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Immortal Warriors SM #2
Secrets of the Highwayman
Melanie Jones thought she was imagining things. Surely there's not a breathtaking man astride a magnificent black horse racing her sports car on a country road. And he has the nerve to wink at her, just before he vanishes into the night! When he appears to her in solid, sinewy muscle, Melanie realizes he's real . . . and irresistible.
Nearly two centuries ago, Nathaniel Raven was betrayed and murdered by a trusted friend. He now has one opportunity to uncover the secrets of that night, and Melanie is the only woman who can help him. She may be the most infuriating and independent woman he's ever known, but there is no denying the burning passion between them . . . or the lethal danger that has followed him from the past . . .
Nearly two centuries ago, Nathaniel Raven was betrayed and murdered by a trusted friend. He now has one opportunity to uncover the secrets of that night, and Melanie is the only woman who can help him. She may be the most infuriating and independent woman he's ever known, but there is no denying the burning passion between them . . . or the lethal danger that has followed him from the past . . .
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 26, 2006
3 people are currently reading
259 people want to read
About the author
Sara Mackenzie
63 books49 followersSara Mackenzie writes Paranormal/Time Travel Romance. She is the author of the Immortal Warriors series. She is currently writing a spin off trilogy called the Hellfire Club, and the first book Lorne is out in August 2017.
Visit Sara's website to read an excerpt and catch up on the latest news.
https://saramackenzie1.wordpress.com/...
Visit Sara's website to read an excerpt and catch up on the latest news.
https://saramackenzie1.wordpress.com/...
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 20, 2008
::kerplunk::
Ahhhh, liuafhekunaeflakefhalfu, okay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That’s basically what it feels like when you pick up a book that starts really fast and all of a sudden you discover yourself wham-bam in the middle of a story and you’re not entirely sure what’s going on and you can’t figure out if you missed something or if you just need to be patient and see how it turns out. This is the second book I’ve read from this author and that seems to be how she operates because they’ve both been that way.
If she didn’t make good, I’d probably be extremely annoyed by this tactic, except she does (at least, within reason for the mass media romance genre). Both books I’ve read have been wildly entertaining and have also set me to wondering whether I should give mysteries another shot.
In this story, our main players include a 29-year-old modern-day lawyer named Melanie and a 27-year-old guy named Nathaniel who had originally been shot dead in 1814, purportedly under questionable circumstances. As in the first novel in this series, for some unknown reason a sorcereress has decided to give Nathaniel a second chance at life and to right several wrongs that were done to him and his family and that ultimately led up to his untimely death. And if he happens to fall in love along the way, well alrighty then!
***mild spoilers past this point***
The heroine is already predisposed to believe in the supernatural, having grown up with a sister who was fascinated by all things occult. Melanie has also experienced some unusual premonitions of her own throughout her life, which she has spent a considerable amount of time trying to suppress. So when she sees a ghost and then is sucked into a vision of the past and meets Nathaniel Raven, she doesn’t completely flip out.
Nathaniel Raven was a lively young man who joined the army and was injured in Spain. He returns home with several battle scars and extends the invitation to his friend, Major Pengorren, the man who saved his life. But when Nathanial and Hew Pengorren arrive at the Ravenswood Estate, life begins to deteriorate rapidly.
Nathaniel’s father dies unexpectedly. Pengorren successfully woos Mrs. Raven and miraculously marries her within weeks after her husband’s death without inciting scandal. Nathaniel suspects something is wrong but can’t put his finger on it. And with all the wisdom of a 27-year-old man, decides to act out his aggressions by turning highwayman instead of trying to get to the bottom of the real issue. When Mrs.Raven Pengorren breaks her neck falling down the stairs and Major Pengorren is caught sleeping with Nathaniel’s younger sister (not to mention most of the female servants in the house), Nathaniel’s troubles escalate out of control, he gets sloppy and is shot dead during a botched robbery.
But was he set up? It turns out that traveling two-hundred years into the future will provide the needed answers and give Nathaniel the second chance the sorceress promised.
