falls a little bit flat. Maggie, Cailean, and Delaney, are three remotely related cousins, who are brought together by time, fate, karma, kismet, and their great-uncle Lachlan. Unfortunately they seem to accept the fact that they are dealing with ghosts, immortals and time travelers WAY too easily.

The overall stage that is set up for the story is geared for a rushed story and conclusion. Our ghost (Duncan) only has 1 month a year to "be" and Maggie and Duncan are the first ones to meet. Consequentially, all of the other stories have to take place within this 1-month time frame. Couldn't our ghost have had 2 months on earth or an extension or something, so each couple does not have to fall in love within two days of meeting each other? Destiny, faerie love, whatever; I have a tough time with the "love at first site" theme, especially 3 times in one book. Alexander and Delaney's story gets cut REALLY short, and I am sorry to see that. This story should have been longer by a few chapters so Alex and Delaney can get to know one another, or it should have been three separate books. Each story truly could have been a full-length novel (not just a short book).

I am not sure how she could have ended it differently, but Ms. Kauffman makes the ending come off a bit contrived and rushed. The last little criticism I had with this book is the way everyone reads everyone else's expressions in their eyes. Used once or twice, this is a great literary devise, used all the time, I cannot believe it and it becomes distracting. Can people really "read" other people that easily - their fear, hurt, anxiousness, etc? Thus saying, and seeming to tear this book apart, I did love the thoughts and the ingenuity that Ms. Kauffman uses for the main idea of the plot. The characters are fairly well developed (considering there are 6 main characters) and each of the matches that are made, are perfect, allowing for a fun read.

Donna Kauffman has the magic touch. She can weave a timeless story like no other. Known for writing category romances for Loveswept, she is now writing single titles.TLM was a book I could not put down. It's a magically story of 2 rival Scottish clans who's destinies are forever linked. 3 beautiful independent cousins, unknown to each other, are about to meet. And at the same time these Claren cousins, Maggie, Cailean, and Delaney Claren meet they also come face to face with 3 brothers from the rival MacKinnon clan. The catch is the Clearn cousins live in 1999 and the MacKinnon men lived 300 years ago.

You will be enchanted with Duncan the ghost, the immortal Rory, and Alexander who was sent thru time to the future. Together they search for the key to release a curse put on their clans three centuries ago. I can guarantee whoever picks up this passionate romance will not be disappointed. There is a little something for everyone in this multi-faceted romance, including contemporary, historical, time travel and paranormal. It's a great read! Pass it on!

I have always enjoyed the paranormal and I have always enjoyed Scottish love stories. Reading the two together has been a favorite of mine since I started reading historical romance so long ago. BUT I have never had the pleasure to read a story involving six main characters including a Ghost, an Immortal and a Time Traveler, not to mention a seer thrown in for good measure! Each couple was as different as night and day but as strong as one another. This book has everything and the most important part is that it works! BRAVO!

My romance novel reading has slowly petered off the last 4 years to the point where I rarely read them anymore. And for a vorcious reader who only read romance, that is a huge deal. So when I saw the uniformly rave reviews for this book, I decided to pick it up hoping that it would bring back a little bit of that excitement I used to have for romance novels. Boy was I disappointed. First, I never felt that I 'knew' any of the 6 characters very well. I guess one of the drawbacks of having 3 romances in one book is that you really can't get too in depth with any one of them. Second, they all fell in love with their respective partners in about 2 days. Third, I felt these women were too easily accepting of the fact that they were involved with men from 300 years ago. I like a nice paranormal romance as much as the next person (otherwise I wouldn't have even bothered to pick up this book) but it got a bit too much for me when Delaney, the last of the three Clairen women, didn't even blink when confronted with the fact that she was in the presence of a ghost and an immortal man. I thought this book had a lot of potential and the idea of it is really interesting. But I think the execution of it was cliche and boring and the ending was both illogial and too pat.

