Sandy M’s review of Healing the Highlander (Daughters of the Glen, Book 7) by Melissa Mayhue
Historical Paranormal Romance published by Pocket Star 22 Feb 11

There are some series I’ve gotten behind on reading – Kathryn Smith’s The Brotherhood of the Blood and Christine Warren’s The Others series as examples. There’s others I haven’t started reading yet – Christine Feehan’s Dark Series, which is now too daunting to even contemplate beginning – but there are those series I’ve been able to stay up to date with that I thoroughly enjoy and always look forward to the next book. Melissa Mayhue’s Daughters of the Glen series is one of those. This series has grown from book to book, giving us interesting situations and plot twists for the magical and enchanting characters Ms. Mayhue has created for her readers. And there’s only more of the same to come. I, for one, am looking forward to every last word.

I really like the time travel aspect of this series. Certain characters are aware of the ability to do so, but they don’t use it often, only when absolutely needed. As we saw in the last book, Leah, our heroine here, had been shuttled back into time to live with Robert’s parents to keep her away from the Nuadian Fae, who wanted her for their evil breeding purposes, all due to Leah’s Fae blood.

As we meet up with Leah again, it’s been twelve years since that time and she’s done very well living in Medieval Scottland, having freedom to do as she pleases without fear. She’s been happy, despite having to leave her sister behind. Then with the return of Hugh and Margery MacQuarrie’s oldest son, Richard – the Dick, as Leah likes to call him – all of their lives are about to change – for the worse. With her grandfather imprisoned and no one else able to proffer help, Leah makes use of a hidden tunnel out of the castle to hightail it to Dun Ard, home of the MacKiernan clan, to ask for help. She has all she needs to get there from MacKiernan relatives who are now living in the future, so she heads out, hoping that she makes it before it’s too late for her grandfather.

We’ve also met Andrew MacAlister in previous books – Ms. Mayhue has woven an intricate relationship among all these families of past and present – and Drew became my favorite after he was severely injured while helping rescue his sister years ago, before her foray into the future. He now has to fight pain every day, try to keep his leg muscles as limber as possible to avoid becoming bedridden later in life. He searches constantly for that something or someone who can give him the miracle he needs. On his current sojourn he rescues another young woman fighting for her life in a lake. Hearing her story, he agrees to take her to Dun Ard – without telling her it’s his home. With English soldiers after her, Drew is cautious in what he shares with this lovely and fascinating woman.

Trouble does catch up with them as they take refuge at a nearby priory. Those same Englishmen arrive ahead of Drew and Leah, latching onto them, despite their tale of just getting married and heading to his family’s home. That trouble follows them all the way to Dun Ard where they must truly marry to keep English suspicions at bay. With her life in chaos and Drew discovering her Fae power – a power she hates and has sworn to never use again – they gravitate closer to closer to one another, their attraction growing until they each desire their upcoming nuptials. Once vows are said, however, their new life seems to go all wrong, pulling them apart now that they’ve discovered bliss with one another.

It’s a great author who can keep a series fresh as each book comes along and Ms. Mayhue has been quite successful at that with this series. Her characters are always charming, enticing, and intriguing. The storylines are intense and peppered with nice, light-hearted moments. Romance and mystery are entwined to keep you reading for the rawness and sweetness of the love and to find out who the baddies are and what they’re ultimately up to. Though there isn’t any actual time travel in this book, it’s referred to, letting the reader know why it’s needed and how it happens.

This is a well-rounded, solid, fun, interesting, and magical read. If you haven’t started this series, you should. There’s nothing like being taken away to live lovely fantasies in a Melissa Mayhue novel.

Grade: A

Summary:

ANDREW MACALISTER longs for a cure to free him from the excruciating pain caused by an old wound, but when he rescues a drowning woman, he has no idea how much his life is about to change. All Drew knows is that this mysterious woman is hiding secrets—and that he’s never felt such a consuming desire before. Yet he cannot deny her request for help, even if it means bringing the detested English army to his Highland clan’s home.

LEAH NOBLE MCQUARRIE still harbors a deep hatred of the Fae who tortured her eleven years ago, forcing her to escape back in time to the thirteenth century. A descendant of the Fae, Leah denies her heritage and her magical healing abilities. But the English army is holding her beloved adoptive grandfather captive, so Leah must seek help from the Fae—and the captivating man whose touch she craves.

Then Drew discovers Leah’s secrets, and he’s torn between old loyalties and trusting a woman who has the power to give him the future he’s sought—but could destroy his clan forever…

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series: