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lezreadalot's review against another edition
3.0
She could feel the warmth of Ainslie's breath on her skin. It must be fear, Jane thought. This must be what it is to be terrified.
But it was unlike any fear she'd ever known. Not really, she realised, much like fear at all.
I'm giving this what I consider to be a pretty generous rating because I can't deny that a lot of research went into it, and some parts made me laugh out loud, and some parts were super sexy, and the basic premise appeals to my lesbian lizard brain so viscerally I have to stan. (I said YES out loud when I first read the summary.) Basically, this book is about a 19th century scientist in Edinburgh who travels back in time to the 13th century and meets and falls in love with a highlander warrior woman. It had the potential to be SO much better than it actually is.
And there are good things about it, make no mistake. The writing was fine; really good at times. I adore that this is a time travel book about someone from before our time going back even further in time. It lays the ground for a dynamic that's really interesting. Especially because of the ways that Ainslie's clan is more 'modern' than what Jane expects. Jane and Ainslie's chemistry was really good, extremely hot (although I really didn't buy them falling in love as quickly as they did; more on that later). There were a fair few interesting historical titbits. Interesting to me at least, who knows nothing about Scottish history and can't say much on the accuracy here.
As for the not so great stuff. Where to begin...
- This book needed editing. Or a better editor. A lot of research went into this, as I said, and the author has a lot of interesting notes at the end (I only skimmed them, because by the time I got to the end I was just ready to be done) but it seems like very little thought was put into historical fidelity with regard to language? And I don't mean the Gaelic/Scottish, which again, I can't comment on. A lot of modern words and phrasing were continuously used, and it was really counterproductive in terms of setting up that historical atmosphere and vibe. Which is something that I really enjoy in historical novels. It was a pedant's nightmare (or a pedant's dream, if you're the annoying type who likes to nitpick stuff). The POV character used words like 'cheer-leading' which didn't really come into use until 1904; 'submarine' which wasn't used in the sense of underwater vehicle until 1899; 'snow-globes' which were invented until the 1900s. And a lot more. At some point I had to stop taking note of these because again, it really didn't seem like something Hoff had bothered to care about. (And again, I kind of respect that she was just like 'yo this is about women in love, not fidelity in historical language.' She knew what she cared about.) One of the 13th century characters actually cracked a pun-based joke that was so clearly modern (something about fog and mist) that I just threw my hands up. Like, fine.
- With regard to the Scottish language though, I will say... the decision was made to phonetically spell out a LOT of the brogue and. I really wish Hoff hadn't done that LOL. It was more distracting than anything, made for a more difficult read.
- I liked the aspect of Ainslie's clan being more advanced and accepting than would be expected, but the ease with which they just accepted that Jane was a time traveller was laughable.
- The tone of this was all over the place. Sometimes serious, sometimes light, sometimes sombre, sometimes... ??? This obviously isn't to say that a book can't strike different tones as needed, but it just felt off-kilter in a way IDK how to explain. A couple times, the author says something like "because, you see, she knew all along". And like. There's a specific tone that a book needs to strike to get away with directly addressing the reader, and this was NOT IT. Part of me wishes that the book had leaned all the way into the whimsy and the humour, and been a bit lighter and sillier, and then I definitely would not have noticed all the word choice issues. It would have been like, stylistic, and in keeping with the humour.
- This was way too insta-lovey for my tastes. In the notes at the end, the author says that Jane is demi-romantic and demi-sexual, which is great, I love seeing ace rep in books but... it definitely didn't feel like she was. She and Ainslie did not build any kind of deep connection before they fell into bed and bombastic declarations were being thrown all over the place. Also, the way Ainslie lost emotional control because of Jane just didn't feel authentic to me. I thought this would have been a way slower burn.
- The sex scenes were pretty steamy, and there was a D/s element to them which I mean, BLESS, I'll never complain about that but also... it was all kinda sudden and un-negotiated, and. You hate to see it. Jane loved it and consented to it, but it got a little over the top, and the scenes where Ainslie got uber-possessive and almost abusive were too much. Jane called her out on it, and she apologised, but not enough imo. It was just kinda uncomfortable to me.
- The plot was a little garbled and confused, especially when it came to the clan rivalry, and Jane being a Campbell (which I didn't even realise until it became a thing). I got kind of bored with it.
