Review: HIGHLAND DESTINY

HIGHLAND DESTINY

By Laura Hunsaker

ISBN: 9781603944700

Publisher: New Concepts Publishing

Release Date: November 26, 2010

Mackenzie Stewart’s in Scotland for a much-needed vacation. During the castle tour, Mackenzie becomes completely enamored with a painting of one of the previous lairds. Two gentlemen come up behind her and, begging her pardon, they kidnap her, dragging her through time.

The men are sorcerers attempting to end a feud that has plagued their lands for years. Their patron has begun to dabble in the black arts, and between his irrational thirst for power, and his dark secret, the sorcerers are frightened. They believe Mackenzie can break the Stewart curse. They try to convince her to play along with their crazy scheme: marriage to the evil John Campbell.

Before Mackenzie can protest, her carriage is halted and the door thrown open. For a split-second she is arrested by the same beautiful piercing blue eyes that belonged in an oil painting.

Mackenzie then finds herself the victim of a second kidnapping!

Her new captor, however, does nothing but tempt her body and her temper. Believing her to in fact be the betrothed of his mortal enemy the Campbell, Connor originally sets out to capture his enemy’s betrothed. He never thought he would be so attracted to her that he’d want to keep her.

HIGHLAND DESTINY is the impressive debut by Laura Hunsaker.  Laura has woven a magical tale of romance and adventure with a hint of the paranormal.  On vacation in Scotland, the heroine Mackenzie Stewart finds herself pulled back in time to 1792 by two mysterious sorcerers.  They explain that she is destined to break a curse that her ancestors are responsible for.  She is to distract the evil John Campbell by playing the role of his bethrothed, so his rival Connor MacRae can destroy him.  However, the sorcerers' plan is upset when Connor kidnaps Mackenzie before she reaches Campbell.  While he's guarding his keep against Campbell, Connor must guard his heart against his beautiful captive.  Though she's meant to be a pawn to anger his enemy, this peculiar woman soon becomes so much more.

This is the first time travel romance I've read in a very long time, and I really enjoyed it.  With this type of story, I'm concerned about a few things: Will it be realistic?  Can characters from such different time periods make a genuine connection?  And how is it possible for them to live happily ever after?  Laura Hunsaker handled all of these issues beautifully in HIGHLAND DESTINY.

The time travel itself was very quick and smooth, so we get to the heart of the story right away.  I enjoyed the premise that a modern-day woman, a descendent of a Scottish clan, becomes entangled in an ancient feud that only she can end, and she has to travel 200 years in the past to do it!  There was plenty of action and suspense woven into the blossoming romance between Mackenzie and Conner, so the story moved along quickly.

Did Mackenzie and Connor make a genuine connection? Absolutely!  From the beginning they had very strong chemistry.  They were both solid, well rounded characters.  Mackenzie was the feisty, strong, clever modern woman, and Connor was the classic historical Highlander we love - brave, protective, determined, and swoon-worthy, of course.  And, the conclusion of their tale was fantastic! I highly recommend this book if you've ever dreamed of stepping back in time to find your own hunky Highlander. I'm giving HIGHLAND DESTINY 4 out of 5 stars.