Dangerous Highlander

Dark Sword, Book 1

By: Donna Grant

Narrated by: Antony Ferguson

Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's Summary

He is magnificently strong - and dangerously seductive. One of the fiercest of his clan, Lucan MacLeod is a legend among warriors, inspiring fear in man and woman alike. For 300 years, he has locked himself away from the world, hiding the vengeful god imprisoned in his soul. But then, a young lass caught in a raging storm awakens his deepest impulses...and darkest desires.

Cara doesn't believe the rumors about MacLeod castle - until the majestic Highland warrior appears like a fiery vision in the storm, pulling her into his powerful arms, and into his world of magic and Druids. An epic war between good and evil is brewing. And Lucan must battle his all-consuming attraction for Cara - or surrender to the flames of a reckless, impossible love that threatens to destroy them both.

©2010 Donna Grant (P)2012 Tantor

Critic Reviews

"Sensual, dark, and enchanting...sure to leave [fans] craving more!" (Lara Adrian)

Another enjoyable paranormal highlander series!

I recently finished Dangerous Highlander by Donna Grant, the first novel in her Dark Sword series. Cara had lived with the death of her parents and did not remember much of what had happened when they were killed. Raised by the nuns, she had just turned eighteen and was about to become a nun herself. She was not a member of the local clan and knew that love and marriage would never be an option for her. That is until Lucan MacLeod saved her. From this point on, Cara and Lucan begin to form a tentative bond. As their relationship grows, so too do they begin to divulge their deepest secrets to each other. Unfortunately, they are not able to find peace. Cara and the brothers are all being hunted, and it becomes evident that they face a dangerous war. I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next stories about the three brothers. If you like your Highlanders with a bit of magic and paranormal twist, you will enjoy this series. Lots of sizzle too!

Worthy Read

This book was a decent romance, but it might go over better with someone younger than myself. For me personally, I like my heroines with a bit more life experience. Young Cara, the heroine of our tale, is a mere 18. Her hero Lucan is an immortal of some 300 plus years. Talk about an age gap!! She's innocent, of course, and essentially convent bred. But somehow, only days after becoming familiar with the brothers, their enemy and their unique situation, she's making logical rationalizations that not one, but all three, immortal brothers have failed to make in nearly 300 years. The trouble is, her conclusions are not that astounding, but rather obvious, which makes you wonder what in the world these guys have been thinking about for all this time.

I love paranormal romances. When I bought this book, I was hoping that this series would compare with Karen Marie Moning's Highlander series (read by the amazing Phil Gigante). It did not. Perhaps I had set my expectations too high. This book reminds me more of some of the racier romances from the 80's. Or perhaps it reminds me more of something someone in their early 20's would enjoy (as I was in the 80's). Whatever the case, I just didn't get the same level of passion from or for the characters that some authors and readers provide.

The sex scenes in this book are explicit, but they are not racy or daring in the style that you will get from the more erotic books popular today. The scenes themselves are shorter (which I know some people prefer) and less..ummm...well, lets just say "less adventurous".

All that aside, this is a decent book, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it if you like paranormal and highlander scenarios. It does tick all the romance boxes, and the paranormal elements are explained in a way that's understandable.

Antony Ferguson does a pretty good job with the accents and the narration in general. I subtracted one star from a perfect 5 because his female voices weren't very good, but that's really my only quibble with his work.

ANOTHER WINNING PARANORMAL HIGHLAND SERIES STARTS

If you're like me and you like your Paranormal/Romances then you're going to love the tales of these three hunky immortal MacLeod brothers who are possessed by different beasts/Gods. As the story unfolds it tells of how, what when and why, along with that there's a great plot with various sub plots just waiting to be taken up. There's an evil Druid who's after the good Druid (Cara) but she is being protected and 'romanced' by Lucan, the middle brother, and magic and mayhem ensue.

There was an instant attraction between Lucan and Cara which was a bit sickly sweet and repetitive on how much he wants to touch her or kiss her or make love to her, but that can be overlooked by the great chemistry between the two of them coupled with the relationship the three brothers have for each other as they band together despite each of them having problems of their own.

