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The Last Highlander

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While celebrating the reclaiming of a Edinburgh Castle, a Scottish warrior heads down a flight of stairs--and into another century...

Scottland, 1998. When a beautiful American traveller stumbles upon this handsome Highlander, she is intensely drawn to the mystery surrounding this man, a mystery that has the power to alter history--and her heart--forever...

352 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 1, 1998

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About the author

Claire Cross

24 books54 followers
Deborah Cooke also writes under the names Claire Delacroix and Claire Cross.

Deborah makes her home in Canada with her husband. When she isn't writing, she can be found knitting, sewing or hunting for vintage patterns. Deborah Cooke has always been fascinated with dragons, although she has never understood why they have to be the bad guys. She has an honors degree in history, with a focus on medieval studies. She is an avid reader of medieval vernacular literature, fairy tales and fantasy novels, and has written over thirty romance novels under the names Claire Cross and Claire Delacroix.

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
Profile Image for Paranormal Romance.
1,312 reviews46 followers
January 23, 2023
While on vacation in Scotland, lost in the rigid and controlled schedule of her sister and brother in law- the heroine is still waiting to get what she came for- folklore stories. During a visit to a castle, she finds a man at the bottom of the stairs, having obviously hit his head. She is disgusted to discover he smells of drink and her history with men who drink is less than stellar. He is quite confused and seem to feel the need to be close to her despite her reluctance to give him the time of day. Too bad her sister is very much into setting her up with any available male hanging around and decides to invite this strange man to dinner. Before they leave, the heroine finds a jewel at the spot where she found the Scottish man and is even more furious to realize he’s stolen it off a priceless artifact. Clearly the reason he is so persistent in remaining close to her is that he hopes the innocent American tourists will help smuggle the jewel of the country! The heroine is a writer and has always been accused of having a very vivid imagine but she’s sure this time, she is right. She can’t wait to tell her perfect sister that the man she’s trying to set the heroine up is a criminal. It’s truly bizarre that no one in the castle seems to believe that artifact ever having that jewel, and even more bizarre, they have no records of having any actors on location. Regardless, she refuses to accept this man is anything but a liar and ever attempt he makes at communication is met with a cold shoulder.

The hero was celebrating the victory of taking a castle back from the England one moment and then the next he was in the presence of a sorcerous. The beautiful woman before him is obviously seeking him to complete tasks and answer riddles before she’ll send him home so he’s eager to do as she bids. He must return him to his son, he’s been away far too long as it is on a quest to regain his honor. The sorcerous is clearly unhappy with him and he fears her wrath. He remains in this strange and frightening place, closely guarding the witch for a chance to be sent home. He doesn’t understand why she refuses to let him go. He saves her from villains and is charming and obedient but still she is cold to him while he burns for her.

The heroine begins to fear that this man who has joined the family vacation is not as he appears. He is old fashioned and ignorant of modern technology. He speaks like he has meet thee Robert The Bruce and tells tales of war. But he is also a vast wealth of folklore stories and she is fascinated by him. She, with her imagination and willingness to see beyond the realm of normality, realizes that he has somehow travelled forward in time. The man is clearly tormented by guilt over the loss of his son and the pain in his eyes makes her willing to do anything to see him returned home. She is, however, frightened of her feelings towards this man. She’ll go to extremes to keep him away, not because she fears him but rather because she’s afraid of her own desires. But when he is given the chance to return home, she is stunned by the overwhelming need to keep him close. When he’s sent back, she will do anything to be reunited with him.

