This was my favorite book in the series so far. Finally, here are two characters who are definitely well written for each other. Loved Tabitha and Guy and this book was soooo steamy. Lots of passion and a great love story.

Can't wait for Sam and Ian's story. ( )

Reviewed for queuemyreview.com; book release Mar09

OOOOH, time traveling hunky magical tortured highlanders…scrumptious! “Dark Victory” is Brenda Joyce’s latest in her ‘Masters of Time’ series about strong uber-Alpha males granted extraordinary capabilities by the gods in order to protect the innocent. Of course, they’re all drop-dead gorgeous and in need of a good shrink…or a strong female to temper their arrogance and provide a haven for their solace. Do I need to add they can go all night and have outsized hungers? I didn’t think so 

Tabitha is the second of the Rose sisters; a schoolteacher by day, and a witch. She is also the most gentle and has difficulty with her intermittent powers. When she accompanies her sister to a museum exhibit, she is assailed by a dark sense of evil and the vision of a man who is hurt and suffering. She immediately knows she must help him, no matter how powerful and intimidating he looks, so she performs a spell to try and call him to her. Hours later her life is turned upside down by this dark and intensely sexual stranger who swears to protect her from the evil hunting her. He also intends to be her lover, and when danger threatens, he pulls her back into the distant past with him.

The Black Macleod is favored by the gods with superhuman powers. But his refusal to take his vows to use those powers to protect the Innocent has made his powers fickle at best. What he lives for is revenge on the ones who murdered his whole family. But for how many generations should they pay? And when he must choose between revenge and his feelings for Tabitha, which will prove stronger?

I ignored the rest of my life after picking up this book. Laundry, dinner, XMAS shopping, it all took a backseat to following this intense story of time paradox and love. The hero and heroine are both strong characters, but Tabitha’s strength is more that of her convictions and Macleod’s is centered on the aggressive physical. Both have magic and both learn the price of those powers in ways beyond the physical. There were a few times I felt almost dizzy as the story rotated between time and location, but a quick glance back at the chapter sub-heading always kept me in the right place and time. If it weren’t for the intense sexuality, I would have classified this book as an urban fantasy. However, the main focus was certainly the relationship between the main characters, so paranormal romance is the right genre.

Brenda Joyce’s rendering of the stark contrast between the now and earlier times was masterful. Tabitha’s change in outward demeanor when in the past was an especially nice touch, as women’s rights…weren’t even a consideration then. The pacing, even when jarred by time changes, was exactly as needed for this story and increased the tension of the plot. I enjoyed the author’s other books in this series, but this one is by far my favorite. It’s a bit grittier and the romance a bit darker than the previous books, but the Black Macleod demands nothing less. “Dark Victory” is just as its title declares…a bit dark, but still a victory for love. Now I just have to wait for “Dark Lover”, the last in the Rose trilogy of her ‘Masters of Time’ series. It’s scheduled for release in September 2009. ( )