Customer Reviews

My Immortal Highlander

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
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This novel contains two stories set in Scotland, early sixteenth century. The first story is titled "The Hunt" and written by Hannah Howell. Kenna Brodie of Bantaluch is a seer. Her uncle, wanting control of her people, sends Kenna on a quest to prove herself. She is to bring home the head and heart of a MacNachton. (The uncle never stated that the MacNachton had to be dead.) Kenna has no intention of completing the quest. However, Botham MacNachton meets her in a cave.

The MacNachton clan has a bloodlust. They can morph into beasts. In fact, Botham and his twin brother, Calum, are on missions to locate wives from outside the clan in hopes of saving their people. Kenna has no problem with loving both sides of Botham, neither the man, nor the beast.

The second story is titled "The Rescue" and written by Lynsay Sands. This is Calum MacNachton's tale. Sarra DeCourcey had spurned a cruel suitor and ended up being kidnapped. Calum rescues her. They soon find themselves falling in love. Problem is that the spurned man refuses to give Sarra up.

**** An interesting blend of talents by two well-known authors. Though the authors' writing styles are quite different, they seem to compliment each other somehow. The male characters in their stories are able to shapeshift into catmen. (They even purr in their sleep, though they would never admit it.) Very well done and highly recommended to all who enjoy paranormal romances! ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

The Hunt by Hannah Howell

Bothan MacNachton seeks shelter from the rain in a cave where he finds Kenna Brodie warming herself by a fire. Bothan has been searching for a bride. Kenna explains that she has been banished from her clan by her greedy uncle Kelvyn. In order to return, she must bring the hand, head and heart of a MacNachton with her.

Kenna is a seer but her dreams are not always clear. They have brought her to Bothan but she is not sure why. Bothan is wary of Kenna's abilities and motives, but seeing a chance to possibly eliminate the man in charge of attempting to destroy his clan, he proposes that they marry and go back to her clan together.

The journey back to Bantulach allows Kenna and Bothan to get to know each other, but their growing peace is short lived when they have to deal with Kelvyn. Bothan tries to keep his secret until he is ready to reveal his true self to Kenna, but Kenna is figuring things out for herself quickly. Their battles may be hard won but they have the chance for a great love, if they survive.

Bothan and Kenna are great characters. Bothan is intense and sexy and Kenna proves the perfect match for him with her intelligence and charm. While Kenna's conversations with her mother are heartwarming and helpful, they are a little distracting. Bothan is doubly enticing with his Scottish bur and his unique abilities. The Hunt is an exciting story with lots of sensuality and romance.


The Rescue by Lynsay Sands

Calum MacNachton saves Sarra DeCourcey from some men intent on bringing her to Lord d'Angers who is determined to marry her, willing or not. Calum is hurt in the fight, and Sarra brings him to her home to tend him. It becomes apparent to Sarra that Calum is no ordinary man, but never the less she is not bothered by his differences.
As Calum finds himself drawn to Sarra, he feels she will reject him if she knew what he really is, so he leaves before he can get too close to her.

When He sees that Sarra is in danger yet again he wants to return and he hopes that he won't be leaving again.

In The Rescue, Calum's gruffness is sexy and Sarra's clumsiness in the beginning is endearing. The storyline is sedate but nicely written and entertaining. I like these characters and the romance is tender.

Both Hannah Howell and Lynsay Sands do a good job combing the two genres in My Immortal Highlander. Their blend of a historical Scottish romance with a paranormal twist is sensual, entertaining, and romantic.

Nannette
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

The eternal highlander is the first book to introduce the macnachtons. I truly enjoyed the story of the twin brothers in this book. The only confusing thing is figuring out who their parents are. At first I thought it was the sons of bridget & cathal, but the first story says that bridget is his aunt. However, bridgets sister is in another book w/ jankyn...I have not read that one yet, so that book might explain who the twins parents are. Except for that confusion, the storys were great. I recommend the whole series that features the macnactons & mcadies.

This book contains two stories featuring identical twin brothers Bothan and Calum MacNachton, members of a strange Scottish clan of people who have fangs, great strength, long life, drink blood and can't go out in the sun. The history of their clan is one of violence and attacks on others although they have recently changed - now the clan members try to marry Outsiders from the clan and they are careful about using their gifts.

The first story, 'The Hunt' by Hannah Howell, follows Bothan MacNachton as he meets Kenna Brodie. He discovers fairly quickly that Kenna has been tasked to kill him by her uncle - as a means for her uncle to dispose of her as he doesn't expect her to survive the encounter. Kenna is rightly the laird of their clan but her uncle has usurped her position and wants to get rid of her; he also has an obsession with destroying the MacNachton clan so tries to kill two birds with one stone.

Unfortunately Bothan and Kenna confuse his plan by marrying and returning to Bantulach to take up their position as laird, banishing Kelvyn the uncle. However he is still plotting against the MacNachtons and has helpers in the village, plus Kenna isn't really aware of who her husband is. When she discovers his different nature will she be afraid of him? Can she and Bothan make their village safe?

This story is fairly simple in its plot and characterisation. There aren't any real suprises along the way and problems and obstacles seem to be overcome without too many difficulties. Kenna herself has some strange attributes - she is a seer and she hears her dead mother's voice - which enable her to accept that the differences in Bothan are not instant proof that he is a demon. Neither character really grows or changes through this story, it is more about a woman dispossessed of her inheritance regaining it with the help of a strong and handsome man, so it's light reading rather than a more in-depth story.

