Customer Reviews

My Immortal Protector

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My Immortal Protector by Jen Holling is placed about 12 years after her "Brides of the Bloodstone Trilogy". I loved the trilogy and I love this new installment even more so. A light quick read you are sure to enjoy so don't miss out.

Diedra MacKay is a witch who talks to animals. She understands them and they understand her, but her fear of persecution makes her build a wall in her mind to block them out. Slight of build, pretty, smart, determined and cursed as she sees it, she needs to find a "baobhan sith" to break the curse no matter what the cost.

Stephen Ross is a broken man. Crippled from a gun shot to the back he suffers terrible pain and so lives his life as a recluse. Rich and handsome with a upper body strength of a normal man, he is constantly reminded of how weak he is because of his lower body restrictions. He never expects to find the love of a good woman so when Diedra shows up at his door to find out about the blood witch, Stephen listens intently. Unfortunately he knows nothing of them but is willing to help Diedra seek one out and he will to do anything it takes to become a whole man again.

The "baobhan sith" is a blood witch or better known as a vampire. The blood witch must drink blood when hunger sets in which is only on the full moon each month. Able to be in sunlight although it weakens her she is still able to function among the normal villagers.

Diedra and Stephen are chased across the Highlands of Scotland by a witch pricker with an obsession for Diedra. The witch pricker has waited 12 long years for the opportunity to get what he needs for proof so that he can finally watch the witch burn at the stake. Will he get the proof? Read and find out.

The author does a wonderful job of taking a story about witches and turns it into a life and death story to find vampires. The rolling of one into the other is fantastic. Jen Holling is an author to be reckoned with and won't disappoint you in the least.

This is the first Jen Holling book that I have read and I am impressed. Her writing style is so engrossing and her characters are very well developed. The story line is unique, thank goodness. This is not your standard cookie cutter paranormal romance novel. Deidra is a witch that can communicate with animals and Stephen is a smart, sexy man trying to cope with what life has thrown at him. The adventure they embark upon to find a blood witch is exciting and intense. They are not only searching for a very dangerous witch but also trying to outrun a witch hunter who is set on ridding the world of Deidra. Deidra and Stephen are both complex characters which I really enjoyed. The chemistry between the two of them is so hot! I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys paranormals and is looking for something different than all the other vampire/witch novels currently out there.

This is a somewhat unusual read for me, and I really did not know what to expect, however, I did enjoy it. The realism of the Scottish setting and the witchs and witch hunter seemed very likely. The only thing, is that to this author they are real. Therefore to you the reader they are real. It is somewhat a romance, somewhat a horror story and somewhat a paranormal.

It treats blood-witches like regular witches. Different but entertaining, I will be on the lookout for the next in the trilogy, IMMORTAL PROMISE.

Deidra MacKay is from a witch family, her psychic power is to talk to animals. She is frightened by the power and wants to loose it. When her father tells her that the family fable says a blood witch gave them their powers she sets out to find one to undo her unwanted gift.

Stephen Ross is a highland laird who was injured in battle and has a bad injury to his back, causing him to withdraw from the world and live a life of lonliness in his mountain castle. Deidra thinks that he is a blood-witch and sneaks away from her family to find him.

Luthias is a witch hunter, he travels the highlands finding and burning witches. He considers Deidra's step-mother and father, gifted in healing, to be good witchs. But he has always thought Deidra was a bad witch and when she leaves home he finds his chance to hunt her down and destroy her.

Stephen and Deidra find a place in each others heart, both feel like loners. Stephen decides to go to the blood-witch and see if she can heal his back. Deidra'a uncle Drake knows where a blood-witch lives.

I found the story quite different from other books about vampires and I did enjoy the story. Some things were abit hard to take but it really is written in a unique way.

I got pulled into this book from the very beginning and could not put it down. Deidra and Stephen's journey is captivating and fast paced. The relationship between them is believable and very well written - hot! I like that Deidra was a witch but not the usual spell caster or healer. The idea that she can communicate with animals is unique and sets this book apart. Not to mention that Stephen is not your usual hero but boy is he sexy. The ending of the book was freeing and exhilarating. I can't wait for Drake's story!

Deidra McKay has always had the ability to talk to the animals. When that ability brands her as a witch when she is younger she suppresses it, ignoring the critters that try to get into her mind. When she's older and a witch hunter comes to call, she decides she wants to get rid of her power. She leaves her father's home in search of a blood witch, who can strip her power away from her, or so she's been told.

With his back shattered from a gunshot wound, Stephen Ross hides away in his Scottish castle. When Deidra happens upon him and he hears of her quest he decides to go along, thinking the blood witch can help cure his back. But when she leaves him on their first night out, and is then captured by a witch hunter, Stephen knows he has to help her.