I would love to see this book get edited for coherency and plot and language, because as far as I'm concerned, the world DESERVES good time travel Scottish lesbian romance. And this is that, just... not so much with the 'good'.
2.5 stars.
☆ Review copy provided via NetGalley.
But it was unlike any fear she'd ever known. Not really, she realised, much like fear at all.
I'm giving this what I consider to be a pretty generous rating because I can't deny that a lot of research went into it, and some parts made me laugh out loud, and some parts were super sexy, and the basic premise appeals to my lesbian lizard brain so viscerally I have to stan. (I said YES out loud when I first read the summary.) Basically, this book is about a 19th century scientist in Edinburgh who travels back in time to the 13th century and meets and falls in love with a highlander warrior woman. It had the potential to be SO much better than it actually is.
And there are good things about it, make no mistake. The writing was fine; really good at times. I adore that this is a time travel book about someone from before our time going back even further in time. It lays the ground for a dynamic that's really interesting. Especially because of the ways that Ainslie's clan is more 'modern' than what Jane expects. Jane and Ainslie's chemistry was really good, extremely hot (although I really didn't buy them falling in love as quickly as they did; more on that later). There were a fair few interesting historical titbits. Interesting to me at least, who knows nothing about Scottish history and can't say much on the accuracy here.
As for the not so great stuff. Where to begin...
Spoiler
- Unlike a lot of time travel romance, where someone ends up in a another time because of magic, in this book the main character actually builds a time machine. But don't let that fool you; this book is not science fiction. Jane builds a time machine in 1888. How does she build a time machine in 1888? None of our damned business, I assume, because Hoff literally never lets us know. Part of me begrudgingly respects that; I don't think the author really cared about the science-y bits, and so she just did not include them. But it also felt so weird to have the whole premise of the book built around time travel, to have Jane be a literal scientist and the person who created the machine, and yet give us absolutely nothing about the technical aspects of that.- This book needed editing. Or a better editor. A lot of research went into this, as I said, and the author has a lot of interesting notes at the end (I only skimmed them, because by the time I got to the end I was just ready to be done) but it seems like very little thought was put into historical fidelity with regard to language? And I don't mean the Gaelic/Scottish, which again, I can't comment on. A lot of modern words and phrasing were continuously used, and it was really counterproductive in terms of setting up that historical atmosphere and vibe. Which is something that I really enjoy in historical novels. It was a pedant's nightmare (or a pedant's dream, if you're the annoying type who likes to nitpick stuff). The POV character used words like 'cheer-leading' which didn't really come into use until 1904; 'submarine' which wasn't used in the sense of underwater vehicle until 1899; 'snow-globes' which were invented until the 1900s. And a lot more. At some point I had to stop taking note of these because again, it really didn't seem like something Hoff had bothered to care about. (And again, I kind of respect that she was just like 'yo this is about women in love, not fidelity in historical language.' She knew what she cared about.) One of the 13th century characters actually cracked a pun-based joke that was so clearly modern (something about fog and mist) that I just threw my hands up. Like, fine.
- With regard to the Scottish language though, I will say... the decision was made to phonetically spell out a LOT of the brogue and. I really wish Hoff hadn't done that LOL. It was more distracting than anything, made for a more difficult read.
- I liked the aspect of Ainslie's clan being more advanced and accepting than would be expected, but the ease with which they just accepted that Jane was a time traveller was laughable.
- The tone of this was all over the place. Sometimes serious, sometimes light, sometimes sombre, sometimes... ??? This obviously isn't to say that a book can't strike different tones as needed, but it just felt off-kilter in a way IDK how to explain. A couple times, the author says something like "because, you see, she knew all along". And like. There's a specific tone that a book needs to strike to get away with directly addressing the reader, and this was NOT IT. Part of me wishes that the book had leaned all the way into the whimsy and the humour, and been a bit lighter and sillier, and then I definitely would not have noticed all the word choice issues. It would have been like, stylistic, and in keeping with the humour.
- This was way too insta-lovey for my tastes. In the notes at the end, the author says that Jane is demi-romantic and demi-sexual, which is great, I love seeing ace rep in books but... it definitely didn't feel like she was. She and Ainslie did not build any kind of deep connection before they fell into bed and bombastic declarations were being thrown all over the place. Also, the way Ainslie lost emotional control because of Jane just didn't feel authentic to me. I thought this would have been a way slower burn.
