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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
3 stars *may change
everyone wants to tell elliot that he isn’t dangerous but he tried to strangle his closest friends 3 times in this book?
everyone wants to tell elliot that he isn’t dangerous but he tried to strangle his closest friends 3 times in this book?
"what you're doing is grieving lad. grieving for yourself. because what ye were is gone, isn't it? you've seen too much and you've been hurt too much. the man you were will never come back."
"elliot watched juliana try to catch her spinning emotions and make her practical nature deal with this new development. this made her the opposite of elliot, who'd given in to letting his emotions do whatever the hell they wanted. trying to suppress them only made him crazier."
"elliot watched juliana try to catch her spinning emotions and make her practical nature deal with this new development. this made her the opposite of elliot, who'd given in to letting his emotions do whatever the hell they wanted. trying to suppress them only made him crazier."
It took me a while to finish this book; I just wasn't into this one as much as the others. I think it is because the other heroes were the Mackenzie brothers who had been woven throughout the other books. Elliot didn't get much build up in the previous books and so I wasn't as geared up for him. The book overall was readable, I just didn't get obsessed.
Towards the end of the novel, the heroine's stepmother, Gemma, states that Juliana could not fix Elliot, only be there for him. Juliana's tendencies to make lists and notes was mentioned throughout, but it didn't become apparent to me that she was supposed to be fixing him until it was stated so by Gemma.
The story is part healing, part mystery. Elliot spent much time in India and due to be captured and tortured, his memory is not whole. I really enjoyed the bits about India, I wish there had been more. The Sikh family who are Elliot's servants and who very dedicated, were a joy to read about. The passages about fixing up the newly purchased manor, which was in disrepair, were boring to me. But, that's a personal thing.
I can see why some feel that this makes it seem as if sex can fix PTSD. The ending paints that picture a bit, which is weird because in one of the climax scenes Juliana makes it clear that she just wants to be there for Elliot. But, the last line makes it seem as if he's perfectly cleared of issues. I don't think that was Ashley's intention at all, but I can see how it can be taken that way.
I also can see why people wish Elliot's PTSD was not explored enough. However, I believe it was explored to the extent it could be without it overtaking the book and turning the novel into more of an issue book and less of a romance.
Overall, I look forward to reading more in this world even though this wasn't a complete home run for me. It was still decent. I can't wait to read Inspector Fellow's novella.
Towards the end of the novel, the heroine's stepmother, Gemma, states that Juliana could not fix Elliot, only be there for him. Juliana's tendencies to make lists and notes was mentioned throughout, but it didn't become apparent to me that she was supposed to be fixing him until it was stated so by Gemma.
The story is part healing, part mystery. Elliot spent much time in India and due to be captured and tortured, his memory is not whole. I really enjoyed the bits about India, I wish there had been more. The Sikh family who are Elliot's servants and who very dedicated, were a joy to read about. The passages about fixing up the newly purchased manor, which was in disrepair, were boring to me. But, that's a personal thing.
I can see why some feel that this makes it seem as if sex can fix PTSD. The ending paints that picture a bit, which is weird because in one of the climax scenes Juliana makes it clear that she just wants to be there for Elliot. But, the last line makes it seem as if he's perfectly cleared of issues. I don't think that was Ashley's intention at all, but I can see how it can be taken that way.
I also can see why people wish Elliot's PTSD was not explored enough. However, I believe it was explored to the extent it could be without it overtaking the book and turning the novel into more of an issue book and less of a romance.
Overall, I look forward to reading more in this world even though this wasn't a complete home run for me. It was still decent. I can't wait to read Inspector Fellow's novella.
Wow. Just when I thought that Jennifer Ashley could not top her last book, I read the next installment in the series and am blown away.
Elliot McBride is brother to Ainsley, Cameron Mackenzie's wife. Elliot went to India to make his fortune after serving his time in the military. All was going well until he was captured by a group of rebels in the afghan mountains. Ten months later he was able to escape and he was never the same since.
Juliana St. John got jilted on her wedding day by her longtime fiancé. Looking for escape from the wedding guests, she hides out in a little chapel behind the church. She unexpectedly finds Elliot dozing in there and does something crazy. She proposes to him. Elliot accepts and Juliana walks down the aisle with Elliot instead.
Their story is one of intrigue and a severe case of PTSD. It broke my heart to see Elliot suffer from the memories of his time in captivity that haunts him. His attachment to Juliana and the people he brought with him from India are the only thing holding him together. It's an amazing story that once again show what a great storyteller Ms. Ashley is. Can't wait to read the next book!