What the story severely lacked was an antagonist. At first the brother in law was a bit of a - I won't say bad guy- but someone who caused problems, but as time went on he changed into a good man. There was no balance and as such the whole book was a boring monotone without ups or downs to keep it interesting. I will say it was extremely odd how the sister would just invite a perfect stranger on their family vacation all for the sake of getting the heroine to see a man for the first time since her divorce. The hero showed up out of nowhere yet you're going to pay for his room and food all for the sake of maybe getting your sister laid? It was odd. Another thing that was bizarre was the heroines EXTREME measures to prevent the hero from seducing her. She did everything she could to be an ice maiden to him and when that didn't work, she locked him in the bathroom or drugged him! What the hell? The whole book was odd and very disjointed. I had no real idea what the point of it all was and honestly, I didn't really care. The heroine was dramatic and judgmental and often ignorant. The hero was a stereotypical Scottish highlander with a fiery temper on occasions. He did have a soul that shone through the pages though. I empathized with his pain and guilt over his son and felt for him when he pleaded with the heroine to send him home. Over than that brief emotional connection, I was completely disenchanted with this book.
Profile Image for Pam.
177 reviews
March 10, 2012
This book DRAGGED! I Slugged through it. This is a time travel to the present 1998. I prefer time travel to the past.

It took forever to get the story going. The hero took until almost page 100 to let the heroine know he was a time traveler.

The last 100 pages were very good. I enjoyed how they worked together to figure out how to get him back to the past. He had to go back because Scotland's history was totally changed when he went forward in time. They eventually get their HEA but there is some angst to go through.
122 reviews1 follower
January 2, 2018
Worth the hangover.

Well written! I couldn’t put it down. I have to wake up in 5 hours but it was too good to put down. Well worth the book hangover in the morning. I laughed, I cried, and I will be looking for more books by this author.
4 reviews
January 14, 2010
This was a very entertaining time travel romance. Well-written. Easy to visualize.
Profile Image for Eileen Dandashi.
542 reviews17 followers
September 16, 2016
Quotable Quotes:

Loving was about knowing when to shelter and when to set free.

‘Tis not stupidity to trust someone held within one’s heart.

A promise made was a promise kept.

A man’s honor was the only thing of value he could call his own.


I’m partial to time travel. I mean, after all, what is better than experiencing the real thing instead of reading about it in history books? Author Claire DelaCroix made it very enjoyable plenty of comical situations and many moments where I related to the anguish of the main characters, eyes brimming with tears or laughing out loud to the reactions of the hero of the hour, Alasdair MacAuley. It is so much fun seeing the 20th century in the eyes of someone from centuries before.

In this delicious read the past (one Alasdair MacAuley) ‘experiences’ the modern world. Morgan has come to Scotland with her sister Justine and her sister’s husband Blake. She’s hoping to give them some downtime, pull Blake out of his ultra organized way of approaching things and just maybe have them start a baby. She would never marry, not after the huge mistake she made with her first. She wanted to see Scotland, the real Scotland, listen to tales of the past, something to jumpstart an illustrated book about Scotland.

Alasdair MacAuley takes a dare from a wee witch, ends up going through a portal heading seven centuries in the future. His world is full of tales of Morgaine Le Fee, so when the first person he meets is Morgan, he immediately knows he’s met the queen of the Fey in another realm. All he sees belongs to her world, so he doesn’t know anything more than he somehow ended in the land of the Fey.

Quote:
“Aye, she was all he had heard of her and more, an enchantress of the highest order. What manner of woman would flaunt such shapely legs before the eye of a red-blooded man?”

Alasdair is a hero in denial. He has lost his present and can’t grasp he’s in the future,-rather he holds to the idea of the sorceress, Morgaine Le Fee has turned his world upside down.

With his moving into the future, he has changed the past. Robert the Bruce is no longer a hero, battles hadn’t been won.

Alasdair never believed in love, the kind his gran’s tales spoke of, until he met Morgan. He also has a tongue of gold, melting Morgan’s hardened heart and having me out-and-out bawling.

Quote:
“Do not dismiss my tribute, my lady. You are like the rose, which blooms in beauty all the season long, though few appreciate the challenges it overcomes to bring those blossoms to light. ‘Tis a stalwart plant, a harbinger of fair weather, yet of sufficient strength."

