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princessleia4life's review
3.0
The writer had a good beginning but then one got bogged down in a slog of romance and romantic triangles. And there was an excess of information about scotch distilleries. I was wondering were the mystery had gone. Finally we reached it, and the culprit was predictable. There were a few surprises but this only added to the soap opera. Was not altogether pleased with this book.
sarajean37's review
3.0
I have a problem with buying books. When I go to yard or garage sales, if there is a book that looks reasonably intersting for 50 cents or less, it is coming home with me. This is how I came across this book; I believe my half dollar went to benefit the local women's shelter. When I found it, this book no longer had its dust jacket and had only a plain grey cover.
I bought this book because I sometimes like historical fiction. I assumed from the title and font used that it was a medieval fiction; imagine my surprise when the first page has the character coming to the Scottish highlands from China. Because of that disparity, I had to start the book 2 or 3 times before I could actually get into it.
I feel this book falls squarely into the "I don't know what I want to be when I grow up" camp. There is an element of mystery: will Kristy learn the truth of they mysterious circumstances of her brother's death? Was her brother's death actually mysterious? Why is Mrs. Sinclair so cold? There is an element of romance: will Kristy be able to win the heart of Callum Sinclair? There is an element of family politics: will Kristy be able to learn whiskey making? Will she be able to take over Cluain's distilling business or will she be sold like cattle to the highest bidder, her husband to take over the business leaving Kristy only to provide more heirs, her family being pretty much fresh out.
Unfortunately, the developement of these mostly disparte storylines leaves something to be desired. Kristy spends more of the book learning about whiskey and chasing Callum Sinclair (oh, wait, that's the same thing to her)than investigating her brother's death. The fact that Kristy had fallen for Gavin came as an utter shock to me and anyone who understand the concept of forshadowing. (I ended up being right about Kristy's ultimate romantic entanglement.) The fate of Cluain's business practice and Kristy's role therein - decided at the denoument - has more than a whiff of deus ex machina. The scene of the Royal Visit seems to be integral to the author's understanding of the story but is poorly conveyed.
That is not to say the entire book is bad. Gaskin describes the setting quite poetically; I now have a highly accurate mental map of Cluain and its environs in my brain. Kristy's description of her father's practical theology is something with which I can mostly agree - a feat for the era. Callum's relationship with his falcon Giorsal is touching. The character of and scenes involving Sir Gavin Campbell are some of the best in the book. The conclusion, though rushed, does not feel it.
I might recommend this book. If you enjoy historical fiction that occurs at the turn of the century or in the Scottish highlands, you would probably moderately enjoy this book. If you come to this book looking for a mystery or a romance novel, however, you are out of luck. It would be a good book club or lazy reading book. I don't need to read it again although I think I could. It is worth noting, I think, that I couldn't actually remember the main character's name and mixed up the name of two of the male leads.
I bought this book because I sometimes like historical fiction. I assumed from the title and font used that it was a medieval fiction; imagine my surprise when the first page has the character coming to the Scottish highlands from China. Because of that disparity, I had to start the book 2 or 3 times before I could actually get into it.
I feel this book falls squarely into the "I don't know what I want to be when I grow up" camp. There is an element of mystery: will Kristy learn the truth of they mysterious circumstances of her brother's death? Was her brother's death actually mysterious? Why is Mrs. Sinclair so cold? There is an element of romance: will Kristy be able to win the heart of Callum Sinclair? There is an element of family politics: will Kristy be able to learn whiskey making? Will she be able to take over Cluain's distilling business or will she be sold like cattle to the highest bidder, her husband to take over the business leaving Kristy only to provide more heirs, her family being pretty much fresh out.
Unfortunately, the developement of these mostly disparte storylines leaves something to be desired. Kristy spends more of the book learning about whiskey and chasing Callum Sinclair (oh, wait, that's the same thing to her)than investigating her brother's death. The fact that Kristy had fallen for Gavin came as an utter shock to me and anyone who understand the concept of forshadowing. (I ended up being right about Kristy's ultimate romantic entanglement.) The fate of Cluain's business practice and Kristy's role therein - decided at the denoument - has more than a whiff of deus ex machina. The scene of the Royal Visit seems to be integral to the author's understanding of the story but is poorly conveyed.
That is not to say the entire book is bad. Gaskin describes the setting quite poetically; I now have a highly accurate mental map of Cluain and its environs in my brain. Kristy's description of her father's practical theology is something with which I can mostly agree - a feat for the era. Callum's relationship with his falcon Giorsal is touching. The character of and scenes involving Sir Gavin Campbell are some of the best in the book. The conclusion, though rushed, does not feel it.
I might recommend this book. If you enjoy historical fiction that occurs at the turn of the century or in the Scottish highlands, you would probably moderately enjoy this book. If you come to this book looking for a mystery or a romance novel, however, you are out of luck. It would be a good book club or lazy reading book. I don't need to read it again although I think I could. It is worth noting, I think, that I couldn't actually remember the main character's name and mixed up the name of two of the male leads.
lainibop's review
4.0
My mum was doing a clear out of her old books that she didn't want anymore about a year ago, so of course invited me over to have a look through them before she brought them to the charity shop. This is one of the books I picked up. I'm still not sure why I took this one, as it's not the type of book I would generally go for, but something obviously called out to me, and I'm really glad it did.