Elliot McBride is brother to Ainsley, Cameron Mackenzie's wife. Elliot went to India to make his fortune after serving his time in the military. All was going well until he was captured by a group of rebels in the afghan mountains. Ten months later he was able to escape and he was never the same since.
Juliana St. John got jilted on her wedding day by her longtime fiancé. Looking for escape from the wedding guests, she hides out in a little chapel behind the church. She unexpectedly finds Elliot dozing in there and does something crazy. She proposes to him. Elliot accepts and Juliana walks down the aisle with Elliot instead.
Their story is one of intrigue and a severe case of PTSD. It broke my heart to see Elliot suffer from the memories of his time in captivity that haunts him. His attachment to Juliana and the people he brought with him from India are the only thing holding him together. It's an amazing story that once again show what a great storyteller Ms. Ashley is. Can't wait to read the next book!
The story of Juliana St. John, a woman jilted at the altar, and Elliot McBride, the Scot who saves her from embarrassment and her new husband.
Juliana has been in love with Elliot since they were kids, but Elliot didn't seem to return her feelings, choosing to join a regiment and then travel to India instead.
Unfortunately, his life turns out much bleaker than he'd imagined, and.
The two are starting a life together in less than ideal circumstances, with Juliana attempting to put her neglected new house to rights, while at the same time trying to help Elliot, who still suffers from episodes.
Fortunately for both of them, they both love one another and in their case love does triumph over all and they eventually get their happily ever after.
Interesting story that I was unfortunately less than engrossed in, partly because of RL issues. Next in the series comes the novella [b:The Untamed MacKenzie|16181717|The Untamed MacKenzie (MacKenzies & McBrides, #5.5)|Jennifer Ashley|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1372837256s/16181717.jpg|22084594] and the story of the half-MacKenzie detective Fellows.
Previous book reviews:
✦ The Duke's Perfect Wife (MacKenzies & McBrides #4)
✦ The Many Sins Of Lord Cameron (MacKenzies & McBrides #3)
✦ Lady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage (MacKenzies & McBrides #2)
✦ The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie (MacKenzies & McBrides #1)
Juliana has been in love with Elliot since they were kids, but Elliot didn't seem to return her feelings, choosing to join a regiment and then travel to India instead.
Unfortunately, his life turns out much bleaker than he'd imagined, and
Spoiler
he gets captured and tortured for a long while that leaves him with a serious case of PTSD when he finally manages to escapeThe two are starting a life together in less than ideal circumstances, with Juliana attempting to put her neglected new house to rights, while at the same time trying to help Elliot, who still suffers from episodes.
Fortunately for both of them, they both love one another and in their case love does triumph over all and they eventually get their happily ever after.
Interesting story that I was unfortunately less than engrossed in, partly because of RL issues. Next in the series comes the novella [b:The Untamed MacKenzie|16181717|The Untamed MacKenzie (MacKenzies & McBrides, #5.5)|Jennifer Ashley|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1372837256s/16181717.jpg|22084594] and the story of the half-MacKenzie detective Fellows.
Previous book reviews:
✦ The Duke's Perfect Wife (MacKenzies & McBrides #4)
✦ The Many Sins Of Lord Cameron (MacKenzies & McBrides #3)
✦ Lady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage (MacKenzies & McBrides #2)
✦ The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie (MacKenzies & McBrides #1)
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Characters: organized, jilted lady, post captivity Scot
World Building: interiors, torture
Plot: the past coming back, recovery
Sex: Medium
Read another: Yes
I'm loving this series more as time goes by.
World Building: interiors, torture
Plot: the past coming back, recovery
Sex: Medium
Read another: Yes
I'm loving this series more as time goes by.
Este é o quinto livro da série e o primeiro sobre os McBride, nele iremos conhecer a história de Elliot o irmão de Ainsley, esposa de Cameron Mackenzie.
Elliot esteve muito tempo desaparecido, pois foi mantido em cativeiro e sofreu horrores durante esse tempo.
Ele sempre gostou de Juliana, por isso, aproveita o facto dela ter sido abandonada no altar para se casar com ela.
Juliana sempre foi apaixonada por Elliot, e pretende ajuda-lo a esquecer todos os seus traumas e tentar recuperar o rapaz que um dia lhe roubou o coração.
Mais um livro incrivel, esta série é viciante. Queremos conhecer profundamente todos os membros desta familia e saborear com eles todos os bons e maus momentos.
