Kiss of the Highlander

Highlander, Book 4

By: Karen Marie Moning

Narrated by: Phil Gigante

Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

A laird trapped between centuries...

Enchanted by a powerful spell, Highland laird Drustan MacKeltar slumbered for nearly five centuries hidden deep in a cave, until an unlikely savior awakened him. The enticing lass who dressed and spoke like no woman he'd ever known was from his distant future, where crumbled ruins were all that remained of his vanished world.

Drustan knew he had to return to his own century if he was to save his people from a terrible fate. And he needed the bewitching woman by his side.

A woman changed forever in his arms....

Gwen Cassidy had come to Scotland to shake up her humdrum life and, just maybe, meet a man. How could she have known that a tumble down a Highland ravine would send her plunging into an underground cavern - to land atop the most devastatingly seductive man she'd ever seen? Or that once he'd kissed her, he wouldn't let her go?

Bound to Drustan by a passion stronger than time, Gwen is swept back to 16th-century Scotland, where a treacherous enemy plots against them...and where a warrior with the power to change history will defy time itself for the woman he loves.

Great Scot! Don't miss our other titles in the Highlander series.

©2008 Karen Marie Moning (P)2008 Brilliance Audio

Critic reviews

"Rife with unexpected plot twists, Druid lore and sparkling humor....There's much that's fun here, both in characters and situations....Moning's snappy prose, quick wit and charismatic characters will enchant." ( Publishers Weekly)

Trashy but fun novel with lots of sex, time travel

I didn't realize until a bit into this novel that it is trashy chick-lit. I'm a middle age guy, which makes this not really my genre. I thought I was getting a good time travel story (I'm a sucker for those). The amount of sex and the fairy-tale-ish romanticism of it was too much for me. I found myself constantly groaning and rolling my eyes, BUT I also got sucked into this trashy story and enjoyed it. Siskell and Ebert used to have their annual "guilty pleasure" movie review show. I was torn between 3 and 4 stars on this, but I did like it and feel appropriately embarrassed by that. I guess this is my guilty pleasure. A modern day genius-science-nerd-virgin falls in love with a 16th century Scottish nobleman and warrior after he awakes from a centuries-long sleep. This romantic adventure is full of misunderstandings, and is totally manipulative, but still worked in entertaining me. If you are not completely turned off my my review, you are probably a woman looking for a guilty pleasure read and will most likely love this novel. The reader was very good.

Could stand alone in the series

Nice romance, mild suspense with time-travel historical basis. The male narrator is fabulous (I mean "wow" fabulous) with hero's voice, but it took some time getting used to his female lead's voice. I enjoyed the general time travel and romance story line, but the heroine's initial motive for romance was somewhat irritating (she wanted to get her "cherry plucked" - repeatedly noted).

Although part of a series - this story could easily stand alone. It was certainly good enough that I immediately purchased others in the series!

A Smart Romantic Tale

This was my first "Highlander" on tape - great - and I will now automatically buy anything having Scottish accents with Mr. Giganti narrating!
The heroine is a sarcastic, smart American scientist, the hero a learned Druid Alpha male (he IS from the 16th century - when Men were Men), but they are soul mates. Interesting secondary characters, a quantum physics storyline and highland scenery add together to make this a great novel on tape you don't want to turn off until it's finished.

Up and down

Since I have turned in to a sucker for Highlander stories after Gabaldon, I thought this book would be similar. The story line certainly is. But, as with my first miserable attempt, this one falls way short as well.
For what it is though - it was a somewhat enjoyable book.
1 - the "cherry picker" thing is just not eloquent at all.
2 - Phil Gigante - OMG - he's a narrator god! He can just read anything and hopefully in that Scottish accent and I will buy it!!!
3 - For a 'genius' she sure was stupid. And, although Gigante was a god in terms of Drustan, he did not do well with the female charachter. She came across as whiny and annoying. Couple of times, I just wanted to smack her up side the head.
4 - Inconsistencies with the story line in a few spots but who cares, right? I mean I wasn't listening to this because it was a literary thing...
I about wanted to puke toward the end - with the whiny/annoying voice she said "Drustan, oh my love" and that just took it over the edge.
Those are the negatives.
Positives - easy to listen to - no brain power necessary.
The story line is not too shabby.
Threw out a few curve balls I didn't expect - nice to be surprised.
And - if Drustan's brother ever turns out, hopefully around this century - many a lassies would be interested.
Overall, nice enough read.

