Kiss of the Highlander

First of all, just take a second and look at this cover...gorgeous. I know it's only a slightly bearded chin and a full pair of lips but it really is exquisite. I don't care what anyone says, when it comes to romance novels - it's all about the covers! Is it a coincidence that the author's pseudonym is Moning and it's splashed in big bold letters across this man's face? I think not.

I digress. About the writing...

I'm no romance snob but this one started a little corny for my liking. It was a time travel where the hero comes into the present from 1500's Scotland but I think the way the author handled the hero's 'culture shock' was a little cliched. There were probably too many things going on with the characters (ie muscular druid magician laird woken from 500 year slumber meets 25 year old recently-orphaned genius Jen Aniston look-alike virgin) This kind of put me on the back foot and I'll have to admit it took the first 100 pages for me to really warm to the novel.

However, after that, Moning had some really GREAT plot twists! I loved loved loved where she took the story and rather than have a mid-novel slump, her's literally took off. As the romance between Drustan and Gwen took over, the cliche's became irrelevant and I was captivated. There were quite a few things I didn't see coming.

Probably the greatest compliment I can pay the book is that she wrote a beautiful happy ending. It definitely gave me that little sigh that can only be achieved by reading a romance or actually falling in love yourself. Plus she managed a perfect tie-in to the next novel, 'Dark Highlander'. I'll definitely be putting it on my TBR list. Actually, I think it's safe to say Karen Marie Moning will be another author I'll keep on rotation. This was definitely the kind of book I needed after the emotionally-draining-intense Paullina Simons books.

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