What do I give my friend who said if I like romance, Scotland, and paranormal “stuff” – that I’d love Donna Grant and I should get some of her books? Hmmm, well I’m not springing for a trip to Scotland for her, but perhaps a tin of Walker shortbread cookies, because Donna Grant is the mistress of Scottish paranormal romance. Her three intertwined series – Dark Sword, Dark Warriors, and Dark Kings – are just amazingly addictive.
I began my journey into Donna Grant’s Scotland by reading her Dark Warriors series. In this, her legendary Scottish alpha heroes – who carry within them a god from hell that was freed by Deidre, a dark Druid (drough) – reside in the 21st Century. May I say I fell instantly in love with each one of these very manly heroes and kick-ass heroines they pair themselves with. A majority of the heroins are are druids (druidesses), with mostly good magic (called mies), though some went to dark magic (called drough). The interplay between the men bearing gods and the magic bearing females is quite wonderful. I read through the Dark Warriors series quickly and then moved on to the other books.
However this fall it’s been like Christmas for readers like me who adore Grant, for she has released not one, but three Dark Warriors novels (well actually two, plus a holiday novella). Please be aware that if you haven’t already read these, I may in reviewing these three books (numbers seven, eight, and eight point five) reveal some series spoilers.
Midnight’s Temptation (book seven) finds warrior Phelan tracking a Druidess (Aisley) across Scotland. He sees her, kisses her, and can’t forget her, so he follows her magic while she’s on the run. When she crashes and he rescues her, he can sense that the current drouth baddie Jason, whom the warriors just did battle with, is after her. But he doesn’t know her secret – that she’s not only Jason’s cousin, but a drough herself.
I had seen Aisley in previous Dark Warriors novels and was never able to quite get a fix on her, in Midnight’s Temptation we are now able to see who she is and how she came to be involved with Jason. And the interplay between Phelan and Aisley – fabulous. Of course there is more magic, encounters with druids and some other magical beings, and a battle with Jason. The ending is a true cliffhanger till the last few pages.
I kind of had a crush on the bad boy warrior, Malcolm, Deirdre’s former warrior designate and ultimate betrayer, from the very first time he appeared in the books. What’s not to crush on? An alpha hero who is scarred and has a very sensitive interior life that he shields from view. I was so glad as he was rehabilitated over time in the books, but uneasy as to his future course at the end of book seven. So Midnight’s Promise (book eight) was a fabulous read for me. Malcolm finally has his story to tell and in doing so, has to conquer his demons, not just the god who lives inside him.
When Malcolm first glimpses mies druidess Evie as she enters a grocery store, the writing is very much on the wall. Both of them are extremely guarded individuals, but their chemistry together cannot be denied. Evie’s special magic is fascinating, but it is her relationship with her mute half-brother that really symbolizes who she is. Someone who took on care of a disabled child at age 18, with no questions, but great love. We know immediately that if he is threatened all hell will break lose.
One thing I really enjoyed about this series was that some of my favorite Dragon Kings were featured yet again. In the past few novels, Grant has been giving them more and more prominence and they are another group of super alphas that you will fall in love with too.
Perfect for the holidays, whether it’s Christmas or the Winter Solstice is the just released (5 November 2013), Midnight’s Surrender: A Dark Warriors Holiday Novella. If you were curious about Jason’s warrior, the former British military man Dale, well here is his story. We last saw him at the battlefield defending Aisley with his life, defying Jason. Now he’s in search of magic that has called to him from his almost deathbed.
He finds the source of the magic in a Druidess called Rennie on the Isle of Coll in the Inner Hebrides. Rennie is someone who thinks of her magic as minor, but if anyone touches her they may see their own future without her knowledge. To prevent this, she’s chosen to isolate herself at her aunt’s home on the island. Phelan finds her and when he touches her sees an image of himself he finds impossible to believe could ever occur, but that’s another story (or part of Midnight’s Surrender, actually).
Of course we find that there is a drough Druid on Coll who threatens Rennie, but this time it is not Jason. I really enjoyed this short novella that combined suspense, romance, magic, and some wonderful holiday cheer.
I’d advise any paranormal romance fan to make sure that Donna Grant’s books are in the library on your e-reader or on your bookshelves (though some of her books, like the novella, are only available electronically at this time). I vote five bunches of mistletoe for this series of three spellbinding tales by Grant that help to round out a fabulous series.
____________________________________________________
From the Publisher
Dark Warriors Book 7
Midnight’s Temptation by Donna Grant
St. Martin’s Press
St. Martin’s Paperbacks
ISBN 9781250017284
Price $7.99
Publication date: 1 October 2013
Ever since that fateful night, he can’t stop thinking about her. A timeless beauty in a nightclub, she moved across the dance floor like an angel, surrendering to the music–and casting a spell that could only be magic. When Phelan took her in his arms and kissed her, the Highlander knew this was no ordinary woman. This was a Druidess who could fulfill his every desire–or destroy him completely…
She is a mystery–a woman on the run, hunted by two different men. As much as she longs to be captured by the magnificent warrior Phelan, she knows she must resist the temptation. A vengeful evil is stalking her, watching her every move–a madman who will stop at nothing to possess her power. Once, she sold a piece of her soul for magic. Is she willing to risk Phelan’s life, and give up her heart…for love?
Dark Warriors Book 8
Midnight’s by Donna Grant
St. Martin’s Press
St. Martin’s Paperbacks
ISBN 9781250017291
Price $7.99
Publication date: 29 October 2013
For centuries, Malcolm has struggled against the forces of darkness–and bears the scars to prove it. Hardened by a lifetime of fighting, he is more warrior than man, incapable of feeling love or compassion. But one stormy night, he pulls a beautiful woman from a car wreck–and experiences a rush of fiery emotion that could melt even the hardest of hearts.
Since childhood, Evangeline Walker has felt the magic growing inside her. Descended from Druids, she is the perfect vessel for ancient magic–and evil. Evie knows she should trust no one, not even Malcolm, whose strong touch and tender kiss she craves. But after she makes a devil’s bargain to save her half-brother, this fearsome warrior may be the only man who can protect her–with his heart, his body, and his soul…
Dark Warrior Book 8.5
Midnight’s Surrender by Donna Grant
A Dark Warrior Holiday Novella
St. Martin’s Press
St. Martin’s Paperbacks
ISBN 9781466847118
Price $1.99
Publication date: 5 November 2013
An exclusive e-novella by New York Times bestselling author Donna Grant
A new tale of The Dark Warriors—powerful Highlanders who are bound by the gods and have taken their battle from ancient Scotland to the modern world, where a woman’s love is the most dangerous lure of all…
Dale has been on the run—from himself and from the demons who haunt him. But when he comes across a stunningly beautiful woman he cannot resist, he knows that he must do whatever it takes to possess her. She is a Druid with secrets of her own, but he is drawn to her like no other. Even when danger closes in around them, Dale knows that the true threat is to his very soul, which he will sacrifice in order to save her…
