Time travel novels are always fascinating and St. James has captured this genre to perfection in her latest, "The Legend and the Laird."

In the dark ages the Draoidh were known as sorcerers, wizards, and/or soothsayers, belonging to the Druid sect. Every tribe and kingdom had them. They were revered and looked up to until some began to abuse their powers. Ultimately they became outcasts and were routed out and destroyed as heathens and betrayers. Those who survived scattered to far away places and stayed in hiding. Some time later a few returned to their evil ways, wreaking havoc on their surroundings.

Nothing was as it should be and then matters became worse when the Draoidh developed the ability to travel through time. One group opposed the evildoers, and was determined to put things right. They organized themselves to work as a major force against their recalcitrant brothers and became known as the Guardians of Time. The Guardians knew that even a single change in any event created ripples through time and caused major changes in historical events. Among this group of Guardians was Meredith Draoidh.

Meredith MacDraoidh and her life-mate, Aiden, fled to the Scottish Highlands to a secret hiding place at Dun Sgiath. A place so well hidden the evil outcasts and the English could not find them. There, with a number of loyal followers they provided well for the people who depended on them. From that time on strange tales of witchcraft and supernatural events worked well to keep outsiders at bay. When Meredith's daughter Alycia came of age to take her mother's place, Meredith and her husband disappeared. No record existed that they were ever seen at Dun Sgiath again.

Alycia and her husband had a daughter, Raven MacDraoidh, who inherited all her mother's and grandmother's powers. Raven was indeed, The Legend of the MacDraoidh clan, and therefore in peril from the clan's enemies. When Raven was ten years old, marauders intent on capturing Raven and using her powers for their own evil works managed to find their way into Dun Sgiath. The raid resulted in the death of the villagers, many loyal servants of the MacDraoidh's, and Alycia, Raven's mother. Raven did not witness her mother's death, but from a hiding place overheard the voice of the man who took Alycia's life. A voice the young girl vowed never to forget. She made a solemn vow to avenge her mother's death and the destruction of her haven in Dun Sgiath.

Raven is true to her word and when she comes of age, she sets out to find the man who destroyed her mother, her home, and her old friends. Raven's adventures as she proceeds on her quest are full of intrigue and danger. This need for revenge takes such complete control of Raven's life that any other interests are put aside. After years of searching, in frustration she finally turns to Jamie Mackay, the man her mother had Raven betrothed to when she was a child.

Far away in another time, Meredith becomes aware that her granddaughter's thirst for vengeance is about to cause a paradox. Like other Guardians of Time, Meredith knows that vengeance regardless how pure the motive can, if left unattended, create chaos. She and Aiden return to aid Raven and to solve the young woman's problem with the least amount of harm.

St James creates deftly drawn characters whether good or evil. I purposely have not included all the characters you will meet in this story. You will discover them on your own and their distinct characteristics. The author's use of humor is commendable in that it eases the tightly drawn tension to a more manageable degree. The use of subtle foreshadowing impressed me and surprised me on more than one occasion. Along with the mystery and magic there is a love story that blends into the complex plot without the use of graphic imaging. However, St. James did promise readers "Fireworks," and fireworks she delivers.