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joreadsromance's review
3.0
Good romance, bad research
3 stars
This book follows on from [b:Bound To Please|3031407|Bound To Please (Clan Fraser #1)|Hope C. Tarr|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1212454163l/3031407._SY75_.jpg|3062002], another Harlequin Blaze Historical that focuses on Callum's twin brother, Ewan. All the characters appear to have featured in the first novel and make an appearance in this one but you don't have to have read the first to totally understand the story or characters in this.
I'll start off with the good... Both Alys and Callum were likeable and realistic characters. Callum was strong but with a real weakness for Alys, and Alys, a girl with a past, was still relatable and someone to root for. The pair had good chemistry and a very real love for each other even if the sex scenes weren't particularly hot or plentiful.
The plot was interesting and kept me engaged and I really did enjoy Father Fearghas's journey and the things he encountered.
Now onto the bad... This book is set in Scotland in the 1400s but I was constantly thumping my head against the table while reading the book as the language, spelling and context of the words used was abominable. The characters "spoke" in an accent I've never heard anyone of the islands (or anywhere else in Scotland) speak and with words that I've never heard of. It was cringeworthy in the extreme. It's like the author thought to throw in a few "ochs", "ayes" and "the noos" and she's got herself a Scottish novel. I'm not expecting complete historical accuracy but a little research really wouldn't go amiss. Just because people say a word differently doesn't mean you have to spell them all differently! And some actually have proper spellings which the author completely disregards. Add to that the smattering of Americanisms and I was constantly jarred from the novel as I was reading.
I feel like I'm being extremely generous in giving this book 3 stars when I had so many bad things to say about it. However, I have to say that I liked the story, had no problem finishing it and that's despite all the flaws which is saying something! I'll admit that perhaps I shouldn't read novels set in Scotland as something invariably annoys me. If you're like me then perhaps I would pass on this book but if you're not bothered by things like that then I would recommend this book to you. The story's good and you can escape for a couple of hours.