The bad guy in this story is none other than Major Pengorren, Nathaniel's war buddy turned creepy miscreant. The author doesn’t come straight out and say it until the last third of the novel, but it becomes fairly evident very early on that there might be some freaky shit going down where M. Pengorren is concerned. There are several heavy-handed hints tossed out there and if you’ve read fairy stories, you’ll begin to immediately suspect that Pengorren’s origins aren’t human.
Frankly, I thought the fact that Pengorren turned out to be an evil fairy shouldn’t have been revealed so late in the story. I think the really crazy revelations (which I won’t mention) would have been much more shocking and meaningful if they hadn’t been piggy-backing on Pengorren’s exposure as a non-human.
Either way, I still found the story enjoyable and was especially impressed by the uniqueness. I’ve never read anything like it, which is somewhat of a breath of fresh air in this genre. These types of books aren't exactly known for having unique plots.
Ahhhh, liuafhekunaeflakefhalfu, okay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That’s basically what it feels like when you pick up a book that starts really fast and all of a sudden you discover yourself wham-bam in the middle of a story and you’re not entirely sure what’s going on and you can’t figure out if you missed something or if you just need to be patient and see how it turns out. This is the second book I’ve read from this author and that seems to be how she operates because they’ve both been that way.
If she didn’t make good, I’d probably be extremely annoyed by this tactic, except she does (at least, within reason for the mass media romance genre). Both books I’ve read have been wildly entertaining and have also set me to wondering whether I should give mysteries another shot.
In this story, our main players include a 29-year-old modern-day lawyer named Melanie and a 27-year-old guy named Nathaniel who had originally been shot dead in 1814, purportedly under questionable circumstances. As in the first novel in this series, for some unknown reason a sorcereress has decided to give Nathaniel a second chance at life and to right several wrongs that were done to him and his family and that ultimately led up to his untimely death. And if he happens to fall in love along the way, well alrighty then!
***mild spoilers past this point***
The heroine is already predisposed to believe in the supernatural, having grown up with a sister who was fascinated by all things occult. Melanie has also experienced some unusual premonitions of her own throughout her life, which she has spent a considerable amount of time trying to suppress. So when she sees a ghost and then is sucked into a vision of the past and meets Nathaniel Raven, she doesn’t completely flip out.
Nathaniel Raven was a lively young man who joined the army and was injured in Spain. He returns home with several battle scars and extends the invitation to his friend, Major Pengorren, the man who saved his life. But when Nathanial and Hew Pengorren arrive at the Ravenswood Estate, life begins to deteriorate rapidly.
Nathaniel’s father dies unexpectedly. Pengorren successfully woos Mrs. Raven and miraculously marries her within weeks after her husband’s death without inciting scandal. Nathaniel suspects something is wrong but can’t put his finger on it. And with all the wisdom of a 27-year-old man, decides to act out his aggressions by turning highwayman instead of trying to get to the bottom of the real issue. When Mrs.
But was he set up? It turns out that traveling two-hundred years into the future will provide the needed answers and give Nathaniel the second chance the sorceress promised.
The bad guy in this story is none other than Major Pengorren, Nathaniel's war buddy turned creepy miscreant. The author doesn’t come straight out and say it until the last third of the novel, but it becomes fairly evident very early on that there might be some freaky shit going down where M. Pengorren is concerned. There are several heavy-handed hints tossed out there and if you’ve read fairy stories, you’ll begin to immediately suspect that Pengorren’s origins aren’t human.
Frankly, I thought the fact that Pengorren turned out to be an evil fairy shouldn’t have been revealed so late in the story. I think the really crazy revelations (which I won’t mention) would have been much more shocking and meaningful if they hadn’t been piggy-backing on Pengorren’s exposure as a non-human.
Either way, I still found the story enjoyable and was especially impressed by the uniqueness. I’ve never read anything like it, which is somewhat of a breath of fresh air in this genre. These types of books aren't exactly known for having unique plots.