The blurb states: “Tells the story of Kirsty Howard, who leaves China when her parents die and seeks out her grandfather in Scotland. It is a strange world she finds at Cluain - an arrogant and lonely old man running one of the finest whisky distilleries in the world with two women running the house.” The cover is gorgeous, it depicts a windswept woman on the scottish highlands with a fine looking young man bearing a falcon in the background, just reeks of historical romance. And that's exactly what it is.
The novel is set in 1898 in Scotland. Kirsty Howard has lived in China all of her life with her father and her brother. After her father is killed, Kirsty receives a letter from her estranged Grandfather to say that her brother who had been studying in Scotland has also sadly passed away in a freak gun accident. Now her mother's father who she never knew is the only family she has left so she packs up and journey's to the highlands to try to find out more about her brother's death and also to see if she can get to know her only surviving relation.
I love the character of Kirsty. She is an extremely brave and strong young woman, leaving everything and everyone she has ever known to track down her remaining family in a far off land is no small feat. Especially when she receives a very cold welcome from Angus and his housekeeper. Angus is a bit of a tricky character to describe. At first he seems very against Kirsty's visit. In fact he mentions a lot the fact that the only person he could have left his distillery to (her brother William) was killed and now the distillery will die with Angus. Despite Kirsty's attempts to get close to her Grandfather and prove that she has the brains to learn how to take over, he keeps his distance from her. We find out that Kirsty's father came to Cluain, and won her mother's heart. Unfortunately for Angus he then took her to Peking with him, where she eventually died, without being able to return. Angus had held this against the Howards until William started visiting during his breaks from university. Angus grew very fond of William and was content in the fact that he now had an heir again. When William died, Angus grew bitter once more. The thing I love about Angus is that in spite of the fact that he tries to push Kirsty away, demeaning her for being a woman who has no business sense, he also can't help but treat this unknown girl as family. He becomes quite protective of her, and amidst his rants to her, he creates a tradition early on in her visit of a glass of whiskey with her before bed. This is a time when they talk about their day, and he tells her all about the business, it's almost as if he wishes that she were a man, who could take over but can't quite convince himself that she could do so as a woman.
Of course amongst all this there is a love story. The housekeeper's son who basically runs the distillery, and also keeps a Falcon is a very mysterious figure at the start. And of course because of this, Kirsty feels she needs to find out more about him and becomes sort of a stalker, taking her horse out for runs which just happen to be conveniently going past his cottage!
This book is beautifully written, describing the Scottish highlands in such a romantic and wind-swept way, the characters are deep, and intriguing and there is a kind of gothic mystery in the background throughout. I found it very hard to put this down, and when I am finally allowed to buy books again, I will be looking up this author.
The blurb states: “Tells the story of Kirsty Howard, who leaves China when her parents die and seeks out her grandfather in Scotland. It is a strange world she finds at Cluain - an arrogant and lonely old man running one of the finest whisky distilleries in the world with two women running the house.” The cover is gorgeous, it depicts a windswept woman on the scottish highlands with a fine looking young man bearing a falcon in the background, just reeks of historical romance. And that's exactly what it is.
The novel is set in 1898 in Scotland. Kirsty Howard has lived in China all of her life with her father and her brother. After her father is killed, Kirsty receives a letter from her estranged Grandfather to say that her brother who had been studying in Scotland has also sadly passed away in a freak gun accident. Now her mother's father who she never knew is the only family she has left so she packs up and journey's to the highlands to try to find out more about her brother's death and also to see if she can get to know her only surviving relation.
I love the character of Kirsty. She is an extremely brave and strong young woman, leaving everything and everyone she has ever known to track down her remaining family in a far off land is no small feat. Especially when she receives a very cold welcome from Angus and his housekeeper. Angus is a bit of a tricky character to describe. At first he seems very against Kirsty's visit. In fact he mentions a lot the fact that the only person he could have left his distillery to (her brother William) was killed and now the distillery will die with Angus. Despite Kirsty's attempts to get close to her Grandfather and prove that she has the brains to learn how to take over, he keeps his distance from her. We find out that Kirsty's father came to Cluain, and won her mother's heart. Unfortunately for Angus he then took her to Peking with him, where she eventually died, without being able to return. Angus had held this against the Howards until William started visiting during his breaks from university. Angus grew very fond of William and was content in the fact that he now had an heir again. When William died, Angus grew bitter once more. The thing I love about Angus is that in spite of the fact that he tries to push Kirsty away, demeaning her for being a woman who has no business sense, he also can't help but treat this unknown girl as family. He becomes quite protective of her, and amidst his rants to her, he creates a tradition early on in her visit of a glass of whiskey with her before bed. This is a time when they talk about their day, and he tells her all about the business, it's almost as if he wishes that she were a man, who could take over but can't quite convince himself that she could do so as a woman.
Of course amongst all this there is a love story. The housekeeper's son who basically runs the distillery, and also keeps a Falcon is a very mysterious figure at the start. And of course because of this, Kirsty feels she needs to find out more about him and becomes sort of a stalker, taking her horse out for runs which just happen to be conveniently going past his cottage!
This book is beautifully written, describing the Scottish highlands in such a romantic and wind-swept way, the characters are deep, and intriguing and there is a kind of gothic mystery in the background throughout. I found it very hard to put this down, and when I am finally allowed to buy books again, I will be looking up this author.
bluedilly's review
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
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