Early Book Review: First Time with a Highlander by Gwyn Cready

First Time with a Highlander is the second book in the Sirens of the Scottish Borderlands series by Gwyn Cready. This follow up to Just in Time for a Highlander is currently scheduled for release on October 6 2015. Although this is a sequel, the the story makes for a better read with the background of having read the first, you can easily catch on and enjoy this book without reading the first.

What do you get when you imbibe centuries-old whiskey-besides a hangover the size of the Highlands? If you're twenty-first century ad exec Gerard Innes, you get swept back to 18th-century Edinburgh and into the bed of a gorgeous, fiery redhead. Gerard has only a foggy idea what he and the lady have been up to, but what he does remember draws him into the most dangerous and exhilarating campaign of his life. Serafina Seonag Fallon's scoundrel of a fiancé has left her with nothing, and she's determined to turn the tables. If she can come up with a ringer, she can claim the cargo he stole from her. But the dashing man she summons from the future demands more than a night, and Serafina finds it easier to command the seas under her feet than the crashing waves he unleashes in her heart.

First Time with a Highlander is a solid sequel with great characters. Gerard is a modern man that pulls no punches. He has significant charm, and is used to getting his way all the time. He regularly uses his modern ideas of branding and marketing to help those around him, while garnering some profit for himself. However, he is not a wholly selfish man, he is dynamic and interesting as he tries to piece together what has happened, and what he would like to have happen for his future. Serafina is outspoken and unconventional, while trapped by the confines of the time. Everything she had, including her reputation have been taken from her by her former fiancee, and she is desperate to regain what is rightfully hers. Very little goes as planned, and there is plenty of adventure and suspense as the trail for her cargo leads her and Gerard into more trouble than anyone expected. I really found myself invested in the characters and eager to see how they found their happy ever after. I loved their bickering and heated interactions, although their more intimate moments were not as intense at their verbal exchanges. 

First Time with a Highlander is a satisfying read, with a good cast of characters and use of time travel. My only real complaint on finishing the story is how much I want the next book so I can see how Undine finds her happy ending.