Heart of the Druid Laird by Barbara Longley or The True May/December Romance

Publisher: Carina Press

Published: 9/19/2011

 Buy here

  Rating: Appetizer

 
  
  


  Dermot Mackay had all but given up hope of ending his curse of immortality. After sixteen hundred years of looking for the reincarnated soul of his late wife, he wasn't very optimistic of finding her. To his surprise the fates were kind and he is guided to a small shop in Minneapolis. Sidney St. George was focused on getting her fledgling gift shop into the black. Her mother and brother were dependent on her for their livelihood, and she couldn't let them down. Her weird dreams of a "scary fairy" warning her of a dangerous Scotsman, had to be the product of stress and lack of a sex life. When the mysterious Dermot shows up in her shop demanding her attention, she still marks it up as coincidence. Really??

  After a rocky start, Heart of the Druid Laird turned out to be a pretty good read. The two main characters Dermot and Sidney were so focused on their immediate goals, it was hard to get a good read on their inner truths. Thankfully their friends Zoe(Sidney's BFF and Thomas' reincarnated wife) and Thomas ( Dermot's cousin and fellow immortal) were there to narrate and move the characters along. The premise of the book is a tad puzzling to me. It's about a group of Scotsmen who have been cursed to immortality by a pissed of Tua De' Danann princess because they didn't adequately protect her mortal daughter. Well I can believe this of the Tua De', because they just think and act way differently than us, but I was having a hard time with the desperation Dermot and his fellow cursees ( I know cursed is the real word, but I like cursee)  were showing about ending their immortality. The going belief was that the outcome of ending the curse was the cursee would immediately turn into a pile of dust. Ewwwww! Not something I would be striving for, but to each his own.  

 The story really takes off in the second half. I have become more involved in the lives and feelings of Dermot ans Sidney, and am really invested in their story. There are a great many twists and turns, but the great thing is Sidney really comes into her own. She gets tired of Dermots vague reassurances and subterfuge and gives him holy hell. Woooo hooo! She got her snark card. She puts tall, dark and kilted in his place with extreme prejudice. By the end of the book, I was quite satisfied with the entire endeavor. This is a recommendable way to spend a few hours.