Morgan had a problem trusting men. Her first husband, she divorced ten years previous, left such a wound in her heart, it was deeply scarred.

I really enjoyed the scene where Morgan and Alastair were in the back of a small car heading to the Highlands along with her sister and brother-in-law who was driving.

Here’s the excerpt which had me laughing because I could truly relate (I’ve lived in countries where I’ve had to deal with the same, but thank heavens it wasn’t clockwise, but counter-clockwise).

Excerpt:
Having conquered not only the unfamiliarity of driving on the left side of the road and shifting gears with the left hand, a North American tourist might consider himself an accomplished UK driver.

At least until he encountered the humbling experience of the roundabout.

Supposedly, this alternative to traffic lights is intended to make driving from point A to point B less of an ordeal—but to the uninitiated, the reality is a nail-biting contradiction.

The roundabout—as might be expected from its name—is a circular intersection, the converging roads radiating from the enter like spokes of a wheel. A given car enters at one spoke, merges with the traffic already on the roundabout, travels clockwise around the circle, then exists at the destined spoke to continue on its way.

The equation is complicated by the structure of the roundabout itself. There are usually at least two lanes: the outer one for traffic exiting at the next outgoing road, the inner one for vehicles traveling further around. Incoming cars must take advantage of any break in the traffic and lunge into the appropriate lane.
*****

The scene that follows is truly hilarious as it takes Blake, Justine and Morgan to navigate the circle the circle in their chariot (so named by Alastair).

Quote:
“Shit!” Blake declared from the front seat. “This one has eight roads going into it!”

Alasdair glanced through the space between the front seats and had to close his eyes at the dizzying rate their little chariot chewed up the road…

The sorceress fairly bounced on her seat and her eyes sparkled with some challenge Alasdair could hardly begin to guess. “You bet. Which one do we need?”

Justine consulted an intricately drawn manuscript, then squinted at the road ahead. “The fourth one.”

“Got it,” Morgaine said.

“Jesus Christ, here we go,” Blake muttered. “Second gear.”

“Right turn signal,” Justine murmured. She leaned forward in her seat, pulling off her dark eyeshields as she did so.

An astonished stream of similar chariots sped across their path a breakneck speed. They looked like so many beetles and when Alasdair looked carefully, he could see people trapped within each one. They had the same dark shield over their eyes as his companions, making it look as though the insects had yet more insects in their bellies.

He thought of his gran’s tales of Faeries riding the backs of moths and beetles.

Blake inched their chariot forward, watching the stream avidly. Evidently they were going to enter this rush of shiny beetles.

Alasdair was not certain he wanted to watch.

“First gear,” Blake gritted out.

“After the red one,” Morgaine declared, her nose fairly pressed against the curved window.

Blake leaned forward, his knuckles white on the stick between himself and Justine. A red chariot not unlike their own flashed by.

“GO!” the women roared simultaneously.

The Micra squealed in protest, and Blake urged it forward. Alasdair’s eyes widened at the proximity of an extremely large vehicle that was closing in at great speed and he nearly squealed in sympathy.

Instead, he crossed himself. It seemed rather a timely moment to find his long-misplaced religious beliefs.
****

Need I say more about this wonderful read? It’s funny, at the same time the story will clench your heart. Will love win out in the end?

This is a five-star review. I highly recommend Claire DelaCroix’s books, whether time travel, historical romance or fantasy. She will surely entertain!
Profile Image for KayLynn Zollinger.
609 reviews34 followers
November 25, 2025
Hot, adorable, and historically fun. I don't read much based in a time period so long ago. Alasdair is from 1300 AD and is sent forward in time to 1998. He believes he's trapped in the faery realm of Morgaine Le Fee, and all the crazy technology from the past...700 years or so...just proves him right in his mind. It's hilarious as he tries to come to terms with the 1900s and thinks Morgan is an evil faery enchantress who is fucking with him. (And not in the fun way. Although that comes later...) I haven't laughed so hard in a while. The sexy scenes were just that, sexy. Such a fun book. Definitely a fan of this author.
I do have one slight comment that's not entirely positive and it's a SPOILER...so proceed with caution. Ok. Morgan acts like her entire life was her preparing to go back in time with Aladair and that she was meant to be in 1300 whatever. What woman in her sane mind would think the 1300s are a better place for women than the 1900s? No matter how hunky of a man she's landed, that's not going to be a comfortable life for her. But it's romantic so I guess here we are.

