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A review by labyrinth_witch
Highland Spitfire by Mary Wine
4.0
Always love highlander romances. I picked this one because I like the “hated you at first” plot theme. I liked that the author developed the female protagonist to give a sort of feminist critique of marriage rights throughout this time period as well as really take you into the experience of the horror a marriage alliance could be for the bride, especially coming into “enemy” territory. While the male protagonist is one of the better ones I’ve read- showing some awareness of his values in his decision making- I was a little frustrated that he was not extended to consider her point of view and demonstrate a tenderness toward her concerns. So once again, we have the rich interior life of the woman where we can feel her loneliness and her observation that her husband has done nothing to make her feel at home in her new clan (not even commissioning a new wardrobe or plaid for her) and her not being able to articulate her needs and fears to him. He seems to solve her “hesitation” with sex, but not once did she turn to him and say, “could we put some of my things in your chamber to make it also feel like my home and then maybe I wouldn’t feel this foreboding unease when you want to have sex.” Throughout the narrative, she is cast as a “spitfire” who stands up for herself and fights her corner. So the contrast of her never articulating her fears or sense of entrapment to her husband was palatable.
So when he says, “I cannot change the way of the world” when he takes her tartan from her I was annoyed; because again, he fails to consider her needs as an equal. It’s the same thing today when a woman is expected to relinquish her name upon marriage, but when asked if the man will relinquish him they don’t even consider it before proclaiming a resounding “no.” So you have this idea that the man is entitled to his identity while the woman’s identity is optional.
I was also mildly annoyed with the emphasis on an tug and pull power play between them, framing it as “that’s the way it always will be and I kinda like it” rhetoric. It annoys me because It romanticizes a potentially unhealthy relationship dynamic. Why can’t true partnership be romantic? Someone write that story.
Overall, the writing was absorbing and the sensuality very woman-centered, which I appreciate.
So when he says, “I cannot change the way of the world” when he takes her tartan from her I was annoyed; because again, he fails to consider her needs as an equal. It’s the same thing today when a woman is expected to relinquish her name upon marriage, but when asked if the man will relinquish him they don’t even consider it before proclaiming a resounding “no.” So you have this idea that the man is entitled to his identity while the woman’s identity is optional.
I was also mildly annoyed with the emphasis on an tug and pull power play between them, framing it as “that’s the way it always will be and I kinda like it” rhetoric. It annoys me because It romanticizes a potentially unhealthy relationship dynamic. Why can’t true partnership be romantic? Someone write that story.
Overall, the writing was absorbing and the sensuality very woman-centered, which I appreciate.