The language of this book is a mixture of American and Scottish - occasional modern American phrasing creeps in, along with strong Scottish words (hasnae, dinnae, mon, weel etc). There's not a great deal of historical detail but that doesn't matter too much to the story. However the strong Scottish way of speaking might put some people off - for example, although Highland stories are popular in America the Scottish accent isn't generally seen as very appealing in England.

The second story, "The Rescue" by Lynsay Sands, worked rather better for me. Calum MacNaghton, brother of Bothan from the first story, is travelling to London on a small task for his uncle when he finds himself rescuing a young lady from a group of men who are trying to kidnap her. Unfortunately the kidnap is taking place in daylight and so whilst helping Sarra DeCourcey, the young woman, he becomes dangerously weak and eventually passes out. Sarra helps him back to her father's castle and lets him rest there with her father whilst he gets back his strength. However the man behind the attempted kidnapping still wants to get Sarra so he can marry her - Sarra's father is dying and she is the heir to a reasonable estate. With a traitor somewhere in Sarra's castle, and with Calum needing to continue on his journey within England to reach London, can Sarra be made safe?

Like the previous story this one is fairly simple and plain - in under 150 pages it's difficult to make a very complex plot and characterisation. However there were some amusing aspects to this story that made it more enjoyable to read than 'The Hunt'. Calum's horse, Pretty Boy or Black, behaves in a rather un-horselike manner, Sarra herself struggles to rescue Calum and ends up tying him to the horse upside down, and their way of dealing with some of the more difficult problems of being under siege are also quite funny. It's not laugh-out-loud amusing but it adds a little lightness to the story.

Calum is Scottish, of course, and speaks in a Scottish manner but the rest of the characters in this story are English so I found it rather easier to read. It's noticeable that Lynsay Sands uses the word "vampire" for her hero which wasn't used in the previous story - although focusing on two brothers these stories did have a rather different feel. Again some Americanisms slipped in to this story but overall it was an enjoyable read and I found it more satisfying than 'The Hunt'. For those who like reading stories set in Scotland these were fun but they did suffer from the limitations of the shorter story format.

Originally published on Curled Up With A Good Book at www.curledup.com. © Helen Hancox, 2007

Great book! Both Hannah Howell and Lynsay Sands are my favorite authors. Two great stories that connect the characters from both writers, with plenty of action and romance thrown in.

I have two of my favorite authors together in one book! It spells out one thing AMAZING! I must say it is awesome. I will continue to read anything by Hannah Howell and Lynsay Sands again and again and will pick up their new works.

This was my first vampire story so I wasn't sure what to expect but I have read all of Lynsay Sands romance books which I totally love and I thought I would try this one. I was disappointed in both stories but I enjoyed several things in both stories also. The characters were good in both, interesting but maybe the stories were to short to really get into any depth? I'm not sure. Give them a try though. They are a quick read.

Under normal circumstances, I would give this book at least a four or five star rating. The characters and the plot (which one can read about in further detail in other reviews) are wonderful. I especially enjoyed "The Rescue". Maybe it was the horse, maybe it was the catapult... or maybe it was because there wasn't so much use of the Scottish dialect. That, dear readers, is what brought down the average.

A reviewer who gave the book two stars mentioned that it was used improperly. While I cannot judge whether it was used properly or not, I can say that it made reading "The Hunt" extremely difficult. (Frankly, I was expecting the Nac Mac Feegles to pop out at any moment and start cutting people off at the knees.) While I appreciate the author wanting to, perhaps, give the reader some "authentic" dialogue, I could've done without it. It was interesting the first few pages, but pretty it began to hurt my head... and my soul. I can handle "doona" and "canna" but after that, I want to start throwing things. Ya ken...

Both were fun to read and I read through each story at one sitting. I did like Lynsay Sands story best, but I just like her writing. This story has some of the humor most of her stories carry and I actually laughed out loud at a couple places which I normally don't do.

In 1509 Scotland in order to save their clan, identical twins Botham and Calum MacNachton must find wives who are not afflicted with the bloodlust that is destroying them. Neither has hope of finding anyone.

"The Hunt" by Hannah Howell. Seer Kenna Brodie of Bantaluch must bring home the corpse of a MacNachton as demanded by her odious demanding but sly uncle or remain in exile. When she meets Botham, she knows she must kill him, but cannot as she is attracted to him; he shares her deep regard. As they fall in love, they team up to fool her uncle.

"The Rescue" by Lynsay Sands. Kidnappers abduct Sarra DeCourcey, but Calum rescues her. Apparently a rejected cruel suitor will do anything to force Sarra into marrying him. While Calum and Sarra fall in love, they must prevent her merciless adversary from taking her again.

Though both siblings have fallen in love and want to marry their respective woman; neither knows whether the chosen ones can save their clan.

This is a terrific two in one historical romantic fantasy that is a delightful follow up to the wonderful ETERNAL HIGHLANDER. The brothers are beguiling protagonists struggling with overcoming a curse by marrying the right women yet fall in love with two females in trouble who might not meet their requirement. Fans will appreciate the superb teaming up of Hannah Howell & Lynsay Sands as they deftly provide an entertaining tale.

Harriet Klausner