Together the two battle against the hunter and continue to search for the blood witch. But when they find her will she cure their problems, or make them worse?

I am a huge fan of Jen Holling's work, so I opened this book with great anticipation. I loved Deidra and Stephen. Deidra's battle against her gifts, which are persecuted during her time, was heartbreaking and I felt great sympathy toward her. I loved the way Stephen used his cunning mind to help save her. The two of them were delicious together.

And while I loved the characters, I'm not sure how I felt about the vampire storyline. I had hoped for a different ending, but when I realized it wasn't coming, I resigned myself to the couple's fate, even if it did feel as if it was a bad turn of events. To me, becoming a vampire meant Deirdra, who communed with the animals, was now destined to feed off of them. I found that a very distasteful idea. And it seemed to me as if it was being said that Stephen "wasn't whole" until he became a vampire.

As I said, I love Ms. Holling's work, and I enjoyed My Immortal Protector right up until the end. I will continue to read her work, however, since I find her style to be enjoyable and her stories to be well written. My Immortal Protector is loosely connected to Ms. Holling's Brides of the Bloodstone Trilogy.


Amelia
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

My Immortal Protector is a fabulous book. It's a paranormal historical that takes place in Scotland in the late 1500's. It has all the elements I love in a book -- a smart and sympathetic heroine, a hero that's strong and sexy without being overbearing, an interesting cast of supporting characters, and best of all, it's a road romance.

Deidra and Stephen are wonderful protagonists. They complement each other very well. Deidra is proud and determined, but not snotty or silly. She did venture to what I thought would be the edges of TSTL territory on a couple of occasions, but in both situations her actions were explained well and turned out to be justifiable, so I found myself thinking, "Yeah, okay, I can see why she felt that way. I'd probably have done the same thing". In other words, she was a lot smarter than I originally gave her credit for, and she proved it over and over again.

Stephen is crippled, but not weak or disfigured. He has a bad back and cannot get out much. His reclusive lifestyle leads people to believe that he is a vampiric witch, otherwise known as baobhan sith (BAH-vuhn SHEE). Deidra is wary of Stephen, but she does not fear him and she does not find his disability repulsive. On the contrary--she finds him attractive and enigmatic, and she feels compelled to care for him even though he is stronger and much bigger than she is.

The supporting characters are interesting as well. Deidra's parents, her uncle Drake, and Hannah the vampire witch are all very dynamic characters. Drake and Hannah's story is next (My Immortal Promise), and Ms. Holling was able to capture my interest in their story without allowing their portions of the book to overshadow Deidra and Stephen's story in any way. Even the witch-hunting priest Luthias is interesting. He's supremely nasty, one of the most truly evil villains I've encountered in my reading. Even scarier is the fact that he doesn't see himself as evil. He sincerely believes he is doing God's work by flushing out and killing witches, and each kill brings him more satisfaction than the last.

The story here is fairly simple, but Ms. Holling does throw in a few interesting "extras". The mythology is fascinating. The mythology and Scottish setting are characters in themselves. My Immortal Protector didn't feel predictable to me at all. Though it is not incredibly complex, the story is very unique. I knew Deidra and Stephen would get their HEA, but I honestly didn't know how it would come about, and I found myself surprised at several plot turns. The characters kept surprising me as well, which was very refreshing. I found myself smiling and nodding several times at how clever they were and how well the characters worked together.

My only complaint in this entire book is that I would have enjoyed a slightly more fulfilling ending. The last two chapters feel a bit rushed. The ending is abrupt enough to make me wish for something a little more developed, but still satisfying enough that it didn't take away more than half a point from the book's final grade.

I should point out that this book is the fourth book in a series. It follows the next generation of characters after The MacDonell Brides Trilogy. I can honestly tell you that I had no idea the book was part of a series until I was nearly finished with the book and was looking for more books in the author's backlist. Not one single time did I feel as though I were missing something. So, yes, this book is part of a series, but as far as readability is concerned, I consider it a standalone title.

All in all, My Immortal Protector is a wonderful book, and one I would read again.

Holling brings back familiar faces from her medieval Highland witch trilogy, but it is the addition of a new element to her world that ultimately takes My Immortal Protector, the first in a new trilogy, in an unexpected direction.

The heroine Witch Diedra MacKay is all grown up from the child in My Shadow Warrior. And hero Stephen Ross, who sacrificed much in the previous series (My Devilish Scotsman (Macdonell Brides Trilogy),My Wicked Highlander: The MacDonell Brides Trilogy), finally gets a chance at his own happily ever after. Diedra and Stephen have far more in common than you would think, since neither has actually been living their lives -- Diedra hiding from her powers and Stephen from his pain. Though they share common ground, the romance between Diedra and Stephen is not an easy one. Both Diedra and Stephen are stubborn and both are very focused on their own feelings of inadequacy. Diedre's and Stephen's prickly reactions to perceived slights by the other tend to build walls rather than bring the two closer. Also Diedre and Stephen spend more of the book apart than together, so Holling doesn't really build their relationship the way she has with her previous pairs but relies on the peril posed by multiple captures and escapes from Luthias, the villain who you'll also recognize from the previous series, to strengthen their connection.