August 18, 2025
Started off really well, didn't want to put it down to go to bed.
BUT... where's the ending? Yes, obviously she agrees to go back with him. But the "epilogue"? Not an epilogue at all! Just like the first in this series, it didn't wrap up any loose ends. When exactly did they go back to? Who really saved him in Spain? Once again, Ms Mackenzie's "epilogue" is really just the prologue for the next story. Highly disappointing. If I didn't already have the next book, I wouldn't buy it. Since I have it, the only reason I will read it is because this is the last of the series so I figure she can't do us dirty like that again right? Hopefully the last actually has a satisfying ending.
BUT... where's the ending? Yes, obviously she agrees to go back with him. But the "epilogue"? Not an epilogue at all! Just like the first in this series, it didn't wrap up any loose ends. When exactly did they go back to? Who really saved him in Spain? Once again, Ms Mackenzie's "epilogue" is really just the prologue for the next story. Highly disappointing. If I didn't already have the next book, I wouldn't buy it. Since I have it, the only reason I will read it is because this is the last of the series so I figure she can't do us dirty like that again right? Hopefully the last actually has a satisfying ending.
March 2, 2023
Ambitious and driven to control all aspects of her life, the heroine is determined to do well at this project of sprucing up an ancient house for sale. But from the very start, even before she arrives at the property everything gets flipped upside down and now the life she had so planned out counts for nothing.
It's starts with a ghost dog who jumps in front of her car. Then it's followed by a ghostly man who chases her down the road as she speeds away in fright. Shaken but still focused on her goals, she's then chased once again by this phantom dog while out for a run and this time she is physically dragged through a portal into the between worlds where she meets the Fey queen and the hero, the ghostly figure she encountered on the road. She's been brought to him to aid in his quest to right the wrongs done to his family and himself. But the heroine initially declines, claiming she wants nothing to do with the supernatural but eventually she accepts and brings him forth to the present as a fully realized man. Handsome, charming and far too tempting for his own good, she tries to wrap her head around how everything became so fuzzy. And to top it all off, she's begun to have her visions again.
The hero is out for revenge. Once he was a soldier and he made the mistake of befriending a very evil man though he didn't know the man to be evil at the time. In fact, it wasn't until after his death that he realized anything was wrong. But now he can see the truth and know this evil presence has done so many terrible things to the hero and his family that he'll stop at nothing to see the man dead. This man killed his father to marry his mother. Killed his mother to marry his sister. Killed the hero and abandoned the sister to a mental asylum. He also fathered bastards on nearly every maid in the county. Now, the evil man is back and he invades the heroine's dreams and begins to make her question herself.
There's a darkness hovering in the house and inside the heroine as well as she starts to feel very strange. She begins to be sexually powerful and wants to exert that power over the hero but this is a very unnatural attraction between them. While yes, she comes to love the hero, their passion becomes dark and violent at times, making the heroine fear for her sanity and the hero. Somehow everything it tied together. The evil presence, the evil man from the hero's past and the heroine's dreams as well as the heroine's own strange powers and abilities. All of it comes together to present a desperation for the end of this fight before the hero or heroine's very lives are the consequence.
This is not your typical ghostly romance. Yes, the hero starts off the story as a spirit but it rapidly shifts tone into a dark and sometimes frightening story. There were times where I was actually afraid. Like with the scenes of the hunched over ghostly figure that terrifies the heroine so. The author did a great job of portraying that fear because the heroine's terror was real and palpable so as my own skin got goosebumps. The evil of the villain was always well crafted because the hero on one hand remembered his love for the man while now realizing the true evil that lay hidden cleverly behind the mask. The recollections of the past that showed what really happened were dark and sometimes disturbing. The evolution of the heroine and hero's sexual relationship into something dark and unnatural was also intriguing because they were aware their love for one another was becoming tainted and they didn't know how to stop it.