Great quantum physics Story line!

The narrator Phil Gigante is absolutely a riot with his completely different dialects and accents. One can only visualize the expressions upon his face while reading..Bravo!
Really cool twist with the time travel and spacetime theory woven into the story line..Great reading.
"...for us physicists believe the separation between past, present, and future is only an illusion, although a convincing one."
Albert Einstein

Deliciously erotic and savage!

I bought one of Karen's books first to 'try it out' and see if her series would appeal to me. First I have to say that I'd always loved Simon Prebble's voice/performance, but move over Simon cause Phil Gigante's voice had my body responding in ways that blew my mind! Wow! Talk about powerful!
After the first book, I bought every one of Karen's and am sadly on the last one, Dreamfever...
The male characters in the Highlander series are raw, savage, warriors from an ancient time. They're gorgeous with voracious sexual appetites, fiercely protective instincts, intelligent, magical and mystical, with a bloodlust and honor that leaves your knees weak. Sadly they all fall for silly, though smart virgins who literally fall into their laps and somehow blow away any and all competition. Hmmmm, that could be interesting...introducing a third party into the mix...
The books are fun, fantastical and a wonderful way to lose yourself for a few hours in another world where men are warriors and girls are introduced to womanhood by a skilled and imaginative lover. To be ravished repeatedly (eventually!)and rescued and loved by a man completely. Love it!

I never write reviews

As the title of my review eludes, this is my first review. I would have given this audio book 5 stars were it not for the narrators female voice...ugh! It takes awhile to get use to and it never really stops grating on your nerves. I read in another review it compared to a drag queen, and I must say that pretty much hits the nail on the head. HOWEVER, I still highly recommend this book. The narrators male voice is intoxicating and compensates for the irritation of the female voice. Oh, how I wish they had used two narrators, I would have been in audio book heaven. I have never read nor heard of this series and am only a little over 2 hours in, but I already love this book.

This is my favorite of the series!!!

I wish I could give this book more stars!!! I love this story! I laughed and cried throughout. This story is very entertaining from beginning to end. I have listen to this audiobook 3 times and look forward to hearing it again! Phil Gigante is the perfect narrator for this series. This is my favorite of the series but I enjoy all of the series and have listened to them all more than once.

Best book in the series, A must read.

I've read the 7 books of the highlander's series and this one (book 4) is by far my favorite. The plot is quite similar to "A Knight in Shining Armor" by Jude Deveraux (the hero was an English Lord who gets transported into the future rather than a Scottish Laird sleeping for 500 years), Ms Moning had a much better throught out and logical ending (if you accept the possibility of time travel). This book is so good I really wish they turn it into a movie. It had humor, spunk and sex appeal. I was somewhat disappointed that the author did not provide more details about Drustan's reaction to 21st centurie's every day things such as indoor plumbing, fridge, food, lights, etc. Jude Deveraux covered that part beautifully in her book to include a trip to the dentist and had her hero go nuts over modern electricity and chocolate ice cream. I enjoyed his time in the 16th century a lot more. My only complaint would be that Moning's heroine, a scientist nonetheless, would refer to potential lovers as "cherry pickers" (Yeeech! Who does that?). Overall, I truly loved this book and I enjoyed listening to it on audio. The narrator, Phil Gigante, does an amazing job playing MacKeltar with his sexy voice and brings the highlander men to life like no other. If you like this book, make sure you read Deveraux's "A Knight in Shining Armor" as well. From this series, "Dark Highlander", the story of Daegus is a must read after this one. It is equally good. As a matter of fact, you'll pretty much get hooked and get them all, but you should read the last 4 books of the series in order. Thank you Karen Moning for this gift.

Great Narrator!

Okay, I was skeptical about a man narrating a romance novel. Wow, was I wrong! Phil Gigante is an incredible narrator. His voice puts you right into the story as his Highland Brogue is beautiful and sensuous! I was reminded of Sean Connery several times in this novel.