Quote
Those with dark hearts accuse all those around them of planning foul crimes.
Profile Image for Lady Brainsample.
668 reviews67 followers
September 10, 2019
This book is complete and utter garbage.
HOWEVER.
It gets three stars because flipping through and reading parts of it out loud to friends while drinking Scotch whisky on a Scottish island is one of the high points of my life.
The plot is a kind of an Outlander in reverse-a Scottish guy from the Robert the Bruce era time travels to the present and mistakes our "heroine" as the witch who sent him to our time. Hijinks and very hilarious romance novel sex scenes ensue with some really fun twists to the ending.
Again, fun because I was reading this out loud while a wee bit tipsy and with my best Scottish accent.
Profile Image for Ines.
535 reviews11 followers
February 12, 2025
I’ll admit, I judged this book by its cover, expecting a fun, light time-travel romance. I knew it wouldn’t be as developed or intricate as Outlander, but even with those expectations, this ended up feeling like a bit of a waste of time for me.

The pacing was off—it took far too long to become interesting, and even when it did, it never held my attention for more than a chapter at a time. I found myself skimming, waiting for something to hook me, but it never quite delivered.

If you’re looking for a breezy, undemanding read, this might work better for you. But for me, it lacked the spark and momentum to make it truly enjoyable.

94 reviews3 followers
September 23, 2017
I absolutely love reading time travel books. This one was interesting in that our traveler came forward in time. Seen through the eyes of a young Scottish man, he believed he had crossed over to the land of fey. Having grown up on Scottish folklore, he believed that he had been captured in Morgan's strange but magical kingdom. This is a story of love and the power the heart has to cross over hundreds of years for that special someone. The story of the briar and the rose had me first crying my heart out and then bursting with joy at the end.
2,636 reviews
April 9, 2018
I enjoyed this book in spite of its clunky moments. I was in the mood for a time travel romance and enjoyed how the hero coped with that which he could not comprehend. I do know relatives on trips abroad can be difficult. I also am familiar enough with Scotland’s history to appreciate the the implications of changing things just “a wee bit.” There are four of these time travel novels. I’m looking forward to the other three.
Profile Image for The Written.
496 reviews6 followers
November 18, 2020
Blah, blah, blah I couldn’t escape except to stop reading!!!

I gave up. I couldn’t stop focusing on things that are important like he would smell, he was dirty, they would not have been able to understand him, the way he was dressed and no one at the restaurant questioned it. He freaked out over the flash but what about cars, electricity...? Lazy, lazy writing.
84 reviews
January 7, 2018
I wanted to read something similar to the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon, but have now tried two by different authors and they are a pale imitation. This is very lightweight and the story doesn't really go very far. The history content is very confusing.
23 reviews
September 15, 2018
this book was hard to put down

I really liked the story line even I am not a big fan of time travel. The characters were well writen. You had to feel for the characters. it had a great ending.
Profile Image for Ria H.
102 reviews
June 26, 2020
Wonderful

Love time travel
Love Highlander stories
Love this combo
Absolutely love this book. Excellent story, drags you right along in the story telling, makes you root for the heroine & for love.
6 reviews1 follower
April 9, 2018
Page turner

Some inconsistencies in the story that were frustrating but overall it was a quick, page turner time travel romance novel.
27 reviews
March 17, 2021
Last Highlander

Wonderful book . It brought the Scottish highlands to life in such a unique way. Thank you! I can,t wait for the next book!
18 reviews
January 16, 2025
This was originally a 2 star rating until the book picked up in the last 1/3.
178 reviews
December 22, 2022
This was a re-read, and I remembered liking it more than I did this time around. Morgan was fine, but I didn't understand why she didn't stand up for herself more with her sister and b-i-l, especially since she was paying for the vacation. I also kind of get how she would be confused by knowing something happened that no one else remembered, but honestly, I think I would eventually be questioning my historical knowledge (of a foreign country) in those circumstances.