The battle between good v evil brings out of hiding more and more of these possessed Highland Warriors so the series can go on and on and on and on...... which is music to my ears.

Worth a credit? Ticked all my boxes so that would be a YES, it was very enjoyable.

So sooolow amd boring.

This book is way too slow for my liking. The heroin is way too wimpy for my liking. There is very little dialogue. I had to skip the last 8 chapters and skimmed the epilogue to get to the end. I don't feel I missed a thing by skipping those chapters. Glad that's over. I didnt really care for the narration in this book. I have heard Antony Ferguson to much better in other books.

Horrible

What disappointed you about Dangerous Highlander?

Its an obvious vehicle for sex scenes. The author did not spend enough time on the story line development, but then again, the narrator is so choppy/robotic and ridiculous it made it difficult to get into the story and get a feel for things. I won't be reading or listening to anything from either the author or narrator after this.

Has Dangerous Highlander turned you off from other books in this genre?

No as there are better authors out there and was only looking for another author and series while I wait for my faves.

How could the performance have been better?

Completely different narrator would have been better! This narrator would speak louder and gruffer each time he used a Scottish accent which was off putting and he sounded very robotic...he made it really hard to get into this story.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Interesting story plot...should have been more focus on this and relationship building between all characters instead of just filler between the horrible sex scenes.

Did not connect for me

The narrator did a good job, but the story could have been more. The characters were just...flat. Too serious and earnest and did not convince me to care what happened.

Great Story, Horrible Narration

I really don't like Anthony Ferguson. He is really bad. Just completely ruined the book for me. I read all the Dark Sword books... but if Ferguson will be narrating then I won't be listening to them.

Dangerous Highlander (s) Indeed!

Listened for Fun (Audible)
Overall Rating: 4.25
Story Rating: 4.00
Character Rating: 4.50

Audio Rating: 3.50 (not part of the overall rating)

First Thoughts When Finished: Dangerous Highlander is a great beginning to what might end up being another in my must read "KILT" series.

Story Thoughts: Dangerous Highlander(s) indeed! In fact, I think I may go searching for castles that are rumored to have 300ish year old highlanders living in them. Especially if they are bad ass and clearly on the side of good. If they happen to have a few special powers, I won't argue. This was a really entertaining read and a great start to a series. I had read Donna Grant's druid series and had expected a lot from Dangerous Highlander. I was not disappointed.

Character Thoughts: Lucan was just exactly what I want in my kilted warriors: hot, strong, conflicted, loyal, and agile. Cara was exactly what strong kilted warriors need in their women: someone not afraid to tell them exactly what is going on. She was very much deserving of Lucan and I loved her spunk. Lucan and Cara together were hot! I also enjoyed Lucan's brothers and the other characters that came in towards the end. I do believe this is going to be a fun series to read because of the characters.

Audio Thoughts:

Narrated By Antony Ferguson / Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins


Antony is actually a narrator that I totally enjoy and towards the end of Dangerous Highlander the narration finally clicked for me. However, in the beginning I just couldn't get my head around his voice for Cara. However, his pacing, emotions, and accents were brilliantly done! I will be continuing this series on audio though because I think the male voices were amazing. As always, please listen to a snippet before buying an audiobook as narrators appeal differently to each listener.

Final Thoughts: I have the rest of these on my Christmas list!

addictive

What did you love best about Dangerous Highlander?

it caught my attention, it had me holding my breath on what would happen next. The love story was good.

What did you like best about this story?

Unsure what I liked best. It is a good story and if you like this type of book, I would recommend getting it. The author has done a very good job with the book.

Have you listened to any of Antony Ferguson’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

unsure if I have listen to Antony before or not, but this was good

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes. I found myself doing other things just so I could finish the book. I also caught myself so wrapped in the story I was doing nothing at times

Any additional comments?

cannot wait to get the next book.

I found this fun,

Would you listen to Dangerous Highlander again? Why?

I think so, this s a very different book that left me hanging at the end I will be getting the next one.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Dangerous Highlander?

I liked the characters in this first book, and the story line,