- The sex scenes were pretty steamy, and there was a D/s element to them which I mean, BLESS, I'll never complain about that but also... it was all kinda sudden and un-negotiated, and. You hate to see it. Jane loved it and consented to it, but it got a little over the top, and the scenes where Ainslie got uber-possessive and almost abusive were too much. Jane called her out on it, and she apologised, but not enough imo. It was just kinda uncomfortable to me.
- The plot was a little garbled and confused, especially when it came to the clan rivalry, and Jane being a Campbell (which I didn't even realise until it became a thing). I got kind of bored with it.
I would love to see this book get edited for coherency and plot and language, because as far as I'm concerned, the world DESERVES good time travel Scottish lesbian romance. And this is that, just... not so much with the 'good'.
2.5 stars.
☆ Review copy provided via NetGalley.
kjanie's review against another edition
2.0
2/5 stars
This was...all over the place. If you are looking for something entertaining and are a fan of Outlander then this is a good lesbian alternative. But the plot honestly makes no sense, the characters are two dimensional and the writing is all over the place. I admit that it was entertaining and the sex scenes were on fire, but that was pretty much the only thing that was keeping me bothered. The characters were madly in love so quickly, they made choices that didn’t make sense and the story got very weird very quickly. I feel bad for writing such a poor review, especially for a less reviewed book (at least on goodreads), but I also want to be honest in reviewing what I read. I definitely think that people can enjoy this if they’re just looking for a historical romp and love Scottish history. But it just wasn’t for me.
This was...all over the place. If you are looking for something entertaining and are a fan of Outlander then this is a good lesbian alternative. But the plot honestly makes no sense, the characters are two dimensional and the writing is all over the place. I admit that it was entertaining and the sex scenes were on fire, but that was pretty much the only thing that was keeping me bothered. The characters were madly in love so quickly, they made choices that didn’t make sense and the story got very weird very quickly. I feel bad for writing such a poor review, especially for a less reviewed book (at least on goodreads), but I also want to be honest in reviewing what I read. I definitely think that people can enjoy this if they’re just looking for a historical romp and love Scottish history. But it just wasn’t for me.
jjjreads's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
pineapple_queen's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
relaxing
fast-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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Colonisation, Homophobia, Violence, Gun violence, War, and Xenophobia
flowerparrish's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
erinforreal24's review
adventurous
fast-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? No
4.0
Loved reading this book. It’s a fluffy sapphic, historical Scottish Highlands, time travel, angst in just the right places and just overall a super fun read. A few times I thought, “yeah not realistic” but I also didn’t take it all too seriously. Loved it and will definitely read again in the future!
artie_miss_daye's review against another edition
5.0
My Heart's in the Highlands is about a Victorian inventor, Jane Crichton. She invents a time machine and on her first long trip, goes back in time to the 13th century. Her machine crash lands and she is rescued by Ainslie nic Dòmhnaill, the daughter of Dòmhnall, who is the leader of the Domhniall clan.
Their relationship develops in such a beautiful way, I was rooting for them through the whole book. This book is full of Scottish history, and I was a little intimidated when I first started it. However, there is a short Author's Guide in the back of the book to introduce the reader to important things to know about the history and culture of Scotland. There is also a glossary and discussions of most of the chapters that go more in depth as you read. I read the book with a bookmark in the chapter discussion section and reading the discussion after each chapter helped me understand most of the things that initially flew over my head.
There wasn't one moment in the book I didn't love, and I would definitely read it over and over again. If you're looking for historical romance with queer representation, please read this one. You won't regret it.
Their relationship develops in such a beautiful way, I was rooting for them through the whole book. This book is full of Scottish history, and I was a little intimidated when I first started it. However, there is a short Author's Guide in the back of the book to introduce the reader to important things to know about the history and culture of Scotland. There is also a glossary and discussions of most of the chapters that go more in depth as you read. I read the book with a bookmark in the chapter discussion section and reading the discussion after each chapter helped me understand most of the things that initially flew over my head.
There wasn't one moment in the book I didn't love, and I would definitely read it over and over again. If you're looking for historical romance with queer representation, please read this one. You won't regret it.
myth's review against another edition
4.0
This book was lovely and clearly self-published.
I don't say that as a knock, because obviously I enjoyed the hell out of it, but it did drag a bit about 3/4 in and some of the chapters and time breaks were a little off (at least there were no glaring grammatical errors, unlike Certain Traditionally Published Novels I could name *cough*Tiger's Curse*cough*)
But again, this book was super fun! Highly recommended for your sweet wlw needs.
