The Highlander Series Order

Highlander series by Karen Marie Moning Reading Order:

1. Beyond the Highland Mist
2. To Tame a Highland Warrior
3. The Highlander's Touch
4. The Dark Highlander
5. The Immortal Highlander
6. Spell of the Highlander
7. Into the Dreaming

Beyond the Highland Mist by Karen Moning

Beyond the Highland Mist is the first book in the Highlander series by Karen Marie Moning. In all honesty, this isn't usually a book I would have picked up, but after reading a couple of dazzling reviews on the series, I decided to give it a shot.

Back of Book:

"He would sell his warrior soul to possess her. . . . 

An alluring laird..

He was known throughout the kingdom as Hawk, legendary predator of the battlefield and the boudoir. No woman could refuse his touch, but no woman ever stirred his heart—until a vengeful fairy tumbled Adrienne de Simone out of modern-day Seattle and into medieval Scotland. Captive in a century not her own, entirely too bold, too outspoken, she was an irresistible challenge to the sixteenth-century rogue. Coerced into a marriage with Hawk, Adrienne vowed to keep him at arm's length—but his sweet seduction played havoc with her resolve.

A prisoner in time...She had a perfect "no" on her perfect lips for the notorious laird, but Hawk swore she would whisper his name with desire, begging for the passion he longed to ignite within her. Not even the barriers of time and space would keep him from winning her love. Despite her uncertainty about following the promptings of her own passionate heart, Adrienne's reservations were no match for Hawk's determination to keep her by his side. . . ."

This book is very much romance driven with many pretty heated scenes, however I wouldn't say any of the scenes got out of hand or got too vulgar, but were very well written. There is a bit of a love triangle and of course the two men are both big, strong, and gorgeous.

Hawk has quite the reputation across the lands of being a not only gorgeous but also a big reputation of sleeping around with the most beautiful women he comes into contact with. However, the king has ordered him to marry a supposed woman who isn't exactly sane nor beautiful. While he agrees to marry her for the sake of his family and clan's lives, he doesn't even bother to show up for the wedding.

In fact it isn't until he actually meets the girl that he has any interest in being near her. Once he meets Adrienne, he not realizes only is she gorgeous but seems just as sane as anyone else. The only problem is Adrienne is not the woman Hawk thinks she is, but a woman who had been seemingly teleported from her home in the 1990s, back to the 1500s. Not only that, but she has also sworn off beautiful men.

While Hawk tries to woe her, she is trying her best to reject him. Hawk is extremely seductive, and smooth, which leads to some really steamy scenes, which may even be a little too much for some people, but beautifully written. While it definitely is more romance centered than I usually go for, but I don't regret picking it up. I thought it was very well written and definitively recommend it, especially if you are a fan of historical type romances.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins is the second book in The Hunger Games Trilogy. Here is the back of the book:

"Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge."

I found this book to be just as addicting as the first book. It was well written with amazing visuals and written in a way that you can really see the world through Katniss's eyes. You can really understand her feelings and suspicions towards every other character in the book, and really sympathize with her. This book really connects you to the main character.

For anyone who has seen the movie, it actually is very close to what actually happens in the book, though there are still a few scenes that the movie did leave out and the book does give a lot more insight on the characters and what is going on.

Personally, I definitely think it's a must read, even if you've already seen the movie.

Other Books in the Series:

1. The Hunger Games

2. Catching Fire

3. Mockingjay

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Back of the book:

"In a dark vision of the near future, a terrifying reality TV show is taking place. Twelve boys and twelve girls are forced to appear in a live event called the Hunger Games. There is only one rule: kill or be killed.

When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her sister's place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature."

While I'm sure most of you have seen the movie if nothing else, the books revolves around Katniss and her journey while trying to survive not only the harsh world she lives in, but the games she volunteered for in order to save her sister.

In this kind of post apocolyptic world, the United States is now ruled by one city called Panem and the rest of the population has been split up into 12 different districts, all of which are in charge of producing a different resource and is completely gated off so no one can leave or enter, unless they have been selected for the games.

The Hunger Games are a games to remind the districts of the war there was years ago in which the districts had rebelled against the capitol. Each year a male and female tribute between the ages of 12 and 18 are selected from each district (making 24 tributes in all) and are forced to fight to the death in the games.

While this book definitely revolves around survival as Katniss not only goes to the games, but comes from a very poor district (many districts are poor) where people have very little money and very little to live off of, but there is also a little bit of romance that drives the story between Katniss and the male tribute from her district Peeta.

I actually saw the movie long before I started reading the book, and was actually a little hesitant to start the book. I very much enjoyed the movie and really expected a lot from the book and didn't want to be let down. I actually happened to start this book while getting ready for a little bit of a road trip and it happened to be the only audiobook I had available at the moment, so I decided to give it a shot. Even after I was at my destination, I found the spot that I left off at in the audiobook, and then found it in my ebook version and kept reading.

The book itself is written beautifully. I could practically see the woods that were described and you really develop an understanding of where the main character Katniss is feeling and where she's coming from. The book gave the characters a lot more depth than the movie did. While in the movie I have more indifference towards Peeta, in the book he is far more likable because you hear so much more about him and you really see a lot more of his personality.

You also feel for the characters and their loved ones as tributes die in the games, especially ones that Katniss befriends. Though I knew the basic storyline of the book from the movie, there is definitely a lot more in the book that still keeps you on edge and interested about what might happen next. I finished the book in record time because I simply couldn't put it down. I definitely recommend the book to anyone.

Other Books in the series:
1. The Hunger Games
2. Catching Fire
3. Mockingjay