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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
I rarely give romance novels higher than a 3, because they keep covering the same ground (sometimes the same buildings, roads, parks, ice cream stores) in the same country, with the same families, and I feel like a book should only get 5 stars if I feel *transformed* by it, or if my psyche or my heart expand in some way.
However, this is the best one I've read in a while! I laughed out loud many times and stayed up until 2:15 am because laughing does that to me.
I think it spoke to me especially because she has an extended one-way correspondence with an imaginary man in order to avoid confronting her crippling fear of social gatherings -- which in my mind is a great metaphor or parallel to Online Dating. If you are in your 6th year of online dating (like I am) and are often unsure if your witty & charming text conversations are ever going to materialize into a witty, charming, physical manifestation, then I bet you also will like this one; the guy turns out to be like Thor in appearance and like Dr. Debby Herbenick in their sexual interactions.
It's not perfect, but I liked Maddie, who is a masterful illustrator of nature specimens in addition to being very creative and expressive, and somehow her personality quirks & the setting & plot came together in a believable way. I liked how she held some thoughts and information back on purpose but the lack of communication was never exploited in that usual way (...like slapstick - "If only she'd *said* what was on her mind!"), but instead illustrated how clever she was.
I see some readers thought there was a lack of consent in the sex scenes, but I must have missed something, because I thought both of them were constantly checking in with one another; stating what they wanted very clearly, setting boundaries & then renegotiating them when they felt differently. I thought it was thoughtfully sweet, and realistically went through the normal female (& male) stages of arousal and climax, instead of jumping to an instant, simultaneous orgasm like TOO many virgins in romance novels experience.
However, this is the best one I've read in a while! I laughed out loud many times and stayed up until 2:15 am because laughing does that to me.
I think it spoke to me especially because she has an extended one-way correspondence with an imaginary man in order to avoid confronting her crippling fear of social gatherings -- which in my mind is a great metaphor or parallel to Online Dating. If you are in your 6th year of online dating (like I am) and are often unsure if your witty & charming text conversations are ever going to materialize into a witty, charming, physical manifestation, then I bet you also will like this one; the guy turns out to be like Thor in appearance and like Dr. Debby Herbenick in their sexual interactions.
It's not perfect, but I liked Maddie, who is a masterful illustrator of nature specimens in addition to being very creative and expressive, and somehow her personality quirks & the setting & plot came together in a believable way. I liked how she held some thoughts and information back on purpose but the lack of communication was never exploited in that usual way (...like slapstick - "If only she'd *said* what was on her mind!"), but instead illustrated how clever she was.
I see some readers thought there was a lack of consent in the sex scenes, but I must have missed something, because I thought both of them were constantly checking in with one another; stating what they wanted very clearly, setting boundaries & then renegotiating them when they felt differently. I thought it was thoughtfully sweet, and realistically went through the normal female (& male) stages of arousal and climax, instead of jumping to an instant, simultaneous orgasm like TOO many virgins in romance novels experience.
This novel is verra, verra good y’all. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I laughed throughout reading it too! From lobsters, to quicksand, and painful love poems, this Scottish erotica novel is also full of plenty of lusty moments. You definitely don’t have to read this set in order, you can read it as a stand alone!
idk tiktok suggested it im missing bridgerton and this just did not live up
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Absolutely adored it!
Such a perfect romance! Couple humorous bits in there too!
Loved all the characters. Great character development.
Beautiful love story.
Such a perfect romance! Couple humorous bits in there too!
Loved all the characters. Great character development.
Beautiful love story.
Hace tiempo que no me divertía tanto con una novela romántica de highlanders. La protagonista femenina es encantadora y divertida y hay varios puntos en que no puedes evitar reír con ganas ante sus ocurrencias o su manera de contar las cosas. Su contrapartida masculina es menos destacable: el típico highlander guapo, fuerte y musculoso capaz de ser dulce y atento cuando baja la guardia.
La historia en sí no es nada especial: una chica del siglo 19 con un transtorno de ansiedad social que se inventa que tiene un prometido en la guerra y le escribe cartas mientras "espera" fielmente su "regreso" durante años para que su familia no la obligue a casarse. Poco podía imaginar ella que el nombre y rango militar que eligió al azar sí existían y el desconocido iría recibiendo las cartas durante años en el frente, para venir a presentarse un día en su puerta a reclamar su mano y las tierras y el castillo que ella ha heredado. El argumento es simple y el desarrollo predecible, pero lo bueno de este libro no es la historia en sí, sino el carisma de algunos personajes y la manera entretenida en que está contada, con frecuentes toques de humor.
Este es el primer título de la autora que he leido, pero creo que no será el último. Parte de una saga de títulos independientes que se pueden leer en cualquier orden, es ésta una novela romántica de época predecible (como todas) pero refrescante y entretenida, la recomiendo sin duda a los aficionado/as al género.
On a roll with this Castles Ever After series, still cute and still tender A+
Man. I really wish I could like Tessa dare. She's prolific, I generally dig the plot set ups, and she she writes some super hot sex scenes. But the actual story execution just never does it for me. This one was no exception. The characters just feel ...not one-dimensional exactly...I think it's that they are SO out of character for the time period that they are unbelievable. I don't mind a stretch (I mean an honest-to-goodness period character would probably be too foreign and not such a good read), but SOME correlation to history is desirable in a HR. But anyway.