Elliot e Juliana são mais duas personagens fortes, tal como todas as anteriores da série. E estou ansiosa por conhecer mais alguns no próximo livro, que felizmente já foi publicado em Portugal.
Elliot esteve muito tempo desaparecido, pois foi mantido em cativeiro e sofreu horrores durante esse tempo.
Ele sempre gostou de Juliana, por isso, aproveita o facto dela ter sido abandonada no altar para se casar com ela.
Juliana sempre foi apaixonada por Elliot, e pretende ajuda-lo a esquecer todos os seus traumas e tentar recuperar o rapaz que um dia lhe roubou o coração.
Mais um livro incrivel, esta série é viciante. Queremos conhecer profundamente todos os membros desta familia e saborear com eles todos os bons e maus momentos.
Elliot e Juliana são mais duas personagens fortes, tal como todas as anteriores da série. E estou ansiosa por conhecer mais alguns no próximo livro, que felizmente já foi publicado em Portugal.
The 5th book in the MacKenzies & McBrides series and by far the worst book in the series for me. There were things that I liked about this book – I liked that Elliot was a dark, damaged hero. I liked the heroine’s quiet strength, and I enjoyed how at times the writing / structure of the book reflected the disorder in Elliot’s mind. It left you unsettled and discombobulated, and I found that quite an interesting sensation.
What I found incredibly lacking in this book was the romance. Where the heck was it? We started out the book with the heroine being left at the altar, and Elliot stepping in to be the groom. Both, unspoken, had been in love with the other since childhood – nothing wrong there at all!
But then, Elliot just tells her fairly early on that she’s always been the one for him. She doesn’t confess her love to the end, but there was no build up to getting there. They had plenty (way way way too much for me to care about) of sex, and there was a lot going on with people trying to kill people and swindle people and get over their damaging past and what not, but it wasn’t integrated with a developing romance.
There was a half-hearted mention towards the end of the book of the heroine realising that she was trying to “organize” the hero into being better, but there wasn’t a lot to support that through the book, and it was a little bit too late.
As for the characters, Elliot was interesting, and once again as with my feelings on the previous books, I think the author just missed the mark with delving into the emotional depths of the character – he had so much dark pain to be explored and it just didn’t hit the emotional mark for me. The heroine was, aside from her quiet strength, boring. No other way to say it really, but she was a bit of a Jane character for me.
I read a lot of romances, and I know a well balanced, well structured one when I read it, where the story paces along with the emotional journey of the characters. This book did not achieve this at all.
All and all, frustrating and a high disappointing romance for me, although not a bad book as far as the story went. It just didn’t achieve what it should have set out to achieve.
What I found incredibly lacking in this book was the romance. Where the heck was it? We started out the book with the heroine being left at the altar, and Elliot stepping in to be the groom. Both, unspoken, had been in love with the other since childhood – nothing wrong there at all!
But then, Elliot just tells her fairly early on that she’s always been the one for him. She doesn’t confess her love to the end, but there was no build up to getting there. They had plenty (way way way too much for me to care about) of sex, and there was a lot going on with people trying to kill people and swindle people and get over their damaging past and what not, but it wasn’t integrated with a developing romance.
There was a half-hearted mention towards the end of the book of the heroine realising that she was trying to “organize” the hero into being better, but there wasn’t a lot to support that through the book, and it was a little bit too late.
As for the characters, Elliot was interesting, and once again as with my feelings on the previous books, I think the author just missed the mark with delving into the emotional depths of the character – he had so much dark pain to be explored and it just didn’t hit the emotional mark for me. The heroine was, aside from her quiet strength, boring. No other way to say it really, but she was a bit of a Jane character for me.
I read a lot of romances, and I know a well balanced, well structured one when I read it, where the story paces along with the emotional journey of the characters. This book did not achieve this at all.
All and all, frustrating and a high disappointing romance for me, although not a bad book as far as the story went. It just didn’t achieve what it should have set out to achieve.
I really liked this story. Elliot reminded me of Ian but I liked his story much more than Ian's. Elliot has PTSD from being tortured, and it was emotional watching him deal with this and try to move on. He was flawed and I liked that he wasn't miraculously cured in the end. I liked Juliana and how she was supportive and cared for Elliot even when she didn't understand fully what's going on with him. My only complaint is that it's not really as romantic as I was hoping for because it seemed to me that all the falling in love happened before the story opened.