I read the first two or three books in Donna Grant’s Dark Sword series and thought I would easily slip into her current offering of Midnight’s Kiss. I did not realize that there were about ten books between where I left off and Midnight’s Kiss. That did make it a little difficult to get into this book at first. I also did not realize that at some point all of the Dark Sword Warriors had time traveled into the present and transformed from Dark Sword Warriors to plain old Dark Warriors and accumulated a lot of friends in the process. I am still not sure how many characters I met in this book, so not reading the books in between definitely made it harder for me get into this novel. But once the hero and heroine were differentiated from the rest, the story gained speed and I was able to enjoy it.

Arran McCarrick has been living in the 21st century for about a year. Prior to a druid pulling him into this century, he was a 17th century Highland Warrior with a god trapped in his body. He along with about 20 others lives in MacLeod Castle, which is shielded by magic so that the immortal warriors can live forever with their mortal druid wives. Over the centuries, evil druids had used magic to try and bend the warriors to their will. Having defeated the evil Declan Wallace the previous year, the warriors are hopeful that they can now think about their future. That future includes being able to have children with their spouses. Unfortunately, they are not willing to do that unless they can find a spell to bind the gods within them. Through research, they have discovered a shipment of magical items that left Edinburgh bound for London. This shipment contained a scroll that might have the spell needed to bind their gods. The shipment was split into three different journeys, but only two made it to London. The warriors and druids of Castle MacLeod are searching for the lost shipment. Arran MacCarrick volunteers to go to an archeological dig in the Highlands that shows promise of discovering the magical scroll.

Dr. Veronica Reid (Ronnie) is heading up that archeological dig in the Highlands. She is a very successful archeologist, but has never told anyone her secret: She hears the ancient items speaking to her. Ronnie Reid has no clue that she is a druid. She is also the recipient of Saffron’s (one of Castle MacLeod’s druids) patronage. So when Saffron requests that she take on a volunteer as a personal favor, Ronnie has no choice but to agree. From the moment Arran MacCarrick arrives at the dig site, Ronnie is instantly drawn to the magnetic Highlander. She has been burned quite badly before by a man who used her to steal precious artifacts and is wary of getting involved again, but her attraction to Arran cannot be denied. However, a discovery they make together unleashes an evil power and sets in motion an epic battle of good vs. evil.

I liked both Ronnie and Arran. They were both good people and compelling characters. The chemistry between them was sizzling and when they finally come together, it was wonderful. However, some of the writing surrounding their attraction was slightly overwrought in my opinion and the dance back and forth in their relationship was a little too drawn out. The paranormal aspect of this book makes the reality of soul mates believable, but for some reason the instantaneous lust and attraction just rang a little false to me. There were still problems to overcome in the relationship, but it still just felt like the author took the easy way out in their relationship dynamics. There was also too much throwing of the other characters from previous books into the mix with little or no backstory. If I had read all of the books in between, this probably would not have been a problem, but it did make the book difficult to follow at times.

The book was at its best when it focused on the story of Arran and Ronnie and the present danger to the warriors and druids. Readers who have read all of the books in this series would most likely not have had the same problems I did with the book. Once I figured out who was who, I settled in for a nice ride. I would recommend that readers look to Donna Grant’s back list before reading this book. If I had not read a few of the first books in the series, I would have been even more lost than I was.