The Craving (Rogues of Scotland #1)

Originally Reviewed For: Tea and BookDonna Grant understands the Scottish Heart and shows it once again in this delightful first book of her Rogues of Scotland Series.The Rogues of Scotland, "Four Highlanders whose bond of brotherhood finds each of them cursed. It'll take special women willing to break the curse - and bet on love."The Rogues are four men connected by bonds of friendship so deep they consider each other brothers. But when they are cursed into utter blackness, destined to remain in darkness until they redeemed themselves.. Hard to do when bound by darkness..The Craving tells the story of Ronan Galt, nephew to the laird. Ronan dallied where he shouldn't have. Having spent time in a lovely Gypsy's arms, Ronan was besotted but figured that he would move on when the time was right. Unknowingly to him, said gypsy was in love and expected marriage. When he refused she killed herself and the gypsies instantly retaliated, blaming Ronan.. A powerful gypsy cursed him into the darkness. But there would be a chance to redeem himself. Only Ronan had no clue what it was. For two hundred years, he was released only twice and now, finally he has been released again. Only this time he desires nothing more than to remain and discover who the lovely woman who released him was. It's not about sex, there is no sex, it's about discovering who this woman is.. and why she attracts him so.Meg Alpin was literally abandoned at the alter. Totally shamed, Meg leaves home to live at her Aunt's castle. Not knowing that magic literally lives there. Well, a mirror that hides a gorgeous man. When she unwittingly lets this gorgeous man out of the mirror, she is shall we say stunned. A strange man from another time, alone... Meg has a gentle heart and offers him a place to stay, a place to discover who he can be.. Only all to soon, Meg discovers that she wants more than a friend, she wants it all.Ronan has to redeem himself but isn't sure even how to begin. But eventually it doesn't matter.. Ronan wants Meg, a life with her, a promise of forever. Redemption is beyond him all he desires is Meg..This was a sweet story. A man who finally chooses love. A woman who is afraid to love because she has been abandoned and is unsure of who she is. Both of these characters had to learn to trust. To believe and yes, to love.This book was a gift to us all.Shauni

This is a nice little story, well written, with nice characters, and an entertaining storyline. It's not the usual sort of Highland romance, with sexy sword wielding Highland lairds and feuding clans. From the book blurb I expected this might be the case, yet still I had hope--I'm inordinately fond of Highland romances. LOL Anyhow, the story that unfolded, although not exactly what I had hoped for, was still very engaging. Ronan, a Highland warrior in 1427, runs afoul of a gypsy when he sleeps with, and refuses to marry, her granddaughter. He is cursed and confined in a mirror where he is destined to remain until he "earns" his freedom. Having no idea of how to do that, Ronan lives in despair of ever being free, until he is released from the mirror by the heroine, Meg. Both Ronan and Meg have trust issues with the opposite sex, yet still true love wins out and all ends well.The story, although engaging, is IMO, too short--not in terms of page count per se, but the story itself needed to be more. The reader doesn't get to see any of the development of the relationship between Ronan and Meg. When the book begins, we meet Ronan and his three best friends, as they head towards the gypsy camp. After Ronan is cursed, the story jumps ahead almost two hundred years, when Meg inadvertently finds the mirror and releases Ronan. After we read about the first meeting between the two and how they come to the agreement of what to do with Ronan, the story then jumps ahead to a month later. We are told, not shown, that during the intervening month Ronan and Meg have developed a rapport of sorts, and have grown close to one another. Unfortunately, the reader isn't allowed to read about any of the progression of Meg and Ronan's relationship up to that point. When we join them one month after they meet, we get to see the culmination of their relationship, as well as the breaking of the curse, all of which happens over the course of one day. Some story about the intervening month, and the opportunity to actually see for myself the progression of the relationship between Ronan and Meg would have made the story, for me, so much better.In any event, this is an engaging story. If I could I would rate it 3 1/2 stars because, for me, it was better than an just "ok" read. I liked it and would recommend it as a worthwhile read. FYI, it is not a clean romance. There is a sex scene, which IMO is not overly graphic, nor is any crude language used--well, other than the "c" word which is used to denote the male sex organ. Happy reading!

Ronan, Stefan, Daman and Morcant have been best friends for almost 10 years. They do everything together, and are there for each other, no matter what.It is 1427, and Ronan is visiting his current conquest, Ana, a lovely gypsy girl. He has been seeing her /sleeping with her for 5 days now. Tonight, she mentions marriage. Not for Ronan. The happy go lucky nephew of the Laird, he has no plans to get married. When Ana kills herself, the gypsy witch in the camp curses Ronan. He is stuck in a mirror, a black void, until he can EARN his freedom.It is now 1609, and Meg Alpin has been hurt, so emotionally, that she is hiding away at Ravensclyde Castle. Her Aunt Tilly is allowing her to stay at the Castle, and make any changes that she wishes. She finds Ronan's mirror, covered with a sheet. She uncovers it, and Ronan pops out. But what does Ronan have to do to "earn" his freedom forever?This is not a never ending series. From the author's website, there are only 4 books planned for this series. The premise is not new, we have seen magic mirrors as plot devices many times, from many authors. There are a couple of twists at the end of the book, and Ronan does eventually "earn" his freedom. I really cannot wait to see what has happened to his friends, are they trapped in mirrors too? or are they in their own form of purgatory that they have to find their way out of? The only complaint that I have is that this was really too short to develop the characters really well. But I would recommend it. It was a sweet awakening of the way we all have to grow, and look at the things that we do, and how they affect others.

it's been a while since i read any donna grant and i forgot how much i love her books. A quick read full of love and magic really likable characters. Gypsy's cursed the four friends and i look forward to reading the rest of this series defiantly recommend to fans of historical romance

Not what I was hoping for. I have read a few of Donna Grants other book and really enjoyed them, this one just didn't float my boat.

The craving was not really my thing I would say give it a try as you might love this book

A story of heartache love an a touch of magic, such a different type of love story, kept me turning the pages .

I enjoy Donna Grant's books but could not get into this one.