This time around, Morgan really annoyed me with her insitance that Alasdair was a thief. I also couldn't get over how he would smell, despite how I kept trying to convince myself "blah blah fairy magic, etc..." At least he finally took a shower.

I was also disappointed by the end, getting it from Justine's POV.
61 reviews
January 13, 2017
Awesome

The tale is heartfelt, delightful and fun with Scottish history thrown in. What more could you ask for on a cold and snowy night?
4 reviews
June 14, 2016
The Last Highlander:

Magical. Exciting. Superb.

Alasdair and Morgan's romance progresses as a magical adventure. Leery of men, thinking they are all the same as her ex, Morgan is more than suspicious when she finds a highlander, clad in traditional attire, moaning at the bottom of the stairs in Edinburgh Castle. She is even more confused when history as she knows it, is lost to everyone else.

The last thing Alasdair remembers is an old witch telling him he must ask Morgaine le Fee, queen of the Faeries, the questions he asked of the old lady when he and his men claimed Edinburgh Castle for Robert the Bruce. He awakes in a strange, magical land to find Morgan Lafayette asking him if he is all right.

The humor in this story is well written. Claire Delacroix leads the reader into an exciting adventure of romance and time travel. The awestruck Alasdair marvels at the magic of the world of the Enchantress. His first encounter of her "magic" was the flash of a Polaroid camera and is only the beginning of the wonders he finds as he travels through her realm.

The story also explores Morgan's changing view of men. As the plot progresses she learns more about herself and allows feelings she thought were nonexistent to emerge in a sympathetic manner as she discovers Alasdair's true plight. As they fall in love they encounter the hard cold truths of time travel and the author keeps the reader guessing to the last second if this will end "happily ever after" . I won't spoil it, I will just say that along with the laughter, I also shed tears.

This was one of those books I stayed up too late to finish because I had to see what happened next. Another fantastic read by Claire Delacroix.

Profile Image for Diane.
1,092 reviews
March 17, 2016
When Alasdair MacAulay meets a witch while celebrating a victory over the English at Edinburgh Castle in 1314, he is taunted into meeting the Sorceress Morgaine Le Fee. Instead, he finds himself transported into 1998 to land at the feet of American tourist Morgan Lafayette. He thinks she’s a Farie and she thinks he’s drunk. Her sister Justine thinks this is a perfect chance to get her sister to date.
Unfortunately, Alisdair’s time travel has changed the course of history causing Robert the Bruce to lose. Through all the confusion with neither knowing who/what the other is or when they are from, Morgan and Alisdair are drawn to each other. Can this love withstand the stretch of centuries if Alisdair returns to his own time?
Reading this book I felt like I had done some time traveling myself. The present day in this book is 1998 – Morgan uses a Polaroid camera and I was wondering why she didn’t use a cell phone to call her sister when they got separated until I remembered that they didn’t have cell phones then. This story is a wonderful read. I laughed and cried at various parts of the story and you can’t help pulling for these lovers brought together and then separated again. This book is now part of a 4 book time travel boxed set and I look forward to reading the other 3 books in this collection.
A copy of this book was gifted by the Publisher in exchange for an honest review but I already had purchased the 4 book box set based on the description.
Profile Image for April.
1,850 reviews72 followers
April 16, 2016
"The Last Highlander: A Scottish Time Travel Romance" by Claire Delacroix, Deborah Cooke, Claire Cross, is an interesting and unique tale of Scottish Time Travel. In this story though, instead of going back in time, the hero gets thrown 800 years into the future.
A bit slow in places, but picks up as the reader continues. The hero, is strong, chivalrous, and a supporter of Robert the Bruce. The heroine is safe, doesn't trust easily but determined to help get the hero back to his time, if not, history will be changed forever.
Written with bouts of humor, intrigue, Folklore, adventure, suspense, angst, and romance. Can the H/H come to grips with fate and destiny to find their HEA? Will the hero get back to his own time before history is changed forever? An interesting read, to be sure. It has a uniqueness, readers are sure to find endearing as well as interesting. Give it a try, you will find it worth, the time. An enjoyable read!
Received for an honest review