Within the pages of this book you'll find not one but three terrific love stories all bound together with a skillful paranormal thread. Normally I feel short-changed when a book concentrates on more than one couple but that wasn't the case this time around. Because each love story is so entwined with the plot and all of the characters continue to interact with each other once the focus shifts from their romance I never felt that cheated.

All three heroes are a bit on the "arrogant alpha" side but meet up with heroines who are more than their match. You'll find lots of humor and passion but no weak kneed, simpering heroines here. I highly recommend this one to paranormal romance lovers who are looking for a fast paced romance. It worked on all levels for me, the picky paranormal reader.

I thought this book started out as one of the coolest ideas I had seen in a long, long time. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the story, and the order in which the characters were introduced, this one book could have actually been three in a series and probably would have worked better that way. I felt very close to the first couple, because I had been with them through the whole story. It would have been ok to carry this book on to a second one an introduce the second couple, etc. That way there would have been more character development. As it was, the third couple's trials and tribulations basically meant nothing to me. I didn't get enough time to like them and feel the sparks before the the climax happened and the book ended! It would be so cool if the author rewrote this book and either made it an epic of 1000 pages... or a series of 3 books with the real climax happening at the end of the 3rd story. (Hey it works for Diana Gabaldon.) Each couple's story could have been strong enough to stand alone. It's still a cool book though and a really unusual supernatural manifestation.

THE LEGEND MCKINNON refers to a curse supposedly placed upon all unions between members of the clans McKinnon and Claren following a disasterous clan war which ended up wiping both out three centuries ago. For some reason, the remnant Clarens and McKinnons have had, over the years, an inexplicable, but fatal attraction to one another. Three distant Claren cousins - Maggie, Cailean, and Delaney - appear to be the last surviving Claren descendents, and are left a legacy of land, family research, and unanswered questions by their great uncle Lachlan. As they try to unravel what he was looking for, each crosses paths, in turn, with one of the three long-dead McKinnon brothers. The novel tells us how the six work out their redemption and solve the puzzle that Uncle Lachlan couldn't quite grasp.

The author does a very good job of developing the relationships between Maggie and Duncan, and Rory and Cailean. Poor Delaney and Alexander - they come in at the end (Part Three), and really don't receive the attention and character and relationship development that they deserve. This was particularly disappointing to me because both seem like the most intriguing and strongest of the couple trio; I thought that if their story had been a little better fleshed-out, it'd have been a 5 star book. Other than that, and a certain stereotyping of Highlander males (they always end up looking and acting the same), the story is entertaining and kept me reading. I didn't particularly like the description of the McKinnon castle - too dark and forboding!

I recommend this book if you are looking for a story with fairly simple entertainment value. A tad predictable despite the originality of its premise.

This was my first book by Donna Kauffman. It definatly wont be my last. From page one, to page 405, I was mesmerized. Three Claren women, three Mackinnon men. The only problem is, there is 300 hundred years age difference between them. The Claren cousins are descendants of the women who change the life path of the MacKinnon men. Each man, has had a spell cast, one in purgatory, one immortal, one time passage, none knowing the fate of the other brother. It takes 3 Claren women, who dont even know of each others existance, to reunite the three men, and to create a family that can conquer anything, even purgatory.

I enjoyed this book very much, although at times I wasn't certain I would because it took me time to warm up to Cailean and Delaney, two of the Claren sisters. The relationship between Delaney and Alexander seemed too rushed and almost contrived to fit into the ending which came too quickly after their romance got started. I would have liked the book to continue for a few more chapters after their relationship developed.

That being said, I would recommend reading this book. It keeps you interested in finding out how the Clarens and Mackinnon's are going to solve the problem of the curse on their clans and how the love between the characters will survive.

I loved the reunion between the brothers. I could just picture it while reading and would have loved to have been there to see it!

I totally enjoyed this unusual book with its three couples as heros and heroines from different ages. It was so well done that I could connect to all the characters--each had a distinct personality. Though Cailean was my favorite heroine, the three were nearly equally divided among my friends' favorites. Choosing among the three heroes was not an easy task; I guess I could take any of them.