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ebac622's review against another edition
3.0
Ok let’s start with the picture on the cover…. for real?! The audio book cover is worse lololol… Then the title….I don’t understand
Also the amount of times this woman barfs is ridiculous in this book or the amount of times she is nearly killed but miraculously survives
Also the amount of times this woman barfs is ridiculous in this book or the amount of times she is nearly killed but miraculously survives
imreading's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
taurina's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
justinkhchen's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars
Basically as bland as water, there's nothing particularly 'wrong' with In Bed with a Highlander, but it is executed with such lack of style and intrigue, the whole thing is immediately forgettable upon completion. All the plot points are resolved in the most mundane manner, and the very modern writing style adds a touch of campiness I'm not wholly certain is intentional. The corny humor is mildly amusing (the heroine can't seem to keep her dresses in one piece), but can also be pretty crass (the heroine retching is an ongoing gag for a good portion of the book).
In Bed with a Highlander is serviceable; I don't hate it, but it doesn't have an identity; not funny enough to be a comedy, no tension making it compelling, nor is the romance believable enough to be heartfelt — kind of wished I've used the time to read something more substantial instead.
***The Rake Appreciation Book Club | October 2021 Selection***
Basically as bland as water, there's nothing particularly 'wrong' with In Bed with a Highlander, but it is executed with such lack of style and intrigue, the whole thing is immediately forgettable upon completion. All the plot points are resolved in the most mundane manner, and the very modern writing style adds a touch of campiness I'm not wholly certain is intentional. The corny humor is mildly amusing (the heroine can't seem to keep her dresses in one piece), but can also be pretty crass (the heroine retching is an ongoing gag for a good portion of the book).
In Bed with a Highlander is serviceable; I don't hate it, but it doesn't have an identity; not funny enough to be a comedy, no tension making it compelling, nor is the romance believable enough to be heartfelt — kind of wished I've used the time to read something more substantial instead.
***The Rake Appreciation Book Club | October 2021 Selection***
dark_library_'s review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
2.75
kathydavie's review against another edition
2.0
In Bed with a Highlander by Maya BanksSeries: McCabe Trilogy, 1
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
First in the McCabe Trilogy historical romance series set in Scotland.
The Story
Mairin Stuart is wanted by every laird in the Highlands. Every one who wants her highly desired dowry. So it's no surprise when Duncan Cameron's men break into the abbey and torture the abbess as to Mairin's whereabouts. The real surprise is Mairin escaping along with Crispen, the child she rescued from her captor only to fall headlong into the clutches of the McCabes.
Luckily for Mairin, Crispen is a McCabe and has vowed that he and his father will protect her from her enemies. Ah, but who will protect her from Ewan McCabe, laird of the clan.
The Characters
I like that Mairin is a strong woman who stands up for herself and those weaker than her. Ewan and his brothers, Alaric and Caelen seem to be pretty good guys too...for medieval Highland men!
Naturally, Duncan Cameron is worse than a beast as are his cohorts.
My Take
A typical historical romance in that the guy takes the girl and they fall in love and live happily ever after. On the plus side, Banks does do the wedding and the love part early in the story so, for a change, we get to enjoy the wedded bliss of castle life. Yes, there is strife what with the sneak attacks and the Cameron claiming that Mairin is his wife, pregnant with his child with all the attendant betrayal and treachery.
What irritates me is the lack of research Banks did on the period. Small things. Yes, I realize Mairin was raised in a convent and what would nuns know about sex, however, an abbess who knew enough to help Mairin make a list of the lairds who could keep her safe would also know enough about politics and what was necessary upon her being wed to ensure it was legal. Nor can I imagine that Mairin's education as chatelaine would have been so woefully lacking. Since she has supposedly been on the run and hiding most of her life, you'd think she'd have picked up some smarts about handling people instead of thrusting in with her ignorance.
As for the king just showing up and spending a couple weeks...yeah, right. She sure slipped into referring to Ewan's clan as hers real easy, too.
Ack, it was just irritating to read.
The Cover
The cover is rather lame and consistent in its inattention to detail. Against a blue and black plaid backdrop, Mairin is wearing what looks like a blue satin nightie and straddling a nude, short-haired Ewan. Yeah, the same Ewan who is described as long-haired whose clan colors are green and gold...and not the hated blue of the Camerons...
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yodamom's review against another edition
4.0
Grumpy Laird meets young feisty virgin lass with great dowery that will save the keep. but on the simple path there are a lot of stones- There is hate, violence, sword fighting, love, lust, anger, betrayals, revenge, and triumph.
Sure there is that, but there is so much more.
Duncan the biggest man meat turd bucket to walk the Scottish lands. He takes the award for most hated character I've read this year. Grrrr... he is such a slippery nasty thing.
The story is about three brothers trying to bounce back from a terrible blow from Mr. Turdbucket (see above) unleashed on their families keep years before. The eldest Ewan must deal with this virginal rocket of a woman after his son promises her safety. Unfortunately, there are many men who want her dowery which brings a rushed resolution to the problem. Ewan and Evil Turdbucket both race to bed her and plant their seed. She understand this reality and deals with it the best she can. Greed brings dangerous times to them all.
I really enjoyed this story. I liked the characters, I wanted good things for them. My only problem was the sex/kissing scenes. They took over too much of the story for me. "lusty" a word used and then used again and....well you get the picture. I know it's a romance, what did I expect. I don't know but I felt like it was presented almost like a lesson. 'School time kiddos" " you hold it like this and..." I liked the out of bed time better, the adventure was more interesting.
I am on the fence about continuing with the series. I have heard it is tear jerker. I know if is of Alaric and his quest, which makes it tougher because I really loved his character. So we'll see.
Sure there is that, but there is so much more.
Duncan the biggest man meat turd bucket to walk the Scottish lands. He takes the award for most hated character I've read this year. Grrrr... he is such a slippery nasty thing.
The story is about three brothers trying to bounce back from a terrible blow from Mr. Turdbucket (see above) unleashed on their families keep years before. The eldest Ewan must deal with this virginal rocket of a woman after his son promises her safety. Unfortunately, there are many men who want her dowery which brings a rushed resolution to the problem. Ewan and Evil Turdbucket both race to bed her and plant their seed. She understand this reality and deals with it the best she can. Greed brings dangerous times to them all.
I really enjoyed this story. I liked the characters, I wanted good things for them. My only problem was the sex/kissing scenes. They took over too much of the story for me. "lusty" a word used and then used again and....well you get the picture. I know it's a romance, what did I expect. I don't know but I felt like it was presented almost like a lesson. 'School time kiddos" " you hold it like this and..." I liked the out of bed time better, the adventure was more interesting.
I am on the fence about continuing with the series. I have heard it is tear jerker. I know if is of Alaric and his quest, which makes it tougher because I really loved his character. So we'll see.
ashleysnerdyworld's review against another edition
5.0
This book was my first historical romance and omg I loved it half way threw I went and order the rest in the series.
andi_wahl's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
why do i keep doing this to myself. don’t get me wrong there are good romance books out there but there’s so much shit to wade through to find them. hated the pregnancy trope, hated the misogyny that was still rampant even though them try to make the mmc seem good (he’s still misogynistic), hate the wack way authors write in a ‘highland accent’ but only part of the time. was literally skimming the last quarter just to fucking finish it. this was so bad i’m writing a review, which i usually don’t even do here.