I don't say that as a knock, because obviously I enjoyed the hell out of it, but it did drag a bit about 3/4 in and some of the chapters and time breaks were a little off (at least there were no glaring grammatical errors, unlike Certain Traditionally Published Novels I could name *cough*Tiger's Curse*cough*)
But again, this book was super fun! Highly recommended for your sweet wlw needs.
biblio_gabriella's review against another edition
4.0
I received a free copy of this book from BookSirens in exchange for an honest review.
3.75 stars. The premise of My Heart’s in the Highlands had me bursting with excitement. A Scottish Victorian time-traveling female scientist who accidentally travels back to 1293 (!!!) and falls in love with the powerful female soon-to-be-chief of one of the Highland clans?? Incredible. Masterful. This book isn’t perfect by any means, and I found some of the plot choices iffy, but I sure enjoyed reading it.
It’s obvious Hoff knows her stuff about Scottish history, and this book made me want to visit Scotland even more than I already did. The descriptions are lush, and I could see everything as if it were right in front of me. Writing about life in 1293 must have been a challenge, but Hoff’s writing is seamless.
Jane is a wonderful character, and I loved how traveling back in time informed her of not only life back then, but her own time as well. Jane is strong and self-assured, and Ainslie is probably one of the only people who could go toe-to-toe with her. They’re certainly a dynamic pair! And David, Jane’s gay husband, is wonderfully genial and supportive.
Several of the scenes between Jane and Ainslie are incredibly sweet. Like, mushy, aww-inducing, that’s-where-it’s-at level stuff. However, a few of the love scenes just did not sit well with me, because I didn’t feel there was enough consent happening. I mean, they both undeniably wanted to be doing what they were doing, but yeah, I’d have liked some more explicit consent. Also, the romance is totally insta-love, which I didn’t exactly mind, but found a bit jarring at times.
It’s unclear how Jane ends up on the island of Islay in 1293 in the first place, and the co-occurring passage of time (?) between 1888 and 1293 seem a bit random. Maybe this is all intentional though, since time-traveling is a new, unpredictable science. Regardless, this book is definitely more historical fiction than science fiction.
The Author’s Guide was an interesting and necessary addition to the book. In the guide, Hoff describes which characters were based on real people, which story elements were true to the time period, which elements were entirely artistic license, and which elements were estimates based on limited evidence. The most obvious use of artistic license is that 19th-century Jane and 13th-century Ainslie could have even communicated at all, much less so easily.
Overall, this was a memorable read, and I’m off on a Scottish history Wikipedia binge.
3.75 stars. The premise of My Heart’s in the Highlands had me bursting with excitement. A Scottish Victorian time-traveling female scientist who accidentally travels back to 1293 (!!!) and falls in love with the powerful female soon-to-be-chief of one of the Highland clans?? Incredible. Masterful. This book isn’t perfect by any means, and I found some of the plot choices iffy, but I sure enjoyed reading it.
It’s obvious Hoff knows her stuff about Scottish history, and this book made me want to visit Scotland even more than I already did. The descriptions are lush, and I could see everything as if it were right in front of me. Writing about life in 1293 must have been a challenge, but Hoff’s writing is seamless.
Jane is a wonderful character, and I loved how traveling back in time informed her of not only life back then, but her own time as well. Jane is strong and self-assured, and Ainslie is probably one of the only people who could go toe-to-toe with her. They’re certainly a dynamic pair! And David, Jane’s gay husband, is wonderfully genial and supportive.
Several of the scenes between Jane and Ainslie are incredibly sweet. Like, mushy, aww-inducing, that’s-where-it’s-at level stuff. However, a few of the love scenes just did not sit well with me, because I didn’t feel there was enough consent happening. I mean, they both undeniably wanted to be doing what they were doing, but yeah, I’d have liked some more explicit consent. Also, the romance is totally insta-love, which I didn’t exactly mind, but found a bit jarring at times.
It’s unclear how Jane ends up on the island of Islay in 1293 in the first place, and the co-occurring passage of time (?) between 1888 and 1293 seem a bit random. Maybe this is all intentional though, since time-traveling is a new, unpredictable science. Regardless, this book is definitely more historical fiction than science fiction.
