I wasn't going to write a review for this book. I read it as a palate cleanser after reading something deeper and much more thought-provoking. After all, a romance novel doesn't require much thought, and I enjoy historical romances, but this was absolute crap. I understand an author's desire, when writing anything historical, to want to be as accurate as possible, but to have all the dialogue in Highland Scots was distracting and unnecessary. If these people were as highborn as the author claims they are, then should they all be speaking with such a low accent anyway? Now an occasional "cannae" or "och" is fine, but all of the dialogue was in dialect. All of it.
I also expect a bit of misogyny in romance novels; after all, they are aimed at women who are trying to hide from their lives in a fantasy where they are swept off their feet by a knight in shining armor, but come on, this book was ridiculous. Everyone tells Keira what a wonderful laird she will be of Ardgleann and how well respected and loved she is by the people there, and in the next breath insist she marry Liam because having a male laird will just be better. Oh, and Liam. Liam Liam Liam, who can only think about getting her pregnant before battle "just in case" when she is thinking more pragmatically about the battle itself and the future of her land. Does she want babies? We don't even find out until later, but what if she didn't?
The one ray of hope I had for this book was that Keira was a widow. "Oh!" I thought, "none of this penetrating the maidenhood crap!" Oh but no, her marriage was never consummated so of course she's a virgin. For once, I'd like to read a romance novel with an experienced woman, not a wilting, submissive stereotype of a virgin. And FYI to all romance writers out there: not all women have vaginal orgasms, an no woman ever has an orgasm every single time she has sex, especially the first time. Find me the woman who claims to and I show you a liar.
Originally reviewed on Goodreads and rated 1 star
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