But even though the romance in My Immortal Protector has more of a minor role than in Holling's previous books, the rest of the story was interesting enough that I still enjoyed the book. Witch hunter Luthias who is as fervent, dangerous, and deranged as ever, as he hunts Diedra the object of his obsession determined to remove her 'evil' from the world. Luthias is really an old melodrama villain -- you'll want to `boo, hiss' every time he takes center stage. I also really liked Stephen once he stops wallowing and uses his intelligence and determination to make up for his physical liabilities. Stephen really shows his stuff while suffering torture at Luthias' hands when he makes the ultimate sacrifice to avoid betraying Diedra. I also liked the introduction of the 'baobhan sith' or blood witch to the series. Hannah who initially appears to be just another enemy but ends up being a reluctant ally who's powers provide the means for Diedra and Stephen's salvation. Her presence, and the deal she makes with Diedra's tormented uncle Drake, opens up a whole new avenue for subsequent books. There is a short excerpt for the next book at the end of this one and it looks very promising, can't wait to see where Holling takes us next.

brilliant as always this authoress cannot write a bad book the story line was good the flow of the words brilliant. gripping reading which kept me up to 3am to finish it in one hit. thats a book worth reading

Miss Holling's latest offering is fabulous! With a refreshing, unique writing style and a dynamic storyline, MY IMMORTAL PROTECTOR is a soon-not-to-forget story! If you love historical fantasy/paranormal find a spot on your KEEPER shelf!!!!

Set in 1617 - a time where witches were hunted in England and Scotland - it is the tale of Deidra MacKay - a young witch whose unique gift is to communicate with animals. After a horrible incident when she was very young - Deidra has reined in her power and has blocked off any communication with all animals around her. When she learns from her parents that the "curse" behind the MacKay witchery was due to a pact formed long ago with a "baobhan sith" (better known as a vampire or blood witch), she embarks on a quest in search of the "blood witch", in hopes that she will remove the powers that she so terrible hates.

Her quest takes her to a remote, derelict and dark Scottish keep, where an embittered and crippled Stephen Ross resides. After an accident that left him cripple in his youth, Ross has remained a recluse, hiding his daily pain behind massive doses of poppy juice and alcohol.

When Deidra arrives, her tale of a blood witch entices Stephen out of his self induced exile and he decides that he will accompany her on her unusual quest. He has nothing to loose. If such a thing exists, the blood witch may be able to make him a whole man again.

Both undertake a perilous and amazing journey along the Scottish moors, chased by a religious zealot who leaves a wake of burned witches and whose evil obsession with Deidra is all consuming.

With wonderful secondary characters and engrossing description, you will feel empathy with Deidra and Stephen as they both struggle with very different demons. Highly recommended, MY IMMORTAL PROTECTOR is a fabulous romance novel. I am sure you will be looking for the next book in the series!

(NB! This book is the story of Deidra MacKay, daughter of William and Rose MacKay - (MY SHADOW WARRIOR). Don't worry if you haven't read Holling's previous series - this is a book that pretty much stands alone and is the beginning of a great new trilogy.)

This was a very cool book to read! It's set in Scotland, in primative times ie horses, carriages, castles.
The book follows the story of Deidra MacKay, the daughter of healing witches, who's power is to communicate with the animals. She doesn't use her power to talk to the animals because when she was about 8 years old she watched a "pastor" torture her father, got upset, and told the animals to attack the man. The paster has since put Deidra at the top of his list to burn her at the stake for being a devil possessed witch.

Well, that pastor is back in town and looking for her. She decides it's the best time to leave now and pursue the legend of a "vampire", they use a nifty word I can't remember, that's living a few days walk away that can take her witch powers away. On her way she stops at Stephen Ross's castle. He's a crippled man from a bullet to the spine. He lives in perpetual pain and is lucky to be able to walk around. He welcomes her company and is intregued by her mission to find this person who can heal others. He decides that he wants to go so he can be healed himself. Stephen may be crippled but he's still a very handsome man. Deidra is attracted to him and he's attracted to her as well.

They embarq on their mission and it's full of all kinds of obstacles. Stephen does his best to be as much of a man as possible but it never fails that Deidra ends up saving him in some way. I guess they both went back and forth with the savings though. They make a very good couple.

Do they make it to the vampire and get cured? You'll have to read to find out!

9/10!