I actually really liked this book. It was very well written and it had a great sense of flow as the words and the chapters read seamlessly. I thought the plot was interesting and unexpected and that the characters were developed and mature in their actions. I'm excited to get me hands of the others in the series, for sure.
It's starts with a ghost dog who jumps in front of her car. Then it's followed by a ghostly man who chases her down the road as she speeds away in fright. Shaken but still focused on her goals, she's then chased once again by this phantom dog while out for a run and this time she is physically dragged through a portal into the between worlds where she meets the Fey queen and the hero, the ghostly figure she encountered on the road. She's been brought to him to aid in his quest to right the wrongs done to his family and himself. But the heroine initially declines, claiming she wants nothing to do with the supernatural but eventually she accepts and brings him forth to the present as a fully realized man. Handsome, charming and far too tempting for his own good, she tries to wrap her head around how everything became so fuzzy. And to top it all off, she's begun to have her visions again.
The hero is out for revenge. Once he was a soldier and he made the mistake of befriending a very evil man though he didn't know the man to be evil at the time. In fact, it wasn't until after his death that he realized anything was wrong. But now he can see the truth and know this evil presence has done so many terrible things to the hero and his family that he'll stop at nothing to see the man dead. This man killed his father to marry his mother. Killed his mother to marry his sister. Killed the hero and abandoned the sister to a mental asylum. He also fathered bastards on nearly every maid in the county. Now, the evil man is back and he invades the heroine's dreams and begins to make her question herself.
There's a darkness hovering in the house and inside the heroine as well as she starts to feel very strange. She begins to be sexually powerful and wants to exert that power over the hero but this is a very unnatural attraction between them. While yes, she comes to love the hero, their passion becomes dark and violent at times, making the heroine fear for her sanity and the hero. Somehow everything it tied together. The evil presence, the evil man from the hero's past and the heroine's dreams as well as the heroine's own strange powers and abilities. All of it comes together to present a desperation for the end of this fight before the hero or heroine's very lives are the consequence.
This is not your typical ghostly romance. Yes, the hero starts off the story as a spirit but it rapidly shifts tone into a dark and sometimes frightening story. There were times where I was actually afraid. Like with the scenes of the hunched over ghostly figure that terrifies the heroine so. The author did a great job of portraying that fear because the heroine's terror was real and palpable so as my own skin got goosebumps. The evil of the villain was always well crafted because the hero on one hand remembered his love for the man while now realizing the true evil that lay hidden cleverly behind the mask. The recollections of the past that showed what really happened were dark and sometimes disturbing. The evolution of the heroine and hero's sexual relationship into something dark and unnatural was also intriguing because they were aware their love for one another was becoming tainted and they didn't know how to stop it.
I actually really liked this book. It was very well written and it had a great sense of flow as the words and the chapters read seamlessly. I thought the plot was interesting and unexpected and that the characters were developed and mature in their actions. I'm excited to get me hands of the others in the series, for sure.
October 13, 2014
I actually ended up reading this in a day, getting into it more than I initially thought I would. Even though I haven't read the first book in the series, I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything in the story.
My only criticism is that the final scene with the defeat of the baddie (trying not to be too specific, to avoid spoilers) seemed a little too rushed. It didn't seem dramatic enough to indicate a completion of the scene, and I felt myself wondering if that was really the end of the antagonist.
My only criticism is that the final scene with the defeat of the baddie (trying not to be too specific, to avoid spoilers) seemed a little too rushed. It didn't seem dramatic enough to indicate a completion of the scene, and I felt myself wondering if that was really the end of the antagonist.
January 27, 2008
Book #2 in the Immortal Warrior series. A neat new series that includes time-travel, modern and historic with dose of paranormal. This is Nathaniel Raven's turn to be released by the "powers that be" to redeem himself with Melanie. Well written and very entertaining with likeable characters!
October 17, 2011
Boring. And she used the term "mullioned windows" entirely too often.
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June 13, 2011Loved the novel
review will be added soon
review will be added soon
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews