This was my first read by Donna Fletcher and I really enjoyed it! I'm a sucker for a highlander romance so I'm excited to have found a new series to delve into. I enjoyed the angst between Cavan and Honora and how they slowly fell for each other. And I loved seeing Honora grow into a confident woman who was able to stand up for herself against her abusive step father.
Tropes: enemies to friends to lovers, arranged marriage, slow burn, broody hero. Tws: abusive parent, kidnapping, PTSD.
I will continue the series (I love reading series about family members/friends finding love!) but this one wasn't my cup of tea. Even though Honora was the one who was abused her entire life by her stepfather this story was about her having to heal Cavan. Why is it that it's always the woman who needs to heal a man when she herself is falling apart? Deal with your own shit Cavan! I grew bored with the story and didn't care for Cavan's constant complaining about his brother. I was praying the brother would pop up just so Cavan would shut up about him for more than 5 pages. I understand he was upset because he went through captivity himself so he knew what his brother was going through but this is a romance book. If I wanted to read about that I'd grab a book of a different genre that actually goes into grief and guilt in depth. I'm not interested in it in a romance novel, specially like it was done in this one - churning about the same arguments over and over again. It was annoying.
işte bir zamanlar her şeyi, her duyguyu, düşünceyi, yediğimi, sevdiğimi, çizdiğimi, sövdüğü, okuduğumu facebookta paylaşıyor olmamın verdiği güzellikler asdfasdf saatte 47 post attığımı düşünün (şağir burada mübalağa sanatı yapıyor, kısmen) keşke 13 yaşımdan beridir story diye bişi olsaydı da arşivleyebilseydik de of. nelerim gitti.
Return of the Rogue is a story that I had totally forgotten about that was on my TBR wishlist. I was reminded of this by Jenn at The Book Refuge (YouTube) and her love for the series brought me back to my own love and affection of this author and why I wanted to read her more and this series has definitely been on my list. So I read this one as the week long readathon for historical romance and I was very delighted to do so. Highlander historical romance is probably one of my favorites to read and I had a blast discovering the depths of this author's lovely writing once again and this wonderful family I fell so hard for.
So Return of the Rogue is the first installment of the "Sinclare Brothers" series and this book features our two leading roles: Honora Tannach is entering into an arranged marriage that was arranged when she was young. But right when she is about to marry the man she thinks she is supposed to marry....her fiancee's older brother returns from being held captive and now she will marry Cavan Sinclare due to the writ of the contract she is destined to marry the heir and oldest born. Cavan has just returned from barely escaping from being held captive and tortured alongside with his brother but Cavan wasn't able to take his brother with him and they were separated and feels guilty for what he had to do and is determined to find him no matter the cost. The marriage between Cavan and Honora starts off with a big rocky start, but as they learn to build a trust in each other, it starts to smooth over, but will their enemies break a hold of their powerful love?
Return of the Rogue is a fantastic book that I had a blast while reading and while its not my favorite of this author, I couldn't seem to get enough of this book or the angst between this pair here. Its a story that builds within its plot and the author did a superb job in crafting a story that keeps you wondering what is going to happen next. The romance that we see between Cavan and Honora is an interesting one. I do love a good arranged marriage, but these two are almost complete strangers on their wedding day. So seeing them work through that awardness and find a balance was one of my favorite aspects. Honora is wonderful with Cavan and really knowing when to fight her battles and when to back down. I liked that she didn't push Cavan too far especially as he has some PTSD from being held captive and tortured. The romantic affair between them is what is really beautiful to see. Because Honora wants a husband and is determined she can be a good wife to him. Cavan is very occupied with finding his brother no matter what, so I definitely loved seeing a love happen between these two especially with the outer conflicts causing some drama within their relationship.
The family dynamics of the Sinclare family was delicious and I had a blast with it. I just couldn't get enough of their banter and their fun interactions together. The strong bond between these brothers are so fun and definitely got a kick out of seeing them work through it all. And seeing the close kit relationship between them was just beautiful. I was heartbroken in parts of this story (due to certain plot points that I don't want to spoil) but I appreciated seeing them be a strong support for each other through it all.
Overall I found Return of the Rogue to be a fantastic story that won my heart in every way that matters....a highlander romance that features a beautiful setting, strong family bonds, and a love to applaud.
I really wanted to like this book as it had all my favorite tropes: heroine with a dark past, tortured hero, marriage of convenience but it was just so...unenjoyable to me. It became clear early on that even if I were to finish reading it, it wouldn’t be a 4 or 5 star read. First off, some of the interactions or things said were just plain unrealistic or offbeat to the historical context and just generally how people would speak. Second, it was so friggin boring. I rushed through scenes and skipped dialogues so much which is something I almost never do! I don’t mind predictability as there really is only so much to be done especially in historical romances but wow, that took predictable and boring to a whole new level. The conflict between the hero and heroine and the internal ones they had was really the only thing there and it became so repetitive. Third, there was no standout character at all, they were all one-dimensional and served single purpose of setting a scene or telling the story in a way that was unrealistic. Overall, offbeat/unrealistic banter, annoying hero and heroine, repetitive conflicts and one-dimensional characters all in just the first 35% of the book. Yeah, hard pass.
