Highlander for the Holidays by Janet Chapman

Overview

After a brutal attack, Jessie Pringle moved to the small mountain town of Pine Creek, Maine, to start over. But she never expected to meet Ian MacKeage, who had seemingly stepped right out of the Scottish Highlands. As drawn to Ian as he is to her, Jessie finds it more and more difficult to deny her own desires...

Then, on one of her long walks through the wilderness, she meets a kindly hermit who sells her a walking stick-one imbued with a magic that may allow Jessie to finally be rid of the pain of her past, and build a future with Ian.

My thoughts:
I am now starting to get caught up with all the books I read while I wasn't getting around to posting.  They should keep me busy for quite awhile!  I read this one last month and loved it.  I remember quite a few winters ago, long before I had discovered blogging, I read book 2 of Chapman's Highlander series and loved it.  I went back and bought book 1 and then read all the others either then or as they came out.  I love her writing and of course, though strong Highlanders who want to protect the object of their affection, while also being both gentle and passionate, just the right mix for a romance!  I got this book as a swap on Paperbackswap earlier this year.  I have since sent it along to another reader so someone else can enjoy it.

I enjoyed Jessie, I guessed at one of the points from her past that was holding her back from recovering, but I don't think that it detracted from the story at all.  Having her move so many miles from where the attack occurred and putting her in a situation where she got to be strong and self-reliant let her heal in a way I don't think she ever would have had she stayed in Atlanta.  Going someplace new can let you be someone else and shed some of the preconceived notions people who already know you may have. 

I must admit I had a bit of trouble placing Ian, figuring out whose son he was as I read the other books so long ago.  i actually decided for the beginning bit that it just didn't matter and then at one point it clicked.  I think even without already knowing this whole clan a reader could pick up the book and jump right in.  The magic jumps out and shows itself pretty well that no one is going to be too thrown off.  I wish I had made the time to read this at Christmas time, but now that the hot weather has hit again maybe it is just as well.  I could have waited and read myself cool!

Product Details

• ISBN-13: 9780515150087
• Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
• Publication date: 10/25/2011
• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Pages: 352

A Highlander's Destiny by Melissa Mayhue

A Highlander's Destiny by Melissa Mayhue

From the back cover:
JESSE CORYELL, a descendant of the Fae, is a man in search of his destiny. He's tried to lose himself in his work, taking on the worst mankind has to offer, but what he really needs to find is his true love. When he sets out to help a mysterious woman find her sister, what he gets is much more than he bargained for: battling an undeniable attraction to his sexy new client while fighting an ancient evil to keep her safe.
DESTINY NOBLE, abandoned by everyone she's ever loved, will stop at nothing in her desperate quest to find her sister. Authorities have declared Leah a runaway, but Destiny knows better. Her dream visions have shown her the frightening truth. They've also shown her Jesse. But finding her Soulmate could result in the most painful loss of all, when she's forced to choose between loving Jesse and saving Leah.

Jesse and Destiny race against time to save an innocent girl from a powerful ancient evil. Is true love their best weapon...or will they be required to sacrifice their own destiny?

My thoughts:
I received this book as part of Pocket Blogs Book tour but it has been on my TBR list for a while. This is Mayhue's fifth highlander novel. Of the five currently in print I have read four of them. That said, it had been a bit of time since I read them and the stories and characters from the other novels were a bit fuzzy to me. While you certainly do not need the background information from the other books to enjoy this one, it works quite well as a stand alone novel, I did find myself wishing that Mayhue would do just a bit more review of what had transpired previously.

Destiny was a believable character. She was dedicated to finding her sister and using her gifts in anyway they would work to make that happen. She stayed true to her beliefs and did not let things like money or power influence who she was or what she was doing. She was understandably leery about believing in Fae beings.

Jesse shows dedication to his job and is very closed off due to past hurts in his personal life. Seeing him interact and open himself up to someone else showed his ability to grow and change as a person.

I love the idea of magic, about there being a little extra something out there in the world. Not so keen on the idea that some of that magic could be used for evil. Sometimes life can seem small and in some ways repetitive (how often can you fold laundry, wash dishes, grocery shop before it becomes hard to find the fun in the chore) but having a fun book to escape into at the end of the day gives me something to consider while doing less than intellectually challenging chores. Could magic really be out there? Does it hurt to pretend sometimes that it is? The adventure that Destiny and Jesse go on takes them to numerous states, two countries and even the world of Faeries. This was a fun romance to escape into.

About the Author
Melissa Mayhue knows a great deal about men -- after all, she's wife to one and mother of three. She and her family live in Colorado, in the shadow of the beautiful Rocky Mountains, with three insanely spoiled dogs, one domineering cat, a turtle with an attitude, and way too many fish in their aquarium.
Readers can visit her website at .

"A Highlander Christmas" by Janet Chapman for Pocket Blog Book Tours

My rating 4.5 out of 5
Where the book came from: received as part of Pocket Blogs Book tours (although I had it on my wish list on Paperbackswap and had thought about buying it.

Synopsis from Amazon.com:
"Camry MacKeage has absolutely no intention of telling her parents that she left her job as a NASA physicist for the small-town life of a dog-sitter -- which is why she's spending the holidays alone in coastal Maine with her furry friends Tigger and Max. Unfortunately, her irresistibly handsome rival, scientist Luke Pascal, accidentally spilled the beans. Now he's on a mission from her mother to tempt Camry home for the family's annual winter solstice celebration. But Luke is hiding his own secret, and he'll need a little bit of magic to earn Camry's trust...and a whole lot of mistletoe to seduce his way into her heart."

My thoughts:
This is part of Chapman's Highlander series. It is the seventh book in the series. Prior to this I had already read the previous books and enjoyed them. The first two are among my favorite books. As the series has gone on I've started to get some of the characters a little mixed up but I still enjoy them and the magic they contain. I think Camry may be the last unmarried daughter out of Grace and Greylen MacKeage's seven daughters. She has burned out and is taking a break from NASA while working in a small town not far from her family as a dog sitter and bartender. The Luke drops in and things start happening. Believing in a little magic is so fun in December, who wouldn't like to be able to believe for just a little while, but while Camry is open to the magic that is pat of her family heritage, Luke is very grounded in science. When they get married by a wizard turned justice of the peace they both have to evaluate what it means to love "uncompromisingly, unpretentiously, and unconditionally" and make allowances and adjustments for each other. Through an avalanche on a Maine mountainside they both work through their doubts about life, magic and science. This was the perfect December story for snuggling by a fire and watching miracles happen.