Shadow Highlander
Dark Sword, Book #5
By Donna Grant
ISBN#9780312533489
Author’s Website: http://www.donnagrant.com/
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi
Galen has always felt secluded from others since becoming a Warrior. Other Warriors have useful powers, but he feels his own is more of a handicap. He can hear other people’s thoughts, whether he wants to or not, which makes him dread being near people who inevitably want to touch him and unbeknownst to them, flood him with their own emotions.
He and Logan have traveled to Loch Awe in search of a group of Druids and an artifact they guard. The relic they are holding could be the key to defeating Deidre once and for all!
Galen may be looking for a powerful artifact, but finds something even more mesmerizing, the beautiful Druid, Reaghan. There is something odd about her, the village treats her strangely and are keeping secrets from her, but also treat her like their greatest treasure. And, when Galen sees her racked with pain, he fears the secrets could be endangering her very life.
I’m so sad after reading this installment of the Dark Sword series. Not because of the happenings of the book, but because no matter how much I wanted to like this book, I just didn’t.
Reaghan was interesting enough initially, but I figured out pretty early on what her connection to the artifact the Warriors seeked was. I just had to wait for what I suspected to be revealed ,and it eventually was. Then scene after scene with Reaghan I discovered that she was kind of bland, and once you’ve heard one or two conversations, you’ve pretty much heard them all; much like a broken record.
I found the journey from Loch Awe to MacLeod Castle to be unending and torturous! I was sure that once they reached their destination that the story would turn around, but it never did. I just found this installment to be incredibly boring overall. Even the intimate scenes between Galen and Reaghan seemed repetitious. And, I can’t tell you how many times Galen used the phrase ‘God’s Teegh’. The sex scenes were also few and far between which surprised me for a Donna Grant book.
The other residents at MacLeod castle did get a few jabs in about Galen’s bottomless pit of a stomach though!
“Forgive our gawking,” said a man with a vicious scar running down his face. “Galen is usually eating so much he has no time for speech.”
Laughter filled the hall, and Reaghan glanced over to find Galen shaking his head as he smiled.
“Eating?” she asked.
“Doona pay Malcolm a bit of attention,” Galen said, his gaze indifferent and his voice heavy with nonchalance. “He lies.”
I wouldn’t say this book is terrible, but to me it was just ok, nothing all that spectacular. It definitely needed more action and … sex 🙂 to liven it up! I’m an emotion addict when it comes to reading, I eat it up, and it was nearly non-existent in this book.
There were, however, hints at future books for Logan and Sonya and Brock! Sonya and Brock are up next, the final installment before the series switches to the present day books as it morphs into the Dark Warriors series. Darkest Highlander sounds like it will be an amazing emotion-packed adventure that I can’t wait to read!