The Author’s Guide was an interesting and necessary addition to the book. In the guide, Hoff describes which characters were based on real people, which story elements were true to the time period, which elements were entirely artistic license, and which elements were estimates based on limited evidence. The most obvious use of artistic license is that 19th-century Jane and 13th-century Ainslie could have even communicated at all, much less so easily.
Overall, this was a memorable read, and I’m off on a Scottish history Wikipedia binge.
corrie's review
4.0
With My Heart’s in the Highlands, Amy Hoff went for a historically ambitious debut romance novel. Like all firsts, this one, too, had some teething problems. That’s understandable, every new author has to grow into it.
I don’t know much about the history of the Scots, but reading that Hoff is a Scottish historian, cultural anthropologist, and folklorist, we can assume she really knows her material and you are in safe hands. Sure, she has taken some artistic liberties here and there but she is honest about it. I think she offers the most comprehensive author’s guide in the back of her book I’ve ever seen. Any historical question you might have after reading this book will be answered. She even breaks it down per chapter. Very impressive.
So Victorian Lady Jane Crichton is brilliant. So brilliant in fact she has built a time machine. We are pretty much kept in the dark about how it works, what powers it, or what it looks like. I have to say I was really disappointed by that because I love time travel and it was mostly ignored, as was the lady’s brilliance. In fact, her rather reckless and impulsive actions made me doubt her brain power. Hoff could have spent some more time on this character.
Lady Crighton fires up her mystery machine and basically crashlands into Ainslie nic Dòmhnaill’s lap. We are now in the year 1200-something-another and in need of some subtitles. Ainslie’s dialogue will be heavily accented. I understand why the author chose to do it this way but it will give your brain a bit of a work-out. Readers who don’t have a feel for other languages might struggle.
The romance part was not quite to my tastes. I felt this was the weaker part of the book. Lady Jane went from sexless to ravenous in the blink of an eye. Ainslie hovered between being a perfect gentle-woman and a rapist. There were some borderline abusive sex scenes that made me uncomfortable. I did not really understand the dynamics. They were all over the place.
Overall the book was entertaining although plot-wise it felt a bit too easy sometimes. Also I would have loved a bit more show than tell. Kudos on the historical part. I love to see what Amy Hoff will show us next time.
f/f explicit with a trigger warning for dubious consent
Themes: Victorian Edinburgh, Scotland, The Edinburgh Seven, time machine, 13th century, the feuding Donalds and Campbells.
3.5 Stars
* A free copy was provided by Netgalley and Bella Books for an honest review.
I don’t know much about the history of the Scots, but reading that Hoff is a Scottish historian, cultural anthropologist, and folklorist, we can assume she really knows her material and you are in safe hands. Sure, she has taken some artistic liberties here and there but she is honest about it. I think she offers the most comprehensive author’s guide in the back of her book I’ve ever seen. Any historical question you might have after reading this book will be answered. She even breaks it down per chapter. Very impressive.
So Victorian Lady Jane Crichton is brilliant. So brilliant in fact she has built a time machine. We are pretty much kept in the dark about how it works, what powers it, or what it looks like. I have to say I was really disappointed by that because I love time travel and it was mostly ignored, as was the lady’s brilliance. In fact, her rather reckless and impulsive actions made me doubt her brain power. Hoff could have spent some more time on this character.
Lady Crighton fires up her mystery machine and basically crashlands into Ainslie nic Dòmhnaill’s lap. We are now in the year 1200-something-another and in need of some subtitles. Ainslie’s dialogue will be heavily accented. I understand why the author chose to do it this way but it will give your brain a bit of a work-out. Readers who don’t have a feel for other languages might struggle.
The romance part was not quite to my tastes. I felt this was the weaker part of the book. Lady Jane went from sexless to ravenous in the blink of an eye. Ainslie hovered between being a perfect gentle-woman and a rapist. There were some borderline abusive sex scenes that made me uncomfortable. I did not really understand the dynamics. They were all over the place.
Overall the book was entertaining although plot-wise it felt a bit too easy sometimes. Also I would have loved a bit more show than tell. Kudos on the historical part. I love to see what Amy Hoff will show us next time.
f/f explicit with a trigger warning for dubious consent
Themes: Victorian Edinburgh, Scotland, The Edinburgh Seven, time machine, 13th century, the feuding Donalds and Campbells.
3.5 Stars
* A free copy was provided by Netgalley and Bella Books for an honest review.