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3.5 Stars out of 5

This is the first book in the Connor Clan series and since it involved highlanders and had a paranormal theme I was intrigued from the beginning. Awaken the Highland Warrior quickly drew me in to the mystery, as Bree, a historian and treasure hunter, opens a mysterious chest that just happens to contain Faelen, the hunky highlander.

Faelen had been locked in that chest, approximately 150 years ago and the last thing he recalls is fighting four demon and them nothing until Bree wakes him up. Faelen turns out to be legendary demon hunter committed to protecting the world and he was a big thing in his world, but now he is in one that he knows nothing about and there is the true story of Awaken the Highlander. Ms. Cleeney is pretty clever in that she uses Faelen’s awaken as the vehicle to introduce us to the Connor Clan and their demon hunting world. Since this is the first book in the series there is world building, but it is disguised as integrating Faelen back into the real world.

The primary characters, Bree and Faelen, were a bit formulatic for me; Bree as the independent modern woman that never listens to the guy and Faelen the alpha male that thinks all woman should be sheltered and protected. Luckily, both characters evolved and compromised as their relationship grew.

Awaken the Highlander held my interest throughout. The story didn’t drag as there was plenty of action and the twists and turns in the mystery kept me guessing all the way to the end. Since Awaken the Highlander is part of a series, there was some secondary character development for future storylines and I’m looking expectantly to a couple of them. Altogether an enjoyable start to a new series for me.