Rating: 4
Heat rating: Sweet
Reviewed by: AprilR
4,123 reviews21 followers
April 18, 2016
The Last Highlander is a wonderful twist on time traveling. Instead of going into the past the hero comes to 1998. It was intriguing to see how history had been changed by Alasdair’s disappearance from 1314. Seeing it happened from one to early afternoon from Morgan’s point of view is ingenious.

I found the characters, Morgan and Alasdair, to be a delightful contrast as they sort through what has happened. She is more dreamer and he is more the doer, still they complete each other. The plot flows smoothly never dragging. The ending is unexpected, which I liked. Overall, an enjoyable time travel story.

Copy provided by the author for an honest review.
79 reviews3 followers
August 27, 2016
The Last Highlander is an interesting book on how a Medieval man responds to the modern world. After a battle which won Edinburg Castle for Robert the Bruce, Alasdair MacAuley is dared by a witch to find Morgaine le Fee. The witch hands him a sprig of heather and a stone. Alasdair falls down a flight of stairs and awakes in the present day castle to be greeted by Morgan Lafayette. Neither understand who the other is only that once Alasdair appears the history of Robert the Bruce changes.
Throughout this story Ms. Delacroix gives us morsels of well know Scottish tales and the mysteries of the Standing stones
Profile Image for Gail.
326 reviews102 followers
January 9, 2014
"The Last Highlander" squanders a fairly successful storyline and not unappealing characters with tons of typos, transparent writing, pacing issues, clunky dialogue, and repetitive/too blatant issue-labeling (in other words, instead of using her protagonist's behavior to show damage, the author just states again and again that she was too hurt by another man to trust). It's almost like reading a first draft. With a lot more work, "The Last Highlander" could have been good; as is, it's a waste of the reader's time.
1,779 reviews6 followers
June 24, 2016
This was a fun, sweet, well-written, enjoyable book. Alasdair is in Scotland in 1314, when he encounters an old woman with a message from Morgaine le Fee, Queen of the Fairies and suddenly things are very unfamiliar! Morgan Lafayette is vacationing in Scotland in 1998 when she runs into Alasdair! This is a stand alone book, one of the author's Time Travel romance series. I can't wait to read the next Time Travel romance in the series! Copy gifted by the Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Arsie.
21 reviews
July 23, 2016
An enjoyable romp through Scotland with a highlander thrown 700 years into the future and the woman he believes is Morgaine le Fey.

He was a little less freaked out by the modern conveniences than I would have thought but it could all have been faerie magic. I enjoyed reading about a possible alternate recent past because of the paradox of him leaving (too often nothing really changes, but how can that be?) and the wandering through Scotland, a place I would love to visit.

Copy gifted by the Publisher in exchange for an honest review
Profile Image for Julie.
962 reviews29 followers
September 10, 2015
Cute, highlander time travel romance of highlander that travels forward in time 700 years and falls in love with a woman that he at first thinks is a sorceress out to bespell him. Eventually he realizes the truth and longs to return to his own time, if only he hadn't fallen in love. It had it's moments, but rambled at times, still it wasn't bad, but I've read better.

http://ktleyed.blogspot.com/2010/06/l...
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