A review by allingoodtime
The Highland Fling by Meghan Quinn

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

While I’m not yet fully on board the Meghan Quinn train, this book was much better for me than the first story I read by her. It took a bit for me to get fully invested, but once I was it had a lock on my emotions.

Bonnie and Rowan are instantly at odds when they meet, but there is also instant chemistry. They have wonderful banter. Bonnie’s word vomit when she was nervous or stressed was fun and funny. Yet nothing prepared me for how amazing these two would be once they stopped needling each other and gave into their true desires. Grumpy Rowan has a mushy center and somehow knows that Bonnie is not as confident and she leads others to believe. Bonnie (finally) sees that Rowan lashes out when he is afraid of anyone getting too close and seeing that mushy center.

This story is also about Bonnie and her best friend Dakota. They start out so supportive of each other, but neither speaks up when things start going sideways. Finally, everything comes to a head and it’s hard to watch. The ups and downs of that friendship are so real and touching, making them all the more heartbreaking.

When things fall apart, they really fall apart. There is a point in this book where I don’t know how Rowan can make things right. Honestly, as much as I adored Rowan through 75% of this story, I wanted more grovel from him. There are certain things I can understand and empathize with, but once he realized how badly he screwed up it seemed he made things even worse before they got better. I’m still glad things work out for the couple, though. I just imagine he’s spending the rest of their lives catering to Bonnie’s every whim.

I’m hoping I’m not judging this story too harshly by the narration. I listened to the audiobook and was quite disappointed with both narrators and even a bit with the production value. I do think that is one of the reasons it took me longer to get into the story. Honesty, this is the second book by this author I’ve listened to and I had issues with the narrator both times. I have determined I have to either read a digital copy next time I choose one of her stories or only listen to an audio version if it’s a narrator I’m already familiar with. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings