Review: Forged in Dreams and Magick (Highland Legends #1) by: Kat Bastion

Title: Forged in Dreams and Magick (Highland Legends #1) 
Author: Kat Bastion
Source: Review Request 
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Length: 472 pages PDF 
Reviewed by: Emi 

**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**

Isobel MacInnes wakes up in present-day California, lunches in medieval Scotland, and by ten days’ end, falls in love with a man and his country, only to lose them in a heart-wrenching twist of fate . . .

Found in the arms of her second soul mate . . .

Forced to balance the delicate strands of time between two millennia . . .

Shocked by revelations rewriting the very foundations of history . . . of everything.

Isobel, a rising-star archaeology student, is dropped into two ancient worlds without warning . . . or her permission. Her fiery spirit resists the dependency thrust upon her. Amid frustration at her lack of control, she helplessly falls in love. Twice.

She struggles to adjust to the unimaginable demands of two leaders of men—a laird in the thirteenth-century Highlands and a Pict chieftain in a more ancient Scotland. Isobel transforms from an academic, hell-bent on obtaining archaeological recognition, to a woman striving to care for those she loves, and ultimately . . . into a fearless warrior risking everything to protect them.

An amazing time traveling tale about love, duty, and honor.  

Forged in Dreams and Magick was my first time travel novel and I loved it. I don't really read to many Highlander novels either but I'm thinking I need to change that. There is just something so damn sexy about them, I'm definitely going to add more of them to my TBR, lol. Iian totally captures my heart, just like he does Isobel, and the "romantic" scenes are AWESOME!

Isobel is an Archaeology student who was in Scotland attending to a family matter when she comes across an ancient artifact that she thinks will launch her career in the world of Archaeology. Little did she know that it would totally change her life in a different way. When she asks a friend of hers, Iian to take a look at her find, they are both taken back in time to the thirteenth century Highlands of Scotland. Iian is the Laird of the castle and hopes to keep Isobel in his time as his Lady. When she is finally feeling like she has things under control and things are going great, BOOM, she's brought even further back in time and falls in love again. 

I really enjoyed this book. I've mentioned before that I absolutely love when a main character or characters are Archaeologist. It's one of the fields that has always captured my interest and attention, and who wouldn't love to come across some ancient artifact, with the added bonus of being a time traveling contraption, lol. Iian is an all around great character, he has the whole dominant male going for him but he is also sweet and will do anything for his woman. And Isobel is my kind of girl! She's smart, beautiful, but not weak at all, takes control of her situations and does what needs to be done not only for her, but the ones she loves. When she travels in time for the second time, I have to admit I was a bit sad about it, I was hooked on Iian, so when she falls for Veloc, it threw me for a loop. I'm totally team Iian. ;) As it turns out though, her journey with Veloc and Iian is only the beginning and I absolutely cannot wait to see what happens next! 

Connect with the Kat Bastion: 

Website: http://www.katbastion.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kat-Bastion/382546338470769

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6591511.Kat_Bastion

  

ARC Review: Geek Girls Don't Date Dukes by Gina Lamm

Title: Geek Girls Don't Date Dukes (Geek Girls #2)
Author: Gina Lamm
Source: Netgalley
Genre: Time-Travel Historical Romance
Length: Novel (352pgs)
Reviewer: CaroleDee
Pub Date: Sept 3, 2013 by Sourcebooks Casablanca

Leah Ramsey has always loved historical romance novels and dressing in period costumes. So when she has a chance to time travel and experience the history for herself, she jumps at it—figuring it can't be too hard to catch the eye of a duke. After all, it happens all the time in her novels.

Avery Russell, valet and prize pugilist, reluctantly helps Leah gain a position in the Duke of Granville's household . . . as a maid.

Domestic servitude wasn't exactly what she had in mind, but she's determined to win her happily ever after. Even if the hero isn't exactly who she's expecting.

 

Sweet, funny, and sexy. Geek Girl's Don't Date Dukes was just what I needed when I was in the mood for a pick me up :)

After Leah's best friend finds  true-love in the past, through a magical wardrobe, she just knows her time has come when the opportunity arrives for her to travel back in time herself. Sheassumes she will end up with a duke like her friend and won't settle for less than what she deserves. Unfortunately we all know the saying about assumptions; which leads to some pretty hilarious situations when she finds herself as a maid. She does eventually find herself in a loftier postion, but when the sparks don't fly with the duke what's a lady to do?

A super cute and unexpected romance will brighten your day with Geek Girls Don't Date Dukes.
I highly suggest checking it out.

About the Author
Becoming a magician proved to be less interesting than Gina Lamm had anticipated when she was six, so in her adult life, she’s turned to writing.

This belly-dancing, wisecracking, marshmallow-addicted mother of three energetic fur-children loves nothing more than penning funny, emotional tales of love, lust, and entertaining mishaps.

Married to a real live superhero, she and her family live in North Carolina, surrounded by tobacco farms, possums, and the occasional hurricane.

Connect with Gina at her

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads |

Review: Lord Griffin's Prize by Katalina Leon

Title: Lord Griffin's Prize (Emerald Isle Fantasies)
Author: Katalina Leon
Source: Publisher Request
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Length: Novel
Release Date: July 10, 2013
Reviewer: Jasmyn

Tullamore Castle, Ireland, is an enchanted place where the unexpected happens.  Phantom lovers materialize in haunted bads and a lonely griffin patrols the ramparts, waiting to reclaim its mate.  And that's just the beginning.

For the adventure of a lifetime, Maeve de Burgo visits Tullamore to study genealogy.  Through a magggical act and time travel, she becomes embroiled in a dangerous medieval romance and the unfinished life of her ancenstor.  Maeve gets thrown back in time to be captured, ravished and cherished as a war chief's prize.

Ronan O'Griofa is a griffin shifter, the most loyal of creatures.  He's been trapped in limbo as the avenging guardian of Tullamore since 1332 and longs to be free.  When the soul of his wife returns to the castle, he's granted the privilege of becoming a man for one day to be her lover, win her heart and remind Maeve of a bond strong enough to last an eternity.

Part of the Emerald Isle Fantasies series.

Maeve is drawn to Catle Tullamore after a painful divorce - it seems the best place to get in touch with her history and move on from her disasterous relationship.  Tullamore is full of legends and myths, but the one that draws Maeve the most is the story of the griffin.  When strange things begin to happen she chalks it up to an overactive imagination at first, but soon the flashbacks to an ancient time become more and more real.  

These flashbacks were by far my favorite part of the story.  While they were not the main part of the story, the characters really came to life and overshadowed their modern counterparts.  Unfortunately, the  modern versions just didn't catch my interest as much as I had hoped.

The story itself was incredibly sweet and very romantic.  Ronan has been waiting for centuries for another chance, now he just has to earn it with the "new" Maeve.  He tries hard, but the sunset time limit is mentioned just a little too often, almost like the reader was expected to forget about it.  Ronan seemed a bit stagnant, while Maeve was very dynamic and adapting to all the crazy things happening around her.