Beyond the Highland Mist (Highlander Series #1) » (~)

Karen Marie Moning graduated from Purdue University with a bachelor’s degree in Society & Law. Her novels have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists and have won numerous awards, including the prestigious RITA Award.

An alluring laird

He was known throughout the kingdom as Hawk, legendary predator of the battlefield and the boudoir. No woman could refuse his touch, but no woman ever stirred his heart - until a vengeful fairy tumbled Adrienne de Simone out of modern-day Seattle and into medieval Scotland. Captive in a century not her own, entirely too bold, too outspoken, she was an irresistible challenge to the sixteenth-century rogue. Coerced into a marriage with Hawk, Adrienne vowed to keep him at arm's length - but his sweet seduction played havoc with her resolve.

A prisoner in time

She had a perfect "no" on her perfect lips for the notorious laird, but Hawk swore she would whisper his name with desire, begging for the passion he longed to ignite within her. Not even the barriers of time and space would keep him from winning her love. Despite her uncertainty about following the promptings of her own passionate heart, Adrienne's reservations were no match for Hawk's determination to keep her by his side....

Publishers Weekly

Moning offers the promise of a terrific plotline in her debut romance: a troubled young woman, Adrienne is transported from the 20th century to 16th-century Scotland by an evil jester to take revenge on a Scottish laird. The author has the right characters: there's the heroine who doesn't trust beautiful men and a handsome hero cursed to love a woman who will not return his love. Add gypsies and Scottish mysticism, against the backdrop of the stark beauty of the Highlands, and you've got an intriguing story. The lovers endure quite a bit of torment in order to find happiness, a downer that even Moning's doses of humor can't always leaven. Unfortunately, Moning doesn't fully deliver: she too often relies on transparent plot devices, and while her falconry imagery is both poignant and sensual, it will remind readers of Elizabeth Lowell's Untamed. (Mar.)